West Seattle Tuesday: Rezoning, crime-fighting, dancing, listening, more…

duwamishalive_herringshousepark_03
(One more photo from Herring’s House Park during last weekend’s Duwamish Alive! – see the gallery from WSB’s Leda Costa here)

Here are some highlights for the rest of your Tuesday. First, from the WSB West Seattle Halloween (etc.) Guide:

EL VESTIDO DE TLAMANALLI: Looking ahead to Dia de los Muertos, at the South Park Library, 6:30 pm tonight – “El Vestido de Tlamanalli“:

In this beautiful fable, author and actress Nora Girón-Dolce takes us on an imaginary trip to the beginnings of the Mexican tradition of setting up the offering and altar for the dead. The audience will participate in the setting of a small offering that will help them understand its elements and their meaning. This program is presented entirely in Spanish. For children ages 3-11.

Details here. (8604 8th Ave. S.)

Now, two reasons you might want to go downtown tonight:

CITY COUNCIL BUDGET HEARING: This is the council’s second evening public hearing to listen to what you want to, and/or don’t want to, see in the city budget. 5:30 pm at City Hall – signups for speakers start at 4:30 pm, according to the detailed budget-process update in City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s latest online post. (600 4th Ave.)

DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED JUNCTION REZONING: Remember those maps we published last week, the draft proposals for rezoning in “urban villages” as part of what the city calls Mandatory Housing Affordability? The process that led to those maps includes ongoing meetings of “focus groups” and the next one – open to the public – is tonight at City Hall. This group includes reps from the West Seattle Junction area, the West Seattle “urban village” with the most proposed changes.

(Direct link to West Seattle Junction map)

Particularly if you are a property owner in the area, you might want to go. 6 pm in Room 370. (600 4th Ave.)

And from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, on-peninsula highlights for tonight:

JUSTIN KAUSAL-HAYES: Live at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), 5-8 pm. No cover. Come early for Happy Hour specials 3-6 pm. (1936 Harbor SW)

DANCE AUDITIONS: A grant-funded program for young dancers 7-12 years old has hip-hop auditions at 6:30 pm, Bollywood auditions 7:15 pm, both at Dakota Place Park. Details and preregistration info are in our calendar listing. (California SW/SW Dakota)

WEST SEATTLE BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS NETWORK: 6:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct, with an update from local police plus guests including Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon – see the preview at the end of last night’s Crime Watch roundup. You don’t have to be a Block Watch captain, or even member, to attend – all welcome. (2300 SW Webster)

JOE ROSS & THE BIRD WATCHERS: Honky-tonk jazz at Parliament Tavern, 8-11 pm. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

LOTS MORE TO CONSIDER … on our complete-calendar page.

27 Replies to "West Seattle Tuesday: Rezoning, crime-fighting, dancing, listening, more..."

  • S October 25, 2016 (11:22 am)

    CITY COUNCIL BUDGET HEARING – We really need to stop Kshama Sawant from here own personal addenda of robbing the City Tax payers for Housing for the homeless. The North precinct upgrade is needed and the funding for that cannot be used in the way she wants. We need to stopping any city of Seattle Counsel member for not having the general public’s best interest and the own personal addenda.  

    • Chuck October 25, 2016 (12:02 pm)

      Amen. Sawant has become the epitome of a politician abusing her privilege of voter-granted power. She has a personal agenda (and is no fan of the police to begin with) and is desperately trying to apply her Robin Hood values on behalf of the homeless. She is dangerous! I’m all for getting the homeless the funding they need, but NOT at the expense of a much-needed increase in police presence (voter approved!) in the north end. Hell, everywhere in Seattle for that matter. Sawant needs to be kept in check to do as little damage as possible until she can be voted out with the rest of the sitting council. She is everything that’s wrong with the whole bunch. 

  • Fairmount Springs Mom October 25, 2016 (11:25 am)

    Thank you, WSB, for keeping us informed.  Until you reported about this the other day, we had no idea this rezoning has been in the works for months.  We will be at that meeting. The HALA feedback website is not easy to use, and the City has not made it easy to participate, comment, or stay informed.

    • KM October 25, 2016 (9:20 pm)

      This has been in discussion for about a year if not longer., reported in here and other news outlets as well. There was a period of commenting I participated in months ago, when they had scaled back their plans from initial ones. 

  • John October 25, 2016 (11:49 am)

    NO!….I don’t like what I see at all.  I like my residential neighborhood.  I don’t want one of those ugly 3 story apartments going up next to me and adding more on street parking. 

    Each year I tell myself it’s time to get out of Seattle. 

    • Mickymse October 25, 2016 (1:58 pm)

      You don’t live in a “residential neighborhood.” You live in an “urban village” and your neighborhood should be entitled to certain investments from the City because of that.
      .
      If you’re going to complain to the City or CM Herbold or your neighborhood council… PLEASE consider 1) Where you think the growth in your neighborhood should go to INSTEAD of the proposed re-zoning plans; and

      2) If you want no growth at all in your neighborhood, what benefits are you willing to GIVE UP in your neighborhood. In other words, would you prefer less economic development dollars, or no increases in transit frequency, or fewer pedestrian improvements, etc. because these things are targeted at dense, urban neighborhoods.

      • Fairmount Springs Mom October 25, 2016 (7:16 pm)

        This is a class issue.  The residential rezoning is happening in middle-class neighborhoods.  Do you think if the City tried to rezone N. Admiral, Genesee Hill, or Beach Drive that everyone would be okay with it?  Developers have made a lot of money building apartment in and around the Junction that are not affordable.  The answer is not to rezone middle-class neighborhoods.

      • K8 October 25, 2016 (10:50 pm)

        The point is that they are expanding the “urban village” and eating up our neighborhood. They set the boundary and and now want to move it and displace families to create more 1 bedroom apartments that people can’t afford.

  • d October 25, 2016 (12:35 pm)

    They don’t need a new Precinct and yes that money should be used for that

    • S October 25, 2016 (3:07 pm)

      I’m sorry in what world do you live that we don’t need a new prescient. And again the money cannot be used for housing.  Also she wants to not hire new officers, when you need help and they don’t have enough police to come to your aid don’t start crying.   

  • O October 25, 2016 (12:37 pm)

    Hi – I was planning to go to the Thursday focus group as I am impacted by the Admiral changes. Do you know if it’s worth going to both tonight and Thurs? My single family home is in the rezone area so I want to make sure my voice is heard! Not happy about this. 

    • WSB October 25, 2016 (1:40 pm)

      Hi – I have not covered the focus groups so far so I don’t know if there is a public comment period – I know the meetings are open but that’s all I know.

      • WSB October 25, 2016 (2:22 pm)

        Never mind, I should have read the page to which I linked, which has been sitting open in our tabs for a while now … it says everyone is “welcome to chime in” during the meeting. That says “public comment” to me. Anyone going tonight – we’ll see you there. – TR

  • Jeannie October 25, 2016 (2:51 pm)

    Am I the only one having trouble reading the maps? It’s really difficult for me to view the street names. 

    P.S. The beautiful photo of Herring’s House Park in its full autumnal glory is a fitting counterpoint to all the ugly condo buildings with stupid names that are sprouting up around West Seattle. 

    • WSB October 25, 2016 (2:58 pm)

      If you use the link to open the PDF fullscreen, instead of the embedded version, you should be able to zoom in via your browser. That’s the highest-resolution version available at the time – you could also check the download link that’s now under KEY RESOURCES toward the top of the focus-group etc. page: http://www.seattle.gov/hala/focus-groups#MHA Development Examples

      I hope to learn more tonight about other ways people will be able to get very specific information about very specific locations.

  • Diane October 25, 2016 (5:19 pm)

    it is a shame that there has been very little news coverage of the HALA focus groups, as we have been meeting monthly at city hall since April 4, and all meetings are open to the public; very important stuff that will impact EVERYONE, not just property owners

    • WSB October 25, 2016 (6:03 pm)

      Yeah, the citywides are virtually ignoring it. We aren’t. Nag your favorite citywide outlet and tell them to pay attention!

  • Diane October 25, 2016 (5:31 pm)

    re: “Particularly if you are a property owner in the area,
    you might want to go. 6 pm in Room 370. (600 4th Ave.)”; this is also very
    important for renters; I am a focus group member in Admiral representing
    renters; looking at the details of the Admiral map, and all the WS maps, there
    is significant possibility of renters being further displaced by upzones; so if
    you are a renter (and we are the majority in Seattle), please look at these
    maps, look at your block on the map, and give feedback to the city; if you rent
    a property in one of the areas that could be upzoned, there is potential for
    your landlord to sell for profit and your rental house or apartments to be
    demolished so the land can be used to build “more density”, meaning
    bigger/higher, and usually expensive luxury housing that displaced renters
    cannot afford; be forewarned; this is going to happen whether you pay attention
    and give feedback or not

  • dale October 25, 2016 (6:28 pm)

    Im sorry that the Housing crisis has got you alarmed S. I didnt recall your response to that and I read it several times. Yes, we have nine City Council members. One of which you mentioned. Somehow, her “agenda” to try to allocate $160 million from  the North Precinct  to keep alleviate  the burgeoning record homelessness or near homeless has upset you. I feel  we need to protect “people” first. They are a priority. They will not just drift over to unincorporated King County or elsewhere. 

  • JayDee October 25, 2016 (6:54 pm)

    Last I recall, Ballard and West Seattle have already met and surpassed the Urban Village growth goals for 2030 and have accommodated most of the “urban village” growth in the city.  Let other villages step up and do their share (Magnolia, Green Lake, etc).  I cannot cite a study but I seem to recall this. 

    • NO Upzone October 25, 2016 (8:38 pm)

      Spot on observation, but unfortunately WS is full of people who want to undermine certain neighborhoods so more of their urbanist/tech bros can live in tiny concrete boxes. Now they want to strip the land use rules out of the Fairmont Park neighborhoods south of Alaska Ave to the detriment of the neighborhoods. Their goal is for one or 2 owners to sell to developers who will build buildings as big as they can and block out the light, air, views, etc. of the charming houses and set off a selling frenzied race to the bottom so that homeowners lose their investments and move away quickly and developers can sweep in and rebuild the whole area. Think concrete valleys with no yards or trees, no parking, no character, and lots of bros. They don’t see a place for families in their future Seattle vision, starting with this area and eventually sweeping us all out of the city.

      • John October 26, 2016 (7:47 am)

        Think concrete valleys with no yards or trees, no parking, no character, and lots of bros. ” No Upzone

        Got Hyperbole?

  • Kadoo October 25, 2016 (9:13 pm)

    If Sawant is so concerned about the homeless why didn’t she stay to hear public comment about the homeless encampment initiative earlier this month? 

  • Jeannie October 25, 2016 (11:13 pm)

    No Upzone, well put! Thanks for articulating your concerns – I agree.

  • I Guess I'm a "Bro" October 25, 2016 (11:57 pm)

    As an individual who lives in one of those concrete boxes I would like to point out that my options for alternative housing with more character and charm are severely limited by the current housing market in Seattle. I fit none of the stereotypes expressed above and resent the assumption that I or any of my lovely neighbors do. If you must ask why the upzoning is not happening in “wealthier” neighborhoods, one reason to consider might be that those neighborhoods listed have less than ideal access to frequent public transportation. 

    As someone else pointed out, this is an urban environment. Having lived in other cities the percentage of single family homes still present in Seattle, relatively close to downtown, is shocking. People are moving here and they need places to live. And hardly anyone is interested in moving to a city and living an hour away from work.

    It seems like you can either tolerate the growth of the city and the need for more affordable housing or you can tolerate people camping on your front lawn. 

    • KM October 26, 2016 (8:08 am)

      It must be frustrating to read some of these comments. Please know that there are WS neighbors who are happy to have you here, myself included (a single-family homeowner). I love that Seattle is increasing in density and welcome the change bringing more people into our region.

  • Evil Twin October 26, 2016 (8:03 am)

    I’ve known about this for over a year. Remember when Westneat wrote that scathing op-ed in the Times about this? Cities grow and become more dense, that’s what they do. West Seattle is just behind Queen Anne, Fremont, Capitol Hill, etc because we used to be like a suburb. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it the secrets out! West Seattle rocks. I won’t even suggest that I know what the answer is but people keep having babies and people keep moving here. It seems logical to me to target growth where there is light rail, etc. I’m still upset about the anti growth people voting down light rail in 1968!

Sorry, comment time is over.