(WSB photo of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, from February 2012)
City Council President Sally Clark and Councilmember Nick Licata were among the guests at this month’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting – the holiday edition, held at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center instead of the usual Delridge Library – and Youngstown’s new manager was on the agenda too.

CITY’S ZONING PROPOSALS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA: The councilmembers’ official reason for visiting was that they’ve been making the rounds of community groups citywide to discuss the city’s proposed zoning rules for medical-marijuana businesses. (We videotaped Clark’s first West Seattle presentation on the topic at the Southwest District Council earlier this fall – see it here.) While they don’t think they can keep people from growing it in their homes, they do think they should prohibit it in single-family neighborhoods or other “pure residential” zones. And there are some technical points, as Clark outlined. Councilmember Licata picked it up with some big-picture observations, such as the nation’s changing terminology – “cannabis instead of marijuana.” He used the former. “The landscape is changing so radically … the federal government is giving largely a blind eye toward medical cannabis,” he said. He touched on other big-picture topics such as “the huge amount of tax revenue” that stands to be generated by marijuana, as well as trade associations that have been formed by “business people … they’re not potheads.” He also said it’s believed there are about 120 dispensaries in the city right now, and “there’s conflict right now” between the medical-marijuana supporters and the recreational-marijuana supporters.”

Clark reminded everyone that implementing 502 is now a year-long process with the state in the driver’s seat, though “cities will be way interested” – and she believes that both medical-marijuana dispensaries and recreational-marijuana stores will remain. She also said that since she chairs the council’s Economic Resiliency and Regional Relations Committee, she finds it “fascinating” that the law requires the recreational marijuana to be grown in this state.

They were asked about implementation points such as public marijuana smoking (which is “an infraction,” the councilmembers noted) and people who are growing it – will there be more action to shut down illegal grow operations, with legal growing in the works? Licata said he thought there was still enforcement under way. Other stories ensued of grow operations past and present, and Nicata acknowledged “the criminal element is still there.” He added, “Even though (the law says personal possession is the city’s ‘lowest priority’), they are still going after major producers.”

“We’re in a longtime gray area with these dual markets in play at the same time,” Clark summarized.

“You say ‘the criminal element is there’,” Mat McBride said, “but the reality is, the criminal element is HERE” – referring to situations that seem way beyond what the law intended.

Clark said she would be happy to follow up on individual cases that neighbors say police did not pursue – but she warned that if one was a 45-plant situation involving someone with a medical-marijuana card, police might indeed have decided to take a pass.

COUNCILMEMBERS THANKED: Patrick Baer presented a big card to Clark and Licata, signed by his neighborhood, and thanked them for the recent work in the 5400 block of 26th SW – including sidewalks and bioswales. He also invited the rest of the neighborhood to show up and check it out.

NEW YOUNGSTOWN DIRECTOR: As of November 1st, David Bestock is in charge. First he gave a mini-briefing of what happens at the center – from an alternative public high school (Southwest Interagency Academy), a Waldorf school, theater/movement rental spaces, ArtsCorps, Nature Consortium, The Service Board, the West Seattle Tool Library, and the offices of Delridge Neighborhood Development Association “which has been through a lot of changes over the years,” including management challenges and the need for a financial turnaround.

DNDA now has a much smaller staff, but “we’re still running the organization here in the black,” Bestock said, and he’s hoping to “re-integrate” some of the programs that had fallen away during more-troubled times. He said that some of the current rentals are not necessarily in the vein of “cultural arts center” but he hopes to lead Youngstown back in that direction. “It’s a rebuilding time for the DNDA board,” said Bestock, noting that for the organization in general, the “mismanagers are gone.” But he made it clear he is not accountable for other DNDA buildings/projects – “I am very much focused on this building.”

Responding to a question, Bestock said the DNDA board in a “rebuilding” mode – with 7 people now, up from 4, which was down from 12. He said he has met recently with some past DNDA leaders, such as ex-executive director Paul Fischburg and former Youngstown leader Randy Engstrom. “It’s an interesting time … but I’m optimistic,” he said. “Things were mismanaged and things have to happen differently, and the financial turnaround brought a lot of the mismanagement to light. … The turnaround is under way, and I think it’s in a good spot.”

DESC UPDATE: Tanya Baer, who’s been closely following DESC’s Delridge Supportive Housing project – now under construction – and attending all the advisory-council meetings, reminded everyone that it’s continuing to meet and will do so again sometime in January, adding that she is concerned about communication challenges involving DESC, the advisory committee, and the community. That led to the topic of a recent community meeting with the general contractor, scheduled in the middle of the afternoon and announced via a flyer that at least one neighbor found on his driveway the night before the meeting. NDNC member Dorsol Plants attended that meeting and said the contractor acknowledged it made a mistake by having it without sufficient notice. Tanya Baer is asking the NDNC to write a formal letter of concern, since part of its funding was predicated on communication with the community.

UPCOMING EVENTS: A winter-solstice parade was announced for the evening of December 21st – and as we got ready to publish this report, we received details – see them in the Winter Solstice section of the WSB Holiday Guide.

North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets the second Monday of the month, 6:30 pm – and publishes information on a variety of ongoing topics and issues inbetween meetings too – see their website here.

(WSB photo, taken this morning)
Two months after demolition of the old houses on the site, construction work is now ramping up at the site of DESC’s future 66-unit Delridge Supportive Housing complex in the 5400 block of Delridge Way, north of SW Findlay. As noted in the project FAQ, onstruction is expected to last about a year.

And tonight, the nonprofit that is likely to open a co-op grocery store in the DESC building’s retail space has its next monthly meeting – with big issues including: How about a new name?

Name the Co-op!!! The Delridge Produce Cooperative idea has evolved from a plan for a co-op produce stand to a small, but full-service, community-owned multi-stakeholder grocery store! This means the store will not only be a source for healthy food, including meat, eggs, dairy and seafood but a support network and financial opportunity for large, small, and backyard farmers. The Co-op’s employees will also have an equal stake in the store. Our current name is misleading for some and we have received feedback regarding a name change. We wish to make another round of reusable strawberry bags and founding member t-shirts!! So, we need to choose our name! Please help.

They’re taking suggestions via their Facebook page. And whether you have an idea for a name, or not, you’re welcome at their meeting tonight:

We invite anyone with the time and inclination to join us at this very exciting step of the grocery store creation. We are welcoming founding Board Members and still looking for core volunteers to help at this stage.

Our November meeting is this Monday evening! All interested volunteers are needed to help plan our next steps. Teresa Young, Organizational Development Specialist from the Northwest Cooperative Development Center will join us to find out how the NWCDC can assist us at this stage. We are making final edits to our business plan and reviewing the first draft of our bylaws. This special meeting will be from 5:30-7:30pm, Monday November 26th at the Delridge Library.

Last time we checked in with DESC regarding status/timetable on the 66-unit Delridge Supportive Housing project, executive director Bill Hobson said construction was expected to start in the first half of November. However, we noticed there’s work on the site now – demolition crews (you can’t see the backhoe in our photo, but it’s there). So we checked back with Hobson, who explained via e-mail:

We are demolishing the buildings on the site under a separate demolition permit. We wanted to get this done during August just to get the site cleaned up, but the general contractor encountered significant amounts of asbestos that had to be abated per code and delayed the schedule. The demolition contractor mobilized on site Wednesday and has completed the prep work … and hopefully will have the buildings down and the site cleaned of in the next 10 work days. Actual construction will not begin until sometime between Nov 1st and 10th.

Things are very busy along that section of Delridge right now; SDOT is also doing sidewalk ramp work at the Delridge/Findlay intersection.

DESC DELRIDGE PROJECT SCHEDULE: We checked with DESC after noticing an online business-publication ad seeking “sub-bids” for this project – 66 units of “supportive housing” at 5444 Delridge Way SW, much-discussed since the project first came to light in June 2011 (all of our coverage is archived here, reverse chronological order). Its land-use permit was issued a month ago; the construction permit is still pending. According to DESC executive director Bill Hobson, Walsh Construction – whose portfolio includes Youngstown – is the general contractor, and that’s who is soliciting subcontractor bids right now. (Its ad describes the project as 75 units, its original size, but Hobson says that is a mistake, and it remains at 66.) Regarding when work will begin, he tells WSB, “We anticipate starting construction sometime in the first 2 weeks of November.”

FORMER ‘PSYCHIC BARBER’ SITE: We have reported on the building at 5247 California SW largely through the relocation of its longtime tenant, “Psychic Barber” Rick Cook, now at The Classic Barber Shop further north on California. He called our attention to the demolition work now under way behind the one-story commercial building, and we went by yesterday afternoon:

Rick says the house is gone as of early this morning, while the commercial building’s still standing. Timetable for its demolition isn’t as clear, as the proposal for a three-story building at the site, with underground parking, is still in the early stages. We’ll be following up with the owner, who didn’t want to discuss his plans in detail last time we checked.

(Updated post-Design Review renderings shown at May’s advisory-council meeting)
One year after we first reported on DESC’s 66-apartment Delridge Supportive Housing project, meant to get 66 homeless people off the streets, the plan has just cleared another hurdle. Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin from the city includes the decision granting a land-use permit (aka Master Use Permit) for the project at 5444 Delridge Way SW. Here’s the decision; the deadline for filing an appeal is July 9th. A community advisory committee continues to meet to discuss issues related to the project; its next meeting is scheduled for July 12th.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

DESC is applying for its 5444 Delridge Way SW building permit next month, executive director Bill Hobson told last night’s meeting of the project’s Advisory Committee.

That was a side note to a discussion with the team from SMR Architects, returning to West Seattle to discuss the 66-unit Delridge Supportive Housing project for the first time since the second and final Southwest Design Review Board meeting two months ago.

Instead of a presentation followed by Q/A, the presentation was punctuated by the half-dozen community members in attendance engaging the architects in conversation about various features of the building and site.

Much of the discussion focused on its back side (lower left view in image atop this story), as had been the case during the second Design Review Board meeting. The architects showed a tweaked version of the four-story building’s view from the alley, including yellow paint for much of the first two floors, and red on the set-back top two stories. Asked if they’d done enough to answer the DRB’s concern that the building’s back facade seemed “listless,” the architects thought they had, with touches including varied types/sizes of panels around the windows, as well as new landscaping details.

Those details updated since the Design Review meetings included trees and shrubbery along the rear of the building, as something of a “green screen” for neighbors (alley is at top of image over this line). Trees will include Japanese snowbell – expected to max out around 35 feet in height – and magnolia – projected to 24 feet. There’ll also be a “densified” cluster of “large shrubs.”

The courtyard on the southwest side of the building, anchored by the large cedar tree that DESC is under city orders to preserve, will include a raingarden to receive storm drainage from the roof. Along the street, the architects say they’re “still proposing salvaging existing street trees,” and the parking-strip area that is now “lawn” will be replaced with “simple ground cover.”

They said they’re still working on the lighting plan for the front and south side, where a “lantern” scheme had been envisioned – exterior lighting toward the top of the building might be a maintenance challenge, they noticed. One DESC facility, Canaday House, has “inset spotlights that highlight certain trees,” but the architect team isn’t so sure that would work for the large cedar that will take up much of the courtyard – “putting lights up the tree might be weird,” it was observed.

That big tree, by the way, will have to undergo some preparatory work before construction starts, it was explained – limbs that are too low to the ground will have to be removed for example. “What if the tree is irreparably harmed” during construction? asked advisory committee member Vonetta Mangaoang. There’s an “extensive protection plan,” replied the team, with fencing, mulch, and plywood. Hobson said they were committed to the plan and quipped that he would not want to see DESC “sent off to eco-concentration camp for destroying an exceptional tree.”

Asked if the community could use the courtyard, Hobson mentioned a DESC project where people from a nearby seniors’ community do come over and interact. However, there could be security issues – a “landscaped fence” is currently planned along the courtyard.

The discussion turned to how the building’s deliveries would be made, and how many there would be. DESC’s committee representative Nicole Macri said they would expect Costco deliveries and probably a meal provider – Hobson said they expect to contract with Fare Start – maybe also occasional office-supplies deliveries, and of course, the commercial tenant’s deliveries too.

Much of that was expected to happen in an area set aside on the northeast side of the building, but a parking pad remains in the plan on the southeast side (at the upper right of image above this paragraph), and that drew some neighborhood concern from residents who say it is currently used often for drug activity, and if it is a little-used parking pad, that might just continue to facilitate such use. As for whether that parking pad could be removed from the plan, the project team will discuss that with city planners, since it was an element favored by the Design Review Board, to avoid having all dropoffs/deliveries made at one spot behind the building.

That’s where Hobson mentioned that, although DESC had said at the last minute that it expected to apply for the building permit in August, it instead will be doing that next month – no precise date yet, could be early June, could be late – and therefore there’s “urgency (for) getting clarity” on final design tweaks, like this would be.

That discussion segued into the condition of the alley, which DESC will be improving as a requirement of the project, including paving and drainage, though the extent of that work hasn’t been decided yet, and the existing drainage is apparently in imperfect shape – the project team explained that they tried to use a special camera to investigate it, and “the first try didn’t go well,” so they’re planning to bring in a different type of camera.

One more issue: How will it be clear to pedestrians and others that the commercial space on the northwest side of the building is exactly that, and not just part of the housing complex? it was asked. Reply: Windows, different pavers, and possibly signage, though that would have to be discussed with the tenant, likely to be the Delridge Produce Cooperative per ongoing discussions. Concern was expressed regarding the notion that the windows would be expected to convey the business atmosphere – what if they were blocked by what’s in the business? DESC’s Hobson said that as landlords, they would closely monitor what was placed or displayed along the facade, and have done so at other buildings they own/manage.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE COMMITTEE: Members will tour DESC properties on June 4th – Hobson said he believes they’ll go to the two that North Delridge community members visited last September, Rainier House in Columbia City and Canaday House in Cascade (we covered that tour – here’s the story). Then the next public meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is scheduled for 6:30 pm June 12th, including a debriefing on the tour.

Finding people to help with the many tasks of preparing for a retail operation was a big topic. Half a dozen community members had shown up by about midway through the meeting, and several signed up for volunteer positions. Outreach and website work is important right now, according to the DPC board, as well as community fundraisers, and representing DPC at events such as this Saturday’s Gathering of Neighbors.

Board members, meantime, are meeting with a Highline Community College instructor to work on a business plan and feasibility study, both brought up by the Delridge Supportive Housing Advisory Committee at its meeting last Thursday. Board members reviewed the document they had received with “community recommendations for tenant selection,” listing criteria including responsiveness and sensitivity to a variety of neighborhood factors, hiring from within the neighborhood, pricing products “based on thorough review of actual income levels of residents.”

Still plenty of time and ways to get involved with the DPC; their regular meeting date will be the third Monday of the month, Delridge Library (Delridge/Brandon), 6:30 pm.

We plan for a large part of our produce purchases to come from the Delridge community itself, and so we have a great need to reach out to neighbors to find and recruit members and growers. If we connect gardeners to the food hub that we are growing, we can all eat healthy, local food without paying the high prices that we are all used to seeing for organic produce at the grocery store.

If you can help with that – or in some other way – or just want to know more, the DPC hopes to see you at 6:30 pm Monday, Delridge Library (Delridge/Brandon).

BUSINESS, PRESENT: A business association is being organized for the main retail area in North Delridge, known in the Neighborhood Plan as the “Brandon Node” (since it’s centered around Delridge/Brandon). It’s an outgrowth of the “visioning” meeting held for the area in February, with businesses, residents, and City Councilmembers participating (read about it on the NDNC site).

BUSINESS, FUTURE: Much of the meeting focused on the business that is considered the frontrunner for the commercial space that DESC has promised to build on the northwest side of the ground level of its 66-apartment Delridge Supportive Housing building (5444 Delridge Way SW). That’s the Delridge Produce Cooperative, which has tested various types of operations over the past few years such as a buyers’ club and mobile market. DESC has said it would like to settle on its business tenant sooner rather than later, to incorporate the space’s needs into the planning process, and the issue now is community support for the “greengrocer”-type operation DPC envisions.

From the Delridge Alliance, working with the Community Advisory Committee for the DESC project, Vonetta Mangaoang suggested it might be good for the DPC to have benchmarks and dates set for coming up with capitalization, pricing, product lists, etc. Her concern is to help position the DPC for success, because it wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest for the operation to fail, leaving that space empty. But, the question kept arising, is it up to the NDNC/area residents to do anything beyond endorse the idea of a market – which has long ranked high on area wish lists – and leave it up to DESC/DPC/whomever to take it from there? DPC board member Ariana Rose Taylor-Stanley was at the NDNC meeting and said it is important for them to know where they stand with the neighborhood, and she invited the public to the cooperative’s next public meeting next Monday (here’s the DPC calendar). In the meantime, the DESC project’s Advisory Committee has its next meeting this week, 6:30 pm Thursday at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

PARKS AND GREEN SPACES LEVY OPPORTUNITY FUND: The city is embarking on the second round of seeking applications for a share of the money available for community-generated projects. As mentioned here last month, workshops are coming up to help would-be applicants put together proposal letters and then applications (here’s the schedule). Community discussion is expected shortly, to elicit potential proposals for discussion; one of the possibilities mentioned last night included enhancements in the Delridge Skatepark area of the Delridge Community Center complex.

NORTH DELRIDGE SPRING CLEAN: This Saturday morning, 10 am-noon (here’s the reminder we published last weekend).

The North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets on second Mondays, 6:30 pm, Delridge Library, with lots of information online at ndnc.org.

A wide-ranging agenda Tuesday night for the third meeting of the Advisory Committee formed as a means of addressing community concerns regarding DESC‘s planned Delridge Supportive Housing project. (Our coverage of the first meeting is here, the second meeting here.) Above, our unedited video of the entire 2-hour meeting (makes better audio than video – we apologize for awkward angles on a few public commenters because of where they stood to speak in relation to where our photographer was positioned).

Toplines, ahead:

Two central agenda items were related to business in the area – both the ideas that emerged from the recent Brandon Node Visioning Open House (an overview was presented by North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-chair Parie Hines, who also talked about a recently unveiled study suggesting that Delridge couldn’t support a supermarket – see its toplines here) and the proposal for the Delridge Produce Cooperative to run the commercial space that DESC plans for the ground floor of its building.

DPC board members Galena White and Ranette Iding explained that it would be a store, not a “buyers’ club,” though they expect to sell memberships for those who want to support the co-op that way, and have a say in its operation. They hoped the space would include a kitchen demonstration area as well as retail space, and that some of their produce would come from small local growers. More discussion is planned before a final decision is made on supporting the plan for DPC and DESC to work together. (To find out more about DPC, check out the slide presentation on its website.)

There also was more discussion about issues of community concern that should be on the committee’s radar. They included:

*Neighborhood safety, including concerns about drug activity since addicts are expected to be among the tenants
*DESC tenant screening and tenant agreement
*Traffic safety
*What everyday life is like in a DESC supportive-housing building – perhaps hear from counselors
*What will it be like for the community when the building is open?
*Synching DESC’s project timeline with the advisory committee’s work/priorities

The committee’s next meeting will tackle community issues as well as the DPC plan, 6:30 pm April 12th, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (site of all its meetings so far).

Not long after DESC went public last June with news of its proposal to build the project to house formerly homeless people, many living with challenges such as mental illness and/or substance abuse, the question was asked: Will sex offenders be among the residents? As we reported on June 27th, DESC executive director Bill Hobson said they would not be allowed in the building’s population “if that’s what the neighborhood wants.” The request had not been formally made by any group representing the population, however, and the issue’s status came up in a mail-group discussion over the past week. That discussion concluded with Vonetta Mangaoang of the Delridge Alliance, a member of the project’s Advisory Committee, reporting late today:

Just this morning, Bill Hobson, in response to my request to have the issue of sex offender exclusion placed on tomorrow’s neighborhood advisory committee agenda, resolved the issue by simply stating that DESC will exclude sex offenders from their Delridge supportive housing facility. His quick and decisive action hopefully resolves neighbors’ concerns.

Thank you to each of you who pointed out the importance of this issue. I encourage neighbors to continue to actively communicate with your neighborhood representatives on DESC’s community advisory committee (e-mail alliance@ndnc.org).

That committee meets again tomorrow night, 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; the agenda is here.

(Delridge streetfront view, from project renderings shown to Design Review Board)
Delridge Community Forum, one of the groups that has been closely tracking DESC’s 66-unit Delridge Supportive Housing project, reports that the state Housing Finance Commission approved its request for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (explained here). (We have messages out to WSHFC’s media liaison.) That follows approvals for city, county, and state funding. Land-use and construction permits are still pending with the city; DESC hopes to start construction by year’s end. The project’s Community Advisory Committee, meantime, meets next Tuesday (March 27), 6:30 pm, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (see the agenda here).

(A design rendering shown at the March 8th SW Design Review Board meeting)
Tomorrow’s the day the Washington State Housing Finance Commission will look at the tax-credit financing proposed to comprise most of the money for DESC‘s 66-unit Delridge Supportive Housing project. Full details are on the Delridge Community Forum website, but to summarize it: This funding would allow private investment in the project, with the private investor(s) getting Low-Income Housing Tax Credits in exchange. The project (5444 Delridge Way SW) already has been approved for public funding from the city, county, and state. The Thursday meeting, which includes a public-comment period (other ways to comment are explained on the DCF site), is at 1 pm, downtown at 1000 Second Avenue (28th floor).

In advance of the meeting, the anonymous “Concerned Delridge Neighbor” who has been diving into some of the issues the project has raised – such as, is Delridge already bearing more than its share of very-low-income housing? – published an open letter to the WSHFC, with data about the area’s poverty. (If you have already been following this via the North Delridge mailing list, where questions were raised about the data’s accuracy/source, note that “Concerned Delridge Neighbor” has published a postscript citing the source.)

ADDED: The 20th SW recap:

The night began with early design guidance for 9051 20th SW (here’s the “packet”). No controversy here. No one in the audience except your editor here, until a family with young children arrived midway through the architect’s presentation; when the public comment section of the presentation arrived, they explained that they live across the street, to the south, and wanted to know about possible shading. The project team said that wouldn’t happen).

This project is proposed as two 3-story apartment buildings, to be built in two phases, on two lots in the South Delridge area. There would be 20 one- and two-bedroom “flats” in the first phase, 4 live-work units and 19 flats in the second phase. The project team requested one “departure,” an exemption from alley development, because they say the alley is steep and virtually unusable. They’re expecting to have 36 spaces for the 43 units, ultimately. The name of the project, Vesseliye, said the architect, is a Slavic word meaning “joy.” The family that lives nearby said they’re “looking forward to having the abandoned houses ripped out and something nice going in.”

In their deliberations, board members said it was too bad the project couldn’t take advantage of additional height; the city planner assigned to the project explained it was a result of current city rules. They also debated the ceiling height in relation to the project’s longevity, and the driveway that is envisioned inbetween the two buildings, given that the developers consider the alley not viable for their project.

This project has now cleared Early Design Guidance, but will have to return for at least one more Design Review Board meeting, to gain a recommendation for final design approval. The date for that is not yet set.