An area of open space along the Kirkland-Bothell border has officially been named Bud Homan Park.
The park’s namesake, Marion W. “Bud” Homan, was known around his Kingsgate neighborhood for taking care of the park’s informal trails and lawn before the city took over maintenance of the land with annexation.
“He’s a guy that deserves to have his memory preserved in some way,” Rob Wallner, who grew up next door to Homan and proposed the idea of naming the park to the city, said. “He took care of that park.”
The park has an open lawn along 119th Avenue NE near the intersection with NE 153rd Place, which leads into undeveloped wooded space with informal trails.
City of Kirkland Parks and Community Service Department Deputy Director Michael Cogle said that Homan, who died last year, continued to help with the park’s maintenance even after the city took over.
“He dedicated several decades of loving care and attention to the space,” Cogle said.
Before the park could officially be named after Homan, the City of Kirkland held a comment period late last year to gather feedback from area residents.
“It was overwhelmingly positive,” Cogle said.
The Kirkland City Council unanimously approved the naming of the open space at its Feb. 7 meeting. Cogle said there will be an unveiling ceremony for the park’s new sign sometime this spring.
“It usually takes us six to eight weeks to have the sign produced and installed,” he said.
Plats appeal
During the same meeting, the council also held a public hearing on a group of North Rose Hill residents’ appeal of a planning director’s decision to approve the Scramlin Gardens North and Scramlin Gardens South short plats, which would extend NE 101st Place to 132nd Avenue NE.
Sharon Plotkin and other residents of the neighborhood who filed the appeal spoke at the hearing, raising concerns about pedestrian safety with the new connection to traffic and disruption of the neighborhood’s tranquility with the potential for increased traffic.
“A good street system promotes neighborhood integrity,” Plotkin said at the hearing, suggesting that the city put in a new pedestrian and bike path along the area where NE 101st Place would extend instead.
In a memo prepared for the council for the hearing, Planning Director Eric Shields and Planner Allison Zike countered the appeal by saying that the new connection would not directly connect two arterials and sidewalks are in place for pedestrian safety. During the hearing, staff also pointed out that the new connection would provide greater access to the neighborhood in the event of an emergency such as a fire.
The council unanimously voted (with Councilmember Dave Asher abstaining) to affirm the planning director’s decision to approve the plats, denying the residents’ appeal. Councilmember Toby Nixon said the council previously voted on similar issues in the same way, and it would only be fair to be consistent.
“The council has consistently approved connecting the street through,” he said.
However, the council did modify the decision to ensure that the developer includes traffic calming measures on NE 101st Place.
Salt House
The council also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Holy Spirit Lutheran Church and Salt House to build a permanent shelter for homeless women and children. The proposed site is located on a portion of the property occupied by Salt House and owned by Holy Spirit at 11920 NE 80th Street. The city has committed $850,000 to the project, and $350,000 was allocated to the project by the State Legislature last year.
As part of the consent agenda, the council approved funding for the 2016 neighborhood safety program projects. The projects include rapid flashing pedestrian beacons on Market Street and 108th Avenue NE, a gravel walkway along Eighth Street S and sight distance improvement at 15th Avenue.
The agenda packet for the Feb. 7 council meeting and video of the meeting are available to watch on the city’s website, kirklandwa.gov.
