Council candidates tackle issues at final forum

Kirkland City Council hopefuls took on how to come out of the recession, annexation, Totem Lake redevelopment and affordable housing during a candidates’ forum that drew a packed house at the Holy Spirit Lutheran Church Oct. 12.

All eight candidates faced off at the event, which was moderated by Denise Smith, past president of the Seattle League of Women Voters.

Ballots for the Nov. 3 election, which have already gone out to voters, include four Kirkland seats up for bid: Position No. 1 incumbent Joan McBride and challenger Martin Morgan; No. 3 challengers Penny Sweet and Brad Larssen; No. 5 challengers Karen Tennyson and Amy Walen; and No. 7 incumbent Tom Hodgson and challenger Doreen Marchione.

During the forum, candidates agreed that to get out of the economic recession, the city needs to bring in more businesses.

Larssen pointed to Kirkland’s neighbor, Bellevue, which he described as an “800 pound guerrilla.”

“We’re not going to take their business and bring it down a few blocks,” Larssen said, adding the city would have to build up its own businesses to attract people to Kirkland. “People really want to spend their sales tax dollars for essentials in town and not have to drive to Bothell, Woodinville or Bellevue for essentials – that’s critical.”

Hodgson said in the next five years, the city should continue to encourage Totem Lake redevelopment. The area accounts for 38 percent of the city’s retail sales tax revenue.

Marchione agreed that Totem Lake is a prime area for redevelopment, but also pointed to other locations with redevelopment potential, including the Metropolitan Market at Houghton and the business corridor in Juanita Village.

Tennyson added the city should also go after more companies like Google to build a more sustainable budget and keep the city’s service level high.

On the issue of annexation, Hodgson and his challenger Marchione sparked the debate when they clashed over zoning codes.

“One issue in particular still bothers me and that’s the gambling that’s still allowed in the annexation area,” Hodgson said of the Caribbean Casino in Kingsgate that the council recently decided to grandfather into the city if annexation passes. He said gambling is a “values” question, not one of revenue generation.

Marchione disagreed.

Though the business is called a “casino,” it is more of a card room, she said.

“It does produce revenue, it’s been there for years, there’s a number of our citizens and people in the PAA who use that for entertainment and there hasn’t been problems with it being there,” Marchione said. “So I think we should grandfather it in and ban all further card rooms in the city.”

Sweet added that the city should revisit the zoning decisions it recently made as citizens in the Potential Annexation Areas of Kingsgate, Finn Hill and North Juanita neighborhoods were left out of those discussions. Some of those decisions included setting single-family home heights to 30 feet and multi-family homes to 35 feet.

Most of the candidates agreed that the city is doing an efficient job working with the police and fire departments to ensure a high level of public safety is maintained if annexation passes.

On affordable housing, Larssen said it is difficult to get truly affordable housing in Kirkland, partly because “affordable housing” in legal terms is defined as 80 percent of the median income. The city should define affordable housing in terms of low cost, he said.

Sweet said the Puget Sound basin is projected to see an increase of 1.7 million people coming into the area over the next 25 years. The city should look at zoning and opportunities for transit-oriented development, she said.

A chair of Kirkland’s Housing Committee, Hodgson said the city should have a place for everyone who works in Kirkland to live. The city is also currently looking at innovative housing, including a new 160-unit affordable housing project in the Totem Lake neighborhood.

Marchione cited the Issaquah Highlands that has a range of housing, including income-qualified housing.

Candidates also sparred over what steps the council should make to promote the development of Totem Lake, particularly the mall that has long remained undeveloped.

“The first thing that comes to mind is ‘prayer,’” said Sweet. “We have waited for so long with Totem Lake.”

She said the zoning is in place, but the new council should do more outreach with the developer.

Walen agreed, adding that the council should take more of a leadership role in working with the property developer. She said sometimes the best opportunities to make something happen are during the recession.

“I think the council can make something happen,” Walen said.

However, Tennyson and Hodgson said that a good plan is already in place. The city has partnered with the current property owners of the Totem Lake Mall, Coventry/DDR, and invested $15 million to continue the project.

“It’s a brillian plan,” Hodgson said. “We currently have a Totem Lake Neighborhood Plan that is vital, we have a transit center, an expanded medical center, we have a freeway overpass. There’s all good things happening in Totem Lake. The last missing link is to redevelop the mall and that will happen, we just need to be patient.”

Lightning round

If annexation passes, do you believe the city should take control of parks within the PAA that may be closed by King County?

Yes: All candidates

Recently the council voted to allow the Caribbean Casino within the PAA to continue its operation if annexation passes. Do you agree with this decision?

No: Tennyson, Hodgson

Yes: Morgan, McBride, Sweet, Larssen, Walen, Marchione

Would you ever support the development of big box stores in the Totem Lake area?

No: Morgan, Larrsen,

Yes: McBride, Sweet, Walen, Hodgson, Marchione, Tennyson

Would you ever support the development of big box stores in the downtown commercial development area?

No: All candidates

Do you support Proposition 1 to bring city utility rates from 6 to 7.5 percent?

No: Morgan, Larssen, Tennyson

Yes: McBride, Sweet, Walen, Marchione, Hodgson

Would you support banning plastic grocery bags in the city?

Yes: All candidates