23 Replies to "Delridge DESC proposal: 'Concerned Neighbor' posts research"

• Dave October 27, 2011 (12:23 pm)

  Does anybody else find it crazy that the state is broke but has half a million they can spend to house the homeless…

• DC October 27, 2011 (12:39 pm)

  How many Delridge residents have high incomes, influential positions, or are large campaign donors? The housing unit is being shoved down Delridge’s throat because the city knows it’s a place they can get away with it. I don’t think anyone, including city leaders, believes this will be anything but bad for the neighborhood. They just want to put it somewhere, so why not a neighborhood without any real clout?

• RL October 27, 2011 (12:45 pm)

  They would put this in White Center if they could, so I guess they’re just shooting for as close as possible within City limits.

• Diane October 27, 2011 (12:55 pm)

  wow, “Concerned Neighbor”; very impressive and helpful to the understanding of issues re this project; thanks for all the details; (wondering why anonymous)

• WS Mama October 27, 2011 (1:00 pm)

  Why am I not surprised by this? The developer, city, and state are ignoring their own rules in their haste to grab cheap land for this project. It is disgraceful. All one has to do is look around in this neighborhood to see that many are living below the poverty line. I am even more outraged assuming this research is true. I am afraid that there isn’t much the citizens of Delridge can do to stop the momentum of this project, but having information out there like this will at least unmask the horrible decision making behind this project.

• DBP October 27, 2011 (2:16 pm)

  The main issue of the DESC opponent (the one who put up that blog page) seems to be that the number of existing low-income housing units in the North Delridge area is already above the target threshold as specified in the Comprehensive Plan.
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  I don’t think this is news to anyone. I think the City already knows it and I believe they are asking for a variance from the Plan for that reason.
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  Here’s a quote from the blog:

  We really don’t need to import chronically homeless people into this stressed community. It’s not good for our community and it’s not good for the planned residents of the DESC community.

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  —I disagree with this statement on two counts.
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  First, if the DESC project goes through, there will not, in fact, be “homeless people” living there. By definition, everyone living there will have a home.
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  Second, how could having a home anywhere possibly be bad for people who would otherwise have NO home? That’s a straw-man argument if I ever heard one.
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  Be honest, DESC opponents. Just say you don’t like having the project in your neighborhood and leave it at that. Don’t try to make the absurd claim that this will make it any worse for the DESC residents or for the poor people already living in the area. That makes no sense a’tall.

  • WSB October 27, 2011 (2:18 pm)

    Please note, for those who are refreshing the comment thread (assuming the actual story wouldn’t change), we have heard from two Delridge residents who attended a county meeting today regarding another one of the public-funding requests for this project, and they tell us the decision was delayed due to the concerns that were voiced. We are working to get more information on this and will have a separate story later – Tracy

• NotMe October 27, 2011 (2:35 pm)

  A similar, but larger project recently opened in the pricey “condo” district in the heart of Ballard. You can’t use the argument that the city or county is doing this on DESC because of the low income ratio of the Delridge area.

  • WSB October 27, 2011 (3:35 pm)

    NotMe, if this is the project you mean, it’s apparently opening next year.
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    http://www.compasshousingalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Ballard-FAQs_web.pdf
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    Does sounds very similar, though. And that link includes an FAQ with many of the same questions raised about the DESC project here.

• Delridge Mom October 27, 2011 (3:06 pm)

  @DBP you should open your home since you care about the DESC people so much. I oppose DESC and don’t want it in my neighborhood! Lets stop DESC and SAVE DELRIDGE!

• nick October 27, 2011 (3:09 pm)

  Put it in ballard or magnolia

• LA October 27, 2011 (3:35 pm)

  I really appreciated the earlier thread and used much of the verbage people posted (including a link to the concerned neighbor’s research page) in an email I pieced together and sent to all of the recommended officials earlier today, immediately upon reading about what’s going on with the project at this point. I recommend other concerned Delridge neighbors do the same. We have to fight this. It’s not about humanity. It’s about not breaking down something we’ve been working so hard to build up and make better-our community.

• Another Delridge Parent October 27, 2011 (3:37 pm)

  I am so grateful to those of you fighting against this project. Thank you.

• highlandpark October 27, 2011 (4:30 pm)

  NotMe – I don’t want to put words in his/her mouth but I think the point is that Delridge is a neighborhood ALREADY filled with low-income households AND a higher crime rate than you would see in other parts of Seattle. I’d like to hear about the last time there was a SWAT team standoff in Ballard. Also Delridge has very few basic amenities like grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. for residents to walk to. Ballard has many many walkable options in this regard.

• bridge to somewhere October 27, 2011 (5:00 pm)

  i’m against this project not only because i don’t think it’ll be good for the delridge neighborhood, i actually don’t think this location will be great for the DESC residents either. the area is already struggling with crime and drugs and homelessness–why put vulnerable people into that situation? it seems to me those that support the DESC project in delridge are in naive do-gooder mode without really thinking about what a disaster this is for those people who this project is meant to serve: the vulnerable. if i know one thing about people with mental health issues and substance abuse issues, it’s that you don’t place them in a situation where they are surrounded by drugs, poverty, and crime.

• Delridge Neighbor October 27, 2011 (5:24 pm)

  @DBP — Rick Hooper, Director of the Office of Housing, stated at the last Delridge Forum that this project meets the siting policy guidelines. I don’t think the information in the blog is common knowledge. If the City is aware of it and requesting a waiver, that is news to me. And if the City is intentionally violating the intent of the Comprehensive Plan, they should be clear about it. It would be a deliberate decision to concentrate poverty in one area of the city, using our tax dollars to pay for it.
  ..
  There are ways to make this a positive impact on the neighborhood, but they all would cost more money. For example, if DESC and the City worked together to provide incentives for a full service grocery store to be part of the project, I imagine many neighbors would become supporters of the project. And the building would become a vibrant center for the community, which I think would be much better for the residents. Current DESC buildings seem attractive but lifeless, filled with socially isolated vulnerable people (as described by the director of DESC).
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  I am not afraid of the DESC project. I just don’t think this is the best place to spend our valuable housing money. There are so many people in Delridge already who need help. Funding for this project takes away potential funding for a project that would serve our existing neighbors in distress.

  • WSB October 27, 2011 (5:34 pm)

    Housing Office spokesperson Julie Moore told me this afternoon that the siting policy as interpreted by “Concerned Neighbor” is erroneous and that she was putting together information for us to share to explain that. I will supposedly be provided with this information tomorrow. (Of note, I didn’t ask them for comment on that. They were already aware of this item on WSB, apparently.) That is also when they will tell me how much DESC is getting from the city; they declined to provide the answer to that question except in the context of the full list of projects they’re funding, which is completely irrelevant to my purposes, but it’s after business hours now so I don’t seem to have an option but to wait till tomorrow – TR

• Way to go! October 27, 2011 (6:10 pm)

  Congratulations Delridge! Your selfish whining has insured that 75 people will continue to be homeless. You must be proud.

• My2Cents October 27, 2011 (6:31 pm)

  I think Way to go! should move to Delridge and live a while in those shoes before casting aspersions.

• Brandon Node October 27, 2011 (7:03 pm)

  Why does this information need to be compiled? Didn’t Seattle Office of Housing use this information when they certified the proposed DESC Delridge facility was compliant with the siting policy?

• Rosanne October 27, 2011 (7:06 pm)

  I don’t like the idea of mentally unstable drug addicts living in a house built with taxpayer funds and they are allowed to use drugs! Why can’t they actually rehabilitate these people, and make them take drug tests? If they test positive then they get kicked out! I wouldn’t mind if they were actively trying to help, but allowing them to smoke crack and shoot up on Delridge is ridiculous!

• MP October 27, 2011 (8:45 pm)

  Better yet, let Way to go house all these people in their home. This is the most ridiculous use of taxpayer money ever! Oh let’s see…. Hummmmm be a drug addict and get housing.. Wow – how does that even make sense to anyone with a brain?

• tj October 28, 2011 (6:44 am)

  It’s time to get Jesse. In all serious the state is broke and would like to see “Way to go” spend a evening in front of the mini Mart that this project is being built. I live in the area, do you? This is not the right area for 75 new low (no) income housing, just look around the area.

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