Evidence & Baseline before Bullying Builders with fees

The planning staff of Kirkland is aggressively pushing code updates that would impose significant fees for construction of single family home above 2500 sq ft. Fees of $45k or more are being proposed. 

These costs would ultimately be born by land owners getting less of their land’s value and/or by paid by home buyers.

The goal? To increase the barriers to building single family homes and to make building multi-family buildings more attractive to builders. It is a market distortion that does not change the demand realities in Kirkland.

Reductions in off-street parking requirements are also in the works.  Overall, the equation doesn’t add up to livability for families, seniors or help those who build the housing we need.

And yet the city continues to push fees:

1. WITH NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE it will result in more affordable multifamily units. 

2. WITH NO BASELINE FOR AFFORDABLE UNITS remaining to hit targets.

3. WITH NO DEMAND ANALYSIS of obvious builder market signals already starting due to the city’s rush.

Please send this letter to council!