6:07 PM: Just under way at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), the first West Seattle meeting/open house in the Seattle 2035 planning process. As explained on the city website:

In 1994, Seattle’s first Comprehensive Plan was passed with the idea of creating Urban Villages. This strategy designated certain neighborhoods as Urban Centers or Urban Villages and encouraged new housing, jobs, and transit towards these centers. Our goal was to make neighborhoods where people could easily walk, bike, or ride transit to get to work, go out to eat, or buy groceries. By concentrating growth in this way we also were able to more efficiently provide services and proactively plan for the future.

The Seattle 2035 update will look at current growth projections and present different scenarios to the public on how we can adapt the Urban Villages strategy to leverage growth to the benefit of the city. We will be looking at things like where Seattleites live, where we work, how we get around the city, do we have enough public services, are there equal opportunities for every community, and how to protect our environment.

Be part of it. Stop by Youngstown before 8 pm. Here’s how else to have a say.

6:38 PM: At the meeting right now – it’s VERY casual.

Easels around the Youngstown theater, a table with some literature, a few city people to answer your questions, big pads to write your thoughts on. Transportation mobility/accessibility is a big topic. And of course this isn’t JUST for West Seattleites – as we’re reminded, noting that one piece of paper includes a comment about Ballard (“Density in Ballard is great, but worried about the ‘canyon’ on Market St.”).

P.S. Youngstown’s director David Bestock was at the meeting and suggested we check out the youth-music showcase next door.

It was the Totem Star program’s Spring Mixer + Open Mic. Sounded great! As for the meeting – still a trickle of turnout by the time we left; here are the three alternatives the city is mulling as it prepares an environmental-impact statement as the first outcome of this process. Consider letting them know what you think.