Saturday, July 21, 2007
FEDERATION Complete Streets Ordinance, Ordinance 122386 LETTER
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
June 28, 2007
Councilmember Jan Drago, Chair
Transportation Committee and
Members of the Committee
699 4th Avenue, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 34025
Seattle, Washington 98124-4025
RE: Complete Streets Ordinance, Ordinance 122386
Dear Councilmembers Drago, Steinbrueck, Rasmussen, Godden and Conlin:
We urge you to repeal Section 3 of Ordinance 122386, which gives trucking absolute priority over all other uses and users in the design and layout of Seattle’s bridges across waterways and on its major arterials. Section 3 states:
“Because freight is important to the basic economy of the City and has unique right-of-way needs to support that role, freight will be the major priority on streets classified as Major Truck Streets. Complete Street Improvements that are consistent with freight mobility but also support other modes may be considered on these streets.” (emphasis supplied)
These two sentences place moving freight before moving people in emergency vehicles or on public transit. “Major Truck Streets” include the bridges over Seattle’s waterways, its freeways and major arterials, connecting arterials, and Alaskan Way and Western Avenue downtown—in fact, the most traveled streets throughout Seattle used by buses, emergency vehicles, cars, bicycles and the RTA.
Section 3 will control the allocation of roadway space, signalization, painting and striping and construction of new roadways as well as reconstruction of our existing ones, and will shape the master plans for cycling, transit, pedestrians (now in progress) and the City’s growth management plan. It has these major impacts:
1) Section 3 impairs transit only lanes during peak hours such as are found on Aurora Avenue North and HOV lanes like those on NE Pacific Street by the University Medical Center. Trucks prefer the curb land for the convenience of loading and unloading goods. Those are the very lanes needed by transit and emergency vehicles for boarding.
2) Section 3 impairs signalization to disfavor buses and emergency vehicles. Many cities equip buses and emergency vehicles to preempt traffic signals so that they can go through without waiting. That may be an inconvenience to truckers coming from a different direction. In conferring “the major priority” upon truckers, Section 3 lets them demand similar devices to seize the right of way.
3) Section 3 preempts master planning for transit, bicycles and pedestrians, which is now underway. Transit and cyclists use—and need—to use bridges and level arterials. In fact, the proposed Bicycle Master Plan calls for the use of Shilshole Avenue, NE Pacific Street, Westlake, Mercer and Valley, Alaskan Way, Western, Dearborn, West Marginal Way and Fauntleroy Way, among other streets classified as Major Truck Streets. To even be considered in their design or for future use, METRO, cyclists and pedestrians will need to prove to Seattle’s Department of Transportation (already heavily oriented to cars and trucks) that their use would be consistent with trucking. The Benson Street Car Line may never get back on track. Pedestrians enjoy the Alaskan Way waterfront, a gateway to Sculpture Gardens Park. Street beautification (such as tree planting and artworks) does not by their nature support other modes of travel and may not even be considered on Major Truck Streets.
4) Section 3 conflicts with transit only lanes on I-90 and HOV lanes on I-5 and SR 520 unless trucks get equal usage. I-5, I-90 and SR 520 are all Major Truck Streets. Seattle will now align itself with the Port of Seattle in seeking use of HOV lanes for heavy trucks—an idea opposed by environmentalists, car poolers and METRO.
5) Section 3’s truck preference contradicts the Bridging the Gap levy adopted as Ordinance 122232 last November. Section 6 of the levy emphasizes transit, bicycle, pedestrian and safety improvements and maintenance and management of streets for multiple uses (including urban forestry). It makes no mention of trucking preference. To build support, the City Council had passed Resolution 30915. It contains an attachment, Version 3, which declares as its guiding principle: “To design, operate and maintain Seattle’s streets to promote safe and convenient access and travel for all users; pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and disabled users as well as cars and trucks.” Freight is one of the many uses. It made planning subject to the overriding principle that “in each case user needs must be balanced.” As long as Section 3 remains, City government will be misusing Bridging the Gap levy moneys in spending it on Major Truck Streets since the design would not be balanced as the levy calls for.
6) Section 3 will cost voter support for the Regional Transportation Improvement District Levy. That levy would raise sales taxes paid by the general public—not gas taxes paid by highway users. Most of the money would be spent on Major Truck Streets. It thereby taxes the electorate for roadway design and construction that puts trucks ahead of transit and emergency vehicles, demotes their use of improved highways with private cars to
third class status, and precludes non-transportation uses. Its casts a shadow over the effectiveness of the transit moneys.
7) Section 3 contradicts Seattle’s comprehensive plan, which emphasizes transit. It is a de facto plan amendment and should only have been considered through the plan amendment process. That process was not considered or followed.
8) The inclusion of Section 3 violates the Seattle City Charter, Article IV, Section 7, which requires that “Every ordinance shall be clearly entitled and shall contain but one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.” The title of Ordinance 122386 relates to “Seattle Complete Street policy” for planning, designing and constructing street”…to encourage walking, bicycling and transit use while promoting safe operation for all users.” Section 3 makes the title of Ordinance 122386 misleading. It does not mention truck preference at all. Repealing Section 3 furthers the Complete Streets policy as contained in Resolution 30915.
In light of the compelling arguments we have raised, we urge you to reconsider Ordinance 122386 and repeal Section 3. 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
FEDERATION JUNE 28, 2007 Meeting Highlights
JUNE 28, 2007 Meeting Highlights
(These pages are based on the editor's notes --- they are not official minutes),
President’s Report:
The Federation sent a series of six letters to the appropriate officials:
(1) to the Mayor suggesting changes to the major institutions master planning process and the appointment of plan advisory committees;
(2) to the Mayor and Director of Transportation with a draft "Client Assistance Memorandum" to discourage the practice of allowing developers to encroach into street area with walls and fences thereby squeezing pedestrians on the sidewalk and to pedestrian and safety advocate groups about the SDOT practice;
(3) to the King County Superintendent of Elections for at least ten in-person polling places within Seattle when all-mail voting takes effect;
(4) to the City Council asking that notice be sent to the neighborhood community council and to abutters giving an opportunity to comment before painting or reconstructing roadways to displace parking for bike lanes;
(5) to the Planning Commission on incentive zoning as discussed at our earlier meetings; and (6) to congratulate John Barber on his selection to the Park Board.
Parks Strategic Business Plan:
Background: On May 3rd, Parks sent to the Board of Park Commissioners a memorandum, entitled "Strategic Business Plan," contained in our June newsletter, which called for "new and enhanced revenue sources and partnerships" to support programs and services, including re-evaluating services that are supplied by others, granting naming rights for donations, designating "certain parks or portions of parks as revenue generation centers and allowing revenue-generating activities" there, charging market based fees, and maximizing use and "rental revenue through marketing." It recycles ideas that Parks had proposed in a memorandum, dated May 4, 2005, for advertising in City brochures, private sponsorship of events, selling naming rights, upping fees, adding more concessions and game arcades, leasing to private entities, privatization, membership fees, and parking fees. The Federation had responded to the 2005 memorandum with a Policy Framework adopting basic principles for park use; rentals, concessions, for leases and for implementing them.
Citizen Comments ("C") during our discussion:
C-1: Start with our 2005 Policy Framework and update it.
C-2: This is immediate: Arena Sports is seeking Building 27, a large former hangar, at Magnuson Park, as a long-term concession for pay-for-play activities.
C-3: The City is declaring neighborhood parks to be "regional parks" so that it may convert them for tournament play and ignore local comment. It is putting in tower pole, high-intensity lights and artificial turf at neighborhood fields. Wherever either such lighting or artificial turf comes in, the other is sure to follow. Maximum "playable hours” takes both. "Playable hours" does not mean actual hours of use, but hours available for use. In contrast, King County bars high-level lighting from parks in residential areas.
C-4: Artificial turf is hotter on the ground than natural grass. Natural grass can regenerate; the artificial turf cannot be repaired and the whole has to be junked; it can't be reused or recycled. That violates the City's no-waste policy. Artificial turf made of ground up tires releases pollutants through "off gassing" with a distinctive smell. Dogs are not allowed. It traps cigarette ash and air borne dust. It can be like coarse sand to walk on after much usage. Bainbridge Island and New York City have adopted a policy against artificial turf.
C-5: High-intensity lighting is expensive to install, only lasts 8-10 years, and often draws power when the fields are not used, e.g. during downpours, time between play, and cancelled events.
C-6: Active users pay only about 15% of the expense when capital costs are considered. Artificial turf costs about $1,000,000 per field, and lighting costs about $600,000. Subsidizing a concessionaire is very different from helping after school teams or youth leagues. For example, concessionaires charge more for use during peak hours and that forces students into off-hours, yet crime prevention argues for having youth play field sports or work out in gyms during evenings , rather than hanging out on the street.
C-7: The business plan is vague. All sorts of privatization and sweetheart deals can fit under it.
C-8: A parks "enterprise unit" is almost unique to Seattle. Western cities are alert to opportunities for capturing revenue, but park administrators elsewhere abhor the idea of setting up a division just for commercializing and chasing revenue. A single-minded section like that lacks balance and its advocacy over time will diminish the mission of a parks department to provide recreational services for the public and an environmental ambience for the greater community. Making money has a way of trumping public service.
C-9: Parks is moving toward commercializing lower Woodland by Greenlake. Its high- lighted, artificial turf fields are fenced and reserved or scheduled to exclude casual use by the neighborhood., and there are plans for a skateboard facility. The outwash gas goes to Greenlake. The fields are empty on weekends.
C-10: Drop in sports and family picnic games head for natural turf. A different mix of grasses may do better at particular fields; parks standardizes the grass on its fields, but soils conditions and usage differ.
C-11: The Parks department charges $95 for evening use of a meeting room. Some [facilities] waive it for community council public meetings; some don't. The business strategy implies waivers will be harder to get.
C-12: Seattle Prep is proposing to dredge peat at Montlake Playfield and cover it with artificial turf and lighting; it will get priority usage in return. The Montlake Community donated the playfield to the City. Such a "preferred use" violates the spirit of the donation. C-13: Loyal Heights playfield was also donated in the plat, yet Parks put in high-tower lighting and artificial turf. It then called it a "regional playfield" and overrode community objections. The City Auditor came to a community meeting protesting about the Parks action.
Motion passed to send a strong statement about City parks opposing privatization and corporatizing and to update our Policy Framework for submission to appropriate City authorities, and also to appoint a committee to report back at our July meeting.
The Chair appointed volunteers Gloria Butts, Renee' Barton, Lynn Ferguson, Geof Logan, and Chris Leman, with Doris Burns to get a copy and chance to comment before the meeting.
Alaskan Way Viaduct:
The Maritime industry, business associations (Aurora Avenue Merchants Assoc., SODO Business Association, North Seattle Industrial Association), industry (CityIce Cold Storage, Pacific Fishermen Shipyard), unions (Office & Professional Employees, Sailors Union, IAM District Lodge, Seattle ILWU, Boilermakers Union) and community groups (Ballard District Council and Admiral Community Council) wrote to the Governor and key legislators supporting an elevated replacement or retrofitting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Viaduct moves 110,000 vehicles every day of the through traffic and connects Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, and Fremont with West Seattle and Delridge. It is the main way of commerce for maritime industries and the port and replacing it causes the least economic disruption. The City authorized a study of the surface option at a cost of
$8,000,000. The supporters of the surface option are mostly downtown developers, downtown interests, and anti-auto environmentalists.
Elements of a Pedestrian Master Plan:
To get the Pedestrian Master Plan advisory committee started in the right direction, the meeting reviewed a draft of elements for inclusion into the plan
Zoo Garage:
The Phinney Ridge Community Council will be filing an appeal under the State Environmental Policy Act and the Land Use Code from the City's grant of a Master Use Permit for the (710-stall) zoo garage to the Hearing Examiner. DPD requires that the community association first apply for a Code interpretation, which requires a deposit of $2000. The community questions how the City can allow such a large garage in a single- family zone, which strictly limits the size of garages. The Zoo claims approval of its master plan made a de facto rezoning. The Zoo is commercializing its grounds. Or instance, it plans an "events center" like a large banquet hall, a retail store to sell goods, a coffee shop, and a change to the west entry. People will be able to go to the store and coffee shop without entering the zoo.
Motion passed for the Federation to join in the appeal and authorize appropriate letters in support of the Phinney Ridge Community Council.
2007 City Council Candidate Questionnaire:
The Federation prepared a questionnaire with 34 Yes-No questions. Responses will be posted at the Federation website, htttp://seattlefederation.blogspot.com. Questions cover:
• City Council procedures; an elected Comptroller/Treasurer;
• reconfirmation of the Police and Fire Chiefs every four years;
• creating an independent ombudsman;
• release of City Attorney opinions;
• on-line publication of official notices;
• public access to public records;
• renewal of the parks and open space levy;
• commercialization of parks;
• restoring the funding of the Neighborhood Street Fund in the Bridging-the-Gap Levy reallocated by SDOT;
• using Levy money for residential streets; the practice of using regular tax moneys for discretionary spending and using special levies for basic services such as streets, police, and fire;
• requiring permits for tree removal;
• the White Center annexation;
• condemnation for private redevelopment;
• up-zoning single family neighborhoods;
• restoring requirements for setbacks and open space;
• impact fees for transit and open space;
• increasing the categorical exemptions to exempt larger projects from environmental review, design review, and appeals to the hearing examiner;
• using the grassroots model for updating neighborhood plans;
• and state legislation letting the State and King County impose growth goals on Seattle.
Waldo Hospital:
The Landmarks Preservation Board voted against designating the former Campfire Girls site on 15th Ave NE in Maple Leaf as a Landmark, although the Boards own staff had recommended designation. It was built as Waldo Hospital and for decades provided osteopathic medicine in a woodsy setting. The Board scheduled one hour for its hearing., then gave the developer 59 minutes to make its appeal from the staff recommendation and the community one minute to speak in favor of it. It voted immediately afterward and did not take time to review exhibits and papers submitted at the hearing.
The developer will save only 6 of the 80 magnificent trees. The Campfire Council had rejected an offer of a buyer willing to save the trees and the building.
The Maple Leaf community is seeking a full environmental impact statement on the project. It cites air pollution from demolition (dust, lead paint, asbestos) that may settle in the adjacent Roosevelt reservoir; impacts to underground springs and drainage to Thornton Creek; loss of a significant urban forest among other issues.
Motion passed authorize letters asking for a fair and balanced process from the Landmarks Preservation Board and for an ordinance amendment requiring the Board to conduct a fair process, hearing from the applicants as well as developers.
South Lake Union Plan:
The Cascade Neighborhood Association got the neighborhood plan to recommend that the City "explore" various elements it advocates. The developers got firm recommendations
Appreciation to Benella Caminiti:
The Federation authorized a letter of appreciation to Benella Caminiti who moved to Lake Stevens. It's like an Oscar for lifetime achievement. Ms. Caminiti championed the public trust doctrine over shorelines and tidelands and her lawsuit helped get it embodied into Washington law. Through another lawsuit, she made plans for development of Discovery Park subject to environmental review processes. She was a leader in the fight to save Lawton Elementary School from a proposed closure. Her research skills and dedication are legendary. Congratulations, Benella!
(These pages are based on the editor's notes --- they are not official minutes),
President’s Report:
The Federation sent a series of six letters to the appropriate officials:
(1) to the Mayor suggesting changes to the major institutions master planning process and the appointment of plan advisory committees;
(2) to the Mayor and Director of Transportation with a draft "Client Assistance Memorandum" to discourage the practice of allowing developers to encroach into street area with walls and fences thereby squeezing pedestrians on the sidewalk and to pedestrian and safety advocate groups about the SDOT practice;
(3) to the King County Superintendent of Elections for at least ten in-person polling places within Seattle when all-mail voting takes effect;
(4) to the City Council asking that notice be sent to the neighborhood community council and to abutters giving an opportunity to comment before painting or reconstructing roadways to displace parking for bike lanes;
(5) to the Planning Commission on incentive zoning as discussed at our earlier meetings; and (6) to congratulate John Barber on his selection to the Park Board.
Parks Strategic Business Plan:
Background: On May 3rd, Parks sent to the Board of Park Commissioners a memorandum, entitled "Strategic Business Plan," contained in our June newsletter, which called for "new and enhanced revenue sources and partnerships" to support programs and services, including re-evaluating services that are supplied by others, granting naming rights for donations, designating "certain parks or portions of parks as revenue generation centers and allowing revenue-generating activities" there, charging market based fees, and maximizing use and "rental revenue through marketing." It recycles ideas that Parks had proposed in a memorandum, dated May 4, 2005, for advertising in City brochures, private sponsorship of events, selling naming rights, upping fees, adding more concessions and game arcades, leasing to private entities, privatization, membership fees, and parking fees. The Federation had responded to the 2005 memorandum with a Policy Framework adopting basic principles for park use; rentals, concessions, for leases and for implementing them.
Citizen Comments ("C") during our discussion:
C-1: Start with our 2005 Policy Framework and update it.
C-2: This is immediate: Arena Sports is seeking Building 27, a large former hangar, at Magnuson Park, as a long-term concession for pay-for-play activities.
C-3: The City is declaring neighborhood parks to be "regional parks" so that it may convert them for tournament play and ignore local comment. It is putting in tower pole, high-intensity lights and artificial turf at neighborhood fields. Wherever either such lighting or artificial turf comes in, the other is sure to follow. Maximum "playable hours” takes both. "Playable hours" does not mean actual hours of use, but hours available for use. In contrast, King County bars high-level lighting from parks in residential areas.
C-4: Artificial turf is hotter on the ground than natural grass. Natural grass can regenerate; the artificial turf cannot be repaired and the whole has to be junked; it can't be reused or recycled. That violates the City's no-waste policy. Artificial turf made of ground up tires releases pollutants through "off gassing" with a distinctive smell. Dogs are not allowed. It traps cigarette ash and air borne dust. It can be like coarse sand to walk on after much usage. Bainbridge Island and New York City have adopted a policy against artificial turf.
C-5: High-intensity lighting is expensive to install, only lasts 8-10 years, and often draws power when the fields are not used, e.g. during downpours, time between play, and cancelled events.
C-6: Active users pay only about 15% of the expense when capital costs are considered. Artificial turf costs about $1,000,000 per field, and lighting costs about $600,000. Subsidizing a concessionaire is very different from helping after school teams or youth leagues. For example, concessionaires charge more for use during peak hours and that forces students into off-hours, yet crime prevention argues for having youth play field sports or work out in gyms during evenings , rather than hanging out on the street.
C-7: The business plan is vague. All sorts of privatization and sweetheart deals can fit under it.
C-8: A parks "enterprise unit" is almost unique to Seattle. Western cities are alert to opportunities for capturing revenue, but park administrators elsewhere abhor the idea of setting up a division just for commercializing and chasing revenue. A single-minded section like that lacks balance and its advocacy over time will diminish the mission of a parks department to provide recreational services for the public and an environmental ambience for the greater community. Making money has a way of trumping public service.
C-9: Parks is moving toward commercializing lower Woodland by Greenlake. Its high- lighted, artificial turf fields are fenced and reserved or scheduled to exclude casual use by the neighborhood., and there are plans for a skateboard facility. The outwash gas goes to Greenlake. The fields are empty on weekends.
C-10: Drop in sports and family picnic games head for natural turf. A different mix of grasses may do better at particular fields; parks standardizes the grass on its fields, but soils conditions and usage differ.
C-11: The Parks department charges $95 for evening use of a meeting room. Some [facilities] waive it for community council public meetings; some don't. The business strategy implies waivers will be harder to get.
C-12: Seattle Prep is proposing to dredge peat at Montlake Playfield and cover it with artificial turf and lighting; it will get priority usage in return. The Montlake Community donated the playfield to the City. Such a "preferred use" violates the spirit of the donation. C-13: Loyal Heights playfield was also donated in the plat, yet Parks put in high-tower lighting and artificial turf. It then called it a "regional playfield" and overrode community objections. The City Auditor came to a community meeting protesting about the Parks action.
Motion passed to send a strong statement about City parks opposing privatization and corporatizing and to update our Policy Framework for submission to appropriate City authorities, and also to appoint a committee to report back at our July meeting.
The Chair appointed volunteers Gloria Butts, Renee' Barton, Lynn Ferguson, Geof Logan, and Chris Leman, with Doris Burns to get a copy and chance to comment before the meeting.
Alaskan Way Viaduct:
The Maritime industry, business associations (Aurora Avenue Merchants Assoc., SODO Business Association, North Seattle Industrial Association), industry (CityIce Cold Storage, Pacific Fishermen Shipyard), unions (Office & Professional Employees, Sailors Union, IAM District Lodge, Seattle ILWU, Boilermakers Union) and community groups (Ballard District Council and Admiral Community Council) wrote to the Governor and key legislators supporting an elevated replacement or retrofitting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Viaduct moves 110,000 vehicles every day of the through traffic and connects Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, and Fremont with West Seattle and Delridge. It is the main way of commerce for maritime industries and the port and replacing it causes the least economic disruption. The City authorized a study of the surface option at a cost of
$8,000,000. The supporters of the surface option are mostly downtown developers, downtown interests, and anti-auto environmentalists.
Elements of a Pedestrian Master Plan:
To get the Pedestrian Master Plan advisory committee started in the right direction, the meeting reviewed a draft of elements for inclusion into the plan
Zoo Garage:
The Phinney Ridge Community Council will be filing an appeal under the State Environmental Policy Act and the Land Use Code from the City's grant of a Master Use Permit for the (710-stall) zoo garage to the Hearing Examiner. DPD requires that the community association first apply for a Code interpretation, which requires a deposit of $2000. The community questions how the City can allow such a large garage in a single- family zone, which strictly limits the size of garages. The Zoo claims approval of its master plan made a de facto rezoning. The Zoo is commercializing its grounds. Or instance, it plans an "events center" like a large banquet hall, a retail store to sell goods, a coffee shop, and a change to the west entry. People will be able to go to the store and coffee shop without entering the zoo.
Motion passed for the Federation to join in the appeal and authorize appropriate letters in support of the Phinney Ridge Community Council.
2007 City Council Candidate Questionnaire:
The Federation prepared a questionnaire with 34 Yes-No questions. Responses will be posted at the Federation website, htttp://seattlefederation.blogspot.com. Questions cover:
• City Council procedures; an elected Comptroller/Treasurer;
• reconfirmation of the Police and Fire Chiefs every four years;
• creating an independent ombudsman;
• release of City Attorney opinions;
• on-line publication of official notices;
• public access to public records;
• renewal of the parks and open space levy;
• commercialization of parks;
• restoring the funding of the Neighborhood Street Fund in the Bridging-the-Gap Levy reallocated by SDOT;
• using Levy money for residential streets; the practice of using regular tax moneys for discretionary spending and using special levies for basic services such as streets, police, and fire;
• requiring permits for tree removal;
• the White Center annexation;
• condemnation for private redevelopment;
• up-zoning single family neighborhoods;
• restoring requirements for setbacks and open space;
• impact fees for transit and open space;
• increasing the categorical exemptions to exempt larger projects from environmental review, design review, and appeals to the hearing examiner;
• using the grassroots model for updating neighborhood plans;
• and state legislation letting the State and King County impose growth goals on Seattle.
Waldo Hospital:
The Landmarks Preservation Board voted against designating the former Campfire Girls site on 15th Ave NE in Maple Leaf as a Landmark, although the Boards own staff had recommended designation. It was built as Waldo Hospital and for decades provided osteopathic medicine in a woodsy setting. The Board scheduled one hour for its hearing., then gave the developer 59 minutes to make its appeal from the staff recommendation and the community one minute to speak in favor of it. It voted immediately afterward and did not take time to review exhibits and papers submitted at the hearing.
The developer will save only 6 of the 80 magnificent trees. The Campfire Council had rejected an offer of a buyer willing to save the trees and the building.
The Maple Leaf community is seeking a full environmental impact statement on the project. It cites air pollution from demolition (dust, lead paint, asbestos) that may settle in the adjacent Roosevelt reservoir; impacts to underground springs and drainage to Thornton Creek; loss of a significant urban forest among other issues.
Motion passed authorize letters asking for a fair and balanced process from the Landmarks Preservation Board and for an ordinance amendment requiring the Board to conduct a fair process, hearing from the applicants as well as developers.
South Lake Union Plan:
The Cascade Neighborhood Association got the neighborhood plan to recommend that the City "explore" various elements it advocates. The developers got firm recommendations
Appreciation to Benella Caminiti:
The Federation authorized a letter of appreciation to Benella Caminiti who moved to Lake Stevens. It's like an Oscar for lifetime achievement. Ms. Caminiti championed the public trust doctrine over shorelines and tidelands and her lawsuit helped get it embodied into Washington law. Through another lawsuit, she made plans for development of Discovery Park subject to environmental review processes. She was a leader in the fight to save Lawton Elementary School from a proposed closure. Her research skills and dedication are legendary. Congratulations, Benella!
FEDERATION ZOO GARAGE LETTER
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
July 18, 2007
Council President Nick Licata and
Members of the Seattle City Council
600 Fourth Avenue, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 34025
Seattle, Washington 98124-4025
RE: Zoo Garage
Dear Council President Licata and Members of the Council:
At its June meeting, the Seattle Community Council Federation took action to join the Phinney Ridge Community Council and Save Our Zoo in their appeal from the Master Use Permit granted by DPD to the Zoo Society for construction of the massive zoo garage. The Federation has been monitoring trends in the management of Seattle’s parks and open space for many years including issues relating to the Zoo.
The Federation is deeply concerned by the implications of a decision to allow such a massive structure to be built in a park. We believe that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has put on blinders in order to conclude that this enormous parking garage will have no adverse environmental impacts – including aesthetic impacts – and should be permitted as a customary use in a park. There is no similar parking garage in any park in Seattle and we hope there never will be. We therefore do not want this project to set a precedent of tolerance of commercial uses and building in our parks, merely because they represent a potential to generate revenue. In the case of the zoo garage, the Council’s own staff acknowledges that the garage will be a financial drain on both the City’s general fund and the Zoo Society.
Building this huge garage sets off a cascade of other excesses most notably the plans for the Event Center, an elaborate new entry with a second large gift store and a free standing coffee shop in addition to duplicating other services already in place at the main south entrance. The effects of these projects will be to create large new impervious areas and displacement of many mature trees. These actions are hardly consistent with urgent policies and efforts to preserve what’s left of our urban forest. The actions will ultimately reduce our ecological footprint!
There appears no good reason to go ahead with this controversial project. Zoo visitors continue to park in the existing lots and on the streets as they always have. The funds borrowed for this project should be redirected to meet other looming parks needs as Pro Parks levy dollars are exhausted. The Council recently approved consideration of a Comprehensive Plan amendment to set policy about “parking” uses in parks in part because of the backlash over this garage proposal. The Federation understands that the Council does not wish to undermine the Zoo Management Agreement, however, we question the sincerely of that partnership when the Zoo Society is so unwilling to consider alternatives to this garage despite being asked to do so by a majority of the Council. We ask that the Council resolve to reexamine the Zoo Long Range Physical Development Plan and have an open discussion of the community’s vision for Woodland Park and Zoo and not merely accept the Zoo Society’s capital intensive, commercial development vision.
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
July 18, 2007
Council President Nick Licata and
Members of the Seattle City Council
600 Fourth Avenue, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 34025
Seattle, Washington 98124-4025
RE: Zoo Garage
Dear Council President Licata and Members of the Council:
At its June meeting, the Seattle Community Council Federation took action to join the Phinney Ridge Community Council and Save Our Zoo in their appeal from the Master Use Permit granted by DPD to the Zoo Society for construction of the massive zoo garage. The Federation has been monitoring trends in the management of Seattle’s parks and open space for many years including issues relating to the Zoo.
The Federation is deeply concerned by the implications of a decision to allow such a massive structure to be built in a park. We believe that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has put on blinders in order to conclude that this enormous parking garage will have no adverse environmental impacts – including aesthetic impacts – and should be permitted as a customary use in a park. There is no similar parking garage in any park in Seattle and we hope there never will be. We therefore do not want this project to set a precedent of tolerance of commercial uses and building in our parks, merely because they represent a potential to generate revenue. In the case of the zoo garage, the Council’s own staff acknowledges that the garage will be a financial drain on both the City’s general fund and the Zoo Society.
Building this huge garage sets off a cascade of other excesses most notably the plans for the Event Center, an elaborate new entry with a second large gift store and a free standing coffee shop in addition to duplicating other services already in place at the main south entrance. The effects of these projects will be to create large new impervious areas and displacement of many mature trees. These actions are hardly consistent with urgent policies and efforts to preserve what’s left of our urban forest. The actions will ultimately reduce our ecological footprint!
There appears no good reason to go ahead with this controversial project. Zoo visitors continue to park in the existing lots and on the streets as they always have. The funds borrowed for this project should be redirected to meet other looming parks needs as Pro Parks levy dollars are exhausted. The Council recently approved consideration of a Comprehensive Plan amendment to set policy about “parking” uses in parks in part because of the backlash over this garage proposal. The Federation understands that the Council does not wish to undermine the Zoo Management Agreement, however, we question the sincerely of that partnership when the Zoo Society is so unwilling to consider alternatives to this garage despite being asked to do so by a majority of the Council. We ask that the Council resolve to reexamine the Zoo Long Range Physical Development Plan and have an open discussion of the community’s vision for Woodland Park and Zoo and not merely accept the Zoo Society’s capital intensive, commercial development vision.
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
Sunday, June 24, 2007
FEDERATION MEETS THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2007, 7 PM
SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
AGENDA
Quarterly Round Robin on Neighborhood Projects and Issues
Continued from June
The July Federation meeting will continue our discussion of important issues facing neighborhoods throughout Seattle. Share your story about issues or projects in your neighborhood. Brainstorm about solutions and/or garner support for your community’s position. 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 Federation Annual Picnic
7:25 Issues and Projects:
1. Zoo garage Follow up—Irene Wall
2. Broadview Land Use Issue—Gloria Butts
3. Funding (or lack of) for Seattle Police Department Accident Investigation Squad
4. Parks and Recreation Strategic Business Plan Progress Report—Lynn Ferguson
5. Elements for Pedestrian Master Plan Follow-up—Jorgen Bader
6. Proposed Changes to Seattle’s Ethics Code
7. Port Commissioner Questionnaire—Geof Logan
8. Magnuson Park—Conversion of temporary, transitional housing to permanent housing
9. QFC on Stone Way—DPD’s failure to enforce the Land Use Code
10. Alaskan Way Viaduct
11. 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 COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
Regular Meeting
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
1801 Fairview Avenue East
AGENDA
Quarterly Round Robin on Neighborhood Projects and Issues
Continued from June
The July Federation meeting will continue our discussion of important issues facing neighborhoods throughout Seattle. Share your story about issues or projects in your neighborhood. Brainstorm about solutions and/or garner support for your community’s position. 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 Federation Annual Picnic
7:25 Issues and Projects:
1. Zoo garage Follow up—Irene Wall
2. Broadview Land Use Issue—Gloria Butts
3. Funding (or lack of) for Seattle Police Department Accident Investigation Squad
4. Parks and Recreation Strategic Business Plan Progress Report—Lynn Ferguson
5. Elements for Pedestrian Master Plan Follow-up—Jorgen Bader
6. Proposed Changes to Seattle’s Ethics Code
7. Port Commissioner Questionnaire—Geof Logan
8. Magnuson Park—Conversion of temporary, transitional housing to permanent housing
9. QFC on Stone Way—DPD’s failure to enforce the Land Use Code
10. Alaskan Way Viaduct
11. 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, May 18, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Charlie, the Uncommon Citizen's Bureaucrat
A reader writes:
I have to add my personal remembrance.
Charlie was from a breed of Federal bureaucrat that once existed in the 1930's and was briefly resurrected in the 1960's, one who worked for the People and not the President or Bureaus.
I found him after I had left the Federal system, in the 1990's, when I was looking for some way to participate in the Civic Good. I recognized in him what I had seen briefly still surviving in a few local federal programs, like the old CETA folks. I was amused to find, as I got to know people working with (and sometimes against) the City that there was another seasoned bureaucrat who had turned his knowledges to the good. He was a fine mentor as I found the most useful strategy in dealing with The City was humor and dogged perseverance. Before it became de rigeur to spend a quarter million to be "competitive" (i.e., eligible for the Seattle times, Post-Intelligencer, Weekly, Stranger editorial boards), Charlie tempted a lot of us neighhorhood types (and who else lives in Seattle if not in a Neighborhood? those who really live in Mercer Island, Bellevue, or Issaquah?) to become a Seattle councilmember.
Well, Charlie did that, even offered himself up for our Mayor, and he should be remembered for his contributions to the Real Seattle that asks "Why? Who's Benefitting or Paying for This Deal?"
Thanks Charlie!
Stephen Edwin Lundgren i Ballard & Seattle
From Crosscut - An Elegy for straight-shooting Charlie Chong
As a Seattle City Council member and community activist, he said things others wouldn't — the things that were true but were uncomfortable to hear. The young and the restless and Seattle newcomers won't have known Charlie Chong. He was one of those rare birds who believed as an American he was obligated to get involved and tend to the process of government. He may have believed that government was a little like growing tomatoes — a little water and fertilizer would do wonders, and Charlie was prepared to supply both.Kent Kammerer is the unoffical leader and official scribe of the informal, non-partisan Seattle Neighborhood Coalition, which meets over breakfast once a month to discuss Seattle policy and politics.
Charlie spent a large measure of his life in battle. Most often it was for honesty and openness in public debate, but on Thursday afternoon, April 26, Charlie Chong, at 80, trying his very best, didn't win his last and biggest battle against failing health.
Charlie was many years past his prime when he ran for Seattle City Council, but you couldn't tell it. He set the tone for his tour in public office by immediately hiring two young men as aides: one a political activist, the other a musician with long hair. He wanted their energy, their intelligence, their young ideas, but mostly their ability to see with fresh eyes. Maybe, Charlie speculated, he could guess what old folks were thinking, but what he wanted to know was what the new generation was thinking. Besides, he trusted them. The old guard was frosty about his choices as aides and speculated that neither owned a suit, the uniform for City Council offices. But worse, just to embarrass Charlie, they proposed his new aids take a drug test. Charlie responded that if that was the plan, the whole council should pee in a cup.
I suspect that when Charlie was a kid he just couldn't walk by a hornets nest without poking it with a stick, just to get the little critters awake in the morning. He also poked some council meetings and hearings, just to get their attention. Instead of looking wise and offering knowing nods and platitudes, Charlie would ask deliciously difficult questions. Like, "Why?"
Some of his questions had never been asked. One that made the press was his asking why it wouldn't be smarter to buy used snowplows for Seattle when they were only used every three of four years. It would save hundreds of thousands of dollars. Charlie, a civil servant much of his career, knew that unless the hard questions were asked, sensible, affordable, and practical decisions wouldn't be made.
Charlie cared deeply about Seattle neighborhoods and was our knight, our champion, our Sir Lancelot on some days and Don Quixote on others. Charlie was a warrior in what was often a battle between the establishment and the public. Because Charlie said what others were afraid to say, he was often the single voice of reason in a bureaucratic web.
But candor in politically correct Seattle would upset the establishment. Charlie had a knack for creating one-line responses to the press. Sometimes he was outright sassy and yanked their chain, a no-no for a politician. The press frequently retaliated and twisted his dry humor of offhand statements into newspaper-selling but unfair quotes.
Charlie didn't walk on water and could be cantankerous if cornered. He had strong opinions and made enemies, but his style was always truthful and open. He never told people their ideas were great then voted against them. Pure honesty in politics is so rare that few knew how to deal with a guy who was so candid he would tell them up front that he thought their idea stinks.
One of his greatest gifts to this community was his challenge of group think, a contagious disease among Seattle elected officials. Charlie just plain didn't believe he should vote along with everyone if he wasn't sure their idea was best. Even though he voted with others countless times, he is known best for the rare and courageous ability to stand alone.
Charlie didn't leave it to others. At an age when some went fishing, Charlie rolled up his sleeves and became involved in countless struggles after leaving the City Council, where his dedication to public service counted for so much. Even those who never heard of Charlie Chong might someday discover that we all owe Charlie Chong, big time.
Damn it Charlie, we still need you.
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