Next best thing to time travel: TWO “shape the future” chances

| Development | How to help | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

Oh sorry, we meant time travel AHEAD, not back – but the Municipal Archives are full of so many cool old photos, we had to put one up (1930, Youngstown area of North Delridge). Now, as for those two chances to shape THE FUTURE: Tuesday night is the REALLY big one – 6 pm, Delridge Community Center,, your long-awaited opportunity to join in “status checks” for the Neighborhood Plans (see them on the right sidebar here) created a decade ago — the plans that are referred to hundreds of times a year – they’re why The Junction, for example, has areas set for high-rise growth and some other neighborhoods don’t. Do the plans created a decade ago still make sense? How do you want to see your neighborhood grow? For your advance review before joining in Tuesday’s discussions, you can see the draft status “overviews” for the 5 West Seattle areas with NPs, published in preparation for the meeting, here:
Admiral
Delridge
Highland Park/Westwood Village
The Junction
Morgan Junction
Georgetown (here’s its “overview”) also will be discussed at the Delridge CC gathering; each of these neighborhoods will have its own “table” with facilitators; Spanish, Vietnamese and Tagalog translation will be available as well. There are even more documents you can review, grouped by neighborhood, linked from the city page about the meeting, the last of five citywide; this page shows you how to comment online if you absolutely can’t be there in person – but facilitators, which include local community leaders, stress it’ll be two hours well-spent – here’s what one of them, Sharonn Meeks, tells WSB:

West Seattle in particular is experiencing growing pains. There are transportation, parking and land use issues that your readers consistently respond to from your news reporting. I want to encourage all apartment residents, homeowners and businesses to bring those same comments to this Open House so they can be included in the discussions and decisions that lay ahead as we formalize our next 10 years of community.

We really aren’t exaggerating to say it’s something like “speak now or for another decade hold your peace.”

Meantime, a big discussion of where King County goes from here also is happening in West Seattle next week — your chance to suggest your “vision for the future and (to) help develop a countywide strategic plan that better aligns county functions and services.” The meeting (which will include “small group discussions”) is Thursday night, 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy, one of four this month around the county. Read more about it here.

coffee July 26, 2009 (5:15 pm)

that is a COOL picture!

Renee July 26, 2009 (6:23 pm)

Go! Go! Go!!!!!!!!

MargL July 26, 2009 (9:54 pm)

I was poking around in google and found archived copies of the West Seattle Herald from the 1940’s. Really interesting reading!
Apparently there used to be an “Arbor Heights Improvement Club”! They had meetings in a clubhouse somewhere near 42nd and 100th and discussed things like the re-routing of bus lines. A document on the history of Arbor Heights Elementary talks about the club buying land for a playground that was eventually sold to King County. The Seattle school district built the elementary school on the county-owned land before Arbor Heights was annexed.
So “Yay!” to Highland Park for keeping their improvement club going all these years where some neighborhoods could not.

WSB July 26, 2009 (10:19 pm)

Highland Park actually has TWO vibrant organizations – HPIC and Highland Park Action Committee. Many community leaders are involved in both but, as a relative newcomer to local neighborhood activism, I’ve observed that it seems like the current distinction is that HPAC is the more activist/political group, while HPIC spearheads a lot of neighborhood activities (including a doubleheader this weekend – big rummage sale yesterday, barbecue/kickball event today).
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West Seattle overall is quite blessed to have more than a dozen active neighborhood associations/councils, as well as countless service groups/block watches, etc. Often I have to explain this to our fellow neighborhood-news-site operators in other ares of the city, if someone proposes a get-together, or there’s a panel discussion, and I say “we can’t be there, we have four neighborhood councils meeting that night” – it’s somewhat mindboggling to folks in areas that may have one council to cover an area of 20,000 or so people.
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Nonetheless, as we’ve said before, ALL these groups have plenty of room for more participation, more ideas, more members. Some have paid memberships, some don’t, and none are subsidized. But even if you don’t feel you can “join” something, at least please show up to Tuesday night’s meeting, pick the area closest to you with a neighborhood plan (even if your neighborhood’s not represented, we all have a stake in these areas, particularly The Junction), and at least sit in to listen – show the world you care … TR

sam July 27, 2009 (9:40 am)

Is it an ‘open house’ format or will there be meetings/ presentations at the beginning ?

(figure I can’t get home from work, make dinner and feed kid, and get there by 6, but also don’t want to miss a presentation.)

Barb Wilson July 27, 2009 (1:23 pm)

Sam et. all — Here is the agenda

Neighborhood Open House

July 28, 2009 – 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Delridge Community Center Gym 4501 Delridge Way SW

Hosted by the Seattle Planning Commission & Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee

Agenda

1.Opening Session – 20 minutes

•Introduction & Welcome – Irene Wall, Co-Chair, Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee
•Orientation Video

2. Five(5) Neighborhood Breakout Sessions – 75 minutes

Breakout sessions for Admiral, Delridge, Georgetown, Morgan Junction, West Seattle Junction, Westwood/Highland Park

•Presentation by SPC table host (5-7 minutes)
oGoals of the breakout session
oPresentation of background information on neighborhood plan and status update

•Facilitated discussion of question led by NPAC table host (65-70 minutes)

1. Most of the neighborhood plans were adopted about 10 years ago and are in their mid-life. How has your neighborhood changed in the last decade since the plan was adopted, (or since you’ve been there)?

2. What changes or aspects of your neighborhood are you most pleased about? Most dissatisfied about?

3. How well are your Neighborhood Plan vision and key strategies being achieved? Are they still the priority?

4. The city is completing neighborhood plan status reports focusing on demographics, development patterns, housing affordability, public amenities and transportation networks. What should there be more focus on (or less focus on) as the neighborhood status reports are completed in the coming months? Are there any important gaps in the draft status report?

3.Closing Remarks and Next Steps – 5 minutes

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