We have observed that the McLeod Lake Street proposal seems to skirt the rules by sometimes considering the project to be a single building and, when it benefits the addition of office space, it conveniently morphs into three “completely separate” buildings.

This is, at the very least, disingenuous. So, how is this demonstrated in the construction proposals?

1. The building is one – There is no parking on two of the three building parcels but, because parking is required for any construction project, it must be a single building.

2. The building is three – If the buildings were considered en masse, the Eastern portion of the structure would need to be cut back in height. So, this project is three buildings.

3. The building is one – A concession on the setback to the Market Place Building has been allowed by the Kirkland City Design Review Board due to a give-back of Lake Street frontage open space in another construction phase.  It must be a single building.

4. The building is three – The Market Place building will be constructed first and there is no current commitment to build the other two buildings.  There we are, back to three buildings.

5. The building is one – Oh, wait a minute, that first phase building does not need to address design constraints on the north and east sides; those portions will be covered up by the other buildings anyway. Even if this is eventually mitigated, the fact that they proposed this approach shows the builder’s hand. It is a single structure.

6. The building is three – If forced to consider this a single building, there will need to be a considerable redesign which will substantially affect the massing. The developer has not shown any interest in compromise on size, so three it is.

7. The building is one – What if the buildings are sold separately and the parking garage denies access to vehicles destined for the other two buildings. Eventually, these buildings will be sold. If they cannot be sold separately, the building is one.

It is obvious what is going on here. How can we allow the bending (even breaking) of the zoning code in this manner?

Brian Rohrback, president of Kirkland Neighbors United