Author Archives: Frank Fay

Planning, Land Use & Zoning Committee meeting (May 3)

An important meeting of the Planning, Land Use and Zoning (PLUZ) Committee of the City Council is scheduled for 9:30 AM tomorrow, Tuesday, May 3 at City Hall.  We encourage you to attend and to make a public comment.

The agenda was announced late last Friday. The PLUZ committee will hear presentations from mayoral and council staff on the following two significant initiatives:

These proposals are of concern to the Wallingford neighborhood and the entire city.

  • The Mandatory Housing Affordability program was previously known as Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. The name change recognizes that the proposal does not mandate that affordable housing be included in new residential construction. The majority of developers are expected to pay a fee instead, leaving the City to build the affordable housing in other neighborhoods. That could result in Wallingford becoming less affordable and less diverse as the city becomes more economically segregated.
  • The Equitable Development Implementation Plan proposal ends with “all communities are able to determine their own futures”. However, the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan proposal gets rid of neighborhood planning and all but eliminates the ability of citizens to affect development in their neighborhood.

Rob Johnson, our council member, is chair of the PLUZ committee and has recently announced in public his total commitment to up-zoning in our district. Tuesday’s committee meeting is the first step in that process. If you cannot attend to voice your views in person, please contact Rob Johnson or the other committee members, Lisa Herbold, Lorena González, and Mike O’Brian, to let them know of your concerns.

rob.johnson@seattle.gov; lisa.herbold@seattle.gov; lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov; mike.obrien@seattle.gov

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Notice of Annual Meeting – Wednesday May 25

The Wallingford Community Council (WCC) will hold its Annual Membership Meeting and Election of Officers and Directors on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, 7:00 PM in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N. Everyone is welcome!

Special Guest Speaker

The Honorable Frank Chopp
Speaker of the House: Washington State Legislature

As Speaker of the House, Representative Frank Chopp is the most powerful member of the Washington State Legislature. He is also a long time Wallingford resident. Representative Chopp will share his thoughts on critical state and local issues impacting not only state, but city and neighborhood interests. He recently put on hold an element of the contentious Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) proposal which required state authorization.

Election of WCC Officers & Directors

WCC Bylaws require the election of Offices and Directors at its Annual Meeting in May of each year. To vote at the Annual Meeting, you must have applied for membership and paid the required dues at least 15 days prior to the annual meeting, which for this year is before May 11.

Dues range from $10 (Senior, Student, and Military) to $15 (Individual) to $25 (Family) per year. Dues waivers are available by application to the Board of Directors. Dues must be paid annually. To be qualified to vote at the 2016 Annual Meeting you must have paid dues between June 1, 2015 and May 10, 2016. Membership information can be found at www.wallingfordcc.org/membership . Dues can be paid online through PayPal or by regular mail.

This year we will be electing the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and three At Large Board Members. A list of nominees will be emailed to members at least 10 days prior to the meeting. Nominations will be accepted from the floor.

See You on May 25!

Please Note:  The General Meeting for May, scheduled for Wednesday May 4, is cancelled.

HALA Livability Night Out – Tuesday April 19

Join Mayor Ed Murray and his team to learn about and talk about what makes Seattle livable.

Tuesday, April 19, 6:30-8:30pm
Museum of History & Industry

Don’t miss this meeting!  If you live in or around the Wallingford Residential Urban Village (or the Fremont Urban Village), HALA (the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda) will impact your neighborhood.  This is an opportunity to ask the Mayor questions, express your concerns, and let the City know your point of view!

The planned agenda is:
Join us for a “PeckaKucha” style word slam about the livability of our city.  We will have local talent to entertain and an opportunity to find out what many City programs are up to.  HALA will be featured and you can find out what is in store for Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda in the city.
6:30 – 7:15pm Open House
What will happen at the Open House?  Attendees will have a chance to discuss policies and proposals with City staff one on one. When you get all your questions answered you can enjoy the history of Seattle by visiting the rest of the museum.
7:15 – 8:00 pm  Program
The Mayor and his Department Directors will be on stage to do an update on how they see the vision of a vibrant Seattle coming through the programs they lead.  This program will be lively and fun.
8:00 – 8:30 pm Q&A with the Mayor

HALA is an extensive set of proposals made by a committee formed by the Mayor, to add more affordable housing in Seattle.  The City Council will be voting on these proposals, in bits and pieces, this year and next year, along with other related initiatives including a new Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan.  The agenda calls for extensive public outreach and engagement, and it’s important that we respond to these opportunities.

Changes that could be expected, if HALA proposals are adopted:

  • Rezone Single Family areas to Multifamily, within the Wallingford Residential Urban village boundaries. This affects about 700 houses in our neighborhood.
  • Raise height limits by 10 to 20 feet, in Low-Rise and Neighborhood Commercial zones.
  • Remove restrictions on backyard cottages (Detached Accessory Dwelling Units). Allowing multiple units on a lot and removing the owner occupancy requirement makes this into a type of multifamily housing that can be built in all Single Family zoned areas.
  • Reduced Design Review requirements and increased SEPA review thresholds, reducing any opportunity for public comment.
  • Reduced parking requirements for new construction outside the Urban Village. (On-site parking requirements have already been eliminated inside the Urban Village!)
  • Remove micro-housing restrictions (for “apodments”) that were recently enacted by the City Council in response to public pressure.

These changes are supposed to increase the availability of housing – but the City’s own figures show that we have far more than enough developable land without these changes to meet projected growth.  They’re supposed to increase affordability, but may actually decrease it, since new construction often means tearing down more affordable older housing.

The Mayor’s new Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan proposals encourage higher density zoning in the Wallingford Residential Urban Village by reducing on-site parking requirements, removing existing protections for trees, doing away with neighborhood involvement, and eliminating neighborhood growth plans. Meanwhile we can continue to expect basic services and amenities such as schools, parks, transit and sewer to fall behind and fail to keep up with growth.

 

Monthly Meeting this Wednesday April 6

Wednesday April 6 at 7:15 PM
Room 202 of the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North
(see agenda at end of message)

Secretary Kim England, an urban geography professor at the University of Washington, and her students have created an online portfolio of North Lake Union based on old maps, archival photographs, historical newspaper articles, contemporary planning documents, and their own observations.  They also collect historic information about Wallingford and about the activities of the Wallingford Community Council (WCC), primarily by collecting maps and other papers produced by the WCC.  To aid in this effort, President Carl Slater has requested each WCC committee to report on their activities for this year.

Once a year the Wallingford Community Council has a membership campaign to add new members and renew existing members. WCC dues are affordable by nearly everyone. In order to vote at the Annual Meeting on May 25, you must be a paid member. Please help WCC represent the neighborhood by joining on the WCC Membership page. PayPal, credit cards, and checks accepted.

Each May, at the Annual Meeting, the WCC elects its officers. Our bylaws require that a nominating committee endeavor to nominate at least two qualified and consenting WCC members for each office. If you would like to nominate yourself or propose someone for a board position, please send the name, address, phone number, email address, and the name of the board position to Lee Raaen at Lee@Raaen.com. The positions open for election this year are:

  • President
  • Vice President
  • Recording Secretary
  • Treasurer (a two year term)
  • Three (3) Board Members-At-Large

Agenda
7:15 Minutes (Kim England)
7:20 Treasurer’s report (Paul Willumson)
7:25 Vice President’s report (Ted Hunter)
7:30 At Large report (Erica Bigelow )
7:35 At Large report (Reid Haefer )
7:25 Lincoln High School renovation (Marilyn Cope & Carl Slater)
7:40 Waterways report (Lee Raaen)
7:45 UW Relations report (Brian O’Sullivan & Jon Berkedal)
7:50 Quality of Life report (Abel Pacheco)
7:55 Transportation report (Eric Fisk)
8:00 Parking report (Mary Fielder)
8:05 Communications report (Frank Fay)
8:10 Planning report (Greg Hill)
8:15 WallHALA report (Miranda Berner)
8:20 Engagement report (Bonnie Williams)
8:25 Alternate Planning report (Greg Flood)
8:30 Research report (Donn Cave)
8:35 Parks & Recreation report (Barb Burrill)
8:40 President’s report (Carl Slater)
8:45 Nominations for Officers (Lee Raaen)
8:50 Adjourn

Seattle Design Review Survey due April 8: Your Input Matters!

The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (DCI) is proposing changes to the design review process that are designed to “streamline” approval of new developments inside and outside urban villages.  These changes have the potential to negatively affect the look, feel, and livability of Wallingford.

Some of the proposed changes that impact our neighborhood include:

  • Developments on properties of less than 10,000 square feet would be exempt from any design review.  In the past 2 years, 29% of projects fell into this category.
  • Developments up to 20,000 square feet will be approved administratively with no Design Review Board meetings.
  • Developments inside urban villages up to half a block in size would only require a single Design Review Board meeting.
  • Developments of any size, whether inside or outside of urban villages, would only require a single Design Review Board meeting as long as they are considered to be “Deep Green”.

Please submit your comments to DCI by completing their survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2BVTWS7
The comment period ends April 8.

Please also comment by email to the City Council:
sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov; tim.burgess@seattle.gov; bruce.harrell@seattle.gov; mike.obrien@seattle.gov; kshama.sawant@seattle.gov; rob.johnson@seattle.gov; lorena.gonzalez@seattle.gov; lisa.herbold@seattle.gov; Debora.juarez@seattle.gov.

And please submit your comments to Mayor Murray:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/get-involved/contact-the-mayor

Feel free to send a version of this suggested comment:

I oppose the proposal by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections to eliminate design review for developments under 10,000 square feet inside urban villages. I live in Wallingford and I believe this, combined with the proposed HALA upzone from single-family to low-rise multifamily zoning, will lead to an unchecked and un-reviewed redevelopment frenzy in my neighborhood.

When combined with the HALA upzone, this rule change will allow 40+ foot tall, zero-lot-line developments to appear next to single-family homes without any kind of notice, review, or public hearing. This type of development will negatively impact the livability of the area, along with the value of our homes.  The community has a right to participate in the approval process. I ask that you prevent these rule changes from occurring.

Read more about the proposed changes here:
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/codesrules/changestocode/designreviewprogramimprovements/projectdocuments/default.htm