A citizens group opposed to the “preferred” Parkplace redevelopment option has asked the city to redo sections of a state-mandated study that must be completed before the project can gain approval.
In a letter sent to the Kirkland Planning Commission on May 16, Kirkland Citizens for Responsible Development (Kirkland CRD) cited serious flaws in the traffic and parking studies, along with a failure to account for all funding sources, in its request for a revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
Touchstone Corporation, the development firm behind Parkplace redesign, has submitted two plans to the city: an “A” or “preferred” option that would include eight-story buildings and as many 82 retails stores; and a “B” or “office park” alternative that meets current zoning code. The preferred plan makes private amendment requests for height and setbacks, which require the DEIS.
Kirkland CRD’s request is based primarily on the findings of Robert Bernstein, an independent transportation consultant hired by the group to review the DEIS. In a letter to Kirkland CRD’s attorney, Bernstein said the study viewed too narrowly the impacts of the 1.8-million-square-foot project proposal and underestimated traffic and parking impacts by using “inaccurate” or “inappropriate” analyses.
“In order to provide the information needed to adequately analyze the true impacts of the (proposal), the traffic analysis must account for the reallocation of jobs and housing inherent in the proposal, and it must consider impacts on the entire transportation system — especially I-405 and SR 520 — and cannot be limited to City of Kirkland intersections,” Bernstein said in his letter.
The group also asked that the DEIS identify where money to pay for an estimated $13 million in traffic mitigation and 13.5 new police and firefighter positions would come from.
The costs could come at a bad time for the city, with recent budget studies at City Hall projecting a $5.9 million shortfall over the next two years based on current income and spending levels.
Touchstone Corporation has said the “preferred” plan would provide a major boost to city income, pointing to an in-house study showing redevelopment would generate nearly $1 million more in annual sales-tax revenue over the current Parkplace and increase sales revenue at downtown businesses by 10 to 20 percent.
But while Kirkland CRD has asked that the traffic and parking studies in the DEIS be redone, planning director Eric Shields said the city is unlikely to do so.
Thang Nguyen, the transportation planner with the city who worked on the traffic-study portion of the DEIS, disagreed with Bernstein’s analysis.
Nguyen said traffic studies “aren’t pure science,” and put CRD’s disagreements down to a different interpretation of the data.
“They don’t understand how the analysis was done,” Nguyen said. “No one (from CRD) contacted me for further details on how the study was conducted.”
Shields said city staff will examine the group’s concerns and determine whether to modify the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) based on the findings.
Kirkland CRD is led by attorney Ken Davidson, whose law offices abut the redevelopment property. He admitted part of his opposition to the project is personal — clients and employees battle for parking spots and it takes him as long as 20 minutes to get out of town after work, a situation he fears the project will exacerbate. But he said the proposal is also a case of “too much at once.” The preferred plan expects to bring about 6,000 jobs — and a spike in commuter traffic — to downtown Kirkland.
Of the “office park” alternative — which would include somewhere between 895,000 and 935,000 square feet of offices and significantly less space for retailers and restaurants — Davidson said he viewed it “as a threat or blackmail.”
But A-P Hurd, Vice President of Touchstone, said the alternative plan reflects genuine uncertainty that the preferred option will be approved.
“It’s a sound business decision to have another horse in the game,” she said.
The alternative plan awaits further review by the Design Review Board, which is without a quorum after three members resigned earlier this month.
Kirkland CRD is represented by Aramburu & Eustis, LLP, the same law partnership currently working with Citizens for a Vibrant Kirkland (CiViK) on an appeal of the Bank of America/Merrill Gardens downtown redevelopment project.
Kirkland CRD also took issue with the $250,000 the city spent putting together the 350-page DEIS.
The Kirkland Planning Commission next meets to discuss the issue May 29. Its first meeting with a view to make a recommendation to the City Council on Touchstone’s private amendment requests is June 12, Shields said.
