Thanks to Junction Neighborhood Organization president Erica Karlovits for sending notes from what was discussed at the second-ever JuNO meeting this week. Two items have been covered here — the Design Review Board meeting for 4502 42nd (at which, as mentioned in our report, Erica advocated for Junction neighbors’ interests) and the Water Taxi’s future — but that’s just part of what they talked about, and some of it may be of interest even if you don’t live in the Junction vicinity:

Also from Erica’s roundup (you can contact her and JuNO at wsjuno@yahoo.com) :

Adopt-A-Street: We will be adopting the Junction (44th to Fauntleroy and Edmonds to Oregon) 10 block area.

Block Watch: One of our members is coordinating a meeting for possible block watch captains for a few streets (40th, 41st and 42nd between Alaska and Oregon).

Hometown Holidays: We will partner with the WS Junction Association to provide volunteers for the holiday event/tree lighting/caroling.

NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION UPDATE

Status of Project at 4515-4525 41st Ave SW

* Project #3004618 Kevin Krout, property owner – Summary of comments by a JuNO member as a result of a conversation with Kevin Krout.
* They are still in design phase and are “at least” 2 years from breaking ground. He stated that the delay is due to both the permit process and that he is busy with other projects.
* He is saying that there will be 35-40 condo units built on the site. I asked if he was waiting for the pending zoning revisions to be implemented. He said “no”, that the revisions aren’t significant. (We don’t agree. Public open house is 10/15/07 6 pm at City Hall.)
* I asked if they were considering apartments to make sure I heard him correctly. He specifically said they will build condos. He added that town homes will not be built on the property unless he sells it to someone else. I didn’t ask about the prospects of that happening.

Multifamily Zoning Update

* Public Open House and Input on the draft code recommendations.
* Monday, October 15, 2007 from 5:30-8:30 pm at Seattle City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room, 1st Floor, Fifth Ave. Entrance.
* More info at www.seattle.gov/dpd/planning/multifamily_code_update/
* Some of the major changes involve allowing increased lot coverage, increasing height limits by five feet and eliminating parking requirements in urban villages.

Proposal to Raise SEPA Threshold

* The City Council is considering the Mayor’s proposal to increase the size of building projects that are exempt from city requirements for environmental, traffic and parking analyses, from public notice and comment opportunities and from citizen appeals. The largest exemptions are proposed for urban villages.
* This proposal will leave urban villages with fewer protections for ensuring that growth is consistent with livability.
* Please send comments ASAP to Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck at peter.steinbrueck@seattle.gov.