NEDC Announcements

June 7, 2001

1. Parks Levy Oversight Committee: Next meeting is on Tuesday, June 12 from 7-9 p.m. in the Park Board Room at 100 Dexter Avenue North. Opportunity Fund criteria will be finalized. The Committee is seeking to exclude the 40% of Seattle not covered by neighborhood plans from applying for Opportunity Funds, contrary to the Council ordinance and the measure passed by voters. For further information, contact Catherine Anstett at 206-615-0386 or catherine.anstett@ci.seattle.wa.us.

2. University Village: At the May 21, 2001 Design Review meeting, the Design Review Board decided to abstain from making recommendations on the proposed University Expansion due to many issues, including those relating to height, bulk and scale, one of the major design review considerations. (The proposed parking garage will be the size of two and two-thirds football fields!) At that meeting, the DCLU representative handed out a memorandum to the Design Review Board stating in part that DCLU had met with the Village and coached them on ways to respond to the Design Review Board regarding height, bulk and scale. Despite the interrelationship between height, bulk and scale issues and SEPA issues, the Design Review Board was told in the DCLU memorandum that it would not be advisable to entertain further discussion of environmental issues. The Design Review Board's unprecedented action in not taking a position on the project did not sit well with DCLU.

DCLU was unwilling to accept the Design Review Board's decision to take no action on the proposal so it scheduled an additional Design Review meeting on Monday, June 4 (with one week's notice to the community! DCLU said there was no notice requirement on these kinds of meetings.) This time, DCLU wrote to the Design Review Board and told them that they MUST make a decision to either approve the project or approve it with conditions--that these were their only choices--they could not abstain from making a decision. Community groups disagreed with DCLU's interpretation of the Code in this regard. One Design Review Board member mentioned that she had talked to DCLU representatives regarding Design Review Board responsibilities.

At the June 4 Design Review meeting, U Village brought some of its merchants to speak up in its behalf and there were also community representatives on hand. Design Review Board members mentioned the directive they had received from DCLU that they MUST make a decision. The Design Review Board ultimately decided to approve the project WITH CONDITIONS to address the height, bulk and scale issues. The meeting was lengthy and difficult due to the massiveness of the project and what neighbors perceive as DCLU's lack of responsiveness to the Board's information requests regarding the project (which were never met!). At the end of the meeting, which concluded at 10:37 p.m., the Design Review Board chair laid her head on the table while those in the audience looked on to see the sheer exhaustion caused by the stressfulness of the review process.

3. UW Sport Field and Lighting Project: The UW has applied for a MUP (Project # 2103086) to construct a 138,000 square foot multipurpose artificial turf sports field on an existing grass field. The project includes installation of eight 80-foot light poles. Written comments may be submitted through June 21, 2001 and should be directed to: DCLU, 700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98104. The fax number is 206-233-7901. Or, email comments to Bob McElhouse at Bob.McElhose@ci.seattle.wa.us.

4. Drought Stories Sought: Cathy Duchamp, a KUOW reporter/host, is producing a series of stories on Seattle's drought. She is looking for stories of neighbors who are dealing with energy and water shortages in different ways and is interested in how conservation is going in the neighborhoods. Are you or your family taking shorter showers? Do you have a neighbor who continues to water the lawn despite the drought? Is conservation pulling the neighborhood together, or causing tension? If you have a story to tell, about your neighborhood, street, or corner, please contact Cathy at 206-221-3856 or cduchamp@u.washington.edu.

5. Mayoral Candidates Night: Hawthorne Hills, Laurelhurst, Ravenna-Bryant, Roosevelt Neighborhood Association, View Ridge, Wedgwood and Windermere North are planning a pre-primary Mayoral Candidates Night on Wednesday, September 5, 2001. The event will be held at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center. If your group is interested in cosponsoring the event, please contact Bob Lucas at 206-526-0575 or blucas5134@aol.com or Jeannie Hale at 206-525-5135 or jeannieh@serv.net or representatives from any of the other sponsoring organizations.

6. Nonprofit Workshop: The Nonprofit Assistance Center is offering a workshop entitled "The Legal Obligations of Running a Nonprofit" on Monday, June 11 from 7-9 p.m. at the Seattle Vocational Institute, 2120 South Jackson Street, Room 212. The workshop will cover such topics as meetings, minutes, record keeping, officers' duties and obligations, liability, reimbursement, insurance, amending articles of incorporation and bylaws, annual state and federal filings and federal tax-exempt status. Registration fee: $20 per organization (maximum two persons). Space is limited. Early registration is encouraged. For further information, call the Nonprofit Assistance Center at 206-324-5850 or go to www.nacseattle.org.

7. Night Out Against Crime: It's not too soon to begin planning for Seattle's Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, August 7 from 6-10 p.m. This national event is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support and participation in local anti-crime efforts and strengthen neighborhood spirit and police/community relations. The City will be waiving street closure fees for those who want to close their street to celebrate and enjoy food and fun outdoors with neighbors. The Seattle Police Crime Prevention Section will send out registration packets in early June. Registered Block Watch captains will get one automatically. If you are not part of a Block Watch and want to register or organize a Block Watch, call 206-684-7555.

8. Hawthorne Hills Meeting: The Hawthorne Hills Community Council Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Conference Room of Building 30 at Sand Point/Magnsuon Park. For further information, contact Bonnie Miller at 206-524-8713 or bmiller99@uswest.net.

9. Laurelhurst School Ice Cream Social: Fun for the whole family! Hot dogs & turkey sandwiches, ice cream, Italian sodas, pony rides, performances by the Eckstein Jazz Band and Laurelhurst PE Performance teams, clowns, games and more!! Tickets are available at the event and start at 50 cents. All proceeds benefit Laurelhurst Elementary School. For further information, call Laurelhurst School at 206-729-3250.

10. Laurelhurst History Book Now Available! A History of Laurelhurst, written by Laurelhurst Historian Christine Barrett, has been reprinted and is now available for $18. Contact Barb Ragee at rageebj@wolfenet.com or 206-524-4094 or Coco Sherman at cocosherman@hotmail.com 206-525-9850 for info. Copies of the book will be available for sale at Miller Pollard, Valarmo's and Great Harvest Bakery. A copy of the book will be provided to the Northeast Library, as someone stole the old copy they had.

11. Metro Service Changes: Comment on Metro service changes for northeast Seattle. Metro proposes to reinstate a modified extension between the U District and Seattle Center/lower Queen Anne via Wallingford. Route 74 would return to North 40^th Street and Stone Way North but would provide new service to Fremont via North 35^th Street, Freemont Avenue North and Westlake Avenue North. Email your comments to kcc.septbuschanges@metrokc.gov. Or, send written comments to: King County Transportation Committee, King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle, WA 98104. For further information, call 206-296-1661.

12. Center for Urban Horticulture Fire: The Center for Urban Horticulture was damaged by an arson fire at 3:15 a.m. on Monday May 21 set by an environmental terrorist group called the Earth Liberation Front. The fire caused major damage to Merrill Hall offices and research labs, including the Master Gardener office.

The UW has submitted an emergency request of $5.4 million to the state Legislature to rebuild and repair Merrill Hall, get the library re-established and deal with other program recovery costs. The UW is also asking for help from the community to ensure that programs are fully restored and that the building is the best it can be. If you'd like to contribute, donations may be sent to the Urban Horticulture Recovery Fund, c/o CFR Development Office, UW, Box 352100, Seattle, WA 98195-2100.

For further information about volunteering to help out or contributing, contact Tom Hinckley at 206-543-1588 or hinckley@u.washington.edu or Theresa Doherty at 206-221-2603 or tdoherty@u.washington.edu. For updates on progress, go to www.urbanhort.org.

13. SCAA Resolution re Aircraft Noise: The Seattle Council on Airport Affairs is requesting support for its resolution relating to aircraft noise from Sea-Tac airport seeking a moratorium on the expansion of Sea-Tac until the aircraft noise issues affecting Seattle's residential communities are adequately addressed and a plan for noise reduction has been developed and accepted by affected communities. A copy of the resolution is attached. For further information, contact Mike Ranta, SCAA president, at miker206@pobox.com or go to www.airportnoise.org.

14. Airport Open House: Find out about the options the King County International Airport Part 150 Study Advisory Committee is considering to reduce noise at Boeing Field and let Airport staff know which recommendations you prefer on Wednesday, June 6 from 5-8 p.m. at King County International Airport, Airport Arrivals Lobby, 7233 Perimeter Road. For further information, call John Current at 206-205-8357 or go to www.metrokc.gov/airport/.

15. University Area Transportation Study Open House: The City is developing a comprehensive transportation plan for the U District, Montlake and the Ravenna neighborhoods. Come discuss and give your input to transportation problems and potential improvements. Thursday, June 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the University Senior Activity Center, 5225-15^th Avenue NE. For further information, contact Jon Layzer at 206-684-8084 or jonathan.layzer@ci.seattle.wa.us.

16. Seattle Transit Open Houses: The Seattle Transit Study for Intermediate Capacity Transit is developing a plan for new transit service to connect neighborhoods to each other and to regional systems like Sound Transit. New service could include bus rapid transit, streetcars or elevated systems such as the monorail. Come to one of these open houses to see alternatives and offter your ideas for the West Seattle to Downtown Corridor and the Lake City to Northgate to Ballard to Downtown Corridor. For further information, contact Therese Casper at 206-615-1963 or therese.casper@ci.seattle.wa.us or go to www.cityofseattle.net/planning/ICT/ICThome.htm. A 20-minute presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. each evening. The open houses will be from 5:30-8 p.m. as follows:

· June 26, Whittier Elementary Auditorium, 1320 NW 75^th Street

· June 27, Cooper Elementary Auditorium, 1901 SW Genesee Street

· June 28, Seattle Center Olympic Room, Northwest Room Building

17. Getting the Word Out: Make Headlines! The Department of Neighborhoods is sponsoring this workshop on Monday, June 11, 6-9:30 p.m. at the Seattle-King County Chapter American Red Cross, 1900-25^th Avenue S. Learn how to write and issue effective press releases that will generate headlines for your organization. We will also talk about what makes news, how to talk to reporters and how to organize a neighborhood media event. For further information or to pre-register, contact Randy Wiger at 206-684-0719 ext. 1 or randy.wiger@ci.seattle.wa.us.

18. NMF Application Deadline: The deadline to apply for the Small and Simple Projects Fund through the Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF) is 5 p.m. on Monday, July 16. Neighborhood groups seeking awards of $10,000 or less for projects that can be completed in six months or less can apply. For further information, call the Department of Neighborhoods at 206-684-0464 or go to www.cityofseattle.net/don/basic.htm. Or, contact Karen Ko at 206-233-3732 or karen.ko@ci.seattle.wa.us.

19. Free Trees: Groups of five or more households who wish to plant street trees can request 10 to 40 free trees from the Department of Neighborhoods Tree Fund. Neighbors can also request up to 100 trees to plant in natural areas or up to 40 trees for parks with approved landscape plans. The trees will be delivered to your curbside in October or November. Applications should be requested at least one month in advance. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 17 at 5 p.m. For an application or further information, contact Shireen Deboo at 206-684-0547 or shireen.deboo@ci.seattle.wa.us or to to www.cityofseattle.net/don/trees/Trees.htm.

20. U-District Farmers Market NOW Open! The U-District Farmers Market opened for its 9th season on Saturday, May 26^th. The market is located on the corner of NE 50th and University Way NE and will be open every Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. through November 3rd. In addition to a broad variety of Puget Sound fruits and vegetables, organic produce, Eastern Washington fruit and vegetables, nuts, cheese, fresh flowers, pasta, honey, mushrooms, cider, and fresh baked goods, this season will feature Puget Sound fish and organically fed free-range chickens. For further information, contact Chris Curtis at 206-632-5234 or chrisnfma@qwest.net.

21. Broadmoor Street Vacation Application: Broadmoor Golf Club has applied to have a right-of-way vacated, a procedure that requires approval by the City Council and which must also provide some public benefit.

· Background: The right-of-way is located across Foster Island at the north end of the Arboretum and continues east through property belonging to Broadmoor and the UW to the Madison Park neighborhood. A good deal of this right-of-way is actually in the wetlands and not useable as things now stand, or might be expected to stand for the indefinite future. However there is a portion of the right-of-way that crosses the Broadmoor Golf Club driving range. For at least several decades the driving range has been fenced and the public excluded from its right-of-way. The Transportation Committee of the Council has held a hearing and is expected to make a recommendation to the Council as a whole in June.

In the near vicinity of the driving range there is a path used by the public to reach Foster Island. This path crosses over land owned by the golf club. To create a public benefit from the vacation of the right-of-way Broadmoor has offered to grant to the City, ownership of the parcel now used for the public path and also an area of wetlands north of the golf course. These two parcels are something more than four times the area of the right-of-way that would be vacated. An alternative means for Broadmoor to legitimize its use of the right-of-way would be to apply for a street use permit and pay an annual fee based on the area used, the standard used throughout the city.

· Opponents: There is private citizen opposition to the vacation, based, among other things, on the belief that collecting the street use fee, (now about $20,000 per year) is a better value for the City than receiving the land parcels that are offered in the vacation application. Because all the land that is offered is designated as a wetland of exceptional value (or the buffer thereto), it is protected from virtually any development and its market value is therefore dramatically reduced. In fact, the street use fees from only a few years would be sufficient to purchase all the offered land at the recently appraised price. The City would then own the land and still retain the right-of-way and the right to collect the street use fee. The vacation option is seen by the opponents as a give away by the City.

For more than ten years there was consideration, study, and design work on a trail connection between Foster Island and the northwest corner of the Madison Park neighborhood. Such a trail would need to pass over Broadmoor land. Throughout this period, the aforementioned right-of-way was thought of as a possible quid pro quo to be offered for the needed trail space. The project failed when an agreement that would leave the wetland buffer untouched could not reached. The available funding for the trail has now been lost and there is no viable prospect for the trail in the foreseeable future. The NEDC was supportive of the trail when it was under consideration.

· Proponents: Broadmoor has hired an attorney and lobbyist to work on the proposed land exchange and street vacation. They claim that five or so different bike trails have been suggested at various times and none involve the street. So, they say, the street vacation will have no effect one way or the other on a bike trail. They also say that they can move the tees northwest and cant the range southeast and not use the street. This would mean that they would not have to pay the $20,000 per year in street use fee and there would therefore be no continuing source of funds to the city for possible land acquisition.

22. CNC Report: Highlights of the May 21 CNC meeting provided by Paul Gibson:

· NSF/CRF: Rebecca Herzfeld from the Department of Neighborhoods noted that this year's proposals are being entered into a data base that will allow better tracking of funded projects, and carry over to subsequent years of projects that don¹t get funded. It may be possible to apply online next year. Most of the submissions are in the area of transportation improvements. Parks and Seattle Public Utilities drainage projects also may get some of the pie. Final prioritizing will be influenced by District Council priorities, alternative funding options that may be available for particular projects, and the geographic distribution of funds in years past (in order to maintain some rough parity between districts over time).

· Policy Docket: Ms. Herzfeld also addressed what is known as Policy Docket #281, coordination between the City¹s Capital Improvement Plans and the Neighborhood Plans. Each City department has a long term (6 to 20 years) plan for capital projects it expects to undertake. Integrating neighborhood plans into this CIP process is regarded as a very significant step in neighborhood plan implementation. The precise means by which this integration will be accomplished has not been worked out, but the draft policy will be shared with the CNC for comments when it is prepared. It is recommended that the plan stewards should monitor this issue.

· Private Development Review Process: Anne Fiske-Zuniga and others from SeaTran and DCLU discussed an ongoing effort to streamline the process wherein private developers carry our street improvements that are required in projects they undertake. Recent history has been problematic from the developers point of view and DCLU, SeaTran and a private consultant are trying to make improvements. The CNC is being brought into the process to represent the general public interest, to insure, for example that the desired efficiencies do not come from merely a dilution of the requirements imposed on the developers. Although CNC representatives offered some anecdotal remarks most of the presentation concerned the process for studying and improving the system rather than the proposed changed in the system itself. The speakers will return to the CNC with their specific recommendations when they are developed. There may be a timing problem arising from the fact that the CNC does not meet in August.

· CNC Budget Committee: Chair Stephen Lundgren stated that the committee continues to plan to sponsor a priorities conference (on the City budget) for the fall as well as a candidates forum to be held in the Council Chambers with SEATV coverage. The candidates forum would be after the primary in September.

· NMF: CNC approved the recommendation of the Neighborhood Matching Fund Committee for the current round of applications.