Marijuana buffer reduction and bike lane parking enforcement were front and center at Tuesday night’s Kirkland City Council meeting.

Members of the Kirkland City Council discussed possible solutions before they voted on and passed the two proposed ordinances.

Councilmembers voted in favor of reducing the buffer preventing marijuana retail stores from locating within 1,000 feet of child care centers down to 100 feet. Councilmember Toby Nixon brought forth an amendment to further reduce the marijuana buffer for around daycares from the Planning Commission and Houghton Community Council approved 600-foot buffer to 100 feet.

The Council considered voting on both of the ordinances back in August but tabled the vote until all councilmembers could be present.

“Marijuana is safer than alcohol and it should not be treated differently from alcohol from my perspective and we should be do everything we can to eliminate the black market in marijuana,” Nixon said. “That includes making it more convenient for those who want to buy legal marijuana at retail stores… I think it is pretty clear from the map that there would be no significant negative impact to residential areas or schools by reducing the buffer to 100 feet.”

That amendment was approved by a 4-3 margin, with Dave Asher, Penny Sweet and Mayor Amy Walen against it.

Asher, Sweet and Walen made it clear that their objection was not to reducing the buffer to 600 feet but the further reduction to 100 feet. Sweet said that she would prefer the Council to take “baby steps” on the issue and was concerned that the Planning Commission and Houghton Council were not yet in agreement with the further reduction of the buffer.

The city currently can only host four marijuana retail businesses, three of which are operating and a fourth has a permit but not a location.

“Many precincts were 60 percent or more” Councilmember Jay Arnold said about Kirkland voters in the original Washington state vote to legalize retail marijuana. “Our action today does not increase the number of stores but it just allows them to be successful.”

Most council members agree that ending the black market is a priority for the city and creating a more robust legal market is the way to do that.

Ultimately, the new ordinance passed with the members voting the same as on the amendment – 4-3.

City staff has been working on ways to make the bike lanes throughout the city safer, and presented a proposal which would levy a $45 fine against drivers who park in the marked lanes. The Council passed the ordinance on Tuesday.

City staff contends that parking in bike lanes forces bikers to swerve into vehicle lanes to get around the parked cars causing dangerous situations.

An educational phase-in period was also part of the proposal, where police can issue warnings and the city would let drivers know about the new regulations. Once implemented, police would also have discretion on whether or not to ticket minor offenses.

Additional lane markings may also be painted throughout the city depending on the results of a public works survey. The City does not sign all bike lanes because the additional signage significantly increases visual clutter and maintenance costs, while not significantly increasing awareness or effecting behavior. In unique cases, the city does include signage when needed.