A change in zip codes by the postal service has residents fighting to maintain their Kirkland addresses.
Angie Kollenborn lives in a neighborhood that was annexed by the city of Bothell in 2011. Last week she opened her mailbox and discovered an unexpected letter from the postal service informing her that her zip code was changed from 98034 to 98011.
Kollenborn and her neighbors say they will do whatever it takes to keep their Kirkland addresses.
“I have been a resident of the unincorporated area of Kirkland for the past 18 years and have always used Kirkland as our mailing address,” Kollenborn said. “We were informed last year that the city of Bothell was annexing our neighborhood to become part of Bothell, but they told us that we need have no fears that our address would be changed and we took great comfort in that fact.”
There were more than 12,700 addresses in the annexation area of Finn Hill, North Juanita and Kingsgate in Kirkland that were changed to Bothell July 1, 2011. The annexation line for residents in this neighborhood is 145th Street.
The neighbors got together and signed a petition, asking city officials in Bothell not to change their address despite the annexation.
“The city of Bothell promised us that our addresses would stay Kirkland and not change to Bothell,” said Helen Aaron, a resident. “However, this past week we were informed by the post office that as of July 1, 2014 our address would be changed from a Kirkland address to a Bothell address and I, along with many of my neighbors, are incensed over the fact that we were lied to by the powers that be in the city of Bothell.”
Aaron said it is not the annex into Bothell that bothers her and her neighbors, but the address change.
“Now we have to inform everyone and every company we deal with that our address has been changed which creates a great deal of aggravation on our behalf to ensure that everyone in our sphere has been notified,” she said.
Bruce Blackburn, senior planner for the City of Bothell, said the city did annex the area in 2011, but did not approve the address change.
“We heard those neighbors loud and clear and we contacted the post office representatives back in 2011 and told them to honor the neighbors’ request,” Blackburn said. “We are currently working with the post office to find out exactly what occurred there and haven’t heard anything definitive back from them yet. It’s strange and we are trying to get to the bottom of this.”
The Reporter could not reach a post office representative after repeated attempts.
“I hope this annexation isn’t official and my address remains Kirkland,” said Matt Green, now a Bothell resident. “I live on 113th between 148th and 149th and the annexation line is 145th. [The line] is literally 2,000 yards or less away. I bought my house years ago in Kirkland because I wanted to be a Kirkland resident and I don’t want that to change.”
