A. Introduction
Existing Conditions
Kirkland is a largely residential community, as housing remains the City’s predominant land use. About 54 percent of the City’s land area is devoted exclusively to residential uses; and with the 2011 annexations of the Finn Hill, North Juanita, and Kingsgate neighborhoods, single-family homes now comprise 56 percent of the City’s housing. Since 2005, the City has seen an increase in mixed-use developments that combine housing with other uses, such as office and retail. The City has a wide variety of other housing styles including zero lot line, townhomes, multifamily flats, and accessory dwelling units (or ADUs). Neighborhoods are well established and are one of the City’s most desirable assets. Numerous neighborhood associations and homeowners’ associations contribute to the livability of the community.
Just as there are a variety of housing types in Kirkland, there is a range of housing densities – from large residential estates of close to one acre in size near Bridle Trails State Park to over 100 units per acre in some Downtown condominiums and apartments, where the number of units is limited only by the building envelope allowed on the site. The City’s most dense neighborhoods are Totem Lake and Moss Bay, which includes Downtown, where a high proportion of the housing is multifamily units.
Through A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH), the City has and can continue to address a variety of housing needs. ARCH is an inter-local program formed by the cities of the Eastside, from Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville south to Newcastle. ARCH staff advises the City on addressing existing and projected housing needs, and administers Kirkland’s affordable housing programs. The ARCH trust fund helps create affordable housing for low- and very low-income households and people who have special needs or are homeless. Also through ARCH, the City participates in region-wide planning efforts, including developing regional strategies to address homelessness.
Future Needs
For a thorough study of Kirkland’s existing and projected housing needs, including comparisons across the Eastside and King County, please refer to the East King County Housing Analysis. The following contains a few highlights and conclusions based on that report.
Critical housing needs facing Kirkland from 2015 to 2035 include the preservation of neighborhood quality, the addition of housing that meets the needs of a growing employment base (including the creation and retention of housing that is affordable), and the provision of housing for residents with special needs.
Kirkland’s future will also include the need to accommodate additional growth. The challenge will be to find ways to develop additional housing that is compatible with existing neighborhoods and the environment. While much of the new housing will be located in existing areas of higher densities, other housing will occur in predominantly low-density residential neighborhoods as infill. The Housing Element contains goals and policies designed to promote and protect neighborhood quality as growth occurs.
The City’s role in ensuring neighborhood quality will be to provide a compatible mix of land uses in and around residential areas, and to ensure that the physical elements inherent in a well-designed neighborhood are maintained and established. The Land Use and Housing Elements work together to achieve these goals.
In addition to preserving the character of neighborhoods while providing for growth, Kirkland faces the weighty challenge of supplying housing affordable to all economic segments of the population. The issue of affordable housing reaches most people in a community, since the quality of life in a City is tied, to a large extent, to the ability of its residents and local employees to find the kind of housing they desire at a price they can afford.1
In 2011, about 30 percent of the City’s residents earned less than 80 percent of area (i.e., King County) median income ($56,500 for a family of four) and faced considerable difficulty in affording housing. According to the 2013 East King County Housing Needs Analysis, prepared by A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH), Kirkland’s current housing market is most lacking in providing rental housing units priced appropriately for low- and very low-income households (those earning zero to 50 percent of median income) and ownership housing priced appropriately for middle-income households (earning 80 to 120 percent of median income). Therefore, the Housing Element includes policies designed to:
♦ Increase the supply of rental units affordable to low- and very low-income households; and
♦ Increase first-time homeowner opportunities for moderate-income households.
In 2000, the City Council appointed a Housing Task Force to examine and make strategy recommendations in five issue areas: market provision of affordable housing, innovative housing styles to increase housing supply and affordability, transit-oriented development, preservation of existing affordable housing, and subsidization of affordable housing. The Task Force’s recommendations on these issues were incorporated into the Housing Element soon thereafter, and led to accomplishments in every area.
Housing is affordable if a household spends no more than 30 percent of monthly income for total housing cost (including costs such as taxes, insurance, and utilities).