KIRKLAND, Wash. — Kirkland Planning Department staff presented a 2025 miscellaneous code amendment package at a Planning Commission briefing, highlighting a council‑directed change to the city’s artificial‑turf lot‑coverage exemption and several zoning updates required by recent state legislation.
Senior planner Peter Milliken told the commission the package groups about 22 edits into three categories: code consistency cleanups, a council‑directed item on artificial turf, and several changes needed to comply with recently adopted state bills. “This is similar to the packages that we bring every year with various items throughout the code that we want to fix or tidy up,” Milliken said.
On artificial turf, staff said City Council directed increasing the existing partial exemption from 50% of the turf area to 75% (a 25 percentage point increase). Milliken summarized the council action: “They decided to move forward with the 25% increase. So that would be changing the current exemption from 50% of the area being exempt to 75% of artificial turf installation area being exempted.” Staff explained the change does not alter the city’s overall maximum lot‑coverage limit or existing protections for trees and critical areas; it adjusts how much artificial turf is treated as partially exempt material for lot‑coverage calculations.
Commissioners raised environmental concerns and implementation questions. Commissioner Scott Reiser said he is “a little more hesitant” about wide homeowner use because of durability and landfill disposal concerns. Reiser urged that the city study turf impacts and consider offsets such as additional tree plantings. Several commissioners suggested the turf question could be included in the city’s sustainability strategic plan update rather than becoming a high‑priority standalone work program item.
Staff also outlined state‑law compliance items planned for the package including amendments related to House Bill 1935 (building permit definition), HB 1042 (SEPA and concurrency exemptions for commercial‑to‑residential conversions and station area residential conversions), and HB 1220 (definitions for emergency and supportive housing). Milliken said some changes have immediate statutory deadlines and others are housekeeping to add definitions and references to state RCW language.
The commission asked for diagrams showing real‑world lot examples to clarify how the turf exemption would apply in sites where houses and paving already use much of the allowable lot coverage. Staff said the full miscellaneous package will return for a public hearing in August; if the commission issues a recommendation, the package is tentatively scheduled to go to City Council for consideration in September.
Discussion vs. decision: the briefing recorded council direction on turf (increase to 75% exemption) and commission feedback; the commission did not adopt final ordinance language at the briefing. The package will be formalized in draft code, posted for public comment and heard by the commission and council.