Clyde Hill News: Planning Commissioners deliberate changes with impact on Queen Bee Cafe
Clyde Hill News: Planning Commissioners deliberate changes with impact on Queen Bee Cafe
Also: Residents form “Clyde Hill Police Foundation” to support local police; police remind community that fireworks are not permitted in city
The city’s Planning Commission at its meeting Thursday night discussed proposed changes to the city’s land use code of particular interest to the local community hub, Queen Bee Cafe.
Mayor Steve Friedman provided written and verbal comment in support of changing the city’s code. The president of the firm that owns and operates the not-for-profit Queen Bee cafes also provided public comment, asking the Commission to recommend one of the options under consideration.
More details about this topic as well as news about the formation of the “Clyde Hill Police Foundation” below, after the disclaimer, but first: a reminder from police that fireworks are not permitted in Clyde Hill or Yarrow Point. From Clyde Hill PD’s Sentinel newsletter:
Also: in celebration of the 4th of July, it’s likely that this newsletter will not come to you next week.
Disclaimer: while I am a councilmember on the Clyde Hill City Council, I write this newsletter in my capacity as an individual resident. Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the position of the city. City information and references here are from public sources. I welcome email responses — and if the topic is about city business I will respond from my city email account.
Queen Bee Cafe and Clyde Hill’s land use code
From a resident’s point of view, here’s one way to boil down what’s going on.
Cities (including Clyde Hill) have a process for property owners seeking one-time, special exceptions, or variances, to land use code.
For example, in May this year, a property owner in Clyde Hill received a variance related to setback requirements (link).
Variances reflect “exceptional circumstances.”
The purpose of a variance, according to the city’s municipal code, is
"To permit variation from the requirements of this title when exceptional circumstances relating to the property require relief from strict adherence to the requirements in order to allow the owner to make reasonable use of the property." — CHMC 17.72.020(C) (link)
Variances are special, individual exceptions. They do not establish precedents for other properties, according to the city’s Hearing Examiner (see link, page 4).
Typically, the rules for granting a variance include rules about variance expiration.
Queen Bee first requested changes to the rules about variance expiration back in 2019.
Back in 2019, representatives from Queen Bee requested the city council change the rules. The council declined to act, claiming the request was too narrow and was effectively a special privilege for just one property.
In 2022, then-Councilmember Steve Friedman (now the mayor) and Councilmember Dean Hachamovitch (me) proposed a broader change to the rules for non-residential properties in Clyde Hill that met with the city attorney’s approval.
In January 2023, the council unanimously approved sending that proposed change to variance expiration rules to the Planning Commission.
For context, the City of Clyde Hill already has different land use code (minimum lot size, setbacks, etc.) for residential, government, school, and commercial properties. The differences in the current code reflect how different zones in the city (residential, commercial, etc.) have different needs.
(The proposed code change does not appear to have a cost to the city or taxpayers or affect the city’s current budget one way or another.)
Public comment from Queen Bee
Thursday night, Adam Clark, the president of Aegis Development which owns and operates Queen Bee Cafes, provided public comment to the Planning Commission.
During his remarks, Mr. Clark described the Queen Bee Cafe as a way to give back “to the community, that we feel is important.” The motivation for purchasing the Clyde Hill location was to “create a meeting space that aligned with our values of creating community.”
Queen Bee, according to its website, is
“a not-for-profit café. 100% of our proceeds benefit local charities.” (link)
You can watch his public comment here (link).
What’s next
The Planning Commission set expectations that they would take this issue up next month at their July meeting.
At that meeting, the Commission could vote to send back a recommendation to the city council or could choose to take no action on this matter indefinitely.
When the Planning Commission does agree on a recommendation, the matter will return to the city council, which will then consider whether to modify the city’s land use code.
Clyde Hill Police Foundation
Residents in Clyde Hill and Yarrow Point are working to establish a foundation to support Clyde Hill’s police force, similar to the efforts of the Bellevue Police Foundation and Redmond Police Foundation to support the people “whose dedication and personal sacrifice ensures the safety and security of our community.” (link)
Details are still emerging. Their website (link) right now just says “Coming soon.” If you’re interested in more information or in helping, please let me know and I will connect you with them.
Thank you for reading! Please forward and share with your friends and neighbors, and if you are not already getting this newsletter, subscribing is both easy and free.
Dean Hachamovitch