Development debate at heart of Kirkland council races

Kirkland has been divided by battles over the size and character of downtown development in recent years. The city is grappling with a budget deficit, and the council is so beset by infighting that more than one candidate called it "dysfunctional."

With four council seats up for grabs, several candidates describe the 2009 election as a crossroads for the city.

While none of the candidates are running as a slate, several themes have emerged. Brad Larssen, Karen Tennyson and Tom Hodgson have emphasized the importance of keeping the city's quaint, small-town downtown character. They and candidate Martin Morgan talk of giving neighborhoods an early heads-up on development proposals.

Joan McBride, Penny Sweet, Amy Walen and Doreen Marchione describe downtown as a faded retail core that needs to be revitalized.

McBride is running for a fourth term for Position 1 and said this term will be her last. She said clashes between business and neighborhoods have been blown out of proportion, and that the city needs both its mom-and-pop stores and its bigger employers in order to thrive.

She wants the city to take another look at zoning around Totem Lake Mall, currently for sale, and that council members should "be present with potential buyers to let them know Kirkland is open for business."

She wants to be part of hiring a new city manager, after Dave Ramsay retires in March.

McBride is being challenged by Martin Morgan, who wants the city to do a better job of engaging the neighbors when a development is proposed. He is campaigning for transparency in government.

Morgan thinks there's room for belt-tightening and doesn't want to see taxes go up. He wants the city to increase its tax base and find ways to spur development of Totem Lake Mall.

The fact that the mall has languished for a decade, and is now up for sale, is a sign the city needs to help make development happen, he said.

Morgan has been arrested in the past. In May 2008, he was arrested for fourth-degree assault, resisting arrest and violating a restraining order. Martin said he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after he squirted a neighbor with a garden hose during an early-morning confrontation. Morgan said the situation was a misunderstanding.

A judge required him to take anger-management classes and do community service.

Brad Larssen, running for Position 3, said the city should do all it can to preserve downtown's small-town feel, and notes it's the only city downtown on Lake Washington.

Larssen said the city must keep a tighter rein on development, and be more welcoming of citizen input during the development approval process. He's not in favor of developer incentives.

Larssen said he has personal and political relationships with many state legislators because of his involvement with local unions.

"I'm good at focusing people on getting down to the business at hand," he said.

Penny Sweet, also running for Position 3, said she'd bridge the gap between neighborhoods concerned about growth and businesses who think the city is not welcoming to development. Sweet owns a small business in downtown Kirkland and has been involved in neighborhood planning.

She said the city needs to do more for its retail base. "I love the charm of Kirkland, but Kirkland is a dying retail environment and it doesn't need to be," she said.

Kirkland's biggest problem, Sweet said, is a dysfunctional City Council, and she believes if the atmosphere doesn't change, the city will have a tough time attracting a good city manager.

She said she has what it takes to bring peace to the council because of "significant amounts of leadership training" while working as a health-care administrator for Group Health Cooperative.

Amy Walen, running for Position 5, believes the city needs to shore up its sales tax base by encouraging growth and development of more types of retail stores.

She thinks the city needs to do a better job of providing infrastructure and to find creative ways to offer incentives to developers.

"We can make it a friendly place for a property owner to redevelop a project," she said.

Walen thinks downtown seems faded, when it should be a magnet for visitors. "We need to bring in upscale, beautiful restaurants and art," she said.

Walen said her business experience from the auto dealership she and her husband own can be brought to bear on cutting the city's expenses.

She also believes she would be a consensus builder on the council.

Karen Tennyson, a candidate for Position 5 and a member of the city's planning commission, believes development needs to be "in character with Kirkland."

She wants the city's comprehensive-plan language to be more precise, and believes citizens need a chance to weigh in on potential developments earlier in the approval process.

Tennyson thinks growth should be funneled into the Totem Lake area, but believes the recession, not city policies, has stalled growth there.

She said the budget shortfall demonstrates the shortcomings of relying heavily on sales-tax revenue, and believes the city needs to do a better job of long-range revenue forecasting.

Tom Hodgson, running for a second term for Position 7, thinks the city is already doing a good job of taking its share of growth for the region. "We do not need to be making deals with developers," he said.

Hodgson believes there's been miscommunication between the city staff and developers, which has led some developers to propose projects that were later turned down. He said the city needs to stick with its planning code, and not let development exceed the plan.

Hodgson believes council members too often make their minds up well before council meetings, and don't listen to dissenting public views. He believes he's made progress at making Kirkland's government more open, but "I think we can do better."

Hodgson is being challenged by Doreen Marchione, a former Redmond City Council member and mayor who moved to Kirkland 18 years ago. Marchione said her years in city government and as CEO of Hopelink, the Eastside nonprofit, will make her a peacemaker on the council.

Marchione believes the zoning is already in place in the Totem Lake and other business areas to accommodate redevelopment, but that some adjustments are needed to the comprehensive plan to spur changes downtown.

"I think we can retain Kirkland's ambience downtown, but at the same time replacing buildings that are structurally unsound right now, and where landlords can't rent the space out," she said.

She said the city needs to hire a city manager with innovative ideas and a good background in finance and economic development.

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or klong@seattletimes.com