D. Land Use Goals and Policies
Land use goals and policies are organized into six categories: Growth Management; Land Use/Transportation Linkages; Residential; Commercial and Mixed Use; Open Space and Resource Protection; and Essential Public Facilities, Government Facilities and Community Facilities.
Growth Management
Washington’s Growth Management Act establishes goals to be considered in the development of local comprehensive plans. These goals include concentrating growth in urban areas to provide efficient services and reduce sprawl, supporting transportation choices, providing housing that is affordable to all, and encouraging economic development. VISION 2040 sets an overarching goal of focusing growth in urban areas to create walkable, compact, transit-oriented communities that maintain local character. These goals are consistent with the vision established by Kirkland citizens.
Even so, implementing these goals requires balance. Growth and development changes the community and brings more traffic. How we manage that growth so that it fits with established community character and creates walkable places that provide residents and workers with transportation choices is the challenge. Kirkland has a long history of growth management that has preserved a community that remains a highly desirable place to live, work, and play. With thoughtful land use planning and an engaged citizenry, Kirkland will retain that quality in 2035 and beyond.
The City has developed a tool called the “10-Minute Neighborhood Analysis” to help measure progress toward our goal of creating a compact, efficient, and sustainable land use pattern. A 10-minute neighborhood (10 minutes represents a typical one-half mile walk) is a community where residents can walk short distances from home to destinations that meet their daily needs. These walkable communities are comprised of two important characteristics:
♦ Destinations: A walkable community needs places to which they can walk. Destinations may include places that meet commercial needs, recreational needs, or transportation needs.
♦ Accessibility: The community needs to be able to conveniently get to those destinations.
The analysis helps the community talk about how the City’s land use and transportation decisions can help achieve the community’s 2035 vision and it helps the City measure progress to ensure that growth trends are leading to a more walkable community.
Goal LU-1: Manage community growth and redevelopment to ensure:
♦ An orderly pattern of land use;
♦ A balanced and complete community;
♦ Maintenance and improvement of the City’s existing character; and
♦ Protection of environmentally sensitive areas.
Policy LU-1.1: Maintain clear and predictable development regulations that are consistent with City goals and policies.
Traditionally, development regulations have attempted to avert conflict by segregating development types into districts with relatively uniform development characteristics such as permitted uses or height. In many areas of Kirkland, this approach is a reasonable and effective method for regulating development.
In other parts of Kirkland, it may be possible and desirable to have several different types of development located relatively close to each other. Such a blending of development types could help reduce dependence on the automobile and provide greater opportunities for innovative mixed-use development. In these areas, development regulations may need to be specially developed to address the district’s unique characteristics.
Policy LU-1.2: Create logical boundaries between land use districts that take into account such considerations as existing and planned land uses, access, property lines, topographic conditions, and natural features.
Boundaries between land use districts should make sense. Where features such as roads or parcel lines cannot be used to identify boundaries, natural features, such as streams or topographical changes, can form distinct edges. Allowed uses should be compatible with adjacent land use districts through physical improvements and/or design elements.
Policy LU-1.3: Encourage attractive site and building design that is compatible in scale and in character with existing or planned development.
Attractive site and building design can create a cohesive and functional development that reflects local character and fits well with surrounding uses. In parts of the City where the community vision has not yet been realized, however, new development should not necessarily look to surrounding uses for design ideas. Instead, the Comprehensive or Neighborhood Plan should be used to provide guidance on desirable characteristics.
Policy LU-1.4: Create effective transitions between different land uses.
Some of the most sensitive lands to plan are the transition areas between different types of uses. Uses along the boundary of a commercial area may generate impacts on nearby residential uses. Maintaining privacy may be an issue when mixing residential densities. Residential uses in close proximity to industrial development may set up nearly unresolvable conflicts with regard to noise and traffic.
Building and site design can act to minimize such conflicts. Buffers, such as fences, berms, or vegetation, can minimize visual and noise impacts. Buildings might also serve a buffering purpose to the extent that they serve as visual screens or insulate noise. Effective land use transitions can also include building modulation, upper story stepbacks, and other building design elements.
Within many of the City’s commercial areas, mixing of land uses is encouraged to bring shops, services and offices in close proximity to residential uses. These mixed use areas provide an immediate market for the commercial services, convenient shopping and employment opportunities to the residences, and reduce the need to drive.
Policy LU-1.5: Regulate land use and development in environmentally sensitive areas to improve and protect environmental quality and avoid unnecessary public and private costs.
Development in natural constraint areas may increase health and safety risks and create other unnecessary costs associated with hazards like landslides, flooding, uneven settlement, erosion, and disrupted subsurface drainage. Public and private costs are also incurred from development in areas with natural amenities or which perform utilitarian or biological functions. The purpose of this policy is to regulate, and in some cases restrict, development activity to ensure a high standard of environmental quality, and to prevent undue costs to property owners, neighbors, and the City.
Goal LU-2: Promote a compact, efficient, and sustainable land use pattern in Kirkland that:
♦ Supports a multimodal transportation system that efficiently moves people and goods;
♦ Minimizes energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and service costs;
♦ Conserves land, water, and natural resources; and
♦ Provides sufficient land area and development intensity to accommodate Kirkland’s share of the regionally adopted population and employment targets.
Policy LU-2.1: Support a range of development densities in Kirkland, recognizing environmental constraints and community character.
The Countywide Planning Policies establish two broad categories of lands: urban and rural. Urban lands are those which are inside the Urban Growth Area, ranging from the suburban densities of much of the Eastside to the very high urban densities found in downtown Seattle. The Countywide Planning Policies identify all of Kirkland as an urban area.
Policy LU-2.2: Facilitate infill development and encourage redevelopment of underutilized land.
Some land in or adjacent to developed areas has been skipped over as development shifted to outlying areas. In some cases, natural constraints or other factors may have rendered the land unsuitable for development. It is not the intent of this policy to encourage development in environmentally sensitive areas or preclude the use of undeveloped land for open space. However, infill development is encouraged when environmental protection is ensured.
Redevelopment of existing development (for example, converting a parking lot to a new building with structured parking) may also occur as land use plans change. As in all cases, however, the benefits to be achieved under this policy must be weighed against the values expressed in other policies of this Plan – such values as historic preservation and maintenance of existing affordable housing.
Policy LU-2.3: Ensure an adequate supply of housing units and commercial floorspace to meet the required growth targets.
As growth occurs, the need for new housing units and commercial floorspace will increase. Kirkland is required to accommodate growth targets for housing units and employment established by the King County Growth Management Planning Council as mandated by the Growth Management Act. The community must balance this need with the desire to retain existing community character and with the City’s ability to provide infrastructure and public services to serve the new growth. The City should monitor its existing residential and nonresidential capacity to determine how fast and where new growth is occurring and whether Kirkland can accommodate the required growth targets. Available capacity is a calculation of likely development potential in the foreseeable future based on certain assumptions and factors and assumed to cover a 20-year time horizon. Table LU-3 below shows that the City can accommodate the 2035 growth targets with its available capacity.
|
2013 Existing1 |
2035 Growth Targets2 |
Available Capacity1 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Housing Units |
36,866 |
45,277 (8,361 new housing units) |
46,111 to 54,156 (13,664 to 23,817 new housing units) |
|
Employment |
37,981 |
60,416 (22,435 new jobs) |
58,797 to 85,094 (22,984 to 57,155 new jobs) |
Sources:
1. City Estimates (as of 2015). Upper range of available capacity reflects alternative methodology for Totem Lake Urban Center.
2. Targets for housing unit and employment growth between 2006 and 2031 were assigned by the King County Countywide Planning Policies. The City adjusted the numbers for housing units and employment by the amount of actual new development between 2006 and 2012 and by extending the target date to 2035 using the average growth rate needed to meet targets.
Policy LU-2.4: Support development patterns that promote public health and provide opportunities for safe and convenient physical activity and social connectivity.
The physical design of communities affects our behavior. Communities without convenient parks, safe sidewalks, and local-serving retail require their residents to drive more and walk less. They also lack the gathering places that bring communities together for daily interaction. In contrast, Kirkland’s thoughtful urban design, extensive parks system, emphasis on pedestrians, and mixed use neighborhood centers should continue to invite residents to be active and engage in their community.
Land Use/Transportation Linkages
Land use/transportation linkage policies address the relationship between the land use pattern and a complete transportation system. Separation of jobs and housing means longer commute trips – generally accommodated on the City’s roadways either by private automobile or transit. When shops and services are long distances from residential areas, this also translates into additional vehicle or transit trips. Allowing residential and nonresidential uses to locate in closer proximity provides transportation options, making walking or bicycling a viable option.
Site design standards and street connectivity also impact the ability of drivers, transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists to get around. Policies in this section discuss the importance of considering connections and transportation choices when planning new development.
Goal LU-3: Provide a land use pattern and transportation network that promotes mobility, transportation choices, and convenient access to goods and services.
Policy LU-3.1: Create and maintain neighborhoods that allow residents and employees to walk or bicycle to places that meet their daily needs.
Kirkland presently has a largely complete network of commercial and employment centers, and many of the City’s residential neighborhoods can easily access a shopping area. This policy intends to further strengthen the relationship between urban neighborhoods and commercial development areas.
Juanita Village
Policy LU-3.2: Encourage residential development within commercial areas.
Incorporating residential development into commercial areas provides benefits for businesses and residents alike. Housing within commercial areas provides the opportunity for people to live close to shops, services, and places of employment. Conversely, residents living within commercial areas create a localized market for nearby goods and services, provide increased security, and help to create a “sense of community” for those districts.
Residential development within commercial areas should be compatible with and complementary to business activity.
Policy LU-3.3: Encourage housing, offices, shops, and services at or near the park and ride lots.
South Kirkland Park and Ride TOD
Park and ride facilities provide a potential location for offices, shops, and services serving two sets of customers: nearby residents and transit riders. In addition, housing at these facilities supports transit use. The design of these facilities should be carefully considered to ensure protection of the surrounding neighborhood. The City should work with King County Metro to develop standards for housing, offices, shops and services at these facilities.
Policy LU-3.4: Locate higher density land uses in areas served by frequent transit service.
As decisions are made about locating future growth in Kirkland, the availability of viable transportation choices should be taken directly into account in relation to the location and intensity of that growth.
Policy LU-3.5: Provide vehicular access for commercial development from arterials or freeways and avoid vehicular access from residential streets.
Because of heavier traffic patterns and delivery traffic associated with commercial uses, primary transportation routes should be oriented toward nonresidential streets.
Policy LU-3.6: Incorporate features in new development projects that support transportation choices.
Site design can play an important role in promoting transportation choices. Locations of buildings and bus stops on a site, for example, can mean the difference between having transit users walk long distances through the rain or being dropped off at the door. Something as simple as the provision of covered bicycle racks may encourage a would-be cyclist.
Policy LU-3.7: Consider reducing minimum parking requirements in the Zoning Code in walkable areas with convenient shops, services and good transit service.
Unused parking is an inefficient use of land and imposes significant additional costs on residents and businesses. Where people have viable alternatives to car ownership and lower parking needs are demonstrated, new development should not be required to build more parking supply than the actual demand. Data collected in 2014 does not indicate reduced parking utilization based on current transit service but that should be reviewed as transit service improves over time.
Policy LU-3.8: Create a complementary relationship between adjoining land uses and the Cross Kirkland Corridor and Eastside Rail Corridor, both in terms of short term nonmotorized access and future opportunities for high capacity transit.
The corridors have evolved significantly from heavy rail use to nonmotorized access and recreation. The corridors will continue to evolve as opportunities for future transportation are realized. This evolution should be carefully considered and leveraged in relation to planned land use along the corridor.
Policy LU-3.9: Encourage vehicular and nonmotorized connectivity.
Improved connectivity encourages walking and biking and reduces travel distance for all transportation modes. Pedestrian connections between adjacent properties and to adjacent streets minimizes walking distances and provides safe walking surfaces, which in turn can result in less driving and more opportunities for physical activity. Vehicle connections between adjacent properties reduce congestion on streets, number of turning movements and gasoline consumption. Cul-de-sacs, dead-end streets, fences or other barriers prevent convenient connections. The intent of this policy is to encourage connections and to avoid such barriers to easy access.
Residential
Most of the land in Kirkland is developed with housing of some type – whether single-family or multifamily homes. Kirkland will continue to be primarily a residential community and preservation and protection of residential neighborhoods is an important goal to ensure future livability.
The notion of preserving community character is one that is explored more fully in the Housing and Community Character Elements and the Neighborhood Plans, where careful review of the features that make a neighborhood unique are identified. In the Land Use Element, the general notion of protection of community character is promoted. However, this Element also acknowledges that the community will be growing and that a balance must be struck between providing more housing units and preserving the neighborhoods as they are today.
Several of the most important housing issues – affordability, special needs housing, and accessory units – are not addressed in this Element. They are discussed, instead, in the Housing Element.
Goal LU-4: Protect and enhance the character and quality of residential neighborhoods while accommodating the City’s growth targets.
Policy LU-4.1: Maintain and enhance the character of Kirkland’s residential areas.
The community’s vision and guiding principles established in this Plan foresee residential neighborhoods that remain vibrant, livable, diverse, and affordable.
Policy LU-4.2: Locate the highest density residential areas close to shops and services and transportation hubs.
Denser residential areas should continue to be sited close to or within commercial areas and transportation hubs to increase transportation choices.
Policy LU-4.3: Allow for new residential growth consistent with the basic pattern of land use in the City.
Infill development is expected in low density residential areas based on availability of developable land, while higher densities are clustered near existing commercial areas.
Policy LU-4.4: Consider neighborhood character and integrity when determining the extent and type of land use changes.
Protection of community character is a theme woven throughout the Land Use Element. Community character is most clearly expressed through the Neighborhood Plans. It is the intent of this policy to direct specific consideration of the unique characteristics of neighborhoods, as described in the Neighborhood Plans, before committing to major area-wide residential land use changes.
Policy LU-4.5: Allow neighborhoods to propose small scale neighborhood-oriented commercial uses within residential areas to meet local needs and reduce reliance on vehicle trips to meet daily needs.
Over time, residential neighborhoods may see the value of having small walkable markets within the neighborhood. If this occurs through a neighborhood planning process, the City should facilitate a process to evaluate whether such uses are economically viable and develop regulations that would facilitate use at a scale compatible with the surrounding community.
Commercial and Mixed Use
Commercial land uses are a critical part of the Kirkland community. They provide shopping and service opportunities for Kirkland residents, and also create employment within the City. The tax revenues generated by business help fund the capital facilities and public services that residents enjoy.
In return, the quality of life in the City’s neighborhoods provides a main attraction for both businesses and their patrons. The proximity to Lake Washington, the fine system of parks, the availability of a regional medical center, top notch educational facilities, the environmental ethic of the community, and quality infrastructure attract outsiders to Kirkland and make the City a good place to do business – for employers, employees, and customers.
Problems that the community faces – traffic congestion, particularly – create concerns for commercial land uses. Ease of transporting goods and adequate parking are especially important. An underlying premise of the Land Use Element is that, in the future, residents of the City will not drive as much as they do presently to avoid being in traffic congestion. To that end, the Element attempts to promote commercial land use patterns that support transportation choices.
Along with the need to provide new housing units for future residents, the City will need to designate adequate land area for commercial uses, some of which may employ Kirkland residents. If the opportunity for local employment is increased, the high proportion of residents who work outside the community may be reduced. This in turn would ease traffic congestion by shortening commute trips and making other modes of travel to work more feasible.
In addition, many of Kirkland’s commercial areas are designated for mixed use development. Mixed use development is a fundamental part of the regional and local growth strategy. As evidenced in areas like Downtown Kirkland and Juanita Village, the mixing of residential and commercial uses creates compact, walkable, transit-oriented communities. Residents and employees in these communities have choices about the mode of transportation they use to meet their daily needs, businesses benefit by having a close-in customer base, and public services are more efficiently provided to more people. The Land Use Element emphasizes the quality of the mixed use environment to ensure that mixed use development creates highly desirable places for people to live, work, and play.
Currently, a variety of commercial and mixed use development areas exists in the City, based primarily on size and relationship to the regional market and transportation system (see Figure LU-2: Commercial and Mixed Use Areas).
Some of Kirkland’s commercial areas serve primarily the surrounding neighborhood; residents depend on their neighborhood grocery store, dry cleaners, bank, etc., for everyday needs. Other commercial areas have a subregional or regional draw. Most of the larger commercial areas are centered around major intersections.
The Land Use Element provides general direction for development standards in commercial and mixed use areas. The following terms are used in the discussion of commercial and mixed use areas:
Urban Center (Mixed Use)
An Urban Center is a regionally significant concentration of employment and housing, with direct service by high-capacity transit and a wide range of land uses, such as retail, recreational, public facilities, parks and open space. An Urban Center has a mix of uses and densities to efficiently support transit as part of the regional high-capacity transit system. An area must be designated by the King County Countywide Planning Policies to be an Urban Center.
Downtown Kirkland (Mixed Use)
Downtown Kirkland is an area of moderate commercial and residential concentration that functions as a focal point for the community and is served by a transit center.
Neighborhood Center (Mixed Use)
A Neighborhood Center is an area that serves the needs for goods and services of the local community as well as the subregional market. These districts vary in uses and intensities and may include office, retail, restaurants, housing, hotels and service businesses. These centers provide facilities to serve the everyday needs of the neighborhood and grocery stores are considered a high-priority anchor for these areas. Residential uses are encouraged where they support and do not displace the commercial viability of these areas.
Residential Market (Mixed Use)
A Residential Market consists of individual stores or mixed-use buildings/centers that are pedestrian-oriented and serve the local neighborhood. Residential scale and design are critical to integrate these uses into the surrounding residential area. Residential uses may be located above or behind commercial uses in the center, at densities specified in the Comprehensive Plan.
Mixed Use Business Center
Mixed Use Business Centers are employment centers that incorporate a mix of uses including office, retail, restaurants, and hotels. Residential uses are encouraged to strengthen these areas as active 24-hour communities.
Corridor District (Mixed Use)
Arterial Districts are linear districts arranged along an arterial with commercial uses that benefit from automobile and transit volumes. Enhanced pedestrian orientation and integration residential uses are critical to integrating these corridors with adjoining land uses.
Light Industry/Office Area
Light Industry/Office areas serve both the local and regional markets and may include office, light manufacturing, high technology, wholesale trade, and limited retail. They do not include residential uses.
Cross Kirkland Corridor Overlay
The Cross Kirkland Corridor Overlay follows the alignment of the Cross Kirkland and Eastside Rail Corridor through adjoining commercial areas. The overlay varies in uses but is defined by its orientation to transportation and recreational amenities of the Corridor. A specific width for the overlay is not assigned. Rather, its geography is defined by potential relationships of developments and uses to the Corridor – both current and envisioned. Innovative land uses and development types, including the potential for transit oriented development, are critical to fully leveraging public and private investment in the Corridor.
Figure LU-2: Commercial and Mixed Use Areas
Goal LU-5: Plan for a hierarchy of commercial and mixed use areas serving neighborhood, community, and/or regional needs.
Policy LU-5.1: Reflect the following principles in development standards and land use plans for commercial and mixed use areas:
Urban Design
♦ Create lively and attractive districts with a human scale.
♦ Create attractive, pedestrian-oriented streets through building placement and design and by minimizing the obtrusive nature of parking lots.
♦ Support a mix of retail, office, and residential uses in multistory structures.
♦ Create effective transitions between commercial areas and surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Access
♦ Encourage multimodal transportation options.
♦ Promote an intensity and density of land uses sufficient to support effective transit and pedestrian activity.
♦ Promote a street pattern that provides through connections, pedestrian accessibility and vehicular access.
♦ Encourage pedestrian travel to and within commercial and mixed use areas by providing:
– Safe and attractive walkways;
– Close groupings of stores and offices;
– Placement of parking in structures, underground, or to the back or side of buildings.
Although each commercial and mixed use area has its own unique attributes, these generalized development guidelines work to preserve community character and support a complete transportation system. Particular emphasis is placed on improving pedestrian accessibility in commercial areas.
These policies recognize that urban design is important, and that well-designed commercial and mixed use areas, in partnership with Kirkland’s residential neighborhoods, will project a positive community image.
Good urban design complements and enhances adjacent residential areas.
Downtown Artwork
Policy LU-5.2: Maintain and strengthen existing commercial and mixed use areas by focusing economic development within them.
The intent of this policy is that future economic development be concentrated in existing commercial and mixed use areas. This concentration can help to maintain and strengthen these areas and also promote orderly and efficient growth that minimizes impacts and service expansion costs. Concentration also allows businesses to benefit from proximity to each other.
Intensification, rather than expansion of the boundaries of existing commercial areas into surrounding residential neighborhoods, is desirable. Infilling is preferred, particularly when it would create a denser pattern of development that is focused less on the automobile and more on the opportunity for multiple transportation modes. Redevelopment may also provide new opportunities, especially in commercial areas where the community vision has changed over time.
Policy LU-5.3: Enhance and strengthen Kirkland’s commercial and mixed use areas consistent with the neighborhood plan for each area.
Each of Kirkland’s commercial and mixed use areas has unique characteristics based on its role in the community and/or region. Totem Lake is designated as an Urban Center and the Totem Lake neighborhood plan will guide its redevelopment. Downtown Kirkland is the community’s historic commercial center and the Moss Bay neighborhood plan establishes the policy guidance for its future. Similarly, policies for each area will be found in the applicable neighborhood plan.
Policy LU-5.4: Provide opportunities for a variety of employment.
Kirkland’s commercial areas provide a diversity of jobs; from primary jobs that bring new revenue into the community, to high-tech jobs that attract creative industry leaders, to service jobs that provide necessary goods and services to the community. All of these employment types are important to a balanced community and plans for each of Kirkland’s commercial areas should strengthen appropriate employment opportunities.
Policy LU-5.5: Support the Greater Downtown area as an Urban Center/Regional Growth Center.
To support sustainable, transit-oriented growth patterns, the City has sought designation of Greater Downtown Kirkland as an Urban Center pursuant to the King County Countywide Planning Policies and as a Regional Growth Center by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC). The two Center designations have slightly different boundaries, but primarily comprise the Moss Bay Neighborhood and core components of the NE 85th Street Station Area Plan. The vision reflected in the Greater Downtown is of a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood stretching from the Lake Washington waterfront east to the Station Area, which is well-connected by transit, bike, and pedestrian routes, with plentiful open space. The Greater Downtown Urban Center Plan was adopted by City Council Resolution R‐5384 in 2019, in part to position the City to secure regional and State funding for infrastructure to support growth.
King County designated Greater Downtown Kirkland as an urban center in 2019. The City is also working on an application to PSRC to designate Greater Downtown as a Regional Growth Center. The Urban Center/Regional Growth Center is a significant planning area for the City because it links what is considered the historic center of Kirkland with a new sustainable district focused around a planned Bus Rapid Transit Station at the I-405/NE 85th Street interchange. Planned growth in the Station Area will complement the historic downtown area and future transportation investments will improve connections within the Urban Center/Regional Growth Center. The Urban Center boundaries and the Regional Growth Center boundaries are illustrated in Figure LU-3.
The following policies and goals from the Moss Bay Neighborhood Plan, Everest Neighborhood Plan, and Northeast 85th Street Subarea Plan support a unified Greater Downtown Urban Center/Regional Growth Center:
Policy MB-7: Foster new development that is supportive of the Greater Downtown Urban Center and pending Regional Center designation in terms of: transit-supportive and business-supportive densities; provision of open space, childcare, public art, and other public amenities; provision of housing that is affordable to a range of income groups; and inclusion of environmental sustainability measures.
Policy MB-8: Promote seamless transportation connections between the campuses of major employers for enhanced mobility between campuses, to the Downtown area and to the 85th Street BRT/Stride Station.
EV-15: For portions of the Everest Neighborhood located within the Greater Downtown Urban Center and pending Regional Center, provide housing, employment, open space amenities, and multi-modal connections that support the vision and policies of the Greater Downtown Urban Center/Regional Center.
Goal SA-1: Establish residential and employment growth targets that accommodate a significant share of the City’s future growth, in support of Vision 2050 and the Regional Growth Strategy, with at least 45 activity units per acre.
The existing and planned population, employment, and activity units in the Greater Downtown Urban Center/Regional Growth Center are shown in the table below.
|
2020 Existing |
2035 Planned |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Buildable Area (Acres) |
564 |
|
|
Population |
8,670 |
21,414 |
|
Employment |
10,181 |
33,066 |
|
Total Activity Units |
18,851 |
54,480 |
|
Total Activity Units per Acre |
33.4 |
96.6 |
Policy LU-5.6: Maintain and enhance Kirkland’s diverse Neighborhood Centers to serve as business centers and as walkable focal points for the local community. Reflect the following principles in development standards and land use plans for these areas:
♦ Preserve and enhance neighborhood-serving retail, especially grocery stores.
♦ Promote a mix of complementary uses.
♦ Support redevelopment at an intensity that helps meet Kirkland’s required growth targets in walkable neighborhoods with good transit service.
♦ Create gathering places and opportunities for social interaction.
♦ Create and maintain unique places that complement and reflect the character of the surrounding neighborhood.
The general principles for Neighborhood Centers are intended to preserve and enhance vibrant, economically healthy, and walkable communities. The neighborhood plan for each village should ensure that the vision responds to the unique qualities of the area.
Neighborhood Grocery Store
Policy LU-5.7: Encourage redevelopment and adaptive reuse of Kirkland’s Light Industry/Office areas in a manner that supports the existing mix of allowed uses while enabling these areas to evolve into innovative areas for commerce and employment.
Kirkland’s Light Industry/Office areas owe their diversity to a history of industrial development – much of it located along the former heavy rail corridor. Remaining light industry continues to provide valuable employment and economic benefits to the City. As new industrial development shifts elsewhere in the region, Kirkland’s Light Industry/Office areas will serve two vital roles. First, existing development is in demand for a variety of uses that can be accommodated in the existing building stock. Second, over time, more high-tech companies will locate new development in these areas and benefit from the availability of large parcels with access to the Cross Kirkland Corridor and Eastside Rail Corridor and proximity to vibrant neighborhoods.
Google from Cross Kirkland Corridor
Policy LU-5.8: Allow for innovative land use and development within the Cross Kirkland Corridor Overlay where such innovation enhances the recreational, transportation, and economic development potential of the Corridor.
Areas adjoining the Corridor will evolve and adapt to the changing function and character of the Corridor. The City should ensure that land use regulations facilitate desired development patterns. In the shorter term, that includes allowing uses that benefit from a pedestrian/bicycle trail and reciprocally benefit trail users. It also includes prohibiting uses that are determined to be detrimental to a trail. In the longer term, it means exploring opportunities to accommodate transit and the transit oriented development it will attract.
Open Space and Resource Protection
Open space may serve amenity, utilitarian and/or recreational purposes. Open space also may protect and preserve special natural places such as stream corridors, wetlands, and wildlife habitat. As growth continues, the value of open space will increase, providing relief from the urban environment and an opportunity to experience nature inside the City.
Public agencies, including the City, King County, and the State, already own important areas of open space within and on the borders of the City. These areas serve as the foundation for an open space system. Wetland and stream setbacks and buffers provide corridors of open space. Native Growth Protection Easements, held by the City, also preserve environmentally sensitive open spaces and habitat.
Open space goals and policies are included in the Natural Environment, and Parks and Recreation Elements. The intent of the following goal is to prompt further action to identify and develop a coordinated and connected open space system. The accompanying policies address this process, and also speak to certain specific types of open space.
Goal LU-6: Establish a coordinated and connected system of open space throughout the City that:
♦ Preserves natural systems,
♦ Protects wildlife habitat and corridors,
♦ Provides land for recreation, and
♦ Preserves natural landforms and scenic areas.
Policy LU-6.1: Distribute parks and open spaces throughout the City, with particular focus on new facilities in areas of the City facing the greatest population growth, in areas where facilities are deficient, and/or in areas where connections of the open space network could be made.
The intent of this policy is to establish priorities for open space acquisition or protection.
Policy LU-6.2: Work with adjacent jurisdictions; County, State, federal, and tribal governments; and nonprofit groups to identify and protect open space networks to be preserved within and around Kirkland.
Preserving open space corridors inside in the City need not conflict with private property rights or preclude the reasonable use of land. To this end, a variety of strategies should be considered that provide opportunities for negotiating “win-win” approaches to preservation and development.
Policy LU-6.3: Consider the City’s streets and the Cross Kirkland Corridor as integral parts of the overall open space network.
A high percentage of the City’s land area is in public rights-of-way. In addition to the vehicular functions they serve, these areas are an important part of Kirkland’s pedestrian and green-space network. Management of streets to preserve and enhance these functions improves the cohesiveness of the overall system. In addition, the Cross Kirkland Corridor and Eastside Rail Corridor provide an extraordinary opportunity to link many existing open spaces together in a coordinated manner.
Policy LU-6.4: Preserve Kirkland’s urban separators.
Urban separators break up urban development and help distinguish between communities. Kirkland is fortunate to have several “ready-made” urban separators. The City should also explore opportunities to create new urban separators as part of the open space network.
Goal LU-7: Protect and enhance Kirkland’s natural resources.
Policy 7.1: Continue to designate and protect critical areas based on best available science, with special consideration to preserving and enhancing anadromous fisheries.
Critical areas include wetlands, fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas, frequently flooded areas, and geologically hazardous areas.
Juanita Bay Park
Policy LU-7.2: Decrease energy use, promote renewable energy, and promote public health through land use strategies that promote a mix of housing, employment, and services at intensities sufficient to promote walking, bicycling, and transit.
Kirkland has signed onto the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, which includes a commitment to reducing the City’s global warming emissions and adopting land use policies and regulations that reduce sprawl, preserve open space and the urban forest, and create a compact, walkable community with transportation options.
Essential Public Facilities, Government Facilities and Community Facilities
Essential public facilities as well as government and community facilities serve a variety of populations. Some serve local low-income residents who may not have easy access to private transportation. Others, such as landfills, serve regional waste haulers in large trucks along with local residents. Recognition of the unique characteristics of the clients of these facilities is important to their siting.
Government facilities are uses consisting of services and facilities operated from any level of government. Community facilities are uses that serve the public and are generally of a public service, noncommercial nature and usually operated by nonprofit agencies or organizations. Some government and community facilities are also classified as “essential public facilities” as defined in Chapter 36.70A RCW and as discussed below in more detail.
RCW 36.70A.200 states that, “No local comprehensive plan or development regulation may preclude the siting of essential public facilities” and requires that each county and city have “a process for identifying and siting essential public facilities.” Essential public facilities are defined in RCW 36.70A.200 as “those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, State education facilities and State or regional transportation facilities as defined in RCW 47.06.140, State and local correctional facilities, solid waste handling facilities, and in-patient facilities including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, group homes, and secure community transition facilities as defined in RCW 71.09.020.” The State Office of Financial Management maintains a list of essential State public facilities and may at any time add facilities to the list.
The intent of the following goal is to acknowledge that different essential public facilities as well as government and community facilities have different siting needs, depending on their customers and their unique characteristics. Kirkland residents depend on all of these facilities. For that reason, their location within the City should not be precluded. However, Kirkland is also a well-established community with a strong desire to maintain existing community character. The possible negative impacts of siting these facilities in the City should be mitigated to the maximum extent possible, but mitigation should not be unreasonable to the point of precluding the facilities.
Goal LU-8: Maintain criteria, regulations and procedures that allow for the siting of essential public facilities as well as government and community facilities.
Policy LU-8.1: Work cooperatively with King County, the State and/or other cities to site essential public facilities.
The King County Countywide Planning Policies set out a process whereby all local jurisdictions and the County will jointly develop standards for the siting of essential public facilities. The City should work cooperatively with the State, King County and other cities in the siting of essential public facilities.
Policy LU-8.2: Consider the following in siting essential public facilities:
♦ Accessibility to the people served;
♦ Public involvement;
♦ Protection of neighborhoods;
♦ Preservation of natural resources;
♦ The cost-effectiveness of service delivery;
♦ Location near transit and mixed-use centers; and
♦ The goals and policies of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
The intent of this policy is to set forth the criteria which Kirkland should use in assessing locations for new or expanded essential public facilities.
However, the criteria may not be used to deny approval of or impose restrictions on essential public facilities inconsistent with State statutory provisions and the King County Countywide Planning Policies.
Policy LU-8.3: Design essential public facilities as well as government and community facilities to reduce incompatibility with adjacent land uses.
It may be impossible for some essential public facilities as well as government and community facilities to be completely compatible with adjacent land uses. The unique nature of their operation and their special siting needs may result in some conflict with surrounding development. However, such incompatibilities should be minimized and these facilities should take responsibility for being good neighbors.
The City’s development regulations contain review processes and criteria for siting essential public facilities as well as government and community facilities.