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Kirkland staff outline plan to streamline design review to meet state’s clear-and-objective rules
Summary
City planning staff presented options to comply with House Bill 1293 and related legislation, proposing code changes, consolidated guidelines and a phased approach that would limit public meetings and keep discretionary design elements for later review.
Tony Levitt, senior planner for the Planning Department, told the council the city must revise local design-review procedures to comply with new state laws. “House Bill 1293, became effective in July of 2023. The bill requires that the City apply only clear and objective regulations,” Levitt said, summarizing requirements that limit how design review may affect density, height and the number of public meetings allowed. The briefing explained how Kirkland’s existing two-track design review — Design Review Board (DRB) review guided by discretionary guidelines and an Administrative Design Review (ADR) administered by staff under Chapter 92 of the Kirkland zoning code — might be revised to meet the state deadline. Levitt said the city hired local consultant Framework to analyze options and recommend possible zoning-code and guideline changes. Framework’s work will target consolidating multiple guideline documents into one set of clear, ascertainable rules and identifying options to comply with the state’s one-public-meeting limit while preserving the DRB’s role where possible. Council members asked for a phased approach. Councilmember Black urged staff to prioritize the legally required streamlining work so permitting is not delayed, and postpone nonrequired design-regulation updates to a later “phase 2.” Councilmember Paschall and Deputy Mayor Jane Arnold emphasized preserving transparency and some public input early in the process so the community continues to see how design decisions are made. Staff noted related pending state legislation, House Bill 1160, which would further restrict design review on housing development permit applications and could force additional changes. Levitt said staff will return with proposed code amendments and an outreach plan that targets housing-development stakeholders and renters who live in design-review districts. He said adoption of the amendments is targeted for June 30, 2025, to meet the statutory deadline. Council members asked staff to report back on: exactly when HB 1160 — if adopted — would take effect; clear definitions of “clear and objective;” how phasing would affect larger projects and project phasing, and whether accessory dwelling units and ADU-related density counting should be considered in later phases. Staff will present draft code language and outreach plans to the Planning Commission and return to council with a recommended code amendment package and timeline.
