"...and to all a good night?" Only if you act now! Please urge the City Council not to use the variance process to weaken Seattle's Noise Ordinance by eliminating public meetings and most appeals and by going easier on public construction projects
In a pretty fair impersonation of Scrooge, Bad Santa, and the Grinch, three members of the City Council's Transportation Committee on Dec. 16 slipped us a lump of coal by expanding the variance process in a way that undermines Seattle's noise ordinance.
Hardly in the Christmas spirit, they approved the Mayor's proposals (Council Bill 116204) to (1) give public construction projects (which, like private construction, now use temporary variances of two weeks or less) their own permanent "forever" variance; (2) eliminate the "public meeting on due notice" that is currently required before the City acts on any variance of more than two weeks; and (3) eliminate the public's right to a Hearing Examiner ruling on whether a temporary variance was issued improperly. Expected to come to a full Council vote in mid-January, the proposals would be a historic setback to the public's right to peace and quiet.
Whoville's livability and Tiny Tim's health are at stake! A civic movement got Seattle's nationally recognized noise ordinance passed, and only a civic movement can save it. See below on the newly forming Quiet Alliance--but most urgently, please call and write all nine City Councilmembers. Background is below.
Noise at night carries furthest and is most intrusive. Disturbance of sleep is harmful--and is sometimes used for torture. For good reason, the noise ordinance (Seattle Municipal Code 25.08) strongly limits noise, especially at night. Adopted in 1978 by an enlightened Mayor and City Council, the ordinance expressly commits the Council to protect the people's "sleep and repose," and declares: "It is the policy of the City to minimize the exposure of citizens to the physiological and psychological dangers of excessive noise and to protect, promote, and preserve the public health, safety and welfare."
Noise controls will be a fraud if the City Council makes it easy for agencies and businesses to get variances that evade these controls. Restrictions on amplified noise after 10 p.m. that the Council added to the noise ordinance in 2007, and the Mayor and Council's good current proposal to reduce to 7 p.m. from the current 10 p.m. the evening hours when construction noise is allowed in residential areas--these controls are less than meet the eye because a temporary variance can set them aside, and they will be further diminished by eliminating the public's right to a Hearing Examiner ruling on whether such a variance was issued properly.
Administrative appeals to the Hearing Examiner were established to be inexpensive and citizen-friendly; eliminating them would leave citizens the unrealistic alternative of going to court, requiring a lawyer and great expense. The possibility of an administrative appeal keeps variances reasonable, and actual appeals force mid-course corrections when DPD issues variances too easily or without strong conditions. Without the public's right to appeal temporary variances to the Hearing Examiner, there will be no real check on DPD abuses.
The City Council must not accept the deeply flawed process that produced these proposals. The Mayor is also chair of Sound Transit, one of the agencies (along with WSDOT and the City's own SDOT) that most wants construction noise at night. Seattle's Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has been captured by these agencies and by businesses--all of whose noise it is supposed to regulate. Contrary to the well-balanced advisory committees, public hearings, and environmental impact statement that produced the 1978 noise ordinance, DPD cooked up the 2008 changes without hearings, did no EIS (which would carefully analyze who would suffer) and its "advisory committee" was private meetings with WSDOT, Sound Transit, and SDOT. Public interest advocates were excluded and not even notified of the changes being considered.
We can turn this around! Please urge City Councilmembers to do the following:
(1) Don't eliminate the required "public hearing on due notice" regarding proposed variances of more than two weeks. Do add a requirement for a "public hearing on due notice" for any proposal to grant more than two temporary variances (two weeks or less) at once to the same applicant.
(2) Don't eliminate the right to appeal temporary variances to the Hearing Examiner.
(3) Don't create a “major public project construction” variance. But if so, limit it to one year, with a new application, a public hearing on due notice, and a right of appeal to the Hearing Examiner for each yearly renewal.
(4) Urge the Council to send the proposal back to the Mayor, requesting that DPD provide it to those who have commented in the past on noise, conduct a series of public meetings, and consider public comments before making a recommendation, and before the City Council acts on the ordinance changes.
Scrooge, Bad Santa, and the Grinch did have a change of heart, so there's hope here for the Transportation Committee members (in fact, they say they're receptive to suggestions), and also that the other six Councilmembers will listen. Please sound off (quietly) to all! Below are the e-mail addresses and the voice mail numbers (individual messages are always more heeded than ones addressed to all Councilmembers in common). Faxes may be sent to (206) 684-8587, and the mail address is Seattle City Council, P.O. Box 34025, Seattle, WA 98124-4025.
sally.clark@seattle.gov684-8802
tim.burgess@seattle.gov684-8806
tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov684-8808
jean.godden@seattle.gov684-8807
richard.conlin@seattle.gov684-8805
jan.drago@seattle.gov684-8801
bruce.harrell@seattle.gov684-8804
nick.licata@seattle.gov 684-8803
richard.mciver@seattle.gov 684-8800
The above alert was prepared by Chris Leman, (206) 322-5463, mailto:cleman@oo.net, as an individual. Volunteers are Contact us to help the Quiet Coalition's organizing efforts or if you could create or host its web site. And please help by sharing this message with others, and soon. This issue affects everyone who values peace and quiet in Seattle.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
FEDERATION HOLIDAY PARTY ALERT 12/19/08
Severe weather will limit attendance at the annual holiday party to those who can arrive on foot. All roads to Vivain’s home are impassable. If you need to take a car or bus to get there just forget it. If you can walk to Vivian’s you’re welcome to come.
We hope to be able to schedule a get-together on Friday, January 12, when the weather’s better, stay tuned.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
HOLIDAY GREETINGS
Vivian McLean and the
Seattle Community Council Federation
invite you to Our Holiday Party
December 19th at 7:00 P.M. at the home of
Vivian McLean, 3814 20th Ave SW
Bring and enjoy refreshments and meeting old and new friends and the warmth of West Seattle at its best
HERE’S A MAP
Vivian McLean and the
Seattle Community Council Federation
invite you to Our Holiday Party
December 19th at 7:00 P.M. at the home of
Vivian McLean, 3814 20th Ave SW
Bring and enjoy refreshments and meeting old and new friends and the warmth of West Seattle at its best
HERE’S A MAP
Driving Directions
Take the Delridge off ramp from the West Seattle Freeway,
Go south on Delridge Ave SW to the traffic light,
Then (left) east to 21st Ave SW,
North (left) to the street end,
East (left) to 20th Ave SW
Finally, south just a tad on the east (left) [even-numbered] side of the street.
It's the big white house with the Christmas lights on the porch .
Meeting Highlights - November 20, 2008
(Based on the editor's notes --- these are not official minutes)
President’s Report:
The Federation sent letters to the City
(a) Urging delay of its proposed long-term leasing of buildings in Magnuson Park, an action illegal under the Washington Shoreline Management Act;
(b) Opposing earmarking of $43 million for rebuilding Mercer Street as two-way street;
(c) Urging the mayor to reconsider his plan to evict the Nickelsville homeless encampment at the University Christian Church, NE 50th St and 15th Ave NE;
(d) Supporting funding for a comprehensive aquatics plan; and
(e) To preserve the trees at Ingraham High School.
Jail Siting:
Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Seattle, and Shoreline formed a municipal jail planning coalition to evaluate six potential sites for a new regional jail, and hired a consultant at a cost of $380,000. Three of the sites are in Seattle (5th & Jefferson; 1600 W. Armory Way; and Highland Park Way S.W. and West Marginal Way S.W.); one in Bellevue, one in Shoreline, and one in-unincorporated King County. The group plans a series of public for in early December and scoping meetings for a draft environmental impact statement in early January (January 8th at 6 to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall). King County will continue to house felons. The jail would be planed for 445 jail beds. Its estimated cost is $ 220 million.
Real Change Executive Director Timothy Harris said the money could be better spent on alternative programs. Jailing offenders spoils the convict's future: a jail record reduces potential earnings by 18%; it makes loans for college difficult to obtain; it will deny public housing and food stamp allotments. Many are convicted for drug offenses and really ought to be receiving medical and psychological treatment. 85% of the people on welfare wind up in trouble with the law, and more active intervention and assistance at the first brush, would head off later offenses. Seattle citizens called for more emphasis on alternatives to jailing, and the City stipulated that the jail siting study consider alternative methods of punishment and rehabilitation as part of the study.
Voting Machines:
Our next election comes February 4th -- for King County Superintendent of elections and for schools in many districts. A plurality wins -- no run-offs. King County plans to conduct the election by mail with a few in-person voting places using touch screen voting.
Motion passed to ask King County and the Washington Secretary of State to provide a paper trail for all ballots from the time received by mail or cast until counted so that a recount by hand can verify them.
Children's Hospital master plan:
Laurelhurst will appeal to the Seattle Hearing Examiner the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Children's Hospital Expansion. The EIS understates the impacts, failed to study alternatives, and erred in many other respects. Children's rejected the recommendation of the Citizens Advisory Committee ("CAC") to exclude the Hartmann site from the new major institutions boundary. The City also left testimony of witnesses in the neighborhood out of the record.
Rick Barrett testified at the Children's Citizens Advisory Committee in support of the position taken by the Laurelhurst Community Council. Our letters and testimony were not heeded.
Motion passed for the Federation to join in the appeal.
University Village Expansion:
QFC applied to the City to build a two-story garage with parking for 585 cars topped with 3 or 4 floors of market-rate apartments at the north end of its site; a 10,000 square foot food court; and a 21,000 square foot expansion of its store on the south along NE 45th St.
The Laurelhurst Community Council will write to the City Department of Planning and Development to ask that a declaration of significance be issued with environmental review of the project; that the City require that the QFC project be coordinated with the University Village's expansion; and that the traffic impacts for both projects be done or redone to consider the cumulative impacts of both.
City Council Elections:
Pundits speculate that three City Councilmembers may not seek re-election, leaving open seats on the City Council. So far half a dozen candidates are exploring a run for office.
http://www.realchangenews.org/
Motion passed to send a letter to City officials in support of the request of the Lake Union Opportunity Alliance (LUOA) that the environmental impact statement for the South Lake Union upzone consider the alternative that LUOA proposed.
Initiative 409:
Albert Fong explained Initiative 409 and circulated it for signatures by those present. The concise description says: "This measure would require state and local agencies to cooperate in enforcing federal immigration laws and would require verifying immigration status of persons seeking employment, receiving driver's licenses, and receiving some public benefits."
Burien Annexation:
The mayor will try again for legislation that will provide a subsidy to Seattle in order that it may annex White Center/North Highline. A draft letter was circulated asking Seattle area legislators to reject the proposal.
Interim Tree Protection Ordinance, CB 116404 is coming up for hearing on December 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Incentive Zoning Proposal
The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Seattle Association, the Master Builders of King and Snohomish Counties, and a score of major developers wrote to the Mayor and the Seattle City Council recommending that the incentive zoning proposal be amended as follows
[This abstracts their letter with some of its text deleted but not changed; bullets are in the original. It is copied here so our members may know their views]
• Develop an incentive zoning policy framework by resolution, and establish specific incentive zoning requirements for each neighborhood through the legislative rezone process. One size does not fit all neighborhoods. When complete, the legislative rezones currently being considered by the City (and future rezones) may indeed result in different bonus height limits for each neighborhood. By establishing a single city-wide incentive zoning standard, the city would create a situation where it could cost more to develop in one neighborhood with lower height limits than another neighborhood with greater height limits. If a developer can elect to participate in the incentive zoning program in one neighborhood with 125-foot bonus height limits, why would they choose to develop in a neighborhood with 85 foot height limits if the incentive zoning requirements will have a greater impact on the profitability of a project in an 85 foot zone? By adopting a one size fits all approach, the City would be effectively creating an uneven playing field and favoring one neighborhood over another for future development.
• Limit program to Urban Centers and Urban Villages
• Focus incentive zoning requirements on heights 85 feet and above. Projects at heights between 45 and 85 feet present inherent construction challenges. Adding a costly incentive zoning requirement below 85 feet will only further discourage developers from using bonus heights to build more housing.
• Maintain fee in lieu option eliminating this option would definitely dissuade many developers from electing to take advantage of bonus heights and create the unintended consequence of more projects being developed at the base zoning heights. (The two projects under construction downtown that have taken advantage of the incentive zoning program have elected to exercise this option).
• Allow affordable housing credits to be transferred if a developer builds or provides extra, non-required affordable housing units, then the developer has "credits" that can be sold to another developer who needs the units.
• Include a sunset clause or a regular, mandatory review an incentive on paper must be one that also works in practice.
• The City should require an annual review of all incentive zoning policies to ensure that they are meeting their stated objectives.
• The review should be conducted by an outside, independent consultant and be informed by an oversight committee representing diverse interests.
• Base the performance fee off of "net" bonus area, not "gross" and include an annual review of the appropriate fee amount, not an automatic escalator.
• Basing the performance fee off of net bonus space would keep the policy consistent with downtown requirements.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
Thursday, November 20, 2008
AGENDA
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
Thursday, November 20, 2008
AGENDA
Quarterly Round Robin on Neighborhood Projects and Issues
A Continuation of a Seemingly Never-ending Story
A Continuation of a Seemingly Never-ending Story
The September Federation meeting will continue our quarterly discussion of issues and projects in your neighborhood. It is your opportunity to brief our citywide membership about what you are working on and to share perceptions on what is going right and what isn’t with our city government.
The Round Robin is a great networking opportunity and a chance to generate support from the Federation and its member organizations for the important work you are doing.
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. Treasurer’s report
3. President’s report
7:15 Round Robin
1. Jail siting—Update (15 minutes)
2. Vote counting machines—Will King County be prepared to have a paper trail to voting results?
3. Appeal of the Children’s Final EIS
4. Electing a County Elections Officer—The Process and are there any Candidates for the February Election?
5. University Village proposed expansion—Yet again! 300 unit housing complex planned at QFC
6. Upcoming City Council Races
7. Other Issues/Projects
9:00 Adjourn
NOAA is a federal facility on high security alert, so attendees must enter by the security gate and may need to present photo ID. If you haven't attended a recent Federation meeting, please send your name, contact information, and address to rickbarrett@gmail.com to be added to the entry list. No e-mail? Call 206-365-1267. The building is ADA compliant, with ample parking in front.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Federation October 23, 2008 Meeting Highlights (Based on the editor's notes --- these are not official minutes)
Consider this contrast: (a) The City is getting ready to pass an ordinance for "incentive zoning," a catch phrase for giving developers bonuses in height and bulk in building apartments and condos in exchange for providing some "affordable" (i.e. middle income) housing units; and (b) the Mayor is moving to oust the homeless encampment (Nickelsville) at the parking lot of University Christian Church. Read on!
Incentive Zoning: John Fox of the Seattle Displacement Coalition explained the proposal:
Developers would get greater density for apartments and condos if the developer agrees to lease 10-20% of the new units --- the exact figures have yet to be set --- at rents or sell condos at prices "affordable" for households earning 80% of area median income ("AMI"). Alternatively, the developer could "buy bulk" by paying between $15 and $18.94 per square foot for bonus square footage into a housing fund; commercial developers would pay an additional $ 3.25 per square foot toward childcare facilities.
The City calculates that the bonuses would increase a developer's return on investment by 15-20% for high-rise buildings and 1-2% with mid-rise structures. The program would use rent reporting --- no occupancy qualifications --- so that wealthier people could (experience shows they will) compete for the units. The "affordable units" need not be on site nor do the "buy bulk” replacements have to be in the neighborhood. The proposal was worked up a task force comprised of developers, save for one member. The City Council held a public hearing at 9:00 A.M., well attended by the developers and their employees. No more are planned. The AMI is now set at $81,400; 80% would be $65,120. . The formula multiplies gross pre-tax income by 30% and divides by 12 for a monthly rent. A developer could then charge $1384 for a 2 bedroom unit; $1230 for a one bedroom; and $1076 monthly for a studio unit. In fact, over 90% of the apartment units advertised in a free monthly apartment rental publication rent at less than those figures. 79% of the work force gross less than $ 65,120 annually ($32.56 per hour for a 2000 hours work year (50 weeks x 40 hours per week). 51.3% earn less than $ 42,200 annually ($21.10.
per hour). The $42,200 wage earner would have to pay over 30% of his pre--tax income to rent even a studio unit. Seattle's 2020 growth targets are already being exceeded in almost all neighborhoods.
The City claims "incentive zoning" won't increase "height and/or density limits in any neighborhood." However, common sense shouts out that the new buildings will be taller and bigger by the amount of the bonuses; that people will experience bigger and bulkier buildings on the ground; and that over a short time, those super-sized structures will set the standard for the neighborhood. It's de facto, haphazard up-zoning.
The Seattle Chamber of Commerce urged the City Council to cut the malarkey and do a direct up-zoning.
Nickelsville Homeless encampment: When Mayor Nickels evicted "Nickelsville" on a street end, the University Christian Church offered to host it for several months in its parking lot at NE 50th St and 15th Avenue NE. The encampment houses about 100 people in individual blue, green, and pink tents. Its rules forbid alcohol and drug use and disorderly conduct; it supplies its own Sanicans; and volunteers provide security. Residents sleep in sleeping bags over air mattresses on the ground. Some residents work seasonally, some are unskilled, depending on casual labor, some are transients, and some suffer with mental illness that renders them unemployable. The Mayor ordered the encampment closed by Halloween; he cites an agreement with a sponsor of another encampment several years ago that only one such site would be permitted at any one time. Another sponsor is hosting one elsewhere.
Motion passed to write to the Mayor urging the City to seek a declaratory judgment before evicting this encampment. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) sets a high standard that a government must meet before impinging on the exercise of religious liberty. Helping the homeless is part of the church's religious mission. The City would therefore have to prove that it has a compelling interest in, and no less restrictive alternative to, closing the encampment; and if it fails, the City may be liable for damages and attorney's fees.
New $220,000,000 Jail? Real Change is urging the City Council to reconsider spending 4½ million dollars to plan for a new seven-acre municipal jail. It urges the City to invest in mental health and drug rehab services, diversion programs, home detention, group rehab houses, and other alternatives to lock-ups.
Motion passed to support Real Change's request and broaden the study to consider alternatives to detention and thereby reduce the size of the facility, cut the annual cost of jailing people, and get better results.
[Moderators Note: In recent days the movement to re-examine the need for a new jail is gathering steam. Here’s what the City Council, The King County Prosecutor, the City Attorney and the local media have very recently said:
Tim Burgess, Chair, Public Safety, Human Services & Education Committee said: (11/11/08)
The Council is also very likely to order a study of jail capacity needs in the future, including a review of the City's very successful jail diversion efforts that have led to a 40% reduction in jail bookings over the past 10 years. The Council wants to study additional alternatives to jail for low-level criminal behavior, such as minor drug offenses. I toured the region's jails this summer as part of my work on jail expansion plans and found two types of individuals incarcerated who didn't belong there—persons with mental health challenges and low-level drug offenders. Both of these groups deserve treatment services instead of jail.
Councilmember Nick Licata, a member of Tim’s Public Safety Committee says: (11/10/08)
DOES SEATTLE NEED TO BUILD A NEW JAIL?
In last week’s Council Budget Committee of the Whole, I presented a proposal that would help the City determine whether we truly need to build a new jail. I believe we need to examine the inevitability of needing a new seven-acre facility, estimated at $110 million to build and about $19 million a year to operate and proposed to a) either be sited in a Seattle neighborhood and operated by the City or b) sited in King County suburban city and jointly operated .
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD (11/10/08):
With the city's budget turning shaky, the last thing to spend money on should be a new jail. It's not a priority when people are hurting.
The Seattle City Council is weighing a good step toward investigating the necessity of a new jail. The council could withhold millions in facility funding for 2009 and 2010 until the city studies whether it might avert the need with new policies and programs on drug arrests.
Duty, not enthusiasm, has driven Mayor Greg Nickels' work on a jail. A mayoral adviser welcomed the idea of studying whether most drug offenders could be diverted -- safely and efficiently -- to social services before being jailed. A key would be King County funding enough services through a new mental health and substance abuse sales tax. The county and city have to make tough budget choices. If public safety can be preserved without a new jail, everyone will be happier.
The Stranger - Culture Clash by Dominic Holden (11/13/08):
In a testy letter to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, [City Attorney] Carr chastised the P-I's editorial board for suggesting that city leaders should consider "shift[ing resources] from the prosecution of low-level drug crimes into recovery programs" to handle the city's free-falling budget. That strategy, popular among Seattle progressives and several local lawmakers, saves money and has been shown to be more effective than incarceration.
King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg is diverting about 2,300 low-level drug cases away from prosecution and jail to help shave roughly $4 million from his budget, Satterberg, in contrast, has proposed sending thousands of drug-possession cases from King County Superior Court to the lower county district court, where, he says, most defendants "will not get jail." Because those defendants would no longer be eligible for drug court, a division of King County Superior Court, Satterberg's approach is actually more lax than the one advocated by the P-I's editorial board.
The Stranger - In The Hall by Erica C. Barnett (11/13/08):
The council may also hold off on spending the $82 million the mayor has requested to widen Mercer Street in South Lake Union, cut funding for pedestrian-safety programs, and put planning for a new city jail on hold until the council can determine whether changing the city's approach to drug crimes could make a new jail unnecessary.
In addition, 36th District Representative Mary Lou Dickerson, who came to our aid during the Northwest Hospital Incinerator battle more than a decade ago, and who represents the area that includes the proposed Interbay jail site, as well as the nearby Magnolia Community Club and the Queen Anne Community Council, both noted powerhouse community groups with plenty of clout, has expressed an interest in a legislative investigation of the proposed jail financing and siting scheme.
All said, it appears that what was proposed as an inevitable seven-acre blight in some unfortunate Seattle neighborhood may not get past the initial planning stage.]
Air Pollution: Motion passed to approve the letters in our September newsletter to government officials. These letters follow up recent studies pointing to higher risks of cancer due to airborne pollutants.
Budget priorities:
(a) The Mayor over estimated revenues and left it to the City Council to make cuts. One proposed cut would chop $300,000 for support of the City's senior centers. The economic downturn has especially hurt seniors, who must stretch their fixed incomes further and senior centers are more vital for them for meals, companionship, and helping each other.
(b) The Central Area Seniors have no lease for their center and need to get money to fix it up, but granting agencies won't consider their application until it gets a lease.
Motion passed to write letters opposing the budget cut (a) above, and ask for a lease and assistance to the Central Area Seniors.
(c) The City needs therapeutic pools for seniors and others afflicted with a variety of ailments. Children’s' Hospital has the only warm water therapy pool in Seattle and it is over-subscribed. The City's population over age 60 is now 15.6% of the population and will soon reach 20.4%. Moreover, the City needs more swimming pools for the general public. A growing percentage of Seattle youth never learn to swim. Private pools have long waiting lists, and the current public pools are crowded.
Motion passed authoring letters to appropriate government officials to ask that the next parks levy include therapeutic pools; that the City assess opening the former Officers' pool at Magnuson Park; and that it consider adding pools in the next parks levy.
Magnuson Park: The City Council passed ordinances authorizing long-term sweetheart leases at Sand Point and an amendment to its overlay ordinance to authorize the non-park uses. It is also negotiating with the Federal government to release the restriction of uses to park purposes. It is also seeking to change the ground rules to allow it to tear down buildings within the historic district and construct new faux buildings that would expand their footprint. Although the City had promised the United States in its environmental process preliminary to the acquisition that it would create a Sand Point Historic District, and represented that it was doing so, the City never followed through. Developers see this lapse as an opportunity and are moving in.
Motion passed to write to appropriate officials at the federal and state level nominating the district for designation, and to the City and its Landmarks Board for establishing a historic district; to urge the City to comply with the Landmarks Ordinance as if the district had been established as promised and represented; and to express dismay at the lapse.
University Village Expansion: University Village shopping center will expand by 26% and add a 900 space parking garage. Incredibly, DPD determined that it has no significant environmental impact. Moreover, it relied traffic studies done for the Children's Hospital expansion, which were inadequate.
Neighborhood blogs: The Seattle Channel has the video of the recent City Club/Library meeting on neighborhood blogs, a nascent but potent influential phenomena. Seattle is well represented; See The West Seattle blog, Pinehurst Community Blog, Miller Park Neighborhood Association blog, Capitol Hill Seattle, Central District News are outstanding examples of good neighborhood blogs. See the list of neighborhood blogs and websites (sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart) on the Federation blog
Noise ordinance appeal: Chris Leman presented his appeal on the amendments to the City noise ordinance that permit public works construction to exceed nighttime noise limits. The City determined that this would have no significant environmental impact. Chris called two witnesses: Dr. Ted Lane and the former mayor of Burien, an acoustical engineer. The City sought to block their testimony on procedural grounds and partially succeeded. The City Attorney's office has been a stickler on the rules, pouncing on the slightest deviation. Briefs are due soon.
[Editors Note: the Assistant City Attorney later moved to strike Chris' brief because it was filed one minute late! The motion was denied.]
Mercer Mess: Motion passed to send a letter of appreciation to Senator Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36) for opposing use of state money for the Mayor/Vulcan Development $220,000,000 proposal for a two-way Mercer Street, that would actually increase travel time through this corridor.
Save the Trees: Motion passed to send a comment letter to the City's Department of Community Development opposing the issuance of a permit on application #3009549 to cut a grove of trees on the Ingraham High School Campus. Last August, the Superior Court had issued a temporary injunction, and the School District then withdrew its application. The School district has now filed a new application very similar to the earlier one. There are alternate locations on the 28-acre site for the construction.
Goodwill site redevelopment: The hearing examiner made findings and recommendations in accord with the City's presentation and failed to discuss major points made by the community. The community will appeal to the City Council. The developer is asking for vacation of two acres of City streets and will pay eight million dollars in street vacation fees, but wants the City to apply all the money for project mitigation that the developer is required to do.
Motion passed to authorize two sets of letters:
(a) a letter to appropriate City officials to oppose applying the street vacation fees for mitigation. The developer on its own should pay those costs. There are other very important needs in the area that the money should be spent on. The developer's proposal in essence lets it get the street vacation for free.
(b) a letter to the City Council asking it not to accept the Hearing Examiner's recommendation. The Hearing Examiner did not follow all the criteria for a rezone. The Hearing Examiner picked out the portions of the record that support the City's presentation, but did not cite the record as a whole.
Residential Parking Zones. Motion passed to oppose imposing RPZs where they're not wanted by local residents and businesses.
Consider this contrast: (a) The City is getting ready to pass an ordinance for "incentive zoning," a catch phrase for giving developers bonuses in height and bulk in building apartments and condos in exchange for providing some "affordable" (i.e. middle income) housing units; and (b) the Mayor is moving to oust the homeless encampment (Nickelsville) at the parking lot of University Christian Church. Read on!
Incentive Zoning: John Fox of the Seattle Displacement Coalition explained the proposal:
Developers would get greater density for apartments and condos if the developer agrees to lease 10-20% of the new units --- the exact figures have yet to be set --- at rents or sell condos at prices "affordable" for households earning 80% of area median income ("AMI"). Alternatively, the developer could "buy bulk" by paying between $15 and $18.94 per square foot for bonus square footage into a housing fund; commercial developers would pay an additional $ 3.25 per square foot toward childcare facilities.
The City calculates that the bonuses would increase a developer's return on investment by 15-20% for high-rise buildings and 1-2% with mid-rise structures. The program would use rent reporting --- no occupancy qualifications --- so that wealthier people could (experience shows they will) compete for the units. The "affordable units" need not be on site nor do the "buy bulk” replacements have to be in the neighborhood. The proposal was worked up a task force comprised of developers, save for one member. The City Council held a public hearing at 9:00 A.M., well attended by the developers and their employees. No more are planned. The AMI is now set at $81,400; 80% would be $65,120. . The formula multiplies gross pre-tax income by 30% and divides by 12 for a monthly rent. A developer could then charge $1384 for a 2 bedroom unit; $1230 for a one bedroom; and $1076 monthly for a studio unit. In fact, over 90% of the apartment units advertised in a free monthly apartment rental publication rent at less than those figures. 79% of the work force gross less than $ 65,120 annually ($32.56 per hour for a 2000 hours work year (50 weeks x 40 hours per week). 51.3% earn less than $ 42,200 annually ($21.10.
per hour). The $42,200 wage earner would have to pay over 30% of his pre--tax income to rent even a studio unit. Seattle's 2020 growth targets are already being exceeded in almost all neighborhoods.
The City claims "incentive zoning" won't increase "height and/or density limits in any neighborhood." However, common sense shouts out that the new buildings will be taller and bigger by the amount of the bonuses; that people will experience bigger and bulkier buildings on the ground; and that over a short time, those super-sized structures will set the standard for the neighborhood. It's de facto, haphazard up-zoning.
The Seattle Chamber of Commerce urged the City Council to cut the malarkey and do a direct up-zoning.
Nickelsville Homeless encampment: When Mayor Nickels evicted "Nickelsville" on a street end, the University Christian Church offered to host it for several months in its parking lot at NE 50th St and 15th Avenue NE. The encampment houses about 100 people in individual blue, green, and pink tents. Its rules forbid alcohol and drug use and disorderly conduct; it supplies its own Sanicans; and volunteers provide security. Residents sleep in sleeping bags over air mattresses on the ground. Some residents work seasonally, some are unskilled, depending on casual labor, some are transients, and some suffer with mental illness that renders them unemployable. The Mayor ordered the encampment closed by Halloween; he cites an agreement with a sponsor of another encampment several years ago that only one such site would be permitted at any one time. Another sponsor is hosting one elsewhere.
Motion passed to write to the Mayor urging the City to seek a declaratory judgment before evicting this encampment. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) sets a high standard that a government must meet before impinging on the exercise of religious liberty. Helping the homeless is part of the church's religious mission. The City would therefore have to prove that it has a compelling interest in, and no less restrictive alternative to, closing the encampment; and if it fails, the City may be liable for damages and attorney's fees.
New $220,000,000 Jail? Real Change is urging the City Council to reconsider spending 4½ million dollars to plan for a new seven-acre municipal jail. It urges the City to invest in mental health and drug rehab services, diversion programs, home detention, group rehab houses, and other alternatives to lock-ups.
Motion passed to support Real Change's request and broaden the study to consider alternatives to detention and thereby reduce the size of the facility, cut the annual cost of jailing people, and get better results.
[Moderators Note: In recent days the movement to re-examine the need for a new jail is gathering steam. Here’s what the City Council, The King County Prosecutor, the City Attorney and the local media have very recently said:
Tim Burgess, Chair, Public Safety, Human Services & Education Committee said: (11/11/08)
The Council is also very likely to order a study of jail capacity needs in the future, including a review of the City's very successful jail diversion efforts that have led to a 40% reduction in jail bookings over the past 10 years. The Council wants to study additional alternatives to jail for low-level criminal behavior, such as minor drug offenses. I toured the region's jails this summer as part of my work on jail expansion plans and found two types of individuals incarcerated who didn't belong there—persons with mental health challenges and low-level drug offenders. Both of these groups deserve treatment services instead of jail.
Councilmember Nick Licata, a member of Tim’s Public Safety Committee says: (11/10/08)
DOES SEATTLE NEED TO BUILD A NEW JAIL?
In last week’s Council Budget Committee of the Whole, I presented a proposal that would help the City determine whether we truly need to build a new jail. I believe we need to examine the inevitability of needing a new seven-acre facility, estimated at $110 million to build and about $19 million a year to operate and proposed to a) either be sited in a Seattle neighborhood and operated by the City or b) sited in King County suburban city and jointly operated .
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD (11/10/08):
With the city's budget turning shaky, the last thing to spend money on should be a new jail. It's not a priority when people are hurting.
The Seattle City Council is weighing a good step toward investigating the necessity of a new jail. The council could withhold millions in facility funding for 2009 and 2010 until the city studies whether it might avert the need with new policies and programs on drug arrests.
Duty, not enthusiasm, has driven Mayor Greg Nickels' work on a jail. A mayoral adviser welcomed the idea of studying whether most drug offenders could be diverted -- safely and efficiently -- to social services before being jailed. A key would be King County funding enough services through a new mental health and substance abuse sales tax. The county and city have to make tough budget choices. If public safety can be preserved without a new jail, everyone will be happier.
The Stranger - Culture Clash by Dominic Holden (11/13/08):
In a testy letter to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, [City Attorney] Carr chastised the P-I's editorial board for suggesting that city leaders should consider "shift[ing resources] from the prosecution of low-level drug crimes into recovery programs" to handle the city's free-falling budget. That strategy, popular among Seattle progressives and several local lawmakers, saves money and has been shown to be more effective than incarceration.
King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg is diverting about 2,300 low-level drug cases away from prosecution and jail to help shave roughly $4 million from his budget, Satterberg, in contrast, has proposed sending thousands of drug-possession cases from King County Superior Court to the lower county district court, where, he says, most defendants "will not get jail." Because those defendants would no longer be eligible for drug court, a division of King County Superior Court, Satterberg's approach is actually more lax than the one advocated by the P-I's editorial board.
The Stranger - In The Hall by Erica C. Barnett (11/13/08):
The council may also hold off on spending the $82 million the mayor has requested to widen Mercer Street in South Lake Union, cut funding for pedestrian-safety programs, and put planning for a new city jail on hold until the council can determine whether changing the city's approach to drug crimes could make a new jail unnecessary.
In addition, 36th District Representative Mary Lou Dickerson, who came to our aid during the Northwest Hospital Incinerator battle more than a decade ago, and who represents the area that includes the proposed Interbay jail site, as well as the nearby Magnolia Community Club and the Queen Anne Community Council, both noted powerhouse community groups with plenty of clout, has expressed an interest in a legislative investigation of the proposed jail financing and siting scheme.
All said, it appears that what was proposed as an inevitable seven-acre blight in some unfortunate Seattle neighborhood may not get past the initial planning stage.]
Air Pollution: Motion passed to approve the letters in our September newsletter to government officials. These letters follow up recent studies pointing to higher risks of cancer due to airborne pollutants.
Budget priorities:
(a) The Mayor over estimated revenues and left it to the City Council to make cuts. One proposed cut would chop $300,000 for support of the City's senior centers. The economic downturn has especially hurt seniors, who must stretch their fixed incomes further and senior centers are more vital for them for meals, companionship, and helping each other.
(b) The Central Area Seniors have no lease for their center and need to get money to fix it up, but granting agencies won't consider their application until it gets a lease.
Motion passed to write letters opposing the budget cut (a) above, and ask for a lease and assistance to the Central Area Seniors.
(c) The City needs therapeutic pools for seniors and others afflicted with a variety of ailments. Children’s' Hospital has the only warm water therapy pool in Seattle and it is over-subscribed. The City's population over age 60 is now 15.6% of the population and will soon reach 20.4%. Moreover, the City needs more swimming pools for the general public. A growing percentage of Seattle youth never learn to swim. Private pools have long waiting lists, and the current public pools are crowded.
Motion passed authoring letters to appropriate government officials to ask that the next parks levy include therapeutic pools; that the City assess opening the former Officers' pool at Magnuson Park; and that it consider adding pools in the next parks levy.
Magnuson Park: The City Council passed ordinances authorizing long-term sweetheart leases at Sand Point and an amendment to its overlay ordinance to authorize the non-park uses. It is also negotiating with the Federal government to release the restriction of uses to park purposes. It is also seeking to change the ground rules to allow it to tear down buildings within the historic district and construct new faux buildings that would expand their footprint. Although the City had promised the United States in its environmental process preliminary to the acquisition that it would create a Sand Point Historic District, and represented that it was doing so, the City never followed through. Developers see this lapse as an opportunity and are moving in.
Motion passed to write to appropriate officials at the federal and state level nominating the district for designation, and to the City and its Landmarks Board for establishing a historic district; to urge the City to comply with the Landmarks Ordinance as if the district had been established as promised and represented; and to express dismay at the lapse.
University Village Expansion: University Village shopping center will expand by 26% and add a 900 space parking garage. Incredibly, DPD determined that it has no significant environmental impact. Moreover, it relied traffic studies done for the Children's Hospital expansion, which were inadequate.
Neighborhood blogs: The Seattle Channel has the video of the recent City Club/Library meeting on neighborhood blogs, a nascent but potent influential phenomena. Seattle is well represented; See The West Seattle blog, Pinehurst Community Blog, Miller Park Neighborhood Association blog, Capitol Hill Seattle, Central District News are outstanding examples of good neighborhood blogs. See the list of neighborhood blogs and websites (sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart) on the Federation blog
Noise ordinance appeal: Chris Leman presented his appeal on the amendments to the City noise ordinance that permit public works construction to exceed nighttime noise limits. The City determined that this would have no significant environmental impact. Chris called two witnesses: Dr. Ted Lane and the former mayor of Burien, an acoustical engineer. The City sought to block their testimony on procedural grounds and partially succeeded. The City Attorney's office has been a stickler on the rules, pouncing on the slightest deviation. Briefs are due soon.
[Editors Note: the Assistant City Attorney later moved to strike Chris' brief because it was filed one minute late! The motion was denied.]
Mercer Mess: Motion passed to send a letter of appreciation to Senator Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36) for opposing use of state money for the Mayor/Vulcan Development $220,000,000 proposal for a two-way Mercer Street, that would actually increase travel time through this corridor.
Save the Trees: Motion passed to send a comment letter to the City's Department of Community Development opposing the issuance of a permit on application #3009549 to cut a grove of trees on the Ingraham High School Campus. Last August, the Superior Court had issued a temporary injunction, and the School District then withdrew its application. The School district has now filed a new application very similar to the earlier one. There are alternate locations on the 28-acre site for the construction.
Goodwill site redevelopment: The hearing examiner made findings and recommendations in accord with the City's presentation and failed to discuss major points made by the community. The community will appeal to the City Council. The developer is asking for vacation of two acres of City streets and will pay eight million dollars in street vacation fees, but wants the City to apply all the money for project mitigation that the developer is required to do.
Motion passed to authorize two sets of letters:
(a) a letter to appropriate City officials to oppose applying the street vacation fees for mitigation. The developer on its own should pay those costs. There are other very important needs in the area that the money should be spent on. The developer's proposal in essence lets it get the street vacation for free.
(b) a letter to the City Council asking it not to accept the Hearing Examiner's recommendation. The Hearing Examiner did not follow all the criteria for a rezone. The Hearing Examiner picked out the portions of the record that support the City's presentation, but did not cite the record as a whole.
Residential Parking Zones. Motion passed to oppose imposing RPZs where they're not wanted by local residents and businesses.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Councilmember Burgess on new jail
Other Public Safety Considerations
The Council is also very likely to order a study of jail capacity needs in the future, including a review of the City's very successful jail diversion efforts that have led to a 40% reduction in jail bookings over the past 10 years. The Council wants to study additional alternatives to jail for low-level criminal behavior, such as minor drug offenses. I toured the region's jails this summer as part of my work on jail expansion plans and found two types of individuals incarcerated who didn't belong there - persons with mental health challenges and low-level drug offenders. Both of these groups deserve treatment services instead of jail.
Councilmember Burgess is the chair of the Public Safety, Human Services & Education Committee and may be contacted at Phone: (206) 684-8806 Fax: (206) 684-8587
Tim burgess@seattle.gov
DOES SEATTLE NEED TO BUILD A NEW JAIL?
Urban Politics #266, 11/13/08
By City Councilmember Nick Licata
DOES SEATTLE NEED TO BUILD A NEW JAIL?
SUMMARY
In last week*s Council Budget Committee of the Whole, I presented a
proposal that would help the City determine whether we truly need to
build a new jail. I believe we need to examine the inevitability of
needing a new seven-acre facility, estimated at $110 million to build
and about $19 million a year to operate and proposed to a) either be
sited in a Seattle neighborhood and operated by the City or b) sited in
King County suburban city and jointly operated .
BACKGROUND
The City*s contract with King County for jail space expires in 2012
and without a contract with the County, the City has no place to jail
arrested misdemeanants. For this reason, 4.5 million dollars of next
year's city budget have been dedicated to siting a new jail which the
City determines could be built by the end of 2013.
In addition, the King County Prosecutor, in response to impending
budget reductions, is offering many drug defendants a reduced plea to a
misdemeanor, after which the defendant will have no requirement to, and
no assistance to, get treatment or any other intervention that would
lessen the likelihood of future criminal conduct. I prefer the approach
described below that continues to use the threat of incarceration to
entice offenders into treatment programs.
MY PROPOSAL
My proposal would require an evaluation of how arrests and jail
bookings could be reduced if the Seattle Police Department changed its
approach to enforcing low-level felony drug violations (offenses
involving marijuana or less than ten grams of other illegal drugs).
Here are some of the questions I proposed that this evaluation
consider:
If some number of violations could be addressed through referrals to
appropriate treatment and services, what impact would be seen on the
need for jail beds? What types of treatment and services would be
needed; at what cost? Would there be impacts to public safety; if so,
what? Could these alternatives to criminal prosecution of low-level
drug felonies be established in such a manner to ensure long-term access
to King County jail space adequate to accommodate all Seattle
misdemeanants?
My proposal directs the Office of Management and Planning to coordinate
an effort using the resources and problem-solving abilities of
community-based groups to address these questions and provide to the
Council an assessment of whether a different approach to enforcing
certain crimes could eliminate the need for a new jail.
One such approach that has been very effective is a model that uses a
pre-arrest prevention approach. In this model, SPD offers a suspect an
alternative to being booked into jail: going immediately instead to an
intake center for the law enforcement diversion program. A preliminary
assessment of the 125 participants in this program to date shows that
although they have an average of 7.6 arrests and 2.7 convictions by the
time they enter the program (average age of 25), after more than a year
the non-recidivism rate was 82%. You can read more about how the
diversion program works:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003867286_cleandreams04m.html
Last night (11/12/08) the proponents of this model spoke to about 150
members of the Belltown Community Council. Some community leaders are
interested in exploring submitting an application for about $1 million
in new money in a fund administered by King County so that this model
can be brought to Belltown.
The groups that I hope can help the Council and Executive to determine
whether we can eliminate the need for a new jail include the King County
Bar Association, the Urban League, citizen representatives of the
Precinct Advisory Councils, the ACLU and the public defenders. The
government agencies would include the Seattle Police Department, the
Human Services Department, the Seattle Municipal Court, and the City
Attorney*s office. Once assembled, this group would need also to
invite representatives from the King County Executive, the King County
Council, and the King County Prosecutor*s Office to join this effort
because a critical element to these deliberations is whether King County
would consider re-opening a discussion about extending the City*s
contract for use of the King County Jail.
A budget proviso is a mechanism that restricts spending by a city
department until some pre-set condition is completed by it. As a way to
ensure this work is done thoroughly, I want the City Council to attach a
proviso to a portion of the $4.5 million in the 2009 City Budget. The
City Budget Office says that the project will have at least $2 million
of 2009 funds available (plus any amount the City carries over from
2008) to fund the environmental assessments on the potential sites
Seattle is considering and any other planning work that needs to be done
in the first half of 2009. Thus a proviso of $2 million dollars should
not stop the city from future jail planning while this work is done, but
it will ensure that it*s done. Given that the Council has not always
received requested information from the Executive departments in a
timely fashion, the proviso assures the Council that it will in this
instance.
The Mayor does not support the proviso because Seattle has established
a strong regional collaboration with some of our suburban cities in
working toward a common jail site and this proviso may give them the
impression that Seattle may not be a reliable partner in that pursuit.
However, the proviso is constructed in a way to allow Seattle to
continue to work with these cities while determining if a jail is needed
of if a smaller one could suffice. Certainly if it is found that a
smaller jail is required, with lower construction and maintenance costs,
then all cities could benefit from this work.
CONCLUSION
An approach like this could accomplish 4 things:
1) Mitigate the possible negative impact on public safety and quality
of life in our neighborhoods that may result from the King County
Prosecutor*s decision to reduce many felony drug charges to
misdemeanors;
2) Considerably improve the County budget picture by decreasing
criminal justice system utilization;
3) Help us determine whether we need to build a new jail - which could
free up another $2.5 million dollars in the City budget mid-year; and
4) Help offenders to make positive changes in their lives by removing
obstacles to a better life for participants, rather than creating new
barriers and at a fraction of what it costs to arrest, book, prosecute
and convict the participants of low-level drug crimes.
Here is an editorial from this week*s Seattle P.I. supporting my
efforts:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/387228_jailed.html
The Council will be voting on this budget action on Monday morning,
November 17.
Urban Politics (UP) blends my insights and information on current
public policy developments and personal experiences with the intent of
helping citizens shape Seattle's future.
Instructions on subscribing or unsubscribing to the Urban Politics
mailing list are at the bottom of the UP.
COUNCIL MEMBERS & MAYOR*S EMAIL ADDRESSES
Tim.Burgess@seattle.gov
Sally.Clark@seattle.gov
Richard.Conlin@seattle.gov
Jan.Drago@seattle.gov
Jean.Godden@seattle.gov
Bruce.Harrell@seattle.gov
Nick.Licata@seattle.gov
Richard.McIver@seattle.gov
Tom.Rasmussen@seattle.gov
Citizens are directed to the following website to complete a form to
send an email to the Mayor's Office.
http://www.cityofseattle.net/mayor/citizen_response.htm
URBAN POLITICS SUBSCRIPTION INSTRUCTIONS
To subscribe, send a message to: urbanpolitics-subscribe@speakeasy.net
To unsubscribe, send a message to:
urbanpolitics-unsubscribe@speakeasy.net
You do not need to include anything in the body of the messages.
By City Councilmember Nick Licata
DOES SEATTLE NEED TO BUILD A NEW JAIL?
SUMMARY
In last week*s Council Budget Committee of the Whole, I presented a
proposal that would help the City determine whether we truly need to
build a new jail. I believe we need to examine the inevitability of
needing a new seven-acre facility, estimated at $110 million to build
and about $19 million a year to operate and proposed to a) either be
sited in a Seattle neighborhood and operated by the City or b) sited in
King County suburban city and jointly operated .
BACKGROUND
The City*s contract with King County for jail space expires in 2012
and without a contract with the County, the City has no place to jail
arrested misdemeanants. For this reason, 4.5 million dollars of next
year's city budget have been dedicated to siting a new jail which the
City determines could be built by the end of 2013.
In addition, the King County Prosecutor, in response to impending
budget reductions, is offering many drug defendants a reduced plea to a
misdemeanor, after which the defendant will have no requirement to, and
no assistance to, get treatment or any other intervention that would
lessen the likelihood of future criminal conduct. I prefer the approach
described below that continues to use the threat of incarceration to
entice offenders into treatment programs.
MY PROPOSAL
My proposal would require an evaluation of how arrests and jail
bookings could be reduced if the Seattle Police Department changed its
approach to enforcing low-level felony drug violations (offenses
involving marijuana or less than ten grams of other illegal drugs).
Here are some of the questions I proposed that this evaluation
consider:
If some number of violations could be addressed through referrals to
appropriate treatment and services, what impact would be seen on the
need for jail beds? What types of treatment and services would be
needed; at what cost? Would there be impacts to public safety; if so,
what? Could these alternatives to criminal prosecution of low-level
drug felonies be established in such a manner to ensure long-term access
to King County jail space adequate to accommodate all Seattle
misdemeanants?
My proposal directs the Office of Management and Planning to coordinate
an effort using the resources and problem-solving abilities of
community-based groups to address these questions and provide to the
Council an assessment of whether a different approach to enforcing
certain crimes could eliminate the need for a new jail.
One such approach that has been very effective is a model that uses a
pre-arrest prevention approach. In this model, SPD offers a suspect an
alternative to being booked into jail: going immediately instead to an
intake center for the law enforcement diversion program. A preliminary
assessment of the 125 participants in this program to date shows that
although they have an average of 7.6 arrests and 2.7 convictions by the
time they enter the program (average age of 25), after more than a year
the non-recidivism rate was 82%. You can read more about how the
diversion program works:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.
Last night (11/12/08) the proponents of this model spoke to about 150
members of the Belltown Community Council. Some community leaders are
interested in exploring submitting an application for about $1 million
in new money in a fund administered by King County so that this model
can be brought to Belltown.
The groups that I hope can help the Council and Executive to determine
whether we can eliminate the need for a new jail include the King County
Bar Association, the Urban League, citizen representatives of the
Precinct Advisory Councils, the ACLU and the public defenders. The
government agencies would include the Seattle Police Department, the
Human Services Department, the Seattle Municipal Court, and the City
Attorney*s office. Once assembled, this group would need also to
invite representatives from the King County Executive, the King County
Council, and the King County Prosecutor*s Office to join this effort
because a critical element to these deliberations is whether King County
would consider re-opening a discussion about extending the City*s
contract for use of the King County Jail.
A budget proviso is a mechanism that restricts spending by a city
department until some pre-set condition is completed by it. As a way to
ensure this work is done thoroughly, I want the City Council to attach a
proviso to a portion of the $4.5 million in the 2009 City Budget. The
City Budget Office says that the project will have at least $2 million
of 2009 funds available (plus any amount the City carries over from
2008) to fund the environmental assessments on the potential sites
Seattle is considering and any other planning work that needs to be done
in the first half of 2009. Thus a proviso of $2 million dollars should
not stop the city from future jail planning while this work is done, but
it will ensure that it*s done. Given that the Council has not always
received requested information from the Executive departments in a
timely fashion, the proviso assures the Council that it will in this
instance.
The Mayor does not support the proviso because Seattle has established
a strong regional collaboration with some of our suburban cities in
working toward a common jail site and this proviso may give them the
impression that Seattle may not be a reliable partner in that pursuit.
However, the proviso is constructed in a way to allow Seattle to
continue to work with these cities while determining if a jail is needed
of if a smaller one could suffice. Certainly if it is found that a
smaller jail is required, with lower construction and maintenance costs,
then all cities could benefit from this work.
CONCLUSION
An approach like this could accomplish 4 things:
1) Mitigate the possible negative impact on public safety and quality
of life in our neighborhoods that may result from the King County
Prosecutor*s decision to reduce many felony drug charges to
misdemeanors;
2) Considerably improve the County budget picture by decreasing
criminal justice system utilization;
3) Help us determine whether we need to build a new jail - which could
free up another $2.5 million dollars in the City budget mid-year; and
4) Help offenders to make positive changes in their lives by removing
obstacles to a better life for participants, rather than creating new
barriers and at a fraction of what it costs to arrest, book, prosecute
and convict the participants of low-level drug crimes.
Here is an editorial from this week*s Seattle P.I. supporting my
efforts:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
The Council will be voting on this budget action on Monday morning,
November 17.
Urban Politics (UP) blends my insights and information on current
public policy developments and personal experiences with the intent of
helping citizens shape Seattle's future.
Instructions on subscribing or unsubscribing to the Urban Politics
mailing list are at the bottom of the UP.
COUNCIL MEMBERS & MAYOR*S EMAIL ADDRESSES
Tim.Burgess@seattle.gov
Sally.Clark@seattle.gov
Richard.Conlin@seattle.gov
Jan.Drago@seattle.gov
Jean.Godden@seattle.gov
Bruce.Harrell@seattle.gov
Nick.Licata@seattle.gov
Richard.McIver@seattle.gov
Tom.Rasmussen@seattle.gov
Citizens are directed to the following website to complete a form to
send an email to the Mayor's Office.
http://www.cityofseattle.net/
URBAN POLITICS SUBSCRIPTION INSTRUCTIONS
To subscribe, send a message to: urbanpolitics-subscribe@
To unsubscribe, send a message to:
urbanpolitics-unsubscribe@
You do not need to include anything in the body of the messages.
ALERT – INGRAHAM TREES COMMENTS NEEDED TODAY
Here is the link for you to send a comment, by the end of the workday TODAY, Thursday Nov. 13th, on Permit # 3009549 for Ingraham HS. You can also use this web address: http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/LUIB/CommentEmail.aspx?BID=358&NID=8971&P=3009549&D=10/16/2008
Your comments TODAY can help save the significant forest grove at Ingraham High School and help us pass a state law to save significant urban forest groves.
The City is also holding a public meeting at 6:30 PM on Tuesday November 18th at Ingraham (1819 N 135th) to take comments.
The groves of trees at Ingraham HS and the Campfire Girls property (Waldo Woods) on 15th NE as examples of how we need local activism to save urban tree groves and to use those lessons to pass state legislation for that important goal. The message below includes a request for your help from Save the Trees. Please take a few minutes to send a comment by Thursday the 13th via the link attached (real easy!) or two hours at the public hearing on Tuesday Nov 18th at Ingraham HS at 6:30 PM.
Saving trees in Seattle is critical for our urban habitat, cleaning up Puget Sound (by reducing stormwater runoff and pollution), reducing carbon and greenhouse gas pollutants, providing children and families with environmental education and recreation.
"We need your help. The Seattle School District has re-filed their construction permit with the City of Seattle to build their addition to Ingraham High School in the same location as before - in the grove of old trees on the West side of the school. In August, after encountering strong citizen support for saving the endangered grove of 75 year old 100 foot tall Douglas fir, western red cedar and Pacific madrone trees, the Seattle School District withdrew their permits in an attempt to cut down 68 trees in the grove without environmental review by the City of Seattle.
A court order obtained by Save the Trees - Seattle temporarily stopped the clear cutting of the trees. Despite neighbor's urging to build elsewhere on the Ingraham campus, like the North Lawn area where no large trees would have to be cut, the Seattle School District is ignoring public concern and going ahead just as before to cut the trees.
You have an opportunity to help save the trees by adding your voice to that of others speaking against cutting the trees. The construction permits including the destruction of what is a neighborhood de facto park area at Ingraham High School is being reviewed by Department of Planning and Development (DPD) for the City.
There is an official page on the DPD website where you can easily enter some comments. Even a few sentences from you will help expand the overall public record in support of saving the trees at Ingraham from the chainsaw. We can have both trees and education at Ingraham because alternative sites like the North Lawn area allow the addition to be built without needlessly sacrificing our urban green habitat."
Here are some other important points, which I suggest you can incorporate:
· The City's Comprehensive Plan sets a goal of no net loss of urban forest and the City's Urban Forest Management Plan sets a goal of 30% tree canopy for public properties.
· The 70 trees proposed to be cut include over a dozen madronas, which are greatly declining and are supposed to be protected when possible.
· The School District's estimates of tree height and age in their prior environmental review were found to be far off from reality. The grove includes trees over 100 feet high and approximately 75 years old. (The District said the trees were only 75 feet high. How does a school district which teaches "everyday math" fail to calculate the height of trees by 33%?).
· The plan calls for significant parking lot expansions where neighborhood advocates propose the school building additions could go.
· 100 new trees planted at Ingraham in 2000 and 2001 as mitigation for other work all died - that reality shows the need to preserve existing healthy groves, and not count proposed replacement trees in calculating whether the project will meet tree canopy goals years from now.
· Mature trees remove 60-70x more pollution and have a tremendous impact on reducing our stormwater runoff problems (which includes carrying pollution from streets into Puget Sound). This is vital for the City to consider as a significant environmental impact (instead of pretending that new plantings are equal), and for our state laws to be changed for mandating protection of mature urban tree groves in order to protect Puget Sound.
Let's also not forget that we need a state law requiring that all cities designate significant urban groves and protect them. Write our legislators urging them to take the lead on legislation amending our Growth Management Act and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). Ask them to make changes to require that cities protect urban tree groves to reduce global warming impacts, reduce pollution runoff and protect urban habitat. You can reach them at: jacobsen.ken@leg.wa.gov
kenney.phyllis@leg.wa.gov
scott.white46@comcast.net
For more info on the Ingraham trees, go to Steve Zemke's blog or http://www.majorityrules.org/blog/2008/10/seattle-school-district-refiles.html
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A public meeting aimed at saving the Cascade People's Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the center, 309 Pontius Ave. N. in the Cascade neighborhood of South Lake Union.
For more information: http://www.cascadepeoplescenter.org or http://www.lcsnw.org or call 206-587-0320
Community center rallies supporters Cascade-area nonprofit is slated to lose city funding
By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL P-I REPORTER
In its 10-year existence, the Cascade People's Center has dreamed big, served thousands and come close to extinction several times. The family support center, which has brought together people from varied cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, is threatened once again. Tuesday, in response to news that the center would not receive city funding, urgent e-mails were dispatched, pleading for support among City Council members and community and business leaders. Without the hoped-for $75,000 in city funding for 2009, "we will be forced to close our doors for good on Dec. 31st," Myla Becker, the center's program manager, wrote in an e-mail urging attendance at a meeting Wednesday to discuss how to rescue the popular center. The budget is expected to be completed Thursday.
"Unless they can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, that's pretty much it," said a disappointed Lloyd Douglas, president of the Cascade Neighborhood Council. The center has continued to serve against all odds in a neighborhood committed to its survival. It is hard to calculate the potential losses, Douglas said, because of a snowball effect. "The flavor of the neighborhood will go away, the mix of people who might never cross paths in the real world, yet they do here -- all those interactions and connections across all boundaries of society -- at P-patches or AA meetings, teen band practices, Central American ballet programs -- will go away," Douglas said. "All the great things we were trying to get going, like a farmers market, using the center as a base, will go. "Supporters of the center, acknowledging higher-density, taller-building proposals for South Lake Union, said they do not think the push for gentrification is behind the center's funding fate. Becker, who is on the board of the South Lake Union Friends and Neighbors (SLUFAN), a group that forwarded proposals for the upzoning to the city, said local businesses are among the center's strongest supporters. Vulcan, a large property owner in South Lake Union, was the main sponsor of a center fundraiser/auction earlier this year, she said, and contributed $20,000 -- the center's largest single donation. The issue, supporters say, is one of city budget constraints.
The Cascade People's Center, on city-owned land, is one of six family-support centers in King and Snohomish counties run by the nonprofit Lutheran Community Services Northwest. By most accounts, it is a lean operation, and supporters say it saves the city money by providing a range of human services to homeless and low-income families with a small staff and volunteers. City Hall was closed Tuesday because of Veterans Day. Becker said the center provides free programs, such as after-school care and caregiver education, serving a total 6,000 local residents annually. Becker is part of a six-person staff, four part-time people plus two AmeriCorps/Vista volunteers. They work 30 hours a week. About 400 volunteers do 60 percent of the work. Since the loss of city human services funding in the last biennium, needs have increased, Becker said. The center has learned to make do with less for years amid rising needs. It abandoned eco-friendly redesign plans years ago when capital costs loomed out of reach. The center must renegotiate its lease with Seattle Parks and Recreation at the end of this month, said Janet St. Clair, area director for Lutheran Community Services. "We have worked diligently to decrease our support on the city. Our core funding has decreased from $300,000 to $75,000," St. Clair said. "We've raised matching funds, grant money and private donations. We can't continue without the core (city) money. We're just hoping we can get a commitment from the city that we're in the budget for next year.
For more information: http://www.
Community center rallies supporters Cascade-area nonprofit is slated to lose city funding
By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL P-I REPORTER
In its 10-year existence, the Cascade People's Center has dreamed big, served thousands and come close to extinction several times. The family support center, which has brought together people from varied cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, is threatened once again. Tuesday, in response to news that the center would not receive city funding, urgent e-mails were dispatched, pleading for support among City Council members and community and business leaders. Without the hoped-for $75,000 in city funding for 2009, "we will be forced to close our doors for good on Dec. 31st," Myla Becker, the center's program manager, wrote in an e-mail urging attendance at a meeting Wednesday to discuss how to rescue the popular center. The budget is expected to be completed Thursday.
"Unless they can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, that's pretty much it," said a disappointed Lloyd Douglas, president of the Cascade Neighborhood Council. The center has continued to serve against all odds in a neighborhood committed to its survival. It is hard to calculate the potential losses, Douglas said, because of a snowball effect. "The flavor of the neighborhood will go away, the mix of people who might never cross paths in the real world, yet they do here -- all those interactions and connections across all boundaries of society -- at P-patches or AA meetings, teen band practices, Central American ballet programs -- will go away," Douglas said. "All the great things we were trying to get going, like a farmers market, using the center as a base, will go. "Supporters of the center, acknowledging higher-density, taller-building proposals for South Lake Union, said they do not think the push for gentrification is behind the center's funding fate. Becker, who is on the board of the South Lake Union Friends and Neighbors (SLUFAN), a group that forwarded proposals for the upzoning to the city, said local businesses are among the center's strongest supporters. Vulcan, a large property owner in South Lake Union, was the main sponsor of a center fundraiser/auction earlier this year, she said, and contributed $20,000 -- the center's largest single donation. The issue, supporters say, is one of city budget constraints.
The Cascade People's Center, on city-owned land, is one of six family-support centers in King and Snohomish counties run by the nonprofit Lutheran Community Services Northwest. By most accounts, it is a lean operation, and supporters say it saves the city money by providing a range of human services to homeless and low-income families with a small staff and volunteers. City Hall was closed Tuesday because of Veterans Day. Becker said the center provides free programs, such as after-school care and caregiver education, serving a total 6,000 local residents annually. Becker is part of a six-person staff, four part-time people plus two AmeriCorps/Vista volunteers. They work 30 hours a week. About 400 volunteers do 60 percent of the work. Since the loss of city human services funding in the last biennium, needs have increased, Becker said. The center has learned to make do with less for years amid rising needs. It abandoned eco-friendly redesign plans years ago when capital costs loomed out of reach. The center must renegotiate its lease with Seattle Parks and Recreation at the end of this month, said Janet St. Clair, area director for Lutheran Community Services. "We have worked diligently to decrease our support on the city. Our core funding has decreased from $300,000 to $75,000," St. Clair said. "We've raised matching funds, grant money and private donations. We can't continue without the core (city) money. We're just hoping we can get a commitment from the city that we're in the budget for next year.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
November 11, 2008
Mayor Greg Nickels
600 Fourth Avenue
P.O. Box 94749
Seattle, Washington 98124-4749
RE: Homeless Encampment on University Christian Church Parking Lot
Dear Mayor Nickels:
The Seattle Community Council Federation, a coalition of community groups throughout Seattle, urges you to allow the homeless encampment at NE 50th Street and 15th Avenue NE in the parking lot of the University Christian Church to continue as long at the Church is able to accommodate the tenants and to waive permitting fees. In light of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, 42 USC ¶ 2000 cc (“RLUIPA”), we urge you to defer taking action on the ground to evict the homeless encampment at NE 50th Street and 15th Avenue NE on the parking lot of University Christian Church until the City has secured a declaratory judgment authorizing it.
In hosting the encampment, the University Christian Church is carrying out an undertaking of its members pursuant to its religious faith. The New Testament’s Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46 charges Christians with the duty to give food to the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to take in the homeless stranger, to clothe the naked, and to visit those in prison. Matthew 7:12 also sets for the Golden Rule. An extended list of citations to chapters and verses of the New Testament and the Old Testament on this theme could fill this page and then some. It is very expensive for the University Christian Church to host the encampment and the City should be appreciative of the commitment of the Church to take on this responsibility.
RLUIPA sets high standards for government actions to meet before impinging on the exercise of religious liberty. To invoke its protections, the Church would first have to show that forbidding the encampment imposes a “substantial burden” on the exercise of its religion. Cases say that schools, day care centers, youth camps, and even parking lots for parishioners “exercise” right to worship are permitted. 42 USC ¶ 2000 cc-5(7). Surely, caring for the “lease of these” in society in their need does so too, and closing the encampment before its time burdens the church’s charitable deed during the approaching holiday season when Christians are especially called upon to remember and to carry out the Golden Rule.
If the court finds that the City’s restrictions of homeless encampments to a single site citywide is a “substantial burden” to the church’s religious mission, RLUIPA requires the City to prove that its restriction furthers a “compelling governmental interest” and is the least restrictive means of achieving that end. 42 USC ¶ 2000 cc(a)(1). That’s a tall order when the church owners of the sites welcome the homeless and the encampment meets health standards. The City would have to show a very compelling reason for restricting supervised homeless encampments to just one site citywide. Administrative convenience will not suffice. Should the City proceed, a lawsuit arise and the City lose, it will have to pay damages, attorneys’ fees and costs to the church and the homeless displaced from the encampment.
Perhaps the City’s rule of only one encampment at a time citywide reflects a settlement made with sponsors of such an encampment several years ago? While such an agreement would bind those who are party to it, it would not affect a church or campers who were not signatories.
This encampment is an exercise of religion—religious liberty is an unalienable First Amendment Right. Prudence therefore calls upon government officials to use caution and restraint and to act strictly in accordance with the law.
Thank you for considering the views of the Seattle Community Council Federation.
Sincerely,
Jeannie Hale, President
3425 West Laurelhurst Drive NE
Seattle, Washington 98105
206-525-5135 / fax 206-525-9631
jeannieh@serv.net
cc: Janetta Cravens Boyd, University Christian Church, Michael Ramos, Director, Church Council of Greater Seattle
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Ex-City Councilmember Jeanette Williams, 94, dies; served on Seattle City Council for 20 years, services and memorial at Town Hall Seattle Wednesday, November 5, 2 p.m..
When Jeanette Williams was living in a convalescent home, she always had a Barack Obama button affixed to her clothes. She was known there as the Obama Lady, said her daughter, Patty Kraniotis.
Before Mrs. Williams died Friday (Oct. 24) at age 94, of arterial disease, she made sure she cast her absentee ballot for Obama. "She did have her say," Kraniotis said.
Mrs. Williams was a longtime member of the Seattle City Council and an ardent supporter of parks, the West Seattle Bridge and human rights.
She was also a long-time force in the View Ridge Community Council. The week before she died she held a meeting in her home to discuss Magnuson Park issues, and the day before she died, she had her son, Rusty, call City Councilman Tom Rasmussen, who worked for Mrs. Williams on the City Council, to express her concerns about leasing buildings in Magnuson Park to private interests.
"I knew she was ill, but I thought she might come down in a stretcher and testify against it," said Rasmussen, who heads the same parks committee that Mrs. Williams once chaired. He said she even got Congressman Jim McDermott to call him about the parks plan.
"That was the kind of clout she had," Rasmussen said. "She was organized right to the end."
She also advised and assisted the Seattle Community Council Federation in matters that involved her Parks Committee.
Born in Seattle, Mrs. Williams graduated from Queen Anne High School and studied music at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She told her daughter how she and friends would sneak out of their dorms to attend a club and listen to Louis Armstrong.
A violinist who also played the viola, Mrs. Williams performed with the Chicago and Seattle symphonies and in Chicago formed a traveling women's band that played blues and jazz.
"Eventually she abandoned music for politics," Kraniotis said. "Politics became a passion of hers at an early age." She remembers doorbelling for her mother.
Mrs. Williams served 20 years on the City Council until she was defeated in 1989 by Cheryl Chow.
She was a longtime champion of Magnuson Park, fighting efforts by private pilots who wanted it to remain a private airport. When the old runway was eventually torn up, she kept a piece as a souvenir, Rasmussen said.
Mrs. Williams was also a strong advocate for transportation and even urged Metro years ago to develop a light-rail system.
She fought for a new West Seattle Bridge, helping obtain federal funds for the construction. She also fought to get rid of skybridges, and to keep Seattle Center from being turned over to Disney.
"She always had a wary eye of any mayor in office," said Rasmussen, adding that Mrs. Williams once considered running for mayor herself. "And she founded a strong commitment in the city toward human rights. She was there at the beginning. When the issues came up, everyone ran for cover, but she felt she was elected to represent everyone."
Rasmussen said Mrs. Williams was a strong advocate for women in nontraditional jobs.
He also said she was very cagey about revealing her age.
"She truly hated the effects of aging," he said. "It frustrated her deeply to be slowing down."
Mrs. Williams was a season-ticket holder to the Seattle Symphony and continued her love of music.
Mrs. Williams was chairwoman of the King County Democratic Party, the first female county chair of a large metropolitan area in the United States, Kraniotis said.
"She was very passionate about politics," she said. "She loved the city and wanted to leave green areas."
Her daughter, of Washington, D.C., and son, of Mercer Island, survives Mrs. Williams. Her husband, David Williams, died in 1993.
Services for Mrs. Williams will be at Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue (8th and Seneca) at 2 p.m. with the reception to follow. The family wanted all who would like to go and pay their respects to have room to do so. She was an amazing woman to whom the city owes a lot. Anyone who enjoys Magnuson Park certainly has her to thank.
By Susan Gilmore, Seattle Times staff reporter, Lynn Ferguson and Rick Barrett..
When Jeanette Williams was living in a convalescent home, she always had a Barack Obama button affixed to her clothes. She was known there as the Obama Lady, said her daughter, Patty Kraniotis.
Before Mrs. Williams died Friday (Oct. 24) at age 94, of arterial disease, she made sure she cast her absentee ballot for Obama. "She did have her say," Kraniotis said.
Mrs. Williams was a longtime member of the Seattle City Council and an ardent supporter of parks, the West Seattle Bridge and human rights.
She was also a long-time force in the View Ridge Community Council. The week before she died she held a meeting in her home to discuss Magnuson Park issues, and the day before she died, she had her son, Rusty, call City Councilman Tom Rasmussen, who worked for Mrs. Williams on the City Council, to express her concerns about leasing buildings in Magnuson Park to private interests.
"I knew she was ill, but I thought she might come down in a stretcher and testify against it," said Rasmussen, who heads the same parks committee that Mrs. Williams once chaired. He said she even got Congressman Jim McDermott to call him about the parks plan.
"That was the kind of clout she had," Rasmussen said. "She was organized right to the end."
She also advised and assisted the Seattle Community Council Federation in matters that involved her Parks Committee.
Born in Seattle, Mrs. Williams graduated from Queen Anne High School and studied music at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She told her daughter how she and friends would sneak out of their dorms to attend a club and listen to Louis Armstrong.
A violinist who also played the viola, Mrs. Williams performed with the Chicago and Seattle symphonies and in Chicago formed a traveling women's band that played blues and jazz.
"Eventually she abandoned music for politics," Kraniotis said. "Politics became a passion of hers at an early age." She remembers doorbelling for her mother.
Mrs. Williams served 20 years on the City Council until she was defeated in 1989 by Cheryl Chow.
She was a longtime champion of Magnuson Park, fighting efforts by private pilots who wanted it to remain a private airport. When the old runway was eventually torn up, she kept a piece as a souvenir, Rasmussen said.
Mrs. Williams was also a strong advocate for transportation and even urged Metro years ago to develop a light-rail system.
She fought for a new West Seattle Bridge, helping obtain federal funds for the construction. She also fought to get rid of skybridges, and to keep Seattle Center from being turned over to Disney.
"She always had a wary eye of any mayor in office," said Rasmussen, adding that Mrs. Williams once considered running for mayor herself. "And she founded a strong commitment in the city toward human rights. She was there at the beginning. When the issues came up, everyone ran for cover, but she felt she was elected to represent everyone."
Rasmussen said Mrs. Williams was a strong advocate for women in nontraditional jobs.
He also said she was very cagey about revealing her age.
"She truly hated the effects of aging," he said. "It frustrated her deeply to be slowing down."
Mrs. Williams was a season-ticket holder to the Seattle Symphony and continued her love of music.
Mrs. Williams was chairwoman of the King County Democratic Party, the first female county chair of a large metropolitan area in the United States, Kraniotis said.
"She was very passionate about politics," she said. "She loved the city and wanted to leave green areas."
Her daughter, of Washington, D.C., and son, of Mercer Island, survives Mrs. Williams. Her husband, David Williams, died in 1993.
Services for Mrs. Williams will be at Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue (8th and Seneca) at 2 p.m. with the reception to follow. The family wanted all who would like to go and pay their respects to have room to do so. She was an amazing woman to whom the city owes a lot. Anyone who enjoys Magnuson Park certainly has her to thank.
By Susan Gilmore, Seattle Times staff reporter, Lynn Ferguson and Rick Barrett..
Ex-City Councilmember Jeanette Williams, 94, dies; served on Seattle City Council for 20 years, services and memorial at Town Hall Seattle Thursday, November 5, 2 p.m..
When Jeanette Williams was living in a convalescent home, she always had a Barack Obama button affixed to her clothes. She was known there as the Obama Lady, said her daughter, Patty Kraniotis.
Before Mrs. Williams died Friday (Oct. 24) at age 94, of arterial disease, she made sure she cast her absentee ballot for Obama. "She did have her say," Kraniotis said.
Mrs. Williams was a longtime member of the Seattle City Council and an ardent supporter of parks, the West Seattle Bridge and human rights.
She was also a long-time force in the View Ridge Community Council. The week before she died she held a meeting in her home to discuss Magnuson Park issues, and the day before she died, she had her son, Rusty, call City Councilman Tom Rasmussen, who worked for Mrs. Williams on the City Council, to express her concerns about leasing buildings in Magnuson Park to private interests.
"I knew she was ill, but I thought she might come down in a stretcher and testify against it," said Rasmussen, who heads the same parks committee that Mrs. Williams once chaired. He said she even got Congressman Jim McDermott to call him about the parks plan.
"That was the kind of clout she had," Rasmussen said. "She was organized right to the end."
She also advised and assisted the Seattle Community Council Federation in matters that involved her Parks Committee.
Born in Seattle, Mrs. Williams graduated from Queen Anne High School and studied music at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She told her daughter how she and friends would sneak out of their dorms to attend a club and listen to Louis Armstrong.
A violinist who also played the viola, Mrs. Williams performed with the Chicago and Seattle symphonies and in Chicago formed a traveling women's band that played blues and jazz.
"Eventually she abandoned music for politics," Kraniotis said. "Politics became a passion of hers at an early age." She remembers doorbelling for her mother.
Mrs. Williams served 20 years on the City Council until she was defeated in 1989 by Cheryl Chow.
She was a longtime champion of Magnuson Park, fighting efforts by private pilots who wanted it to remain a private airport. When the old runway was eventually torn up, she kept a piece as a souvenir, Rasmussen said.
Mrs. Williams was also a strong advocate for transportation and even urged Metro years ago to develop a light-rail system.
She fought for a new West Seattle Bridge, helping obtain federal funds for the construction. She also fought to get rid of skybridges, and to keep Seattle Center from being turned over to Disney.
"She always had a wary eye of any mayor in office," said Rasmussen, adding that Mrs. Williams once considered running for mayor herself. "And she founded a strong commitment in the city toward human rights. She was there at the beginning. When the issues came up, everyone ran for cover, but she felt she was elected to represent everyone."
Rasmussen said Mrs. Williams was a strong advocate for women in nontraditional jobs.
He also said she was very cagey about revealing her age.
"She truly hated the effects of aging," he said. "It frustrated her deeply to be slowing down."
Mrs. Williams was a season-ticket holder to the Seattle Symphony and continued her love of music.
Mrs. Williams was chairwoman of the King County Democratic Party, the first female county chair of a large metropolitan area in the United States, Kraniotis said.
"She was very passionate about politics," she said. "She loved the city and wanted to leave green areas."
Her daughter, of Washington, D.C., and son, of Mercer Island, survives Mrs. Williams. Her husband, David Williams, died in 1993.
Services for Mrs. Williams will be at Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue (8th and Seneca) at 2 p.m. with the reception to follow. The family wanted all who would like to go and pay their respects to have room to do so. She was an amazing woman to whom the city owes a lot. Anyone who enjoys Magnuson Park certainly has her to thank.
By Susan Gilmore, Seattle Times staff reporter, Lynn Ferguson and Rick Barrett..
When Jeanette Williams was living in a convalescent home, she always had a Barack Obama button affixed to her clothes. She was known there as the Obama Lady, said her daughter, Patty Kraniotis.
Before Mrs. Williams died Friday (Oct. 24) at age 94, of arterial disease, she made sure she cast her absentee ballot for Obama. "She did have her say," Kraniotis said.
Mrs. Williams was a longtime member of the Seattle City Council and an ardent supporter of parks, the West Seattle Bridge and human rights.
She was also a long-time force in the View Ridge Community Council. The week before she died she held a meeting in her home to discuss Magnuson Park issues, and the day before she died, she had her son, Rusty, call City Councilman Tom Rasmussen, who worked for Mrs. Williams on the City Council, to express her concerns about leasing buildings in Magnuson Park to private interests.
"I knew she was ill, but I thought she might come down in a stretcher and testify against it," said Rasmussen, who heads the same parks committee that Mrs. Williams once chaired. He said she even got Congressman Jim McDermott to call him about the parks plan.
"That was the kind of clout she had," Rasmussen said. "She was organized right to the end."
She also advised and assisted the Seattle Community Council Federation in matters that involved her Parks Committee.
Born in Seattle, Mrs. Williams graduated from Queen Anne High School and studied music at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She told her daughter how she and friends would sneak out of their dorms to attend a club and listen to Louis Armstrong.
A violinist who also played the viola, Mrs. Williams performed with the Chicago and Seattle symphonies and in Chicago formed a traveling women's band that played blues and jazz.
"Eventually she abandoned music for politics," Kraniotis said. "Politics became a passion of hers at an early age." She remembers doorbelling for her mother.
Mrs. Williams served 20 years on the City Council until she was defeated in 1989 by Cheryl Chow.
She was a longtime champion of Magnuson Park, fighting efforts by private pilots who wanted it to remain a private airport. When the old runway was eventually torn up, she kept a piece as a souvenir, Rasmussen said.
Mrs. Williams was also a strong advocate for transportation and even urged Metro years ago to develop a light-rail system.
She fought for a new West Seattle Bridge, helping obtain federal funds for the construction. She also fought to get rid of skybridges, and to keep Seattle Center from being turned over to Disney.
"She always had a wary eye of any mayor in office," said Rasmussen, adding that Mrs. Williams once considered running for mayor herself. "And she founded a strong commitment in the city toward human rights. She was there at the beginning. When the issues came up, everyone ran for cover, but she felt she was elected to represent everyone."
Rasmussen said Mrs. Williams was a strong advocate for women in nontraditional jobs.
He also said she was very cagey about revealing her age.
"She truly hated the effects of aging," he said. "It frustrated her deeply to be slowing down."
Mrs. Williams was a season-ticket holder to the Seattle Symphony and continued her love of music.
Mrs. Williams was chairwoman of the King County Democratic Party, the first female county chair of a large metropolitan area in the United States, Kraniotis said.
"She was very passionate about politics," she said. "She loved the city and wanted to leave green areas."
Her daughter, of Washington, D.C., and son, of Mercer Island, survives Mrs. Williams. Her husband, David Williams, died in 1993.
Services for Mrs. Williams will be at Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue (8th and Seneca) at 2 p.m. with the reception to follow. The family wanted all who would like to go and pay their respects to have room to do so. She was an amazing woman to whom the city owes a lot. Anyone who enjoys Magnuson Park certainly has her to thank.
By Susan Gilmore, Seattle Times staff reporter, Lynn Ferguson and Rick Barrett..
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Up to two hundred and twenty million dollars. That’s $220,000,000.00! Think about it.
That's how much the City of Seattle expects it may need to spend on siting and building its own municipal jail. We'll spend at least another 17 to 19 million a year to operate it.
Jails don't make communities safer and they're not an effective or humane response to crime. Incarceration disproportionately affects poor people and people of color. Neighborhood groups are concerned about the impact of a 7-acre jail on their
communities. Going millions of dollars into debt will affect our city budget for years to come and endanger funding for the social services that keep people out of jail in the first place. This is a bad idea.
The city has been saying that this project, while regrettable, is inevitable, that we have to put people who commit misdemeanors somewhere, and we can't put them in King County Jail. But diversion programs like drug court and mental health court, pre-arrest programs like Clean Dreams, and a bigger investment in social services like shelter, housing and mental health services will lower the numbers of misdemeanors and felonies...creating space in the county jail and removing our need to pour millions of dollars into locking people up.
Contact City Council here and tell them to reconsider. And join the Real Change group at the City Council budget hearing on Monday, October 27th. We'll be there at 5:30. Look for the Real Change banner!
REMINDER - FEDERATION MEETS TOMORROW
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 23, 2008
CORRECTED AGENDA
(PLEASE DISCARD PREVIOUS COPIES)
Incentive Zoning—Is this the Right Direction for our City?
featuring John Fox, Seattle Displacement Coalition
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 23, 2008
CORRECTED AGENDA
(PLEASE DISCARD PREVIOUS COPIES)
Incentive Zoning—Is this the Right Direction for our City?
featuring John Fox, Seattle Displacement Coalition
For months, Seattle’s Mayor and most City Councilmembers have been hashing over new programs designed to reward developers with tax breaks, more density, and other giveaways if they set-aside some of their new units allegedly "affordable" to the average wage earner. The most recent plan for "incentive zoning" now being considered would give away added density to developers if they set aside 10-20 percent of their new units at rent levels affordable to those earning at 80% of median.
John Fox will provide his insights on this critical issue.
The October Federation meeting will also continue our Quarterly Round Robin on neighborhood projects and issues. The Round Robin is a great networking opportunity and a chance to generate support from the Federation and its member organizations for the important work you are doing.
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. Treasurer’s report
3. President’s report
7:15 Incentive Zoning—John Fox Seattle Displacement Coalition
8:00 Round Robin
1. Jail siting—Update
2. Budget priorities
3. Updating neighborhood plans
4. Magnuson Park continuing issues
5. University Village proposed expansion
6. Neighborhood blogs—a report from the recent Seattle Public Library/City Club event
7. Noise ordinance update
8. Other Issues/Projects
9:00 Adjourn
NOAA is a federal facility on high security alert, so attendees must enter by the security gate and may need to present photo ID. If you haven't attended a recent Federation meeting, please send your name, contact information, and address to rickbarrett@gmail.com to be added to the entry list. No e-mail? Call 206-365-1267. The building is ADA compliant, with ample parking in front.
Seattle Neighborhood Summit - Tuesday, October 28th!
Posted: 21 Oct 2008 10:29 PM CDT
The City Neighborhood Council announces a Seattle Neighborhood Summit taking place next Tuesday. It’s an interesting idea, with a ton of focus groups for you to attend.
If you’ve ever wanted to get involved with focusing on neighborhood issues in Seattle, this is probably a good place to get started.
ALL ARE WELCOME AND NEEDED TO BRING YOUR VIEWS TO THE SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD SUMMIT — TUES., OCT. 28 AT CITY HALL, 601 FIFTH AVE.
THE DOORS OPEN AT 5:15 P.M., FORMAL PROGRAM IS 6-9 P.M.
Please be there at City Hall the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 28 for the Seattle Neighborhoods Summit! Express your ideas and meet with others who care about Seattle and its neighborhoods. Light supper available throughout. The event begins at 5:15 p.m. with informal networking with other volunteers and with City officials, and the program begins at 6. First on the agenda is a keynote address by the Mayor. Then your choice from fourteen focus groups, repeated twice. The summit ends with a City Council panel interacting with issues and questions from the focus groups.
Please help us publicize this important event, and urge your friends and neighbors to come. It will later be on television and in a written report. Can’t come? Send your ideas or questions to the City Neighborhood Council, c/o Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle 98124-4649 or cleman@oo.net (206) 322-5463. CNC is a Seattle advisory committee, made up of one representative from each of the thirteen district councils, which are also advisory committees. Free parking, for this event only, is available after 5 p.m. in the commuter lot under I-5 just north of Cherry Street (must enter southbound on 6th Avenue–left turn just before Cherry). For background: http://seattle.gov/
neighborhoodcouncil . We welcome requests soon for interpretation in different languages. Below is the program:5:15 Informal networking with other volunteers and with City officials
6:00 Welcome and introductions
6:10 Keynote by Mayor
6:30 First breakout session (see list of focus groups)
7:15 Second breakout session (same focus group topics repeated)
8:00 City Councilmember panel responds to issues and questions from the focus groups
9:00 AdjournThe topics of the focus groups are as follows:
(1) Advocacy, community-building, communications, and inclusiveness
(2) Open, participatory, and ethical government
(3) Safety from fire, crime, and disaster
(4) Neighborhood economic development
(5) Neighborhood-friendly utilities
(6) Parks, trees, and community centers
(7) Human, health and housing services
(8) Zoning, land use, design, and planning
(9) Youth and schools
(10) Libraries, the arts, cultural heritage, and historic preservation
(11) Roads, crossings, and sidewalks
(12) Transit and bicycling
(13) Pollution, noise, and public health
(14) Anything missing? This group’s for topics not covered above
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
http://rainiervalleypost.blogspot.com/2008/10/check-in-on-bridging-gap-status.html
Pardon the late notice but thought you'd want to know that the community is encouraged to attend the Bridging the Gap Levy Oversight Committee meeting today, Tues., Oct. 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Rainier Community Center (4600 38th Ave. S.).
Bridging the Gap is a nine-year, $365 million levy that addresses twenty years of deferred maintenance caused by chronic under-funding of the transportation infrastructure. Approved by voters in 2006, Bridging the Gap enables much-needed work by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), such as roadway paving, sidewalk development and repair, bridge upkeep, and tree pruning and planting. It also supports the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans, the Safe Routes to School program, enhanced transit connections and large Neighborhood Street Fund projects.
The work of the city is supported by an appointed citizens’ Levy Oversight Committee that meets quarterly. This 15-member body (see members below) monitors revenues and expenditures, and reviews program and project schedules to provide full accountability to voters on Bridging the Gap activities.
Today's meeting will begin with a public comment period, followed by a presentation specific to Southeast Seattle, 3rd Quarter 2008 Report, BTG Program Budget Update, 2009 – 2010 Work Plan Schedule, Transit Partnership and Corridor Project Update and more.
The group's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2009.
Find the Bridging the Gap 2007 Annual Report here.
Levy Oversight Committee Members:
* Ann Martin
* Barbara Culp
* Betty Spieth
* Chuck Ayers
* Christina O’Claire
* Darryl Smith
* Michael McGinn
* Ref Lindmark
* Rick Sepolen
* Thao Tran
* Jeff Frkonja
Pardon the late notice but thought you'd want to know that the community is encouraged to attend the Bridging the Gap Levy Oversight Committee meeting today, Tues., Oct. 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Rainier Community Center (4600 38th Ave. S.).
Bridging the Gap is a nine-year, $365 million levy that addresses twenty years of deferred maintenance caused by chronic under-funding of the transportation infrastructure. Approved by voters in 2006, Bridging the Gap enables much-needed work by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), such as roadway paving, sidewalk development and repair, bridge upkeep, and tree pruning and planting. It also supports the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans, the Safe Routes to School program, enhanced transit connections and large Neighborhood Street Fund projects.
The work of the city is supported by an appointed citizens’ Levy Oversight Committee that meets quarterly. This 15-member body (see members below) monitors revenues and expenditures, and reviews program and project schedules to provide full accountability to voters on Bridging the Gap activities.
Today's meeting will begin with a public comment period, followed by a presentation specific to Southeast Seattle, 3rd Quarter 2008 Report, BTG Program Budget Update, 2009 – 2010 Work Plan Schedule, Transit Partnership and Corridor Project Update and more.
The group's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2009.
Find the Bridging the Gap 2007 Annual Report here.
Levy Oversight Committee Members:
* Ann Martin
* Barbara Culp
* Betty Spieth
* Chuck Ayers
* Christina O’Claire
* Darryl Smith
* Michael McGinn
* Ref Lindmark
* Rick Sepolen
* Thao Tran
* Jeff Frkonja
Monday, October 20, 2008
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 23, 2008
CORRECTED AGENDA
(PLEASE DISCARD PREVIOUS COPIES)
Incentive Zoning—Is this the Right Direction for our City?
featuring John Fox, Seattle Displacement Coalition
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 23, 2008
CORRECTED AGENDA
(PLEASE DISCARD PREVIOUS COPIES)
Incentive Zoning—Is this the Right Direction for our City?
featuring John Fox, Seattle Displacement Coalition
For months, Seattle’s Mayor and most City Councilmembers have been hashing over new programs designed to reward developers with tax breaks, more density, and other giveaways if they set-aside some of their new units allegedly "affordable" to the average wage earner. The most recent plan for "incentive zoning" now being considered would give away added density to developers if they set aside 10-20 percent of their new units at rent levels affordable to those earning at 80% of median.
John Fox will provide his insights on this critical issue.
The October Federation meeting will also continue our Quarterly Round Robin on neighborhood projects and issues. The Round Robin is a great networking opportunity and a chance to generate support from the Federation and its member organizations for the important work you are doing.
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. Treasurer’s report
3. President’s report
7:15 Incentive Zoning—John Fox Seattle Displacement Coalition
8:00 Round Robin
1. Jail siting—Update
2. Budget priorities
3. Updating neighborhood plans
4. Magnuson Park continuing issues
5. University Village proposed expansion
6. Neighborhood blogs—a report from the recent Seattle Public Library/City Club event
7. Noise ordinance update
8. Other Issues/Projects
9:00 Adjourn
NOAA is a federal facility on high security alert, so attendees must enter by the security gate and may need to present photo ID. If you haven't attended a recent Federation meeting, please send your name, contact information, and address to rickbarrett@gmail.com to be added to the entry list. No e-mail? Call 206-365-1267. The building is ADA compliant, with ample parking in front.
Friday, October 10, 2008
September 25, 2008 Federation Meeting Highlights (Corrected)
NOTE --- These Meeting Highlights have been revised to incorporate additional information and clarifications, and to correct typos. The revisions appear in red boldface in the paragraphs “The Parks Strategic Action Plan”, “Megahouses”, “Magnuson Park” and “Tree Ordinance”.
(These pages are based on the editor's notes --- they are not official minutes)
Land Use issues predominate as communities struggle against special interest legislation. Read on.
President's Report: The Federation sent letters to City Councilmembers seeking amendments to the draft of a revised ordinance on sidewalk cafes to preserve pedestrian passage, and other letters opposing sweetheart leases of two waterfront buildings to developers in Magnuson Park for 30 to 40 years; Anna Nissan testified at the City Council on the MegaHouse legislation (see below). It also sent out e-mail action alerts on public hearings and major events. Our president alerted members to seven September 25, 2008 Federation Meeting Highlights
The Parks Strategic Action Plan is now available at http://seattle.gov/parks/Publications/ParksActionPlan.htm
Pike Place Market Levy: The levy authorizes $73,000,000 in property taxes ($2.16 per $1000 of assessed value) over 6 years to fix-up the Pike Place Market. It would pay for new plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems, roofs, elevators, windows, floors, facades, restrooms, and fire and seismic upgrades. The representative of the Market's constituency said that the fix-up is badly needed; the ordinance provides for genuine oversight by the City through an oversight committee selected in part by the constituency, the City, and the Pike Place Market PDA; that rents are set too low to cover major capital expenditures in order to keep the variety of small business, handicrafts, and artists viable; and the City will have to approve overruns of the budget. The advocates of "No" say the Ordinance is flawed and the amount is more than need be. The rebuttal replied that those critiques apply to almost all levies; this levy tries to address those concerns.
Motion passed to support the Pike Place Market Levy, Ordinance 122737 (Three abstentions),
Parks Levy: The Parks levy (Ordinance 122749) would raise $145,500,000 over 6 years in property taxes ($2.50 per $ 000 of assessed value). It allocates:
(a) $35,697,000 for buying land for new parks ($
(b) $87,292,000 for "development" of existing parks ( $11,500,000 for improving the
the Asian Art Museum and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, $10,500,000 for renovating four playfields, six million for Jefferson Park and five million for four other parks; and $7,250,000 for trails);
(c) $8,000,000 for the environment on such projects as stream restoration; and
(d) $15,000,000 for an Opportunity Fund. The proponents say that the programs speaks for itself; and the list has a project in almost every neighborhood. The discussion pointed out that the levy appropriates the funds lump sum and the project list is in an attachment. It's a spending plan that lets the City move the money around without notice to the neighborhoods, without a public hearing, and without findings. All it has to do is consult with an appointed Oversight Committee. In the last three levies, the City has shifted 15-20% of the money quite inconsistently to the plan in the levy. In fact, the only money for Magnuson Park in this levy would complete a project promised by the last ProParks levy and not yet done. The list caters to special interests, e.g. the Asian Art Museum and Langston Hughes moneys were put in at the last minute by the mayor and City Council; $1,250,000 goes for skateboard facilities; the playfield money would put in synthetic turf and lights that many neighborhoods oppose, etc. The Opportunity fund has no criteria -- just questions for an applicant-- and resembles a slush fund. The City Council rejected safeguards that the communities sought to secure accountability.
Representatives decided to take no position on Proposition No. 2.
Megahouses: Councilmember Richard Conlin, who had sponsored the legislation as a reform measure, revised it to housekeeping amendments. Megahouses are now 3 story high -- five on some slopes. Conlin dropped the section that would have cut that height to conform with the height limit of the lower three multi-family zones that more closely approximates the pattern for single family housing generally (any 3rd story must be in an attic).The Master Builders Association objected to Sunset Hills' initial proposal and declared this package "benign." The Council passed it along with a Work Plan for further study. In lieu of a lowered height limit, the MBA and several young residential architects have proposed substituting floor area ratios commonly used in commercial and industrial zones. A residential calculation can be subjective about what is included, but includes upper stories as well, not just the "foot print" as does lot coverage. Suburban towns with very small houses on very large lots have been armor plating their already strict setbacks, height limits and lot coverage limits with "FAR" (floor area ratios). This is redundant when FARs are set very close to lot coverage limit, e.g. a ratio of .4 with a lot coverage of 35% (which is similar to Seattle's). And if substituted for traditional limits readily understood by all as is proposed in the Multi-family Update, it is contrary to the predictable compatibility being sought. Community Councils are urged to inform their neighborhoods and write in.
South Lake Union: SLUFAN, the Vulcan-sponsored development-minded association, has proposed a massive upzone of the South Lake Union area. It would allow two towers per block, each up to 400' high -- taller than Queen Anne and Capitol Hill. The Regrade is its model. The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is scheduling a scoping meeting on the upzone. It cites the west end of Vancouver, B.C. as an example, but Vancouver requires set-backs, tree planting, and compliance with strict design standards -- none of which are in this proposal. The Mayor would assist the plan with his Incentive Zoning proposals that doubles height limits; and it would provide tax holidays for including a few "affordable" units in the condo towers. The infrastructure is not there for so many tall towers. The Cascade Community Council, other residents and owners in the area have formed the Lake Union Opportunity Alliance (LUOA) to oppose the plan. LUOA may have to appeal a rezone to the Growth Management Hearings Board.
Motion passed to oppose the upzone as unacceptable; to support the principle that growth should pay for the utilities needed to accommodate it, and to insist on following the regular procedures for a rezone.
Residential Parking Zones (RPZ): The Seattle Department of Transportation wants to limit the number of permits to a maximum of four per address; to replace the one year-round guest pass with day-use coupons abutters may buy; to increase permit fees; to relieve traffic generators of paying to support the program; and to give SDOT more discretion to create RPZ's. The Federation will send a comment letter containing recommendations from member organizations e-mailed to our President.
Magnuson Park: The City is set to pass ordinances granting long-term sweetheart leases of Buildings 11 and 27 at Magnuson Park to special-interest for-profit organizations, including commercial and office space uses. It has to go through more process before passing the rezoning Ordinance. A citizens' group is planning to go for referenda. It will need 16,000 signatures to each petition in 29 days. The City also plans to remove the cap on housing in the zoning overlay, to tear down the fire station in the historic district and to contract with a developer to build an ersatz building there.
Motion passed to authorize letters to the City Council to delay acting on the leases and the rezoning, giving reasons for opposing the action; and to authorize letters to federal authorities against granting the City permission to introduce commercial and office uses into a park conveyed to the City exclusively for park purposes.
NOTE -- The Magnuson Park sweetheart deal has gone down. For the details of Council Bill Number 116313 and Ordinance Number 122814 go to http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=&s3=116313&s4=&s5=&Sect4=and&l=20&Sect2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=CBOR1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=CBOR&p=1&u=/~public/cbor1.htm&r=1&f=G
Children's Hospital: Laurelhurst explained the latest alternatives for building placement on the Children's campus. The gross square footage remains the same. It asks for an accurate up-to-date traffic study, consideration of cumulative impacts with University Village expansion and parking garages, compliance with concurrency requirements, and a supplemental draft environmental impact statement.
Unanimous concurrence to support the requests made by Laurelhurst and authorize appropriate letters.
Air Pollution: Our September newsletter on page 2 summarized a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about an alarming elevated cancer risk in South Seattle linked to air pollution. Eastlake reported that I-5 traffic fouls its air like trucks and traffic do along U.S. 99 and it asked that our call ask for action wherever the problem exists.
Motion passed to set up a special Health Committee under Chas Talbot to recommend action, including proposing a letter(s) for approval at our October meeting.
Noise Ordinance Amendments: Chris Leman is appealing to the Hearing Examiner some sections of the amendments to the noise ordinance. Those sections allow DPD to give contractors carte blanche exemption on any public project for its duration. Instead of doing an environmental impact statement, the City determined that the amendments had no significant impact. Chris has found volunteer experts who will explain that the noise exemption allows noisy nightime construction and that has major impacts. The City moved to have the hearing examiner dismiss the appeal as a matter of law; the motion failed.
"Biodefense" Labs: After the anthrax letter attacks, the U.S. Congress authorized spending about $57 billion for research in protecting the population from biological and genetically modified pathogens and bioterror attacks. It spawned extensive research at federal installations, at pharmaceutical companies subject to federal inspection, and at academic and private sector laboratories that have little oversight. Labwatch asked the Federation to join in a call to appropriate federal authorities to halt development of new "biodefense" facilities and put operational controls on existing programs until serious questions are resolved related to public safety, biosafety and biosurety compliance, laboratory regulation, research focus, select agent use and control, and appropriate locations for high containment labs.
Motion passed to support the call in concept. The consequences of an accidental or intentional spread of such pathogens are great, and when a substantial, informed segment of the population expresses serious concerns, prudence advises that federal officials should pause in expanding the program until the concerns are resolved.
Tree Ordinance: The City Council will consider two tree preservation ordinances. The City now limits cutting "exceptional" trees after an application for development has been filed; no restraints apply beforehand except in Critical Areas (i.e. slopes that are prone to slide). Save Our Trees supports a strong ordinance that defines "exceptional" trees; sets up a process for identifying them; and applies the restraints applicable after an application has been filed to a duration beforehand. The Mayor proposes a much weaker ordinance which would apply to a "stand" of trees i.e. 12 trees or more. "Exceptional" would remain without a definition. So far, DPD has yet to find a tree to be "exceptional" on private land.
Here’s some additional information from Maple Leaf Community Council’s David Miller:
The City Council is considering two different interim tree ordinances, one from the Mayor and one from the "Community."
The Mayor's ordinance effectively closes a loophole that allows trees to be cut on non-single family lots outside of a development permit process. This is the loophole the Seattle School District tried to use before the Save Our Trees group stopped them in court. DPD has also proposed an amendment to their code guidance "Director's Rule" document that defines a tree "grove" as any group of eight or more trees 12" or more in diameter, and call that grove "exceptional." While this is certainly an improvement over current policy that ignores groves altogether (in violation of city code, according to the City Council), the Mayor?s is a hollow proposal.
As an illustration, there are two "Exceptional" trees located on the Waldo Hospital site that the city will allow to be taken out. One is the tallest tree on the site, a 100+ foot tall Douglas fir on 86th that is over three feet in diameter. The second is the western white pine that is at the southeast corner of the Waldo building. Therefore, a designation of "exceptional" does not require the city to preserve these trees.
The Interim Tree Grove Ordinance proposed by the community actually protects trees, preventing any grove of 20 or more trees from being removed or harmed by construction. Importantly, it puts this protection into law (as opposed to a Director's Rule) by amending both SMC 25.11 and SEPA codes.
The easiest way to keep updated on the progress of these ordinances is to join the Maple Leaf Community Council's Waldo mailing list at this link: http://www.mapleleafcommunity.org/mail_list_join.html
Think Tank funds:
Motion passed to authorize its use by our task force on multifamily rezoning.
Thank you to Dr. Glover Barnes for hosting the August potluck.
Passed unanimously.
NOTE --- These Meeting Highlights have been revised to incorporate additional information and clarifications, and to correct typos. The revisions appear in red boldface in the paragraphs “The Parks Strategic Action Plan”, “Megahouses”, “Magnuson Park” and “Tree Ordinance”.
(These pages are based on the editor's notes --- they are not official minutes)
Land Use issues predominate as communities struggle against special interest legislation. Read on.
President's Report: The Federation sent letters to City Councilmembers seeking amendments to the draft of a revised ordinance on sidewalk cafes to preserve pedestrian passage, and other letters opposing sweetheart leases of two waterfront buildings to developers in Magnuson Park for 30 to 40 years; Anna Nissan testified at the City Council on the MegaHouse legislation (see below). It also sent out e-mail action alerts on public hearings and major events. Our president alerted members to seven September 25, 2008 Federation Meeting Highlights
The Parks Strategic Action Plan is now available at http://seattle.gov/parks/Publications/ParksActionPlan.htm
Pike Place Market Levy: The levy authorizes $73,000,000 in property taxes ($2.16 per $1000 of assessed value) over 6 years to fix-up the Pike Place Market. It would pay for new plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems, roofs, elevators, windows, floors, facades, restrooms, and fire and seismic upgrades. The representative of the Market's constituency said that the fix-up is badly needed; the ordinance provides for genuine oversight by the City through an oversight committee selected in part by the constituency, the City, and the Pike Place Market PDA; that rents are set too low to cover major capital expenditures in order to keep the variety of small business, handicrafts, and artists viable; and the City will have to approve overruns of the budget. The advocates of "No" say the Ordinance is flawed and the amount is more than need be. The rebuttal replied that those critiques apply to almost all levies; this levy tries to address those concerns.
Motion passed to support the Pike Place Market Levy, Ordinance 122737 (Three abstentions),
Parks Levy: The Parks levy (Ordinance 122749) would raise $145,500,000 over 6 years in property taxes ($2.50 per $ 000 of assessed value). It allocates:
(a) $35,697,000 for buying land for new parks ($
(b) $87,292,000 for "development" of existing parks ( $11,500,000 for improving the
the Asian Art Museum and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, $10,500,000 for renovating four playfields, six million for Jefferson Park and five million for four other parks; and $7,250,000 for trails);
(c) $8,000,000 for the environment on such projects as stream restoration; and
(d) $15,000,000 for an Opportunity Fund. The proponents say that the programs speaks for itself; and the list has a project in almost every neighborhood. The discussion pointed out that the levy appropriates the funds lump sum and the project list is in an attachment. It's a spending plan that lets the City move the money around without notice to the neighborhoods, without a public hearing, and without findings. All it has to do is consult with an appointed Oversight Committee. In the last three levies, the City has shifted 15-20% of the money quite inconsistently to the plan in the levy. In fact, the only money for Magnuson Park in this levy would complete a project promised by the last ProParks levy and not yet done. The list caters to special interests, e.g. the Asian Art Museum and Langston Hughes moneys were put in at the last minute by the mayor and City Council; $1,250,000 goes for skateboard facilities; the playfield money would put in synthetic turf and lights that many neighborhoods oppose, etc. The Opportunity fund has no criteria -- just questions for an applicant-- and resembles a slush fund. The City Council rejected safeguards that the communities sought to secure accountability.
Representatives decided to take no position on Proposition No. 2.
Megahouses: Councilmember Richard Conlin, who had sponsored the legislation as a reform measure, revised it to housekeeping amendments. Megahouses are now 3 story high -- five on some slopes. Conlin dropped the section that would have cut that height to conform with the height limit of the lower three multi-family zones that more closely approximates the pattern for single family housing generally (any 3rd story must be in an attic).The Master Builders Association objected to Sunset Hills' initial proposal and declared this package "benign." The Council passed it along with a Work Plan for further study. In lieu of a lowered height limit, the MBA and several young residential architects have proposed substituting floor area ratios commonly used in commercial and industrial zones. A residential calculation can be subjective about what is included, but includes upper stories as well, not just the "foot print" as does lot coverage. Suburban towns with very small houses on very large lots have been armor plating their already strict setbacks, height limits and lot coverage limits with "FAR" (floor area ratios). This is redundant when FARs are set very close to lot coverage limit, e.g. a ratio of .4 with a lot coverage of 35% (which is similar to Seattle's). And if substituted for traditional limits readily understood by all as is proposed in the Multi-family Update, it is contrary to the predictable compatibility being sought. Community Councils are urged to inform their neighborhoods and write in.
South Lake Union: SLUFAN, the Vulcan-sponsored development-minded association, has proposed a massive upzone of the South Lake Union area. It would allow two towers per block, each up to 400' high -- taller than Queen Anne and Capitol Hill. The Regrade is its model. The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is scheduling a scoping meeting on the upzone. It cites the west end of Vancouver, B.C. as an example, but Vancouver requires set-backs, tree planting, and compliance with strict design standards -- none of which are in this proposal. The Mayor would assist the plan with his Incentive Zoning proposals that doubles height limits; and it would provide tax holidays for including a few "affordable" units in the condo towers. The infrastructure is not there for so many tall towers. The Cascade Community Council, other residents and owners in the area have formed the Lake Union Opportunity Alliance (LUOA) to oppose the plan. LUOA may have to appeal a rezone to the Growth Management Hearings Board.
Motion passed to oppose the upzone as unacceptable; to support the principle that growth should pay for the utilities needed to accommodate it, and to insist on following the regular procedures for a rezone.
Residential Parking Zones (RPZ): The Seattle Department of Transportation wants to limit the number of permits to a maximum of four per address; to replace the one year-round guest pass with day-use coupons abutters may buy; to increase permit fees; to relieve traffic generators of paying to support the program; and to give SDOT more discretion to create RPZ's. The Federation will send a comment letter containing recommendations from member organizations e-mailed to our President.
Magnuson Park: The City is set to pass ordinances granting long-term sweetheart leases of Buildings 11 and 27 at Magnuson Park to special-interest for-profit organizations, including commercial and office space uses. It has to go through more process before passing the rezoning Ordinance. A citizens' group is planning to go for referenda. It will need 16,000 signatures to each petition in 29 days. The City also plans to remove the cap on housing in the zoning overlay, to tear down the fire station in the historic district and to contract with a developer to build an ersatz building there.
Motion passed to authorize letters to the City Council to delay acting on the leases and the rezoning, giving reasons for opposing the action; and to authorize letters to federal authorities against granting the City permission to introduce commercial and office uses into a park conveyed to the City exclusively for park purposes.
NOTE -- The Magnuson Park sweetheart deal has gone down. For the details of Council Bill Number 116313 and Ordinance Number 122814 go to http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=&s3=116313&s4=&s5=&Sect4=and&l=20&Sect2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=CBOR1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=CBOR&p=1&u=/~public/cbor1.htm&r=1&f=G
Children's Hospital: Laurelhurst explained the latest alternatives for building placement on the Children's campus. The gross square footage remains the same. It asks for an accurate up-to-date traffic study, consideration of cumulative impacts with University Village expansion and parking garages, compliance with concurrency requirements, and a supplemental draft environmental impact statement.
Unanimous concurrence to support the requests made by Laurelhurst and authorize appropriate letters.
Air Pollution: Our September newsletter on page 2 summarized a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about an alarming elevated cancer risk in South Seattle linked to air pollution. Eastlake reported that I-5 traffic fouls its air like trucks and traffic do along U.S. 99 and it asked that our call ask for action wherever the problem exists.
Motion passed to set up a special Health Committee under Chas Talbot to recommend action, including proposing a letter(s) for approval at our October meeting.
Noise Ordinance Amendments: Chris Leman is appealing to the Hearing Examiner some sections of the amendments to the noise ordinance. Those sections allow DPD to give contractors carte blanche exemption on any public project for its duration. Instead of doing an environmental impact statement, the City determined that the amendments had no significant impact. Chris has found volunteer experts who will explain that the noise exemption allows noisy nightime construction and that has major impacts. The City moved to have the hearing examiner dismiss the appeal as a matter of law; the motion failed.
"Biodefense" Labs: After the anthrax letter attacks, the U.S. Congress authorized spending about $57 billion for research in protecting the population from biological and genetically modified pathogens and bioterror attacks. It spawned extensive research at federal installations, at pharmaceutical companies subject to federal inspection, and at academic and private sector laboratories that have little oversight. Labwatch asked the Federation to join in a call to appropriate federal authorities to halt development of new "biodefense" facilities and put operational controls on existing programs until serious questions are resolved related to public safety, biosafety and biosurety compliance, laboratory regulation, research focus, select agent use and control, and appropriate locations for high containment labs.
Motion passed to support the call in concept. The consequences of an accidental or intentional spread of such pathogens are great, and when a substantial, informed segment of the population expresses serious concerns, prudence advises that federal officials should pause in expanding the program until the concerns are resolved.
Tree Ordinance: The City Council will consider two tree preservation ordinances. The City now limits cutting "exceptional" trees after an application for development has been filed; no restraints apply beforehand except in Critical Areas (i.e. slopes that are prone to slide). Save Our Trees supports a strong ordinance that defines "exceptional" trees; sets up a process for identifying them; and applies the restraints applicable after an application has been filed to a duration beforehand. The Mayor proposes a much weaker ordinance which would apply to a "stand" of trees i.e. 12 trees or more. "Exceptional" would remain without a definition. So far, DPD has yet to find a tree to be "exceptional" on private land.
Here’s some additional information from Maple Leaf Community Council’s David Miller:
The City Council is considering two different interim tree ordinances, one from the Mayor and one from the "Community."
The Mayor's ordinance effectively closes a loophole that allows trees to be cut on non-single family lots outside of a development permit process. This is the loophole the Seattle School District tried to use before the Save Our Trees group stopped them in court. DPD has also proposed an amendment to their code guidance "Director's Rule" document that defines a tree "grove" as any group of eight or more trees 12" or more in diameter, and call that grove "exceptional." While this is certainly an improvement over current policy that ignores groves altogether (in violation of city code, according to the City Council), the Mayor?s is a hollow proposal.
As an illustration, there are two "Exceptional" trees located on the Waldo Hospital site that the city will allow to be taken out. One is the tallest tree on the site, a 100+ foot tall Douglas fir on 86th that is over three feet in diameter. The second is the western white pine that is at the southeast corner of the Waldo building. Therefore, a designation of "exceptional" does not require the city to preserve these trees.
The Interim Tree Grove Ordinance proposed by the community actually protects trees, preventing any grove of 20 or more trees from being removed or harmed by construction. Importantly, it puts this protection into law (as opposed to a Director's Rule) by amending both SMC 25.11 and SEPA codes.
The easiest way to keep updated on the progress of these ordinances is to join the Maple Leaf Community Council's Waldo mailing list at this link: http://www.mapleleafcommunity.org/mail_list_join.html
Think Tank funds:
Motion passed to authorize its use by our task force on multifamily rezoning.
Thank you to Dr. Glover Barnes for hosting the August potluck.
Passed unanimously.
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