West Seattle, Washington
18 Monday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Our first report on this past week’s HPAC meeting – held online Wednesday night – focused on the group’s discussion with a Metro rep about proposed bus-stop changes. But the coalition tackled other topics of note, and that’s what we’re writing about now.
ENCAMPMENTS: Questions about several encampments in southeast West Seattle had surfaced at previous meetings, so HPAC invited local-government reps to attend with updates. Tom Van Bronkhorst was there from the city’s Unified Care Team, and James Poling was there on behalf of WSDOT. The one of greatest concern was the growing encampment at 1st/Cloverdale, just west of Highway 509. Poling said that WSDOT “has started preliminary assessment at the site.” Van Bronkhorst said WSDOT doesn’t own the entirety of the property involved – there’s adjacent city land that’s “also encamped.” As a result of that, he said, the city will be “working in the weeks ahead to plan some kind of removal.” Before that, he expected crews would be removing litter at the site. (We followed up post-meeting with Lori Baxter, who handles homelessness-response inquiries for the mayor’s office, and she confirmed the site is getting “weekly trash mitigation … while WSDOT resolution planning continues.” She added, “The Unified Care Team last inspected this site on February 14, noting six RVs/vehicles and three tents/structures.”) At the HPAC meeting, Van Bronkhorst also addressed the encampment across Delridge Way from the Southwest Precinct, saying it’s likely to be resolved by summer, because a city reforestation project is planned to “activate” that area (the Delridge Native Forest Garden, which got a federal grant last year, and about which Baxter tells us, “UCT will consider the construction schedule while building out upcoming calendar dates”). Finally, regarding Barton between 15th and 17th, Van Bronkhorst said five RVs were there at last count, 600 pounds of trash was removed three weeks ago, and the outreach agency REACH has been “visiting every few weeks.”
‘THE HUM’: More than a decade ago, we reported on then-HPAC leadership leading community sleuthing of the droning noise that so many were hearing at night. It was traced to vacuum equipment offloading dry cargo from ships serving an industrial facility on the Duwamish River; better muffling was installed, and that seemed to handle the problem. In recent months, we hear every so often from someone thinking they’re hearing it again; invariably, when we get one of those reports, we check MarineTraffic.com, and it shows the same type of ship in port around the same spot. At Wednesday’s meeting, local resident Matthew said he’s resolved to get to the bottom of it, including finding out what the noise rules are. HPAC leadership agreed to collaborate with him. You can help too – if you hear it, log the time. Record it if you can.
DELRIDGE TRIANGLE: This triangle of land by the Route 60 northbound bus stop across from 2 Fingers Social was the subject of a community-led planning process in 2017-2019 aimed at turning it into more of a park. Eventually the effort stalled (the last mention in our archives was July 2019). Now, HPAC says, there’s word that Seattle Parks is acquiring the parcel from SDOT. We’re following up on that with both.
WHAT’S NEXT? HPAC meets on fourth Wednesdays most months, 7 pm. Watch the HPAC website for updates.
We just double-checked, and yes, West Seattle’s new driver-licensing office is now open as scheduled at Delridge/Dakota, on the back side of the building. The state announced the new location February 1 and opened it today after a week-long closure for moving out of the old location east of Westwood Village (whose owner plans a redevelopment project). Here’s where to make an appointment.
Lively agenda announced for Wednesday night’s online meeting of HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge. They’re bringing in Metro to talk about the changes recently reported here and here – bus-stop closures (and a relocation) plus city-funded plans to add more service hours to Route 125 (which we have since learned was buried in this SDOT announcement). Public-safety concerns are on the agenda too. So is the recurring noise that some speculate might be a return of “The Hum” (traced more than a decade ago by HPAC’s then-leadership and WSB to dry-cargo unloading on the Duwamish River). Don’t miss this meeting, 7 pm Wednesday – connection/call-in info is in the preview here.
(Rendering by Atelier Drome Architects)
4:30 PM: Redevelopment has been in the works for the former auto-shop site at 9201 Delridge Way SW for six years. The project plan, and ownership, have changed along the way. Now the current developers, Housing Diversity Corporation, say that groundbreaking is expected within about two months for the five-story, 74-apartment development they’re calling Keystone. That’s part of an update we received this afternoon announcin “the closing of debt and equity” for the project, which explains in part:
Financial partners for the project include First Fed as the senior lender with a $5 million loan, Nuveen Green Capital as the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy & Resiliency lender with a $9.74 million loan, and Citizen Mint, a private markets platform for wealth advisors, who raised $5.18 million of equity from impact-minded wealth managers and high-net-worth individuals. …
The C-PACER program in Washington provides lower-than-market-rate debt for projects that are able to achieve high energy and resilience standards above code in an effort to encourage environmentally focused building practices. The seismic, plumbing, and thermal standards met by the development allowed the partnership to use C-PACER financing to cover 40% of the project’s overall cost at a favorable construction loan interest rate in the mid-7% range.
HDC’s partner in building Keystone is West Seattle-headquartered STS Construction Services (WSB sponsor), as is the case for the 115-apartment building under construction at 3405 Harbor SW and other projects on the drawing board, with Atelier Drome as the architect. The announcement says that “100% of the units in the development are priced at or below 80% of area median income, including 15 more deeply rent-restricted units made possible through Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program.” The project will include 4,207 square feet of commercial/retail space and will not include offstreet parking; none is required as it’s close to frequent transit (RapidRide H Line). The project finished going through Design Review in 2021, under the alternate address 9208 20th SW.
5:39 PM: We went over to look at the site right after publishing this story, and discovered work already has begun:
The old building was demolished sometime since we last went through that area several days ago.
Three weeks ago, thanks to tips, we reported that the Delridge Playfield lights were out again because of wire thieves. Last week, one of our original tipsters, John – who had photographed the exact spot hit by the thieves – told us that crews were on scene to fix the system. We subsequently inquired with Parks, who responded today that the lights are working again. Security was improved, too, according to John’s observation: “Installation of steel conduit instead of PVC previously used, therefore making hard to steal the cables.”
From the “in case you wondered too” file – the land-use-action sign out front of the Arco station at Delridge/Orchard is for major work that just got city approval this week. The owners plan to “remove 2 underground storage tanks and install two new tanks (one 22,000-gallon and one 25,000-gallon tank).” Also: “Existing piping system, dispensers, and trash enclosure to be replaced … (project) includes 1,800 cu. yds. of grading (900 cu. yds. of backfill).” Publication of the decision opens an appeal period, with a March 7 deadline; this notice explains how.
Those newly striped spaces on the west side of the office building on the northwest corner of Delridge/Dakota are a reminder that the building will soon be home to West Seattle’s driver-licensing office. As announced February 1, this is the new location starting March 1 – officially 2420 SW Dakota – but the office will be closed for a week of moving, so this is the final week at the old location east of Westwood Village, 8830 25th SW. We first reported more than a year ago that the Department of Licensing was seeking a new location because the current one is slated for demolition, with 140+ apartments to be built in its place.
(2020 photo by Doug Ollerenshaw)
Three years ago, we published a reader report about that wooden bridge across Longfellow Creek, near Greg Davis Park, after Doug Ollerenshaw noticed it had been removed without notice, Seattle Parks subsequently explained to him that it had long been “compromised structurally” and then literally started falling apart, so it had to be removed, but they had to find funding to replace it. He’s been tracking it ever since – still no sign of a replacement, and his followup inquiries hadn’t been answered. So we asked Parks about a timeline for what we have since learned is called the “truss bridge,” and finally got an update today, through spokesperson Karen O’Connor: “Looks like mid – 2024; we have successfully obtained the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s – HPA over-water crossing permitting. The bridge is currently under internal design review as well as undergoing the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) permit approval process.” They’ve also updated the project website since our inquiry; it goes into some other details about the delay.
P.S. We’re working on details for a separate report on a different Longfellow Creek bridge project; permit files indicate Seattle Public Utilities is planning some work on the “fishbone bridge.”
Multiple readers have reported that athletic activities scheduled for Monday evening at Delridge Playfield were canceled because of theft/vandalism affecting the lights – again. We also heard from John, who sent this photo:
John, a retired electrician, explained what he saw while walking around the fields: “Damaged power pipe and cut cables. I called Seattle City Light. Tested cables. which were dead. But still connected to transformer.” That was midday Monday; John subsequently talked to an SCL crew member who, he reported,”said a high voltage crew would be called out to disconnect the cables from the transformer. The parks department will need to call out an electrical contractor to repair the cables from the service drop into the electrical main switch gear.” We’ve been waiting to hear back from Seattle Parks and City Light on a repair timetable. We’ve also asked about what’s being done to prevent recurrences (not only has this happened recently – we even found this story from more than a decade ago.)
ORIGINAL THURSDAY STORY: The state Department of Licensing is finally confirming the new location of its West Seattle driver-licensing office. We first reported more than a year ago that they had found a site but weren’t ready to disclose it; city records suggested they were pursuing a North Delridge location. Today, the DOL announced that’s indeed where they’re moving – 2420 SW Dakota, Suite 100 [map], adjacent to other state offices. A DOL spokesperson tells WSB, “Our last day at the current location will be on Saturday, February 24. We’ll open the new location on Friday, March 1.” The current location at 8830 25th SW east of Westwood Village is being vacated because, as we first reported in 2022, the site is planned for redevelopment into what city permit records describe as “a 6-story, 144-unit apartment building (with p)arking for 20 vehicles.”
ADDED MONDAY: The DOL confirms its entrance will be at the back (west side) of the building, which carries a Delridge address in front.
Last month we showed you the new entrance on the south side of Camp Long, honoring the park/environmental-learning center’s longtime director Sheila Brown. Now Seattle Parks and the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association have announced a ribboncutting celebration. Set your calendar for 11 am-12:30 pm Saturday, February 10. The new entrance is at 29th/Brandon [map]. The announcement notes, “The new entrance gateway is a great example of a public/private partnership with the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association as the fiscal sponsors managing over 125 donors. SPR provided project management with additional design work and implementation budget.” (Read more background here.)
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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Another in-person meeting last night began the 2024 calendar for HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge. They’re testing various locations since their longtime meeting quarters at Highland Park Improvement Club remain out of commission, so last night’s meeting was held at Southwest Library, which meant an earlier start and fixed cutoff time, since the branch clears meeting rooms 15 minutes before 8 pm closing time.
Nonetheless, the 1 1/4-hour meeting facilitated by HPAC co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick delivered plenty of information. Here’s how it unfolded:
SEATTLE POLICE: The Southwest Precinct team that’s appeared at multiple recent community meetings, Lt. Josh Ziemer and community liaison Officer German Barreto, were asked about the shooting death at Southwest Pool/Teen Life Center on Tuesday, but said they could not divulge any updates. In crime stats, so far this year, Highland Park had three assaults, 6 motor-vehicle-related thefts (car prowls, etc.), 7 motor-vehicle thefts and attempted thefts, including “one restolen from a tow lot,” 1 aggravated assault, 1 attempted burglary, 1 store robbery, 1 residential burglary. 2 larceny (one attempted mail theft and one mail theft). Year to year, 2023 compared to 2022, homicides, aggravated assaults up, motor vehicle thefts up, burglaries down.
For South Delridge, also in HPAC’s coverage area – so far this year 2 assaults, one motor vehicle theft, one hit-run, one business burglary, one robbery (phone snatch) – robberies are down year to year, thefts down, except for vehicle thefts, which are up.
Asked about the 1st/Cloverdale encampment just off the sharp turn west of Highway 509:
If you’ve watched a Seattle Kraken game, you might be familiar with fans’ appreciative call of GRUUUUU! when goalie Philipp Grubauer gets a save. Not recently – he’s been off the ice with an injury for more than a month. But he’s keeping busy, including in a role as Divisional Youth Ambassador for the Salvation Army, which hosted him at their South Delridge center on Friday.
Grubauer joined kids from the center’s After-School Program for a hockey-skills drill (with a ball, not a puck):
He was scheduled to hang out with the kids through dinnertime.
6:54 AM: Police and fire are arriving at an apartment complex in the 5900 block of Delridge Way SW, after a report of a man with a gunshot wound to the leg.
7:08 AM: Police describe the wound as non-life-threatening. The Delridge/Juneau traffic camera shows the response (on the Juneau side of the complex). No word so far on circumstances.
7:28 AM: Listening back to the recording of the original dispatch, police were told the victim said he opened his door and was shot by someone he knows; the only descriptive information he gave initially was “white male, 5’10”.”
7:35 AM: We went to the area to try to find out more; the response at the complex is down to one (unoccupied) police car.
7:40 AM: The search has moved to the Delridge P-Patch a few blocks north [map], and that’s where police are right now. Police confirm they know who they are looking for but aren’t commenting further.
10:16 AM: SFD says the victim is a 55-year-old man who was in stable condition when taken to the hospital via private ambulance.
Thanks to those who have texted and emailed about that tree, toppled onto the northbound side of the 26th Avenue SW neighborhood greenway on the west side of Delridge Community Center. Neighbor Derek says the city has been notified, and notes that this isn’t the first to fall in that spot – another came down in May 2022. (Worth noting with wind in the forecast – if a tree falls onto a street or sidewalk, you can report it to SDOT at 206-684-ROAD, after-hours at 206-386-1218.)
12:17 AM: Police are investigatng a reported shooting at Delridge/Findlay. One man is reported wounded, “shot in the back” per SFD dispatch. No suspect description yet except “male in a red shirt.” Updates to come.
12:26 AM: Police believe the shooting happened in front of the Shell station (which is closed for the night); they told dispatch they’ve found a casing. They’re also closing Delridge Way at the scene.
12:34 AM: The victim, a 20-year-old man, is being taken to Harborview by SFD medics. Police, meantime, now believe they’re looking for two suspects; a K-9 team is helping search.
12:47 AM: If you live in the area, you’ll hear police PA announcements and siren “chirping,” which is meant as a warning to possibly hiding suspect(s) that they’re nearby with a dog.
1:34 AM: So far, no success. Meantime, the street is open again.
New on the city’s bidding website, several earthquake-safety retrofit projects around the city – including the pedestrian overpass at Delridge and Oregon, between the south end of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center and the east side of Delridge Playfield/Community Center. This comes one year after the decision to keep and retrofit the bridge – after community opposition to proposed removal – was announced. Scope of the project is described as follows:
Seismic retrofit project that involves retrofit of superstructure, columns, and footings through section build up and/or use of CFRP wraps, as well as separating ramps from the structure and building up a lightweight fill support for ramps, adding new expansion joints at the ramps, removing and reinstalling handrails, and modifying the ends of handrails at new expansion joints.
In 2021, SDOT estimated the retrofit cost as ~$4 million; the estimate is now up to more than $5 million. It’s already retrofitted the area’s other pedestrian overpass, the SW Andover bridge over the southwest end of the West Seattle Bridge. The deadline for bids on the Delridge/Oregon project is January 17. The work could last up to a year, according to this slide deck from a briefing last year.
The proposal for 11 residences at 6504 24th SW [map] continues to make its way through the permit process. Tree advocates plan a demonstration there Saturday afternoon to renew attention to the plan for tree removal, with concerns including its proximity to Longfellow Creek. We last wrote about the project back in March, when the city convened a community-requested public meeting for comments (WSB coverage here), most of which were focused on the trees. As we reported at the time, an arborist’s report showed more than 50 “exceptional” trees on the site, and noted more than 30 could be removed. (Here’s the current plan set.) Permit files also show the developers seeking an exemption for part of an “environmentally critical area” on the site. Tree Action Seattle notes that – as discussed in our March report – housing could be built on the site with far fewer tree removals. It plans to gather and “ask for change” at 1 pm Saturday. (Thanks to reader Julia for the tip on this.)
(Photos courtesy Delridge Grocery Co-op)
Healthy food at low prices! Go to the Delridge Grocery Co-op (5444 Delridge Way SW) starting at 3 pm today for major produce deals – the DGC announcement explains:
This weekend, the Delridge Grocery Co-op (DGC) is partnering with Cascadia Produce to offer its neighbors some special deals on produce. Owned and operated by Delridge residents (and DGC owner-members) Jillian Moore and Jeremy Vrablik, Cascadia is part of the Seattle Good Business Network’s Good Food Exchange program, which is working to distribute surplus or recovered food to businesses and organizations.
These produce items are sent to Cascadia after being rejected by groceries for a number of reasons — peppers were too small, stores were overstocked, or temperature was off by 1-2 degrees. Yet these are still usable, healthy packages of fruits, vegetables, and greens, and Jeremy and Jill are passionate about keeping good food on plates and out of the landfill.
The DGC will be offering a selection of items that Cascadia has procured this week and selling them at discounted prices, including:
• Strawberries (Foxy brand, 16-ounce) — $2.99 (compare at $8.99)
• Raspberries (Driscolls brand, 6-ounce) — $2.99 (compare at $5.29)
• Organic Spinach and Arugula (Earthbound Farm brand, 16-ounce tubs) — $2.99 (compare at $6.99)
• Sweet Mini Peppers (Dolce brand, 16-ounce) — $1.99 (compare at $4.99)
All are welcome to shop at the DGC, but this is also our monthly Discount Weekend when Co-op owner-members (who have paid into their ownership share) receive a 10% discount on all in-store purchases (December 1-3). You can also shop for holiday gifts from local artisans, including pottery from The Clay Cauldron and hot sauce from Bootsie’s Sauce Co.
Come check out your neighborhood grocery and #shopthecoopfirst this weekend! The all-volunteer DGC is located at 5444 Delridge Way SW, and is open Friday 3–7, Saturday 9:30–3, Sunday 11–3, Monday 3–7, and Tuesday 3–7.
Thanks to Jay for the tip. Seattle Public Utilities crews are working on a water break in the 4700 block of 26th SW. More than 50 customers are affected, according to the SPU outage map.
1:15 PM: Jay says the water is back on. SPU tells us the leak was in an 8-inch cast iron distribution main but they don’t know what caused it.
(Recent video of salmon spawners in Longfellow Creek by Betsy Bertiaux)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“Don’t be depressed, be optimistic.”
That was the advice of one panelist during a West Seattle discussion of Longfellow Creek – its status, its future, its challenges. He was only speaking about one of the latter, but his advice was an appropriate exhortation for all in attendance.
The attendance itself was cause for optimism – all the chairs set out in the Duwamish Longhouse‘s main hall, and some of the benches around the room, were filled with people there “to learn about and celebrate Longfellow Creek,” as Elizabeth Rudrud of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society said in her introduction. Its Log House Museum has been hosting an exhibit about the creek, and one of the reasons for the November 8 gathering was to springboard off that.
Sharon Leishman of the Duwamish Alive Coalition also said she was heartened “to see this many people interested in our wonderful creek,” one of only two salmon-bearing tributaries in the Duwamish River watershed.
Photojournalist Tom Reese began his presentation with an update on those salmon – that day, he said, Longfellow Creek had seen “at least 17 live adult coho spawners,” and he had also noted three dead ones, as well as “about 40 baby salmon living in the creek almost a year now.” He declared, with wonder, “There are salmon spawning in the city of Seattle less than four miles from the Space Needle!” But most of the salmon who make it into the creeik die before thy can spawn because they’ve been poisoned (more on that later).
Still, it’s better than the years in which Longfellow – which Reese imagined had once been a “magnificent salmon stream” – was a “ditch, an open sewer,’ barren of salmon for perhaps half a century. Now the creek is “back from the dead” and the salmon are arriving each year, even though, as Reese described, “to get to Longfellow Creek they have to choose to go into a pipe that travels 2/3 of a mile underground” before daylighting.
He held the audience in rapt attention as he showed photos and video of the salmon, other wildlife, and the human-made features along Longfellow Creek, like the fishbone bridge. If you haven’t been to the Log House Museum to see his images in the Longfellow exhibit, don’t miss it.
The human influence on the creek was at the heart of the next speaker’s presentation. Seattle Public Utilities‘ Katherine Lynch spoke of impervious surface covering more than half the Longfellow watershed – and that has resulted in overflows like this.
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Received from Joel:
Just wanted to let West Seattleites know that a disgruntled neighbor threw garbage, including glass bottles, into the Delridge skatepark this evening. He was upset about the refuse being left behind on a daily basis.
I cleaned up what glass I could, and notified the police, but I’m sure there are small shards left that could hurt someone if they were to fall.
We suggested also calling the Seattle Parks after-hours maintenance number (206-684-7250).
3:58 PM: Thanks to Manuel for the quick clip of leaping salmon at Longfellow Creek – he reports, “It’s ideal conditions to watch the salmon jump over a beaver dam at Longfellow Creek by the West Seattle Health Club. The heavy rain helped them.”
P.S. This gives us reason to remind you of this week’s big event – a celebration with information – about Longfellow Creek, 5:30 pm Wednesday (November 8th) at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse and Cultural Center (4705 West Marginal Way SW)
4:50 PM: Manuel caught another one on video – an even higher leap!
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