Five reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight.

First, from Paul in the 4100 block of 48th SW, where his motorcycle was stolen from in front of his home:

It was a (red) 2003 Honda RVT1000R, AKA an RC51. … I’ve spoken with all my neighbors and nobody saw anything.

Paul was awaiting police when he e-mailed us, so a report will be in the system soon.

In Fairmount Springs, a resident who doesn’t want to be identified is the victim of the type of theft we’ve never heard of in our years of West Seattle Crime Watch reports:

I wanted to let you know that we had an unfortunate and bizarre event take place last night (between Mon-Tue). Someone(s) had stolen the whole freakin’ windshield of our old 1989 Suburban truck. I couldn’t believe my eyes but indeed, the whole windshield was gone gone gone!!! We are on the 5900 block of 42nd Avenue, between Raymond and Juneau.

I had just moved the truck yesterday afternoon, so instead of being parked in an open space with great visibility on all sides it was parked under the neighbor’s cherry tree and lots of shrubbery around. We had tools inside the truck but nothing else was taken. Doors were still locked and nothing else had been touched as far as we can tell. Someone obviously needed an old Suburban windshield with a crack in it! Our neighborhood will be on the lookout moving forward, and let’s warn other owners of old Suburbans that someone is prowling for parts!

And Dave reports a case of package theft and vandalism in North Delridge:

We live on the 50xx block of 26th and we had a package stolen off our porch today between 2p and 330p. Adding insult to injury, some inflatable kids toys were popped.

Now two found items that might be stolen property – first, a bicycle found by Vanessa in Highland Park:

It turned up in front of her home overnight earlier this week, near the south side of Henderson/13th SW.

And a backpack, found by Zach, who has been trying to turn it in to police:

I found the Nike backpack on SW Brandon in the grass on the side of the road outside the golf course near the gate for Camp Long. The backpack has some light blue basket shoes, a leopard purse, and some other small items. In the backpack was a student ID; however, the wallet was completely empty when I found it at 6:30 am on the 22nd of July. … I’m going to try and drop it off at the police station again tomorrow morning.

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Junction Neighborhood Organization re-launches in a time of change

| Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“Good turnout!” exclaimed René Commons as she walked into the lower-level meeting room at the Senior Center of West Seattle tonight, seeing 10 people who had come to help her re-launch the Junction Neighborhood Organization, more than a year after it went dormant.

Some of the meeting was about the business of organizing. Ed Pottharst (center in our top photo) from the city Department of Neighborhoods described how the Southwest District Council, made up of reps from community councils and organizations on the west side of West Seattle, works, and the issues it tackles, including reviewing community applications for certain city grants. The first question for him was, “What about eastern West Seattle?” As he explained, in Seattle’s 13-district system, the city has West Seattle split into two districts, Southwest and the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council. Pottharst and colleagues Yun Pitre and Steve Louie, working out of the Neighborhood Service Center at the Southwest Teen Life Center and Pool, serve as liaisons to the city for not just the district councils but also the individual community groups.

Second topic, raised by Commons: “Do we need more park spaces in the area, with our density?”

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West Seattle development: Another newer building sold – Nova

July 23, 2013 6:11 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Development | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

6:11 PM TUESDAY: Earlier today, we reported that The Residences at 3295, a 60-apartment mixed-use project completed last year at 35th/Avalon, is up for sale. This afternoon, WSB has learned that another building finished in 2012, Nova Apartments (WSB sponsor) at 4600 36th SW in The Triangle, has a new owner. Nova was the last West Seattle holding for Harbor Urban, which sold Mural in The Junction and Link in The Triangle last year, both built by Harbor Properties before its merger with Urban Partners last year. County records show the $17.5 million purchase closed today for Nova, an all-residential 62-unit, 36-parking-space building that started leasing last September. The new owner is Sea Apartment 1 LLC, which so far traces to a New York City-based LLC listed in state records here as ZREC.

ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING, 9:09 AM: The formal announcement of the sale, just received:

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4755 Fauntleroy alley spat: ‘Getting It Right’ advocates’ letter

July 23, 2013 4:51 pm

| 118 COMMENTS

| 4755 Fauntleroy | Development | West Seattle news

(West side of 4755 Fauntleroy, rendering by Fuller Sears Architects)
One week ago today, the 4755 Fauntleroy Way mixed-use project’s path through the approval process hit a sudden pothole when Mayor McGinn sent a letter to SDOT, saying the department should recommend the City Council reject the project’s request for an “alley vacation” to facilitate 370 apartments, 600 underground parking spaces, and retail including Whole Foods Market. The “vacation” would involve the city agreeing to sell a section of alley on the property to the developers. The mayor cited concerns including most notably the proliferation of supermarkets in central West Seattle and the wages and benefits that non-union Whole Foods would offer its staff, points that had been made at prior hearings on the project by members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, which has recently become involved with an advocacy campaign called “Getting It Right for West Seattle,” focused on this project.

Our initial coverage a week ago, which you can see here, includes the mayor’s letter, Whole Foods’ response, project background (we’ve been covering 4755 Fauntleroy for a year), and 185 reader comments. Then last Wednesday, we published a followup including the developers’ response (see it here) and what happens next – the project’s referral to the City Council Transportation Committee for a public hearing on the alley vacation. (No date yet; SDOT communications director Rick Sheridan tells WSB, “In terms of schedule, the earliest a recommendation could be delivered is the fall.”)

In the past week, all this has circulated into regional media. And now there’s a followup – Getting It Right for West Seattle has sent a letter to the Transportation Committee’s chair, West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, and e-mailed us a copy late today:

"Getting It Right for West Seattle" letter to Councilmember Rasmussen

As you’ll see if you scroll through it, the letter is signed by representatives of more than two dozen local businesses, three unions including UFCW Local 21, 22 people identifying themselves as West Seattleites, four political/advocacy groups, and five clergy/faith-group representatives. If you can’t read the embedded document, the heart of the letter reads:

This project, if approved, would be the largest multi-use development ever built in West Seattle. While acquisition of a public right of way would greatly increase these developers’ profits, the project in its current form will:

• increase West Seattle’s traffic and congestion;
• degrade pedestrian safety;
• create low-wage jobs and housing unaffordable to those workers;
• drive away existing local, small businesses; and
• set a lower standard for future development in West Seattle.

We are aware that the Seattle City Council has final authority over alley vacations. We urge you as chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee to let the Executive’s decision stand.

Once that committee has a hearing and takes a vote, the alley-vacation request would then move to the full Council. If it voted to approve the request, the mayor could veto it; if he did, the council could override it, and that would be the final say (pending legal challenges, etc.). Before this letter arrived, we had been working on a separate followup we expect to publish tomorrow, with other updates.

P.S. If you are just coming in on this – this project was first proposed a year ago for a site including the former Huling (and briefly Gee) auto property along Fauntleroy south of Alaska, plus the Shell station north of it, the Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home west of that (they are moving to a new location in Sunrise Heights), and another former auto-sales property at the corner of 40th/Alaska. It would abut the Alki Masonic Temple on two sides; the developers announced during the May Design Commission review that they would pay to improve the Masons’ parking lot.

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2 registered sex offenders move to West Seattle: Another SPD alert

July 23, 2013 3:18 pm

| 44 COMMENTS

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Once again this month, the Seattle Police crime-prevention coordinator for the Southwest Precinct, Mark Solomon, has sent an alert about registered sex offenders moving into this area. Just out of the inbox:

In an effort to keep you informed, and in our constant attempts to reduce future victimization, we want to let you know about level 3 sex offenders that have recently moved into South(west) Precinct neighborhoods.

· Marcus Bright, 30 year-old African American male, is a level 3 registered sex offender who has recently moved to the 2700 Block of 60 Ave SW. Mr. Bright is no longer under Department of Corrections supervision.

· Charles Landry, 28 year-old African American male, is a level 3 registered sex offender who has recently moved to the 9400 Block of 13th Ave SW. Mr. Landry is currently under Department of Corrections supervision.

Det. Fields from the Seattle Police Department’s Sex Offender Detail is assigned to check on these offenders and verify their information.

To learn more about these offenders and to see their photos, please visit the King County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender website and search by their names. You will also find personal safety tips and resources on this site. http://www.icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=54473&disc

According to the website, Bright was convicted of first-degree child molestation in 1998, and second-degree assault with sexual motivation in 2003; Landry was convicted of second-degree rape in 2004. If you are concerned about sex offenders living in your area, that same website also will show you who else is in the area. Meantime, Solomon’s e-mail continues with safety information:

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2 weeks till Night Out – organized/registered your block party yet?

July 23, 2013 2:58 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| Neighborhoods | Safety | West Seattle news

Two weeks till Night Out – the annual event bringing neighbors out of their homes and into the streets coast to coast, for block parties to strengthen ties and take a stand for neighborhood safety and solidarity – and to have fun. They’re always the first Tuesday night in August, so that’s August 6th, two weeks from tonight, 6-9 pm. The photo above is one of many we took on Night Out last year, featuring neighbors at 13th and Cambridge in Highland Park. To get permission to close your (non-arterial) street for the night, you need to register your party via the Seattle Police Night Out site – start here. And then, we invite you to let us know about your party, since we’re planning as-it-happens WSB coverage as usual and hoping to drop in on as many parties as we can get to in three hours. Just e-mail the location (cross-streets or block number) to editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

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West Seattle development: Residences at 3295 up for sale

July 23, 2013 1:44 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

With at least half a dozen other projects along Avalon Way in varying stages of planning/construction, a recently completed building on Avalon is now up for sale.

Here’s the listing for 3295 SW Avalon Way, also known as The Residences at 3295, a six-story, 60-unit, 100-parking-space building which got its construction permits in 2006-2007, sat partially built for years, then finally was completed last year. Part of the delay was because it was originally in the portfolio of now-fugitive real-estate tycoon Michael Mastro (detained recently in France, which wouldn’t extradite him). Before that, it was supposed to be part of the Seattle Monorail right-of-way. While still unfinished, county records show that it sold for almost $4 million in 2010, and then again for $7.3 million in April of last year. It’s now owned by Randolph Street Realty Capital, headquartered in the same Chicago building as, and led by former executives of, Equity Residential, which owns the not-yet-begun Junction project site at California/Alaska/42nd.

Back to 3295 Avalon (which has a bit of history on its current owners’ website): According to the listing and accompanying documents, there is no set asking price for The Residences at 3295 – they are calling for offers this Thursday (July 25). The extensively detailed flyer for the property mentions that the building’s entire retail space is leased for five years; that would be the new Redline, whose proprietors we’re working to reach for an update on when they plan to open – we last talked with them in March.

P.S. Selling a recently completed project isn’t unheard of; three newer West Seattle projects – Mural in The Junction, Link in The Triangle, and the Admiral Safeway redevelopment – were purchased last year by American Realty Advisors, which is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Datapoint: The flyer for The Residences at 3295 quotes analysts as saying the vacancy rate in the West Seattle apartment “submarket” is currently 2.5 percent.

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New marijuana topic for the city: Public-consumption policies

July 23, 2013 11:46 am

| 53 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Lots of discussion of, and deliberation on, policies regarding our state’s legalization of marijuana in recent months – but here’s the first time we’ve seen this come up: An agenda just landed in the inbox for a special meeting of the City Council’s Housing, Human Services, Health, and Culture Committee this Friday at 2 pm. City Attorney Pete Holmes is scheduled to lead a 20-minute briefing titled “City Policies on Public Consumption of Marijuana.” We’re checking with the City Attorney’s Office for a preview; we’re wondering, though – what do YOU think those policies should be?

ADDED 1:19 PM: City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Mills says this is related to a request for an ordinance to be drafted, and sends along a statement from Holmes:

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West Seattle Tuesday: Junction Neighborhood Organization re-launch; low-low tide; more!

July 23, 2013 10:41 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Tuesday: Junction Neighborhood Organization re-launch; low-low tide; more!

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Thanks to Craig Young for the photo of last night’s moonrise (also shared via WSB-FB), taken from Elliott Bay Marina. Moonrise tonight is 9:13 pm, according to the moonrise/moonset/moon-phase section of the WSB West Seattle Weather page. To keep you busy in the meantime:

LOW-LOW TIDE: Not as low as yesterday but close – it’ll be -2.8 feet at 11:50 am – and another great day to get out and explore – gently – if you can! Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are out now, once again at Constellation Park south of Alki Point and near Colman Pool at Lincoln Park.

YOUTH PROTEST: A demonstration downtown against racial profiling and related issues will include students from Chief Sealth International High School and White Center’s Evergreen Campus, according to a news release sent this morning. They invite other youth to join them outside the King County Courthouse at 1:30 pm; here’s the Facebook event page. (3rd and James, downtown)

WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Reminder that the WS Tool Library now has Tuesday evening hours, if you need to go check out something for a project – 5-8 pm, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

JUNCTION NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION RE-LAUNCH: Tonight’s the night – 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle – if you live/work in or around The Junction, come help its community council re-launch. Development is certainly a hot-button issue, but that’s not ALL they’ll tackle:

Have you heard of your neighborhood community organization in the West Seattle Junction and Triangle ? It’s called JuNO- your West Seattle Junction Neighborhood Organization.

There are many topics and concerns about what is happening currently in our Junction and Triangle neighborhood that affect the way we live. Joining us tonight will be Ed Pottharst of the SWDC and the City of Seattle. He will be answering questions and telling our group more about ways the City of Seattle supports neighborhood organizations like JuNO.

Do you have an idea for our neighborhood? Want to kick start a fundraiser for a park or beautify a public area close to your home? Do you have a question about a development near you or a traffic or parking situation that you would like to see resolved? Join us and we can discuss best ways to get things moving.

We hope to see you tonight!

René Commons
wsjuno@yahoo.com

The Senior Center’s entrance is on Oregon just east of California; the meeting rooms are upstairs.

TUESDAY TUNE-UP AT SALTY’S: Independence Guide Dogs will benefit from tonight’s Tuesday Tune-Up event at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), with music by Victor Janusz and more, starting at 6:30 pm – details here. (1936 Harbor Avenue SW)

FAMILY STORY TIME: After a long summer day, bring your preschoolers and toddlers to Family Story Time at the Delridge Branch Library, 7 pm. (5423 Delridge Way SW)

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