Category Archives: Schools

Monthly Meeting on Wednesday December 7 at 7PM

Location: The Wallingford Community Senior Center in the Good Shepherd Center, 4659 Sunnyside Ave N. Note that this location is downstairs from our usual meeting place in Room 202.

Agenda:

Welcome / Call to Order
Approval of Minutes
Program:

Announcements:

  1. Wallingford Urban Village Workshop. We are waiting for a date from Rob Johnson’s office.
  2. Seattle Public Schools Community Budget Gap Meetings for families to provide feedback on budget priorities:
    • Ballard High School, Tuesday December 13, 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
    • South Shore PreK-8 School, Thursday December 15, 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
    • Franklin High School, Tuesday January 3, 6:30 to 8:00 PM.
  3. Yard Signs: Keep Seattle Livable; No HALA “Grand Bargain” Upzones.
  4. The WCC Board approved getting a third party review of the environmental report for Waterway #20.
  5. North Transfer Station: Official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday December 10, 10:00 to 11:30 AM.
  6. Next Monthly Meeting: Wednesday January 4, 7 PM.

Good of the Order (anything people want to bring up)
Adjourn

Testify on U-District Zoning Changes this Wednesday (November 16)

Show our elected officials that we care about our neighborhoods! Bring your friends and neighbors – the more people the better.

What: Public Hearing of the Planning, Land Use, & Zoning (PLUZ) Committee.
Where: The Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Deca, 4507 Brooklyn Ave NE.
When: Wednesday November 16, 2016, 5:30 – 8:30 PM. Open house at 5:30 PM; Presentation at 6:00 PM; Public Hearing begins at 6:15 PM. Come early if you wish to sign-up and testify.

The City wants to change zoning in the U-District in a very big way.  Changes include high-rise zones with 320′ and 240′ height limits, and Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) requirements. Wallingford and other nearby neighborhoods will be impacted by the proposed changes:

  • The Seattle Displacement Coalition estimates that 1,500 affordable housing units will be demolished.
  • Small businesses will be displaced by rising rents and demolition. The unique character of the U-District will be lost.
  • The substantial increase in commercial space will negatively impact east-west traffic and commuter parking in nearby neighborhoods.
  • The vast increase in commercial space will intensify demand for housing in nearby neighborhoods.
  • Since the U-District has no public schools, our already overcrowded public schools will suffer.
  • The City does not have a plan for U-District residents who still require cars.

The U-District is already zoned to accommodate 9,000 additional housing units, but the City estimates only 3,500 housing units are needed by 2035.

Independently, the University of Washington Campus Master Plan would add 12 million square feet in West Campus buildings adjacent to Wallingford. The City refuses to look at the combined effects of these zoning changes.

Growth should be integrated into our current neighborhoods with sensitivity to neighborhood character, livability, and concurrent infrastructure needs. City planning should include adequate mitigations to counteract the negative effects of growth.

This is the first of many massive zoning changes planned by the City. Tell your elected officials that developer profits should not obliterate our beloved neighborhoods!

Show up in force at the November 16 meeting and make our voices heard!

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Community Meeting about Lincoln High School (October 27)

Thursday, October 27, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Lincoln High School Library, 4400 Interlake Ave N

Seattle Public Schools invites parents and neighbors to join Director Burke and SPS staff for a community listening meeting about Lincoln High School, scheduled for opening in the fall of 2019. We have exciting plans for the site renovation and restoration, but the academic programming and student assignment plans are still developing. Come and share your concerns and ideas to help make Lincoln’s opening a successful start for a vibrant school. Representatives from Teaching and learning, International Education, Enrollment, Capital Projects, Bassetti Architects, and the School Design Advisory Team (SDAT) are expected to be present.

Zoning Changes for the Wallingford Urban Village

The City has released maps of the draft zoning changes for Urban Villages. Each map shows possible zoning changes necessary to implement Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) in a specific neighborhood. Maps for Wallingford and Fremont are available on the WallHALA page.

See the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) page for an explanation of the proposed MHA zoning changes, and examples of the buildings allowed.