Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Roundtable on impacts of the new system for electing City Councilmembers by district; Also: Mountain bikes for the Cheasty greenbelt?


SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION

Regular Meeting
Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South 98144
Tuesday, April 22, 7:00 p.m.

AGENDA


Roundtable on impacts of the new system for electing City Councilmembers by district; Also:  Mountain bikes for the Cheasty greenbelt? 

In November, Seattle voters passed a charter amendment changing seven of the nine at-large City Council districts to geographic districts  (http://www.seattle.gov/leg/clerk/districtmap).  How is this new electoral system changing Seattle politics and government?  Please engage with a roundtable of speakers (including Toby Thaler, attorney and Fremont resident) who were involved in the successful initiative effort and who are watching voters and potential candidates as well as City agencies.  We will also distribute and discuss an April 8 City Auditor report, “Research on How Similar Cities Operate Their District Election Systems.”  

Also on the agenda will be a presentation from some Beacon Hill residents who are concerned about proposals for a mountain bike park in the Cheasty Natural Area Greenspace on east Beacon Hill between New Rainier Vista on the east and Cheasty Boulevard on the west.

The April meeting will also include our monthly Round Robin of issues in your neighborhood.  If you have informational materials you would like distributed at the meeting, please email electronic copies or links to Jeannie Hale at jeannieh@serv.net.

7:00                 Call to Order and Introductions
                        Administration
1.     Changes to the agenda
2.     President’s report
7:10                 Roundtable on impacts of the new system for electing City Councilmembers by district
8:00                 A mountain bike park in the Cheasty Natural Area Greenspace?
8:30                 Round Robin
9:00                 Adjourn



Friday, February 21, 2014

REVISED AGENDA A Dialogue with Councilmember Kshama Sawant and A Call for Neighborhoods to Unite


SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION

Regular Meeting
Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South 98144
Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 7:00 p.m.

REVISED AGENDA


A Dialogue with Councilmember Kshama Sawant and
 A Call for Neighborhoods to Unite

Meet Seattle’s newest Councilmember—Councilmember Kshama Sawant.  Councilmember Sawant chairs the Council’s Energy Committee, is vice chair of the Seattle Public Utilities Committee, a member of the Housing Affordability, Human Services and Economic Resiliency Committee and alternate on the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries and Gender Pay Equity Committee.  Learn about her priorities and participate in this important dialogue.

Also, representatives of an ad hoc citywide group of community activists will be on hand to ask for advice and support from the Federation and its member organizations for tough growth controls and developer impact fees and to join at a large planned press event the week prior to the Mayor's planned neighborhood summit.  The goal is to create a unified, simple position across neighborhoods we can all unify around, present it at a press conference and then carry the message to the Mayor's April neighborhood summit.  John Fox (SDC), Carl Winter and/or Patrick Tomkins and/or Jaisri Lingappa from Reasonable Density, and/or Toby Thaler will be on hand to present their proposal.

The February meeting will also include our monthly Round Robin of issues in your neighborhood.  If you have informational materials you would like distributed at the meeting, please email electronic copies or links to Jeannie Hale at jeannieh@serv.net.

7:00                 Call to Order and Introductions
                        Administration
1.     Changes to the agenda
2.     President’s report
7:10                 A Dialogue with Councilmember Kshama Sawant
8:00                 A Call for Neighborhoods to Unite
8:45                 Round Robin
9:00                 Adjourn



Tuesday, February 18, 2014

FFEBRUARY AGENDA: A Call for Neighborhoods to Unite





 
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION

Regular Meeting
Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th
Avenue South 98144
Tuesday,
February 25, 2014, 7:00 p.m.

AGENDA

A Call for
Neighborhoods to Unite


Representatives of an ad
hoc citywide group of community activists will be on hand to ask for advice and
support from the Federation and its member organizations for tough growth
controls and developer impact fees and to join at a large planned press event
the week prior to the Mayor's planned neighborhood summit.  The groups
involved already include "Livable Ballard" (recently formed coalition
fighting excessive development and displacement there), Seattle Displacement
Coalition, Reasonable Density Seattle (Capitol Hill Neighborhood activists),
Seattle Speaks Up (a newly formed Phinney Ridge effort), and community leaders
from Fremont, West Seattle and Southeast Seattle.  The goal is to create a
unified, simple position across neighborhoods we can all unify around, present
it at a press conference and then carry the message to the Mayor's April
neighborhood summit.  



John Fox (SDC), Carl Winter and/or Patrick Tomkins and/or Jaisri Lingappa
from Reasonable Density, and/or Toby Thaler will be on hand to present their
proposal.  There are brushfires all over the city.  Example after
example of neighborhoods fighting runaway development, upzones, gentrification,
small lot development, skinny houses, highrise development, loss of tree
canopy, lack of adequate services/infrastructure etc.   With district
elections coming up in 2015 and candidates already announcing for these seats,
it's hoped we can all come together around a common call to rein in growth.  
The February meeting will also include our monthly Round Robin
of issues in your neighborhood.  If you have informational materials you
would like distributed at the meeting, please email electronic copies or links
to Jeannie Hale at jeannieh@serv.net.

7:00                 Call to Order and Introductions
                        Administration
1.      Changes to the agenda
2.      President’s report
7:10                 A Call for Neighborhoods to Unite
8:30                 Round Robin
9:00                 Adjourn

The Seattle Community Council
Federation (
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/) is one of the nation’s oldest and most active coalitions
of community associations.  It was founded in 1946 to facilitate
resettlement of Seattle’s Japanese-American residents who had returned from
wartime internment to reclaim their homes and businesses; and to help Black
veterans coming back from the war.  Over the decades, SCCF has grown to
cover the entire City.  Its monthly meetings are open to the public, and
 suggestions for agenda items are
always welcome. Yearly dues for member groups are $50, and new groups are
always welcome.  Individual donations are also welcome, and go very far,
as SCCF is all volunteer.  Please mail your check to SCCF, 2370 Yale
Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102-3310.  For questions, contact treasurer
Chris Leman at 206-322-5463 or cleman@oo.net.



Monday, October 21, 2013

SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, 7 p.m. at the Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South

SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION

Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, 7 p.m. at the Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South  98144
[This beautiful facility with free parking and a grand view of Lake Washington is just three
blocks east of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. and one block south of S. Jackson Street]

All are welcome to explore...

Two topics:  (1) Are the Department of Planning and Development and the City Council doing enough to address problems from unregulated micro-housing?  (2) What are the public interest issues in a proposed Metropolitan Park District, and what can be done to ensure they are fully and publicly addressed?  

First on the agenda will be discussion with City officials and neighborhood leaders the current and proposed policies regarding micro-housing that, unregulated, is changing the character of Seattle’s neighborhoods.   The City Council invites comments on the legislation proposed by DPD; to view it, click here or go to http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/codesrules/changestocode/micros.   

Second discussion topic is a possible Metropolitan Park District (MPD).  A committee appointed by the City Council and Mayor is considering one for Seattle’s parks, community centers, nature centers, and other Park Department facilities.   An MPD would be a new government controlled by the City Councilmembers under its own state charter, answerable to state laws and regulations but not to Seattle’s Charter, ordinances, and regulations.  It would bring additional taxing authority not requiring voter renewal.  For background, click on pro (http://seattleparksfoundation.org/metropolitan-park-district) and con (http://metropolitanparkdistrict.wordpress.com).  For the City Neighborhood Council’s letter on parks funding and a possible MPD, click here or go to http://seattle.gov/neighborhoodcouncil

Please join us October 22 for these important topics.  Included also is our monthly Round Robin to share news about your neighborhood’s issues and projects.  If you have informational materials to distribute at the meeting, please bring them or e-mail electronic copies or links to jeannieh@serv.net

7:00     Introductions / Minutes / Treasurer’s Report / President’s Report
7:10     What are the Department of Planning and Development and the City Council doing to address the problems posed by unregulated micro-housing, and is more action needed? 
8:00     What are the governance issues in a proposed Metropolitan Park District, and what can be done to ensure they are fully and publicly addressed?   
8:30     Round Robin of issues and projects in your neighborhood
9:00     Adjourn

The Seattle Community Council Federation (http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/) is one of the nation’s oldest and most active coalitions of community associations.  It was founded in 1946 to facilitate resettlement of Seattle’s Japanese-American residents who had returned from wartime internment to reclaim their homes and businesses; and to help Black veterans coming back from the war.  Over the decades, SCCF has grown to cover the entire City.  Its monthly meetings are open to the public, and suggestions for agenda items are always welcome. Yearly dues for member groups are $50, and new groups are always welcome.  Individual donations are also welcome, and go very far, as SCCF is all volunteer.  Please mail your check to SCCF, 2370 Yale Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102-3310.  For questions, contact treasurer Chris Leman at 206-322-5463 or cleman@oo.net.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Three topics: (1) Can bus riders and neighborhood parking survive SDOT’s proposed “cycle tracks”? (2) What is a Metropolitan Park District, and how would parks, public finance, and accountability be affected by one? and (3) Will controls and incentives really protect the Sandpoint Historic District?



Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 7 p.m.
Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Avenue South  98144
[This beautiful facility with free parking and a grand view of Lake Washington is just three blocks east of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. and one block south of S. Jackson Street]

AGENDA



Seattle’s draft Bicycle Master Plan is up for public comment (deadline is July 26).  Among its proposals are 50 miles of “cycle tracks,” converting an arterial traffic lane on one side of the street into a physically separated two-way bicycle path--eliminating parking on one or both sides now used by retail business customers and by residents, some lacking driveways or alley access.  Because buses can’t cross a cycle track to reach the curb, many bus stops could be eliminated, increasing riders’ walk distance; or buses may stop in the roadway, blocking traffic and requiring riders to cross in front of fast-moving cyclists.  We’ve invited SDOT to join us in exploring these and other issues occasioned by the Bicycle Master Plan. 

A committee appointed by the City Council and Mayor is considering a Metropolitan Park District (MPD) for Seattle’s parks, community centers, nature centers, and other Park Department facilities.   An MPD would be a new government entity controlled by the City Councilmembers under a separate state charter and answerable to state laws and regulations but operating outside Seattle’s Charter, ordinances, and regulations.  It would bring additional taxing authority not requiring voter renewal so long as the MPD remained in existence.  For background, click on pro (http://seattleparksfoundation.org/metropolitan-park-district) and con (http://metropolitanparkdistrict.wordpress.com).

Please join us June 25 for discussions on these two important topics.  Included also is our monthly Round Robin to share news about your neighborhood’s issues and projects.  If you have informational materials to distribute at the meeting, please bring them or e-mail electronic copies or links to jeannieh@serv.net. 

7:00     Introductions/Minutes /Treasurer’s Report / President’s Report
7:10     SDOT’s proposed Bicycle Master Plan
8:00     What would a Metropolitan Park District mean for Seattle?
8:30     Sandpoint Historic District Issues
8:45     Round Robin of issues and projects in your neighborhood
9:00     Adjourn


The Seattle Community Council Federation (http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/) is one of the nation’s oldest and most active coalitions of community associations.  It was founded in 1946 to facilitate resettlement of Seattle’s Japanese-American residents who had returned from wartime internment to reclaim their homes and businesses; and to help Black veterans coming back from the war.  Over the decades, SCCF has grown to cover the entire City.  Its monthly meetings are open to the public, and suggestions for agenda items are always welcome. Yearly dues for member groups are $50, and new groups are always welcome.  Individual donations are also welcome, and go very far, as SCCF is all volunteer.  Please mail your check to SCCF, 2370 Yale Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102-3310.  For questions, contact Treasurer Chris Leman at 206-322-5463 or cleman@oo.net.