HALA REZONING: Junction Land Use Committee plans community workshop July 11

| Development | Neighborhoods | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

Two and a half weeks left to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the rezoning proposals in the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) component. If you’re in the Junction area and still sorting it out, a local community group invites you to a workshop next Tuesday:

Mark Your Calendar – HALA DEIS Workshop on July 11, 2017 at 6:30 p.m at the West Seattle Senior Center

The Junction Land Use Committee (JLUC) will present a summary of key portions of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement related to the proposed upzones on the Junction Urban Village. The workshop will also include a description of the impact of the upzones, actions you can take, and ways to help you identify additional areas on which you might wish to comment. Location: 4217 SW Oregon.

Jort Sandwich July 5, 2017 (4:13 pm)

It should probably be noted that the JUNO JLUC has a very clear and well-stated position already staked out on this subject. This is not a neutral party, nor an unbiased source of information regarding the MHA proposals.

CAM July 5, 2017 (8:27 pm)

Jort – Agreed. I’m usually unable to attend these meetings due to other scheduled activities. Maybe if some of those of us with a different view attend and voice that opinion there will be more recognition of it? I’d be open to making the effort to shifting my schedule around to attend if I thought others who felt similarly would also be there to show strength of numbers.
- CMT July 5, 2017 (9:47 pm)
  
  Strength in numbers regarding …. examining whether the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is adequate?
  
  People have different viewpoints about whether the proposed rezones themselves are appropriate but the EIS is about the City’s obligation to accurately describe the impacts of its proposals (on things like traffic, views, pollution, access to light, existing infrastructure, transit) and to provide for appropriate mitigation of negative impacts where appropriate.
  
  The point of the workshop is to let people know what the EIS describes as the impacts to the Junction and the mitigation it proposes.
KM July 5, 2017 (9:56 pm)

Indeed. I had one of the group members approach me regarding the action items this group hopes to accomplish. The tone from the member was so disheartening on many levels. Needless to say, I told this person I was not interested in joining their cause, and that I supported upzoning and neighborhood diversity. I never heard from them again.
- Caprin July 6, 2017 (9:10 am)
  
  Good for you and Im right there with you.

Matt Hutchins July 5, 2017 (10:50 pm)

Agreed–I’m going, but not to absorb someone’s talking points. Despite the stigma about the length and complexity, the EIS is pretty straight forward and you can read one of the overviews below, then the parts about your ‘hood and see if you this we should do nothing, something else, or more about our housing crisis. Then comment on the Draft EIS directly without the filter.

Here are some other overviews/rundowns which come from other perspectives:

https://sccinsight.com/2017/06/19/understanding-mha-draft-environmental-impact-statement/

https://www.theurbanist.org/2017/06/08/city-releases-draft-environmental-impact-statement-for-mha-rezones/

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/how-would-widespread-upzones-change-seattle-neighborhoods-city-releases-first-findings/

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/how-should-seattle-factor-equity-into-upzone-decision

If you are on Facebook and think that supporting new housing is actually a progressive means to counteract some of the inequity our city’s recent fortunes have exacerbated, check out https://www.facebook.com/welcomingwestseattle/

CAM July 6, 2017 (12:43 am)

Wow! Thanks for the reading material!

Ed Slope July 7, 2017 (2:01 pm)

Bias?! The City eliminated neoghborhood councils and has proceeded to plan with developer class zoning instead of neighborhood growth plans. The DEIS should be critically examined and the neighborhood ‘bias’ applied!

Sorry, comment time is over.