KIRKLAND, Wash. — Kirkland residents said a pier is threatening to destroy their way of life. The owners of two condo complexes off Northeast Juanita Drive want to build a 272-foot pier out into Lake Washington near Juanita Beach Park and those opposed said it's ludicrous, and they’ve started an online petition to stop it.
"I am just so saddened to know anybody would even think they could design something like that here,” said Diana Ultican.
Intrusive is the kindest way long-time Kirkland condo owners like Ultican and Tina Holt described the proposal by two other condo complexes next door, one that's not even built yet. A long pier with 22 boat slips would replace two much shorter ones.
"This is just an area that's really special. We have a nature preserve across the way. We see salmon. We have clams we see,” said Holt.
She said a massive pier would hurt the wildlife and prevent paddle boarders from launching from the shore. So when she saw a sign outlining the project posted near her complex, she started an online protest to prevent it, hoping the city planning office would take notice.
Showing resistance did work once before. A similar pier project was proposed about a year and a half ago.
Nearby condos opposed it. They got an attorney involved, who drafted a letter to the city planning department and project never got approved. Instead, it got pushed back to the planning stages.
Wednesday, KIRO 7 talked to the architect. He said they've been working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make sure the pier is environmentally friendly, which is part of the reason Ecco Designs said it needs to be so long.
Neighbors said that just doesn't fit the neighborhood.
"Look at these docks,” Ultican said, pointing to the two that exist now. “They're fine."
The city planning office will take written public comment until April 6. The city planner told KIRO 7 Wednesday he usually makes a decision within a few days, but because this is so controversial, he imagines it will take much longer.