EXPLAINER · PROCESS

How to Speak at a Council Meeting

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A step-by-step guide to giving public comment to the Kirkland City Council, in person or on Zoom.

Anyone can speak to the Kirkland City Council. You get three minutes, and you can do it from the podium at City Hall or from home on Zoom. You don't need to be an expert, and you don't need to have spoken before. This guide covers when to sign up, what happens on the night, and how to make your three minutes count.

Speak at the next meeting:

  • When: the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of most months. Public comment happens at the regular meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m.

  • Where: Council Chamber, City Hall, 123 Fifth Avenue, or on Zoom (the link is on each agenda)

  • Sign up: the online sign-up form opens at 7 p.m. on meeting night

  • Questions: City Clerk's Office, 425-587-3190

Step by step

  1. Check the agenda. The packet posts the Friday before the meeting, and our guide to reading a council packet shows where to look. Note whether your topic is a public hearing, or is marked with an asterisk. Both change when, and whether, you can speak. The sections below explain why.

  2. Write out what you'll say. Three minutes goes fast. Most people speak about 350 to 400 words in that time, so a page of notes is plenty.

  3. Sign up at 7 p.m., on your own phone or laptop. The sign-up form goes live at 7 p.m. on the night of the meeting, and it won't open any earlier. There's a laptop at the Chamber entrance, but on a busy night people line up for it, so filling out the form on your own phone is often faster. Bookmark the link before you leave home. Because only six people can speak on any one subject, signing up right at 7 matters when a big issue is on the agenda.

  4. Get there, or log on, before 7:30. In person, find a seat in the Council Chamber. On Zoom, use the link on the agenda, or call in by phone with the webinar ID printed there. No passcode is needed. If you're also watching the livestream, turn it down before you speak. It runs behind the live meeting and can cause an echo.

  5. Wait for Items from the Audience. It comes early in the regular meeting, under Communications. On Zoom, you'll be told when to raise your hand. By phone, press *9.

  6. Speak. When your turn comes, step to the podium, or unmute when you're prompted on Zoom. You have three minutes.

  7. Send it in writing too. Email your remarks to CityCouncil@kirklandwa.gov afterward. Councilmembers can reread a written comment, and it's a good safety net if your connection drops or the meeting runs out of time.

The rules for Items from the Audience

The rules are printed on every agenda:

  • You can speak on any subject, whether or not it's on that night's agenda, except items scheduled for a public hearing and quasi-judicial matters.

  • Each speaker gets three minutes. People who need an accommodation may be given more time.

  • The council sets aside up to 45 minutes for public comment at each meeting.

  • No more than six people may speak on any one subject.

That last rule matters on busy nights. If many people plan to speak on the same issue, the first six to sign up get the floor. Everyone else can still send a written comment, and it reaches the same seven people.

Public hearings

Some agenda items are listed under Public Hearings. These are separate from Items from the Audience, and they're held to collect public comment on one specific decision. When the hearing opens, the mayor invites comment, and you speak after being recognized, in person or on Zoom. Once everyone who wants to speak has spoken, the hearing closes and the council moves on to its discussion. You can't comment on a hearing topic during Items from the Audience, so wait for the hearing itself.

Items marked with an asterisk

An asterisk on the agenda marks a quasi-judicial matter. These are decisions about one specific site or project, where the council has to apply existing law to the facts in the record, a bit like a judge. Because the decision has to rest on that record, the council doesn't take public comment on these items at all.

The record is built earlier, at the hearing before the Hearing Examiner or a city commission, plus written comments sent in on time. If a project near you is headed for a quasi-judicial decision, that earlier hearing and its comment period are when your voice counts. Our guide to commenting in writing explains how to find those deadlines.

Speaking at the Planning Commission

Zoning and land-use changes usually go to the Planning Commission before they reach the council. The commission typically meets the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 6 p.m., in the Council Chamber and on Zoom. Public comment comes at the start of the meeting, under Requests From the Audience. When a public hearing is on the agenda, testimony is taken during the hearing. Zoom details and agendas are on the commission's page.

Making your three minutes count

This part is our advice, not city rules. It comes from watching a lot of public comment.

  • Start with your name and say that you're a Kirkland resident, if you are, and which neighborhood you live in. Councilmembers represent the whole city, and they listen for who is affected.

  • Name the agenda item you're speaking to, such as "Item 9.b," so your comment is tied to the right decision.

  • Speak to the council. Face the dais and address the mayor and councilmembers, not city staff, the audience or the person who spoke before you. Comment time is your chance to talk to the people who vote.

  • Make one point well. If you have several, pick the one that matters most and put the rest in an email.

  • Say what you'd like the council to do. Approve it, delay it, change one part of it, or ask staff a specific question.

  • Use a number or a real example from your street. They stick in a listener's mind longer than general statements do.

  • If someone before you made your point, say you agree and add what's different about your situation. Repeating a speech word for word rarely helps.

  • Keep it about the issue, not about individual staff members or councilmembers. Criticizing a decision gives the council something to act on. Criticizing a person rarely does.

  • Stay calm and courteous, even when you feel strongly. It's the surest way to be heard.

  • Practice once out loud with a timer. Most people are surprised by how quickly three minutes goes.

  • Don't expect an answer on the spot. The council usually listens during public comment rather than responding. If you asked a question, a councilmember or staff may follow up later, and an email makes that easier.

  • If neighbors are speaking on the same issue, split up your points ahead of time so each speaker adds something new. With six speakers per subject, every slot counts.

  • Your name and the gist of your comment may appear in the meeting minutes, which are public.

If you need an accommodation

Call the City Clerk's Office at 425-587-3190 at least 48 hours before the meeting if you need a sign language interpreter or the materials in another format. You can also email the city's ADA coordinator at adacoordinator@kirklandwa.gov. If you have trouble hearing during a meeting, raise your hand and let the council know.

If you'd like to talk through the process before your first time, the City Clerk's Office takes questions at 425-587-3190. Call before 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

Sources & city records

Last updated: October 2026.

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