What the City is Doing to Help the Environment

Juanita Beach Park natural shoreline with people having fun Across every department, the City is planning and building a green, vibrant future for Kirkland. We provide infrastructure to make it easier for people who live and work here to make green choices. As Kirkland grows, we plan for and encourage sustainable development and green building. Knowing that we're part of a bigger community, we collaborate with other governments and organizations in Washington to support policies and programs that will have widespread environmental benefits.

volunteers planting a raingarden along the Cross Kirkland Corridor near the underpass at 85th Street Protecting and enhancing our natural environment

Two women walk on widened sidewalk next to bike lane on Market Street near Juanita Bay Park's boardwalk Providing infrastructure that makes green living easier

Jay Arnold and resident advocate (young Asian woman with long hair) holding a solar panel that was later installed at City Hall Greening City operations

TOD (transit oriented development) at the South Kirkland Park and Ride with a transit center and apartments Planning for a greener future

Planning Documents

Planning documents guide the City's work, decisions, and projects, so it is important to plan for the environment and incorporate sustainability into plans.

Foundational Environmental Planning Documents

  • Sustainability Master Plan: establishes City sustainability goals and identifies and evaluates environmental actions, through a big picture lens of sustainability that addresses the environment, equity, and the economy
  • Shoreline Master Program: establishes guidelines for use and development of shorelines, which provide important habitat for native fish
  • Surface Water Master Plan: identifies priorities and projects to reduce flooding, improve water quality and aquatic habitat, and maintain stormwater infrastructure
  • Active Transportation Plan: complete a safe network of sidewalks, trails, crosswalks, and bike facilities that people of all ages feel comfortable using, and helps achieve Vision Zero of no traffic fatalities by 2035

Environmental Plans Being Updated in 2021 and 2022

Supporting EV infrastructure and Electrifying the City's FleetCity Hall EV Stations 

  • Investing in an electric vehicle fleet, with electric vehicles currently in the divisions of:
    • Fire Prevention
    • Building Inspection
    • Parking Enforcement
    • Public Works Development Engineering
    • Public Works Capital Improvement Program
  • Providing for electric take home vehicles for all commissioned police officers
  • Installing vehicle charging stations for City and community use
  • Developing the City's first Electric Vehicle Master Plan

Working with regional partners on big-scale challenges

Environmental Teams and Programs at the City

Many teams at the City are involved in work that makes Kirkland more sustainable, since all operations and decision-making has an impact on the environment. However, these key teams primarily do work that centers on the environment:

Planning for a Sustainable Future

Cover of Sustainability Master Plan adopted Dec 2020  

Kirkland's Sustainability Master Plan, adopted in 2020, identifies actions the City and Kirkland community can take to fight climate change and make our natural spaces healthier.

Learn more about the Sustainability Master Plan

Sustainable Decision Making

Learn how the City incorporates sustainability into decision making.

What You Can Do

Indian men in blue  

We can't do it without you! We rely on the help of volunteers to complete restoration. The choices you make at home influence how clean our lakes and streams are and how much impact Kirkland has on the climate.

Learn how you can help our environment

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