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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Monthly Meeting tonight (November 2)

Wednesday November 2, 7PM

Location: Room 202 of the Good Shepherd Center, 4659 Sunnyside Ave N.

Special Guests: Officers Enoc Lee & Ron Willis, Seattle Police Department
Join us as we continue the conversation that we began in August on Race and Policing in Seattle.

Agenda:

  • 7:00 PM:
    • Welcome / Call to Order.
    • Approval of Minutes.
    • Comments for the Good for the Order.
    • Announcements:
  • 7:30 PM:
    • Special Guests: Officers Enoc Lee and Ron Willis of the North Precinct.
  • 8:00 PM:
  • 9:00 PM:
    • Adjourn.

Wallingford Waterways Walk (November 5)

You are invited to the second Wallingford Waterways Walk

Join us on a walk along Lake Union to learn about the public access points on Lake Union and to share your ideas about restoring and using Wallingford’s waterways.

When: 10 AM -12 PM on Saturday November 5, 2016.

Where: Waterway 15 (west of Ivar’s Salmon House at NE Northlake Way and 4th Ave NE). We will work our way west toward Gasworks, and then on to Waterway 22. (See the map below.)

Why: Wallingford’s various waterways are wonderful features of our community. Come and learn about where they are and how to access them.

What: We will visit each Waterway of Wallingford, generating ideas and making plans as we go. Please join us and add your thoughts to the conversation.

For a record of the last year’s event see the 2015 Wallingford Waterways Walk report.

Sponsored by the Wallingford Community Council and the Friends of North Lake Union.