West Seattle, Washington
19 Friday
(photo shows the California/Spokane townhouses mentioned in third-to-last paragraph below)
After the mayor’s proposed changes in “multifamily zoning” came out yesterday afternoon (WSB coverage here and here; city infopage here), with a particular focus on townhouse design, we wondered how one high-profile expert would react to the proposal — West Seattle architect David Foster, current chair of the Southwest Design Review Board, gained citywide attention earlier this year after this WSB report, in which he lashed out at “micropermitting” — large townhouse developments escaping design review by applying for permits as separate small developments. We e-mailed Foster to ask for his comments on the new zoning proposal, and he says it’s a mixed bag:
I am very happy to see the City finally recognizing the importance of requiring Design Review for all townhouse projects. It would fix the micropermitting issue because it removes the thresholds that allowed
builders to dodge the process. Every neighborhood deserves good design. Since townhouse builders have consistently failed to deliver good design, it’s time to require it as a condition of permitting.As for the other proposed amendments to the code, I support them, but feel that many don’t go far enough – or will have little effect. The 4′ max fence height restriction for example is a no brainer: better would be to require real landscaping and no fence at all. (Look at the NW corner of Spokane and California for a 4′ fence that is still UGLY.) I don’t think that a ‘proscriptive’ code can be relied upon to ensure good design, which is why
the Design Review requirement is so important.I’m very disappointed to see that the mayor removed the height increases in L2 zones and lower. Obviously he is feeling the heat by the NIMBY crowd. Any good designer will tell you how is hard to do decent architecture with a 25′ height limit. The fact that most lowrise zones will continue to have a lower height limit than single family zones is sort of absurd. And, height limits will remain ‘non-departable’, which means Design Review won’t be able to offer that flexibility either. So, we’ll be stuck with more low-ceilinged, faux-craftsman designs in the years to come.
Next step in the “multifamily zoning” proposal will be various opportunities for review and comment as the City Council reviews it – we’ll keep you updated when dates are set.
You read it here first June 18 — Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) barista Blayne (photo left) made it to “Project Runway,” according to Hotwire proprietor Lora Lewis (as of tonight, still no formal announcement of the Season 5 cast), and now Lora sends word of a viewing party for the PR new-season debut next Wednesday — a big-screen TV will be set up in the community room at Ginomai (42nd/Genesee; map), which can hold about 30 people; 9 pm next Wednesday (7/16), bring a small dessert and non-alcoholic beverage to share, the room will open around 8 pm. (If you are looking for a viewing party WITH booze, Lora says nearby Shadow Land is planning one.)
As reported here this morning, Seattle and other “north and east King County cities” are now looking to team up on construction of a new misdemeanor-offender jail, because of the cost savings suggested by preliminary results of a new feasibility study. The Highland Park Action Committee, which has been leading the opposition to the two West Seattle sites on the city’s “final four” list of locations, has now weighed in with its reactionRead More
If you’ve ever passed the “Flower Houses” on Alki Ave, you’d remember them – two of the few houses left among the condos (map). We’ve received multiple notes about a protest campaign brewing over the reported plans of the condos next door to trim the big tree you see in the photo. We first heard about it, and received the above photo, from tenant Alma Taylor-Smyth, who wrote:
My husband, nephew, and I live at 1396 Alki (the left-hand house in the attached photo taken by my nephew, William Harman), and our landlady, Randie Stone, lives at 1400. She is the one who turned the flower houses into the gorgeous landmarks that they are today. We moved in in February, and every day someone local comes up to us to tell us how long they’ve loved the houses and how much they enjoy seeing the beautiful plantings, and someone who isn’t local comes up to ask about the houses and tell us how beautiful they are.
Randie was informed last week by the home owners’ association at 1402 Alki (the condo on the right in the photo) that they would be hiring someone to “trim” the branches of the 2 Douglas fir trees on her property that are on their side of the property line, although they admit that this would be something like 80% of the total branches the trees have!
I cannot imagine anyone with a soul who would think this constitutes an improvement to a spot that brings so many people enjoyment every day. Mind you, the trees were there before the condo was ever built.
I’m not a lawyer, and it does seem like the condo owners have the right to trim branches on their side of the property line (although I don’t see how their right can possibly extend to an action that would almost certainly kill the trees). However, my guess is that if they do go on to trim those branches, a great many people will see what they’ve done and wonder how they could have done such a thing and whether it could have been prevented. What I would love is to find a way to let those people know ahead of time that the condo owners want to cut off all those branches, so that they can let the condo owners know how outrageous an act that would be.
Randie has given so much to this community in providing so much beauty year-round. Is there any way that the community can give back, in the form of helping to convince the condo owners not to denude these trees that contribute to the beauty and serenity of this oasis among the condos?
We also heard from Gayle, who wrote, “The residents at the 1402 Condominiums want to butcher this beautiful tree for the sake of improving their view! They say it’s raising and cracking the sidewalk, but the owner says, ‘Not true! The sidewalk was cracked before the tree grew! Now those butchers intend to whack off half of my tree for their view!’ There are indiscriminate tree killers on the loose on Alki and they must be stopped! Please let Condomanagements.com @ 206 937-4856 know that you are pro-nature and anti-pettiness!”
We just passed the site and the tree hasn’t been trimmed yet; there’s now a big pink sign out front of the “Flower House” urging people who enjoy the tree to hang a ribbon to show their opposition to the reported trimming plan. We have a call out to the management company, where we were told the executive “who’s been dealing with this” is out of town, but we told them we’d be posting about this today, and they said they’ll have somebody else get back to us with a comment. We’ll update when we get that call back. Meantime, here’s a closer look at the tree (sent by Gayle):
(newest info at the bottom of the post)
(photos added 1:40 pm)
No further details yet, we are en route to check it out in person, but scanner traffic indicates another West Seattle bank robbery – this one time at WaMu in Westwood Village. (Thanks to CDN, who was listening to the scanner at a moment when we weren’t.) Scanner just bulletined they are looking for a Jeep Grand Cherokee, masked woman who said she had explosives on her body, plate similar to 197XOF, decal of a boxer dog on the window. Happened within the past 10 minutes or so. Call 911 if you see anything resembling the vehicle mentioned above. 1:08 PM UPDATE: We’re at the bank. Police confirm a robbery – at the drive-thru.
The bank has signs up saying “temporarily closed.” At least two police units on scene.
1:11 PM UPDATE: Latest scanner bulletin also mentions the robber claimed there were explosives in her vehicle. 1:22 PM UPDATE: We talked to a bank employee who said it happened pretty much right at 1 pm and only involved the robber and the drive-thru teller – everybody’s OK and most others in the bank didn’t even know what was going on until afterward – more police have arrived at the bank as have FBI agents. Investigators are going around that part of Westwood Village looking for witnesses.
3 PM UPDATE: The outdoor ATM’s are doing a lively business while the bank lobby remains closed. Police have cleared the scene. Here’s some video from earlier this afternoon. The gent in the checked shirt talking to the police is from the FBI.
5:21 PM UPDATE: Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct just updated us: No arrest yet. The official description is “white female with a fake bearded … driving a large burgundy SUV.”
On the day BlueStar Management ceremonially broke ground last month for the Fauntleroy Place project – future home to Whole Foods, Hancock Fabrics, and nearly 200 apartments, on the northwestern side of the multicorner Fauntleroy/Alaska intersection – executive Eric Radovich sent out the new rendering you see above. Many were startled – it had little in common with the design that even that very day had been on the BlueStar website, and had been shown at previous Design Review meetings:
And in fact, the new rendering resembled the one that neighbors had brought to a previous Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting – one that BlueStar told us the next day was just for “massing.” Memories of this were still fresh when the new design abruptly emerged last month; last night, BlueStar sent a team back to JuNO to explain the changes, and listen to neighbors’ thoughts in advance of an August 14th Design Review Board meeting now set for the project. Here’s our full article:Read More
Thanks to David Hutchinson for that photo; he was there as the old Alki Statue of Liberty base came down just before 9 am today. David says, “Even as an enthusiastic supporter of the new plaza, I was sad in a way to see it fall. After living at Alki for quite a few years, it had become a familiar landmark and a connection to the past and many good memories.” This is the second day of construction for the new Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, with money coming from an extensive fundraising drive in the past year; archived WSB coverage is here, including our video and photo updates yesterday as site demolition work began and the statue itself (video of the “flying statue” here) was taken away for temporary storage before the scheduled September 6th plaza dedication.
Just in from the city – Seattle and “other north and east King County cities” are now looking at building one jail for the misdemeanor offenders the county says it eventually won’t be able to handle, instead of each city (or smaller combinations thereof) building its own – based on the results of a new “feasibility study.” The question would remain, where would a semi-regional jail be built; at last month’s Delridge District Council meeting (WSB coverage here), City Councilmember Sally Clark said, “Other cities think a regional solution is great … as long as it (the jail) is in Seattle. Meantime, we’ll be pursuing reaction on this morning’s announcement; for starters, read on for the news release just sent by the city:Read More
With Chief Sealth High School ready to move into Boren (WSB photo above, from 7/4), renovation work at Sealth is kicking into high gear, in the first phase of the process to combine the campuses of Sealth and nearby Denny Middle School. Last night, the Westwood Neighborhood Council got the latest on the project and also dove deeper into discussion of what will happen to the Denny site once the old school is demolished. Local journalist David Preston covered the meeting for WSB – read on for his report:Read More
In today’s traditional WSB sponsor welcome, we want to share this information about RD House Real Estate & Property Management. 
Owner/Broker Ricky D. Sadler is a longtime West Seattle resident who started as an agent with the West Seattle John L Scott office, and sold his first house on Fauntleroy, across from Lincoln Park. An interesting trend that RD House has seen, especially in West Seattle, involves owners who decide to rent their property and manage it themselves but quickly realize that being a landlord isn’t something that everyone is cut out for. A myriad of issues all make self-management a very challenging, and unexpected, fulltime, job. RD House uses a flexible operation that allows them to virtually run the business from the field, which they say has been a big success – owners really value their responsiveness, the average days on market for their rental units over the past year is about 25 days, and they are steadily taking on new properties. Aside from running RD House, Ricky D sits on the board of the Seattle chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers and is involved in community support, such as Solid Ground, which provides emergency food and clothing banks, and he’s raised funds for First Place School, which provides a safe educational environment for homeless children. We appreciate the support of RD House and the other West Seattle-based businesses who sponsor WSB; you’ll find them all listed on the WSB Advertise page along with info on how other prospective advertisers can join them.
Before Day 2 begins, with more demolition work at the site of the Alki Statue of Liberty‘s old base, much of which was gone by quitting time yesterday (hours after Lady Liberty herself “flew away”; WSB video here), we have a few more video clips from Day 1 — including the statue “riding” off after its “flight” and plaza fundraisers Paul and Libby Carr talking with WSB immediately afterward:Read More
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