After Kirkland residents appealed the Design Review Board’s decision to approve Stuart McLeod’s Lake Street Place development, the city’s Hearing Examiner affirmed the boards’s decision to allow the developer to move forward with the five-story office, retail and parking structure.

The city of Kirkland Hearing Examiner made the decision April 10, knocking down at least nine concerns made in the appeal.

After the Design Review Board approved the project last January, two Merrill Garden residents and four Portsmith Condominium owners appealed the decision in February, stating the structure is out of scale with the neighborhood and would increase traffic hazards.

But the residents, who have formed Kirkland Neighbors United, are not giving up.

“We’re disappointed, not necessarily surprised, but we’ll move on and keep trying to make sure downtown Kirkland looks and remains the same character as intended,” said Portsmith resident Sandi Hart.

Appellants Ellen Glauert, Barbara Flagg of Merrill Gardens, Lisa and Brian Rohrback, and Hart and Stan Christie of Portsmith Condominiums are six of the approximate 80 members of Kirkland Neighbors United.

Rick Chesmore with Chesmore/Buck Architecture, architect of the development, said he is also unsurprised by the Hearing Examiner’s decision, and has already begun to move forward with a nearly complete traffic study for State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review.

“The items did not relate well to the Design Review Board’s decision authority,” Chesmore said. “They don’t rule on traffic or safety concerns.”

As far as size and proximity of the project, Chesmore said the structure is within city zoning and design guidelines.

Rohrback, who is president of Kirkland Neighbors United, said the group is not against development, but is against the “unprecedented” proposed office building on Lake Street.

“Stuart should be able to develop on his property but it should fit within the constraints of the neighborhood,” he said.

Rohrback and the other Portsmith residents have been working with attorney J. Richard Aramburu, while Merrill Gardens residents are represented by another attorney, Brent Carson.

Rohrback said they will most likely wait until the SEPA review process is complete and city staff have delivered a report before they submit their ideas in regard to traffic and safety.

“Can we consider having an entrance on Lake Street? At least it’d be away from the senior citizens,” Rohrback said, adding that the project would triple traffic near Merrill Gardens. “The only other mitigation is to scale back the building so it doesn’t have as much of a traffic impact.”

But Chesmore said the traffic impact will be minimal and their traffic concurrency review was approved, which ensures that water, sewer and the adopted level of service for traffic are “concurrent” with what is needed for the new development.

Chesmore added this version of McLeod’s Lake Street Place structure is vastly different from his 2008 proposal, which was also approved by the Design Review Board, appealed by Portsmith residents and affirmed by the Hearing Examiner five years ago.

“[The 2008 proposal] was more than twice the size of this project,” Chesmore said, contrasting the initial 522 stall parking garage versus the current 252 stall parking garage. “As a result, we’re going to have less traffic and a lot less of a safety concern.”

But at least eight concerned Kirklanders have written to the Reporter throughout the past few months, expressing fear or contempt about the development.

“The emissions and increased traffic would be hazardous to our health and safety, not to mention fire trucks and ambulances that service the elderly being able to park and turn around and leave,” said 87-year-old Flagg. “Shame on you Stuart McLeod. Don’t let this happen and spoil downtown Kirkland and endanger Kirkland residents.”

Nevertheless, president of the Portsmith Homeowners Association Barbara Alban said the association has worked with McLeod to find ways to make it better for both perspectives.

She said residents’ concerns such as rooftop parking, setbacks, and landscaping have been addressed.

“The Portsmith building is not a small structure itself and we recognize that there will be other large structures if the zoning permits,” Alban said. “We want to protect our values and we also want to be good neighbors to all of the property surrounding us.”

McLeod and Chesmore are in the process of going through design review for a phased approach, which will analyze building one 13,958-square-feet section above the Kirkland Waterfront Market. They plan to build the other larger structure at a later date.

“As of right now, the best case scenario is if it could all be built at one time,” said Chesmore, but added that financing and pre-leasing issues have resulted in some limitations.

According to Chesmore, McLeod plans to submit the SEPA application this week and eventually hopes to apply for the building permit sometime this year.

The intent is to start the phase one project closer to the winter months, Chesmore said, so the patio areas can stay open in the summer.

Jon Regala, the city’s senior planner, said once the SEPA application is submitted, the city will send out notices for early environmental feedback, and will allow questions or comments from nearby residents. After a decision is made, the city will send another notice and residents will have two weeks to appeal the environmental review, said Regala.

The next Design Review Board meeting for the Lake Street Place’s phase one project is at 7 p.m. on May 6. in the Kirkland City Hall council chambers.

More information on Kirkland Neighbors United can be found at www.kirklandneighborsunited.com.