Category Archives: Transportation

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Important Land Use Issues

1. Request an extension: MHA DEIS

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) evaluates the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program impacts in Urban Villages, and in multi-family and commercial areas throughout Seattle. It presents three alternatives.  The first alternative is to not do the MHA Upzone program.  The second appears to be an expanded variation of what was presented at the end of the HALA Focus Groups and in the Urban Village Workshops.  The third alternative presented is brand new, and is not based on discussions with the HALA Focus Groups or the Urban Village Design Workshops.

Please request to extend the MHA DEIS comment period! Released on June 8, 2017, the DEIS is 462 pages long and the appendices are 364 pages long. This is over 800 pages to review within only 32 days.

Please send your request to: MHA.EIS@seattle.gov, as well as to the City Council by phone, 206-684-8888, and/or by email: Lisa Herbold, Bruce Harrell, Kshama Sawant, Rob Johnson, Debora Juarez, Mike O’Brien, Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Lorena González.

Please submit your request to Mayor Murray:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/get-involved/contact-the-mayor

These documents may be viewed or downloaded from the City’s MHA Environmental Impact Statement website, or from copies in the EIS folder on the Wallingford Community Council (WCC) website. These are large documents! The main document is 50 MB, and the appendices are 95 MB.

2. Public Hearing: MHA DEIS

Attend the Public Hearing on the DEIS on Thursday June 29, 5:30 PM at Seattle City Hall. Open House at 5:30 PM; Public Hearing starts at 6:30 PM.

  • Request an extension to the MHA DEIS comment period.
  • Ask for clarifications on MHA issues.
  • Share your concerns on MHA impacts.

3. Submit comments: Design Review Process “Improvements”

Please comment on the proposed Design Review Process “Improvements” by Monday July 10, 5:00 PM.

Ask the Land Use Planner and all Council members to:

  • Leave the Design Review Process as is.
  • Direct city employees and the Design Review Boards to enforce existing design guidelines.

Growth without Oversight: Without the check and balance of inclusive design review, growth can destroy neighborhoods. With it, the character and quality of the neighborhood is strengthened when adding housing and commercial spaces.

Click here for WCC call-to-action and contact information for comments.

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WallHALA Meeting, Tuesday June 20

Help Respond to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Mandatory Housing Affordability

The WallHALA committee is meeting this Tuesday June 20, 7:00 – 9:00 PM in the Wallingford Community Senior Center on the bottom floor of the the Good Shepherd Center, 4659 Sunnyside Ave N.

The City has released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA). The agenda is to organize ourselves to study and analyze the DEIS, and to formulate responses to it.

We need your expertise to find flaws, oversights, adverse impacts, and inadequate mitigation solutions in the DEIS relating to land use, transportation, schools, storm water, tree canopy, the three alternatives presented for affordable housing, the public engagement process, and the opportunity index and equity analysis. We will assign parts of the study to multiple volunteers, in order to make the task more manageable. We encourage other neighborhoods to join us and work together on these tasks.

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Green Lake area paving projects

Green Lake Area Paving Projects, Saturday June 10

The Seattle Department of Transportation will pave arterial streets in Green Lake and Wallingford. Design will take place in 2017 and 2018, with construction as soon as 2019.

There is a Drop-in Session at Billings Middle School, West Hall, 311 NE Maple Leaf Place on Saturday June 10, 10:00 – 11:30 AM.

Project locations include:

  • N 40th Street: Stone Way N to Latona Ave NE
  • N 50th Street: Phinney Ave N to Roosevelt Way NE
  • Stone Way N: N 45th Street to N 50th Street
  • E Green Lake Way N/E Green Lake Drive N: N 50th Street to Densmore Ave N
  • Green Lake Drive N: Densmore Ave N to Aurora Ave N
  • N 80th Street: Aurora Ave N to I-5

The N 40th Street crosswalk at Bagley Ave N is part of this project.

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Green Lake area paving projects

Seattle DOT Open House, Wednesday May 24

The Seattle Department of Transportation will pave arterial streets in Green Lake and Wallingford. Design will take place in 2017 and 2018, with construction as soon as 2019.

There is an Open House at Green Lake Elementary School, 2400 N 65th Street on Wednesday May 24, 5:30 – 7:00 PM.

Project locations include:

  • N 40th Street: Stone Way N to Latona Ave NE
  • N 50th Street: Phinney Ave N to Roosevelt Way NE
  • Stone Way N: N 45th Street to N 50th Street
  • E Green Lake Way N/E Green Lake Drive N: N 50th Street to Densmore Ave N
  • Green Lake Drive N: Densmore Ave N to Aurora Ave N
  • N 80th Street: Aurora Ave N to I-5

The N 40th Street crosswalk at Bagley Ave N is part of this project.

Continue reading →

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HALA Open House, Saturday April 29

Saturday April 29, 1:30 – 3:30 PM
Northgate Community Center
10510 5th Ave NE

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is hosting a Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Open House for NW Neighborhoods.  All ages are welcome, so feel free to bring the kids. There will be complimentary food and beverages.

The Open House will feature maps detailing proposed changes to Urban Villages in the event’s specific focus region.  Come talk with City staff, connect with your neighbors, and express your concerns with the City’s plans!

Click here for a short list of questions to ask the City.

The Wallingford Community Council (WCC) advocates redrawing the Wallingford Urban Village boundaries as recommended in the second page of the WCC Position Paper on Affordable Housing, Increased Density, and Livability in Wallingford.