Tomorrow: Next jail-sites meeting for Highland Park residents

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That’s the flyer Highland Park residents are circulating for their next major meeting tomorrow to strategize their plan of action in response to the city’s list of potential misdemeanor-offender jail sites — two of which are in southeast West Seattle:

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Tomorrow night’s meeting is a followup to the Highland Park Action Committee-called meeting two weeks ago (WSB coverage here). You’ll find a tentative agenda on this comprehensive special page that Dina Johnson has set up on the HPAC website regarding this issue; she says West Seattle’s State Rep. Sharon Nelson, one of the local leaders who’s expressed opposition to these sites, is expected at the meeting. The city website’s jail-project section has no official public meetings listed yet, though a spokesperson for the project told WSB two weeks ago that meeting dates/times would be announced “soon.” We’ll check on those meetings’ status before Monday night’s Highland Park gathering, which starts at 7 pm, HP Improvement Club (11th and Holden). Meantime, the city is continuing to accept comments through a form on this webpage. (Two more citizen meetings are ahead as well, and included on our Events list page: the 34th District Democrats are set to discuss the jail-sites issue at their monthly meeting June 11th, and another HPAC meeting is set for June 16th.)

Roger June 1, 2008 (2:32 pm)

IMO, I think it could be argued that building a jail in either of these two locations would produce a negative effect on these already ‘challenged’ areas. I believe it would severely hamper further development progress in the areas around High Point, Highland Park, Westwood, White Center and South Park.

Overall, I believe the areas around the Aurora Avenue (Hwy 99) site could ‘absorb’ such a facility because they are surrounded by more affluently populated areas.

Other points to consider:
1. The site off Roxbury is adjacent to a new senior facility.
2. It is also the least accessible site of all (in regards to police/official vehicular access).
3. Both sites in West Seattle will be severely impacted by construction on Alaska Way Viaduct and Spokane street viaduct. A jail will add a lot of additional traffic to the area (think of ancillary services like attorneys, bail bondsmen, family, etc.)…which would strain the existing infrastructure as it is now.

Our existing transportation options into and out of West Seattle are constricted and limited as it is now. Perhaps the jail (being a publicly funded facility should be located where it is easily accessed by existing or future mass transit options like the monorail, light rail or SLU trolley????

d June 2, 2008 (1:00 pm)

The proximity to residential areas which contain large communities of vulnerable populations is definitely shocking, Roger.

I have found this map most useful to look at it after I switch it to the satellite image. Just click SAT on the map and one will see that the West Marginal Way site is kitty-corner, mere paces, from the Highland Park Way Entrance trail to the 181+acre Duwamish Greenbelt.

As you may well be aware, the City of Seattle, as part of the Mayor’s Climate Action program, has deemed this Greenbelt, as well as virtually all other public and private groves of trees, as a kind of protected class – if you will. New enforcement, protection and incentive policies are currently be proposed and implemented to this end.

I have been told, and hope to find some kind of verification to this at tonight’s meeting, that between 20% to 30% of released misdemeanants are homeless. When we are talking about 10-day average turn arounds on the hundreds of releases that will occur, the potential impact is staggering; Impact not only on the understories, but on the required manpower of clean-up crews and service providers.

Let us hope that, if this site is selected by the City, that indigent released prisoners do not set up camp in this restored Urban Forest. The WSB reported almost two months ago that there was a homeless encampment in Camp Long:

https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=7163

The devastation to the understory is obvious in those photographs.By the City’s own mandates, these precious ecosystems cannot afford damage to their understories, storm water runoffs, root systems, etc.. Perhaps the Fleets and Facilities Division of the City, or Parks Department, or whichever department would be responsible for camp removals and the repeated reclamation projects which will likely be a consequence. Yet, this particular jail site proposal absolutely defies that policy. Presumably, this has been incorporated as part of the City’s plan. One would hope so anyway.

Bob June 2, 2008 (7:28 pm)

Exactly why is it that the City always wants to use the South End (Georgetown, SoDo, etc) as it’s dumping ground? Hey, we’re people too! Put the darn thing in Madison Park, Wallingford, or Queen Anne!

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