2009 National Night Out

The first Tuesday of August is always National Night Out and, once again, you are invited to participate and assist in giving crooks a going away party. On Tuesday, August 4, Redmond will participate in this national event that saw over 37 million participants worldwide last year spread over 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. Territories, Canada and military bases. Redmond had 31 parties throughout the city with over 2,000 people participating, including visits from police, fire, City Council, Mayor Marchione, King County Search and Rescue and many more special guests.

national night out logo


National Night Out is Designed to:
  • Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
  • Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs
  • Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships
  • Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back
You may already be familiar with the Viewpoint neighborhood planning process that has been underway throughout 2008 and 2009. It actually began with a Citizen Academy, a required series for each neighborhood representative, in 2007. The ten-member Citizen Advisory Committee has been meeting at least and very often twice monthly since that time to consider how the Viewpoint neighborhood may change over the next twenty-years. They discuss all aspects of daily living, working, and recreating within and near the neighborhood. For example, they consider safe walking routes to local schools, amenities that may work well in the parks, water quality and storm runoff regarding Lake Sammamish, and whether the neighborhood may want a place to meet at in the long-term future.

All this information helps establish a neighborhood plan, a document that guides any future changes so that they are compatible with the neighborhood’s vision and character. Your thoughts are a significant contribution to this process and help City officials understand the pulse of the neighborhood.

There are many opportunities and formats
through which you may share your ideas and concerns:

  • The Citizen Advisory Committee will continue to meet as they complete their work and incorporate thoughts from neighborhood citizens into the preliminary plan
  • Surveys are available on the neighborhood website
  • Staff will accept your comments at 425-556-2415 or kdietz@redmond.gov
  • An open house is planned for the fall during which neighborhood plan concepts will be posted for your specific feedback
  • The Planning Commission will review the proposed plan late 2009 or early 2010 and will hold a public hearing
  • The City Council will consider the plan for adoption in 2010
Overlake Neighborhood

Soon, the Overlake single-family, residential portions neighborhood planning process will be moving into the next phase. The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) will complete their recommendations for plan concepts and then staff will take the plan through the traditional channels of review. Before that occurs, your thoughts are very important. To help the CAC gain neighborhood insight and represent the neighborhood’s interest and concerns, please share your thoughts regarding the preliminary concepts. These items are posted to the neighborhood website in a survey form for your convenience. A paper copy may be sent by mail, obtained at City Hall, or e-mailed directly to you. Kimberly Dietz and Jayme Jonas, Senior Planners and primary contacts for this neighborhood plan update, may be contacted at 425-556-2440, kdietz@redmond.gov, or jjonas@redmond.gov.

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Important dates for Overlake planning process:
  • July and August – opportunities for neighborhood feedback
  • September and October – reconvening of CAC
  • October and November – staff and committee review process
  • January through April – Planning Commission review
  • May through July – City Council review and neighborhood plan adoption

Overlake Phase II
Work on the Overlake Phase II updates and implementation steps continues and includes various items such as the Overlake Parking and Wayfinding Studies, NE 40th Street Corridor Study and amendments to the policies and regulations adopted in December 2007. More information about all of the updates is available at the Overlake Neighborhood webpage , or by contacting Jayme Jonas, Senior Planner, at 425-556-2496 or jjonas@redmond.gov.

Overlake Parking Study
The Overlake Parking Study is anticipated to wrap up in late June or early July.  The Overlake Parking Management Plan summarizes the study that began in September 2008 and recommends various short-term action items as well as “triggers” that the City could use to identify when to consider implementing additional strategies to achieve the “park once” environment described in the Overlake Neighborhood Plan.

Short-term action strategies may include promoting shared parking arrangements or supplementing bicycle parking standards in Overlake.  Longer-term parking strategies could include lowering parking requirements in Overlake Village, creating public parking through public-private partnerships or building centralized public parking in Overlake Village.

Overlake Wayfinding Study
The Overlake Wayfinding Study seeks to expand a successful program from the Downtown to Overlake.  The study has many goals, including: enhancing Overlake’s pedestrian and bicycle environments, improving linkages to Overlake from other areas and making information available to visitors.  Sign locations have been identified throughout the neighborhood and grant funding is currently being sought for future implementation of the sign program.

NE 40th Street Corridor Study
The NE 40th Street Corridor Study began in March 2009. This street is a significant east-west corridor in the Overlake Neighborhood and the goals of this project include:

  • Improve the corridor for non-motorized transportation modes by identifying improvements both along and across NE 40th Street
  • Identify improvements for all modes at the SR 520 interchange to improve safety
  • Enhance corridor aesthetics by identifying a corridor design theme, including illumination and landscape concepts
  • Improve the function and safety of the intersection at 172nd Avenue NE

A public open house to gather comments on three corridor alternatives is anticipated in July 2009. Please check the project website or contact Tricia Thomson, Senior Engineer, at 425-556-2776 or tthomson@redmond.gov or Jayme Jonas, Senior Planner, at 425-556-2496 or jjonas@redmond.gov

Amendments to Policies
Amendments to the Overlake Neighborhood policies and regulations are anticipated to be considered by the Planning Commission in summer 2009. Amendments include updates and/or clarifications to the neighborhood’s phasing policy, impervious surface regulations, allowed use definitions and more. Information reviewed by the Planning Commission will be posted to the Planning Commission’s “Topics under Review” webpage.

Overlake Village Stormwater and
Parks Facilities Conceptual Design
In early May, the City Council approved the hiring of Otak Inc and the Berger Partnership to work on the Overlake Village Stormwater and Parks Facilities Conceptual Design. The Overlake Neighborhood Plan specifies that stormwater management be handled on a regional basis, rather than a site-by-site basis in Overlake Village.

This project is a major step forward for implementation of the Overlake Neighborhood Plan and will result in the preliminary design for one of two co-located regional stormwater and park facilities in Overlake Village, along with concepts for incorporating low impact development throughout the neighborhood.

The Project supports the following
Overlake neighborhood policies:
  • Develop regional stormwater treatment facilities within Overlake to treat and detain stormwater. Integrate facilities with parks and open spaces. Offer incentives to encourage public and private partnerships to develop these facilities.
  • Reduce the negative impact of Overlake stormwater runoff on the water quality of Kelsey Creek and its tributaries. Protect downstream properties, streambeds, and receiving waters from erosion and other adverse impacts from the quantity of runoff.
  • Recognize the urban park and open space system in Overlake Village as the neighborhood’s highest priority park and recreation need. Achieve the park and open space system through a strategy of City investment together with encouraging future development to include plazas, artwork, and other recreation opportunities that augment and enhance public park infrastructure.
  • Create and implement facility plans for Overlake to provide adequate utilities, transportation, and other infrastructure to accommodate anticipated growth.
  • Establish a park plan specific to Overlake Village that integrates parks and open space with regional stormwater facilities, and connects with the parks system in Overlake Village. Include criteria related to size, function and desired location of plazas, open spaces, parks, and other public places.
The Project will be a functional plan
and conceptual design that:
  • Utilizes current watershed modeling data to determine site locations
  • Evaluates the feasibility of reducing detention volumes through widespread use of low impact development
  • Provides preliminary design plans for co-located stormwater facilities and park amenities
  • Coordinates with Bellevue and other agencies
  • Identifies implementation strategies
  • rojects a schedule and budget for the timely development of the first collocated facility with the goal to break ground in 2010

The study area for this project is shown in the
Overlake Village Subarea Map

For more information, contact Steve Hitch, Stormwater Engineer at 425-556-2891, shitch@redmond.gov or Tim Cox, Parks Projects Manager at 425-556-2755, tcox@redmond.gov.