Dear Editor,

The May 14 edition identified CiViK as the appellant of the McLeod proposal, however that is incorrect – CiViK is not a party to that appeal. Thank you to the Kirkland Reporter for your prompt and courteous action upon learning of this error, including correcting the online edition and printing a retraction in this issue.

Moving forward, Kirkland has an opportunity that it needs to seize. All of the stakeholders – citizens, merchants, property owners, developers and the city – are engaged and paying attention. We must now work together to determine a community vision for downtown that can be widely embraced and that respects the input of each stakeholder group.

The City of Kirkland is open for business; the vacancies on the Design Review Board have created a temporary situation that the city will resolve. I trust that the city will address this promptly and in a way that serves the needs of the city, the public and the various stakeholders.

The recent appeal of the Bank of America proposal was enabled by a community of volunteers and donors, young and old, from nearly all of Kirkland’s neighborhoods. They contributed funds and countless hours of volunteer work. They share a collective passion for downtown and a desire to have a vibrant place to shop, dine, live, stroll and enjoy the arts, while honoring our historic character, preserving human scale and respecting the gifts of our natural topography – all while complying with the Comprehensive Plan.

CiViK is Citizens For a Vibrant Kirkland, and so it is frustrating to be characterized as being “against” proposals. Our efforts as individuals and collectively in support of other community activities are, sadly, overshadowed by events that receive more attention. However, if we learn from these recent events and channel our energy toward a collective community vision, it will be an honor to be counted in support of the process and the outcomes.

~Bea Nahon, CiViK member, Kirkland