Community Meetings
Upcoming Meetings:
Community Meeting on Housing and Zoning
Monday, April 21st
7:00 to 8:30PM
The EERC at St. Edward State Park
(The Environmental Education Resource Center)
This meeting will be focused on housing and zoning issues as discussed at the Annual Meeting. It will be an opportunity not only to ask questions but also to debate the pros and cons of proposed zoning changes. We will also discuss how you can advocate most effectively with City policy makers in the immediate future, and over the years to come.
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To learn more about the issues being discussed, see the slideshows and YouTube video included in links below under the previous meeting.
See you then!
Previous Meetings:
FHNA Annual Meeting
Wednesday, March 26th
7:00 to 9:30PM
St. John Vianney Church
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FHNA would like to thank City of Kirkland Parks Operations Manager Jason Filan for speaking at the meeting, and City of Kirkland Senior Planners LeAndra Baker-Lewis and Allison Zike for presenting and answering questions for an extended time. Thank you to Dr. Veronica McGowan, Director of the UW Collaborative for Socio-Ecological Engagement for presenting, and sharing research findings. Thanks also to City Council member Jon Pascal and John Tymczyscyn for attending! And thank you to the many neighbors who attended and got involved!
If you missed the meeting, you can view the video here. (Discussion of middle housing and development issues begins at minute 51).
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To view the YouTube video slideshow on what the City is currently required to do in terms of housing, go here.
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To view slides on the Green Loop Initiative, go here.
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You can also view the slideshow from the City planners here.
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Here's a brief summary of the meeting:
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Finn Hill Green Loop Master Plan – City Parks staff member Jason Filan outlined the schedule for creating a master plan for the Green Loop.​
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Rehabilitating Denny Creek – Prof. Veronica McGowan outlined the activities of the Collaborative for Socio-Ecological Engagement (Co-SEE) at the St. Edward Park EERC; she also summarized the research of environmental science student Ash Putzke about the health of Denny Creek and its potential for habitat restoration.
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FHNA board elections – Five board members were re-elected or newly elected to the board: Jaime Lusardo, Jeanette Leach, John Ghilarducci, Russ Goldberg (new director), and Rebeccca Rodgers (new director and incoming treasurer).
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Middle housing – Planning staff outlined the City’s proposals to comply by June 30 with state law that requires local zoning codes to allow 4-6 dwelling units per lot in nearly all residential areas.​
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Goodwill and Michaels development projects – Kirkland Planning staff discussed proposals to upzone the Goodwill and Michaels sites at the base of Finn Hill to accommodate large multi-unit housing developments (as much as 600 and 300 units respectively). They answered many questions from attendees.
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What's next?
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Attend the public hearing for the City planning commission on April 24th. For information, go here.
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Write to the city planners with respectful comments and questions: Allison Zike, Senior Planner, azike@kirklandwa.gov
LeAndra Baker-Lewis, Senior Planner, llewis@kirklandwa.gov
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Thank King County Council member Rod Dembowski for proposing 10 million in funding for the Green Loop Initiative
in the county park levy: rod.dembowski@kingcounty.gov
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9/18/2024, 7pm at St John Vianney Church - Community Room
12600 84th Ave NE
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​FHNA hosted a community meeting for the purpose of neighbors getting questions answered about the Comprehensive Plan Update for the City of Kirkland. The proposal to study high-density development for a half mile along transit corridors had become a highly contentious issue among Kirkland residents. FHNA would like to thank the Director of Planning and Building, Adam Weinstein, for so thoughtfully answering everyone's questions at the meeting. His slideshow presentation was also very appreciated.
Thank you to all who attended! Thank you to City Councilmembers Amy Falcone and Jon Pascal for attending.
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For those of you who were unable to attend, you can watch the video here.
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To view the slideshow, click here.
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​Timeline for the remaining public meetings:
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- September 26th, 2024: Planning Commission Public Hearing
Option to attend the City Hall Open House first from 4:00 to 5:30.
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- October 15th, 2024: Joint City Council/Planning Commission Study Session
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- December 10th, 2024: Council Adoption of the Comprehensive Plan Update
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If you have comments or questions we encourage you to send them to the appropriate city staff:
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PlanningCommissioners@kirklandwa.gov
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Director of Planning and Building - Adam Weinstein aweinstein@kirklandwa.gov
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Deputy Planning Director - Allison Zike azike@kirklandwa.gov
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Or to your elected officials: CityCouncil@kirklandwa.gov​​​​
2/28/2024, 7pm at St John Vianney Church - Community Room
12600 84th Ave NE
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FHNA Members’ Meeting
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The Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance (FHNA) invites all Finn Hill residents to FHNA’s annual members meeting at St. John Vianney Church.
We’ll vote to elect directors to 2-year terms, meet Kirkland Councilmembers John Tymczysyn and Neal Black, and hear about plans for trails in the Juanita Woodlands and a new project to promote native plants in Finn Hill yards (grant funds are available for native plant landscaping).
Time permitting, we’ll wrap up a preview of FHNA’s projects for 2024.
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AGENDA
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7:00 Welcome: Scott Morris
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7:10 Board Elections Candidate Introductions
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7:25 Councilmembers John Tymczyszyn and Neal Black
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7:35 Election Results: Jaime Lusardo (FHNA board)
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7:40 Juanita Woodlands Trails: Kelli Heintz (King County Parks)
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8:00 Native Planting Yard by Yard: Lynne Robins (Pollinator Pathways)
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8:20 FHNA projects for 2024: Scott Morris
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8:30 Adjourn
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Post-meeting Details:
Thank you to all who attended! We re-elected directors Bill Blanchard, Fred Schaffalitzky, James Kumin, Scott Morris, and Susan Carlson. We also welcomed Kali Oswald to the board. You can read their bios below.
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Post-meeting Documents:
1) 2024 Overview Presentation
2) Juanita Woodlands Concept Update
3) WaterWorks Finn Hill Gardens Presentation
Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance Board of Directors Candidate Biographies
February 2024
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Bill Blanchard: Bill moved to Finn Hill from Seattle in 1989 and joined the FHNA Board in the 2013. He and his wife Joanie raised their three children on the hill, where they attended the local schools. He spent 25 years in the advertising industry, creating marketing messages for consumer brands and corporations. In 2007 he joined Windermere in Kirkland as a real estate agent. In 2023 he joined the Engels Volker Real Estate group. Bill served on the Kirkland Strategic Housing Committee; he is Co-Chair of the Kirkland Association of Neighborhoods (KAN), which meets monthly with city staff and Council leadership to help shape the future of Kirkland.
For 10 years, Bill has represented the neighborhood on the Big Finn Hill Parks Committee. As a FHNA board member, Bill is active on the Green Loop project; he helped secure millions of dollars for land acquisition resulting in over 10 acres of land being set aside for open space and future park land. Bill continues to find and mentor future leaders for Kirkland and Finn Hill as well as continuing to locate and acquire land for future generations.
Fred Schaffalitzky: Fred moved to Washington from Switzerland in 2010 and to Holmes Point on Finn Hill in 2013,
where he now lives on a steep slope with his four cats. After leaving academia in 2005, Fred worked as an
engineer at four large, west coast information-technology companies on projects related to imaging and robotics.
His only consistent leisure interests are yard work and hiking, and his focus on the FHNA board is conserving and
restoring the urban forests in Finn Hill. Fred has been actively engaged in FHNA’s park stewardship projects and in
identifying and researching potential parcels and easements for the Finn Hill Green Loop.
James Kumin: James has lived on Finn Hill since fall of 2012 when he arrived to serve as pastor of Inglewood
Presbyterian. He grew up in Portland, but then lived in LA County, central New Jersey, and SE Michigan before
making it back to the PNW.
After college he first worked as a city planner while also launching a non-profit learning center in his Latino immigrant neighborhood; he then became a pastor in a desire to integrate his love for neighborhoods and skills in networking resources across lines that typically divide us from each other.
He enjoys walks with his wife, playing with his two kids (ages 14 and 11), laughing at his dog, and ingesting a wide variety of
good food. He sometimes thinks about kayaking again. His urban planning background and deep connections with
Finn Hill community are assets on both policy matters and outreach efforts.
Kali Oswald: Kali is a mid-west transplant who has lived on Finn Hill since 2010, and prior to that lived in both
downtown Kirkland and downtown Bellevue. She came to the hill to enjoy the natural environment and gain
garden space as she is an avid gardener and canner. She lives with her husband, two elementary aged kids, a dog,
2 cats, and chickens.
Kali has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Policy and Management and a masters certification in Urban Forestry. She previously worked for the City of Bellevue Parks Department in both the Forest Management division and Street Trees and Arterials Landscapes division. She spends her free time with her kids in the backyard gardening, and usually ends up with a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes each year.
She enjoys volunteering for elementary and Green Kirkland Partnership restoring natural areas on Finn Hill. She feels
a strong sense of duty towards protecting green space and creating an ecologically rich environment in which her
friends and family live and is devoted to serving her community with her expertise and experience.
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Scott Morris: Scott moved to the Homes Point area of Finn Hill in 1997 and became involved in the community’s
campaign to save the Juanita Woodlands from development in 2000. Shortly thereafter, he joined the board of
FHNA’s predecessor organization, the Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance, and has served as the President of both
DCNA and FHNA for the last 12 years. Scott is the general counsel for a Bellevue-based firm that owns and
operates cellular telephone companies located outside the United States.
Susan Carlson: Susan and her husband Eric moved to the Seattle area in 2013 after thirty years in Washington, DC,
where Susan worked for several national environmental nonprofits and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. She and
her husband chose to put down roots in Finn Hill because of its beauty, intact natural areas, and trails. Since
moving to the Northwest, Susan has been active in several conservation and environmental education initiatives
which include playing a central role in the creation of the new Environmental Education and Research Center
(EERC) at St. Edward State Park, a partnership between Washington State Parks and the University of Washington
Bothell; serving on the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust’s National Heritage Area’s Planning Committee; and
leveraging state’s first major appropriation for Climate Science Education. She also serves on the boards of the
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and is looking forward to supporting FHNA in realizing the vision of the Green
Loop Campaign.