West Seattle, Washington
08 Saturday
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7:06 AM: Good morning. We have a report that the light at 35th/Fauntleroy is broken – on the way to look.
Also: If you take 4th Avenue into downtown, be aware of a crash at 4th/James. Otherwise, no incidents on the major outbound routes from here.
Road work alerts:
ADMIRAL WAY: The rechannelization of SW Admiral Way west of California continues into this week. Last week, crews finished removing the old striping, but hadn’t started with the new. This means parking restrictions continue, too.
SPOKANE STREET: The project east of the low bridge continues – this week’s plan is described here, including closures/detours next weekend.
7:09 AM: SDOT says 4th/James has cleared.
7:15 AM: The SDOT live-video webcam accessible here (via lower-right “West Seattle” menu) confirms that 35th/Fauntleroy is in flashing-red mode both ways. SDOT says via Twitter that a repair crew is on the way as is SPD to help direct traffic.
7:31 AM: Still flashing at 35th/Fauntleroy. Camera now shows – for those heading westbound, into West Seattle, from the Fauntleroy end of the bridge – that the turn lane onto southbound 35th is coned off.
7:37 AM: SDOT says the signal has been fixed. By the way, if you encounter a malfunctioning signal, 206-684-ROAD is the best way to report it.
7:59 AM: Some fog out there as you head east:
Foggy on low bridge and crest of high bridge per @seattledot live cams pic.twitter.com/yltoUcgPIX
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 10, 2016
11:14 PM: Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STOLEN CAR: That’s Will‘s 1995 green Nissan 200SX SE, stolen between 4 pm and 6 pm Sunday from the Westwood Village Staples parking lot. License plate AHM5994. Call 911 if you see it.
(8:13 AM UPDATE: A WSB reader reports spotting this car and reporting it to police, who have shown up at the scene. Awaiting word of a reunion. 11:05 AM UPDATE: Unfortunately, no reunion yet. Car was taken again from the site on Puget Ridge where it turned up. If you see it, call 911!)
(back to Sunday night report) MIRROR VANDALISM: Mark wonders if others found their car mirrors damaged over the weekend: “We found our car had the driver’s-side mirror smashed off … and I also see another car across the street had identical damage.” They’re on 45th SW in The Junction and have filed a police report.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tomorrow night (Monday, October 10th), the Roxhill Elementary PTSA plans to talk with West Seattle’s school-board rep Leslie Harris about the state of the plan to move Roxhill to EC Hughes Elementary, one mile north.
It’s been one year since the district confirmed to WSB that the move was under consideration.
Since then, the district has proceeded with renovation plans for the 90-year-old, city-landmark EC Hughes, closed by the district in 1989, then used as a backup until independent Westside School (WSB sponsor) leased it for five years.
But there’s been little public discussion about the moving plan, and it hasn’t been finalized by the School Board, though various documents say it’s set to take effect in fall 2018.
So we asked the district for a chance to take a closer look at what’s in the works for EC Hughes, and were granted a tour with a district manager and an architect from the team working on the renovations.
First, the timeline for the renovation work:
Family and friends will gather Wednesday to remember Guy Gallipeau. Here’s the remembrance being shared with the community:
Guy H. Gallipeau
February 27, 1929 – September 16, 2016Survived by longtime companion and fiancée Mabel Aide, as well as a brother, Joseph, his wife, and 2 nieces. World War II Veteran and auto mechanic.
Some passions were GOD, baseball, dancing, lighthouses, and local politics. He loved well and was well loved. He is greatly missed.
Service at Holy Rosary on Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 10 am. Reception follows service. Internment, noon @ Forest Lawn.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(WSB photo from last year’s Harvest Festival)
Now just three more weeks of waiting until this year’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival … four hours of big fall fun on Sunday, October 30th, 10 am-2 pm. The newest update: The lineup is set for the Chili Cookoff, nine local businesses donating chili to compete for the title, via your votes – you buy a flight of chili tastes starting at 11 am, you vote, the West Seattle Food Bank gets the proceeds to help fight hunger. Here’s who’s in:
Easy Street Café
Elliott Bay Brewing Co.
Husky Deli
The Westy
Shelby’s Bistro and Ice Creamery
Shadowland
Freshy’s
Grilling Greek Catering Company
Brookdale Senior Living
Here’s the festival schedule:
10 am: Activity booths open
10 am: Farmers Market opens
11 am: Chili Cookoff begins
11:30 am: Costume parade (start gathering at Junction Plaza Park, 42nd/Alaska, 11:15 am)
Noon: Trick-or-treating starts
It all happens in the street, in the heart of The Junction. WSB is media sponsor again this year, and we’ll be reporting “live” on-site … see you there!
The Morgan Junction business district continues to blossom, and Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its third anniversary as a big part of it. That’s proprietor Mark Bremen in our top photo; his shop is in the second and final day of its anniversary celebration “Garage Sale.” SGS is a sports-consignment store and more – as you can see above, it’s also a place to get Seahawks fan gear (a fun thing to shop for, on this bye-week Sunday). And as mentioned in our calendar listing, if you bring an item for the West Seattle Food Bank Backpack Program, you’ll get a 10% discount beyond what they’re already offering during the anniversary sale:
Second Gear Sports is open until 5 pm today – treats for shoppers, too! – at 6529 California SW.
Just in case anyone on Pigeon Point hasn’t already heard … your neighborhood council meets tomorrow (Monday) night – 7 pm in the library at Pathfinder K-8 – and is hoping you’ll be there. Pete Spalding shared the agenda overview, featuring guests you’ll probably have questions for:
We will begin with the principal of Pathfinder giving us a beginning of the school year update and an opportunity for neighbors to ask questions.
Then we will be joined by Jim Curtin from SDOT. Jim will give us an update on local transportation projects that will impact us in the next few months. Neighbors will have a chance to ask Jim questions about neighborhood transportation issues.
And then we will have Pierre Davis and Jennifer Burbridge with SPD join us to give us an update on our neighborhood policing plan.
Pathfinder is at 1901 SW Genesee.
(Thanks to Darlene for the photo of art someone created on the beach at Lincoln Park)
First, a reminder – THE VIADUCT IS OPEN – as reported here Saturday evening, the inspection ended early and today’s closure plan was canceled. Many reasons to stay in West Seattle anyway – here are some, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
STITCHIN’ & SIPPIN’: 9 am-6 pm, quilt show and wine tasting at Alki Masonic Center in The Junction, presented by Grand Court of Washington Order of the Amaranth. $15 admission with tastings, $5 without. (40th SW/SW Edmunds)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Every Sunday, year-round, in the street in The Junction, 10 am-2 pm. (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)
SECOND GEAR SPORTS’ THIRD ANNIVERSARY: 11 am-5 pm, deals and treats as the anniversary “Garage Sale” continues at Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. Bring a donation for the West Seattle Food Bank Backpack Program for an extra 10% discount. Details in our calendar listing. (6529 California SW)
LAURA BERMES: Original music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm, by Laura Bermes, who will be joined by Danielle Eidenberg-Nopp. (5612 California SW)
LADIES’ MUSICAL CLUB: Free classical concert at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 3 pm, featuring 20th-century songs; program details are in our calendar listing. (2306 42nd SW)
WATCHING THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: So far we have three venues watching tonight’s 6 pm presidential debate – Parliament Tavern (4210 SW Admiral Way) and Admiral Bird (California/Admiral) in The Admiral District, and Sound & Fog (4735 40th SW) in The Junction. (Any others? Please add a comment below or e-mail editor@westseattleblog.com and we’ll add – thank you!)
BOOKTOBERFEST: At The Skylark, 7 pm, karaoke with librarians! (3803 Delridge Way SW)
DEL REY: Tonight at Kenyon Hall, guitar/ukulele virtuoso Del Rey will be “joined by songwriter, storyteller, bottleneck virtuoso Steve James on guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin, and, in his first United States appearance, United Kingdom string master Adam Franklin on ukulele, guitar, and mandolin.” 7:30 pm. (7904 35th SW)
JOHN LENNON BIRTHDAY BASH: 8-11 pm at Parliament Tavern, local luminaries play the music of the late great John Lennon on what would have been his 76th birthday. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
FIND MORE OPTIONS on our complete calendar!
(2014 photo contributed by Mark Cohan)
You might remember that faded mural, “Alki in the Twenties,” from the east-facing side of the former Huling Brothers building along Fauntleroy north of Edmunds. As shown in the review process for the project that’s being built on the site, The Whittaker, the mural couldn’t be saved but was to be “digitally re-created.” And indeed, it has been. Here’s a sneak peek at the partly visible re-creation:
We took the photo today while checking on the removal of The Whittaker’s second tower crane, which stretched into a third day amid stormy weather. The re-created mural is on a west-facing wall of the building, and we expect to get a closer look soon.
One more hour to go wish Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) a happy 12th anniversary! Proprietors Frances and John Smersh have been open at 4540 California SW in The Junction for 6 years, after 6 in Admiral. As the party continues until 8 pm, don’t miss the upstairs pop-up shop with work by 7 Click! Staffers.
Champagne, too.
WSDOT just announced that – as often happens – the Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection has ended early. So Highway 99 is back to being fully open (as of 5 pm), AND no closure Sunday.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 4:35 PM: Thanks for the tips. As of less than 10 minutes ago, power has gone out for more than 4,200 customers (homes/businesses), mostly just south of West Seattle but including some WS pockets. More to come.
5:01 PM UPDATE: Seattle City Light‘s map also includes another 3,500+ out in parts of Burien. No word yet on the cause – SCL’s current “restoration estimate” is 11 pm, but as we always remind you during outages, that is a guesstimate at best, could be sooner, could be later.
5:28 PM UPDATE: The SCL map now blames “tree” for outage. Restoration guesstimate has updated to 11:25 pm.
6:13 PM UPDATE: SCL now says via Twitter “crews have now determined that the cause was due to a broken utility pole crossarm near the Duwamish Substation.”
6:49 PM UPDATE: All but 588 customers are back on.
SUNDAY MORNING: According to the City Light map, everyone had power restored at some point very early this morning.
Family and friends are remembering Bob Foote, 55, and sharing this tribute with the community:
Robert (Bob) Foote was born on December 6, 1960, in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. As a child, he emigrated with his family to the USA. They settled in West Seattle where the family became active in Tibbetts United Methodist Church. Bob attended elementary and secondary schools in the Seattle Public School system, graduating from West Seattle High School in the Class of 1978.
Bob was interested in music and sports, living an active lifestyle which included bicycling, hiking, climbing (rocks, trees, and mountains) and playing soccer. He enjoyed music technology and ran lighting and sound systems for numerous youth group musicals and dances. He participated in several youth mission trips working to repair and paint buildings, boat docks and hiking trails at United Methodist Church Camps in Washington and Alaska. Bob was also active in Boy Scouts of America and earned the God and Country Award while in high school.
One of Bob’s hobbies included the mixing of musical tracks, experimentation with synthesizers and other instruments, and with recording technology. Bob played guitar in a band for several years and enjoyed composing original music. Long before digital software and hardware made multi-media presentations easily accessible to everyone, Bob could be found putting together photographic, musical and lighting presentations to entertain and educate others.
Bob’s work life involved travel, as he engaged in electrostatic painting, initially as an employee and later as a small business owner who served a number of large and small customers across the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest part of the United States. Bob loved people, animals, and sharing his humorous stories, thoughts and photos on social media.
He died unexpectedly of heart disease and related complications on September 1, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona, leaving behind his wife of 16 years, Laura Crawford; his parents, Roy and Mary Foote; a sister, Cathy Babbitt; and niece and nephew, Rose and Derek Babbitt of Seattle, Washington.
Memorials may be made to Seattle Humane, a non-profit animal welfare organization, located at 13212 SE Eastgate Way, Bellevue, WA 98005.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
11:55 AM: Once again on the eve of a presidential debate (6 pm our time on Sunday), we’re being asked about West Seattle venues planning to view it. So we’re again putting the question out to you, in case you’ve heard of one … so far we have Admiral Bird (California/Admiral), a debate-watching fixture, and Sound & Fog (4735 40th SW). Anywhere else? Comment, or e-mail us – editor@westseattleblog.com – so we can add. Thanks!
ADDED 5:22 PM: Parliament Tavern (4210 SW Admiral Way) is showing the debate, adding “Happy Hour extends throughout the proceedings featuring $4 micros and well drinks, as well as $2.50 Rainiers and PBRs.” Afterward, it’s the John Lennon Birthday Bash.
ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: OutWest Bar at California/Brandon – 2 screens!
10:17 AM: Where to put more stormwater-absorbing raingardens? Fewer bus stops, if Route 120 becomes RapidRide in 2019?
What other road changes on Delridge? Which route for another greenway? Those are just a few of the questions awaiting your answers until noon today @ the Delridge Projects Open House in the gym at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle).
Turnout is very light so far – meaning your opinion carries even more weight!
No presentations – just wander, offer opinions, put dots on easels, etc. Snacks and coffee too.
10:55 AM: Another reason to stop by: The mini-resource fair – with participants including West Seattle Timebank, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, SW Youth and Family Services, Camp Long, and the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs – with cool preparedness displays like how to make an emergency kit for your pet(s):
12:04 PM: Event over, but we have more photos of some of the boards that might be of interest and will add later, as well as seeking electronic copies once all the city reps who were there are back in their offices next week.
(“Live” city-operated webcam looking north on The Viaduct)
We start with a reminder – the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed for its twice-yearly inspection, until 6 pm today and again 6 am-6 pm tomorrow (if it reopens early, we’ll publish an update). Planning to use I-5 instead? Be aware that the Highway 520 floating bridge is closed too, and that could complicate things. But we have other reasons for staying in West Seattle:
DELRIDGE PROJECTS OPEN HOUSE: 9:30 am-noon at Southwest Teen Life Center – find out what’s new with multiple projects in eastern West Seattle, including plans for turning Metro Route 120 into RapidRide. Also, a resource fair with your chance to connect with local nonprofits, too. Here’s our preview. (2801 SW Thistle)
SECOND GEAR SPORTS ANNIVERSARY: 10 am-6 pm, Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction celebrates its third anniversary with a “garage sale” featuring deals and treats, as detailed in our calendar listing. Bring a donation for the West Seattle Food Bank Backpack Program! (6529 California SW)
CHILDREN’S ACADEMY OPEN HOUSE: 10 am-noon, open house at Spanish-immersion preschool Children’s Academy of Seattle. (9635 17th SW)
BUDGET CUTS ANNIVERSARY: Until 7 pm, celebrating 8 years with $8 haircuts – bring donations for the West Seattle Food Bank. (3727 California SW)
FAMILY STORY TIME: 11 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. (2306 42nd SW)
VIETNAMESE STORY TIME: 11:30 am at Delridge Library, stories, songs, and rhymes in Vietnamese, for ages 3+. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
PLANT SALE: 11 am-3 pm at the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Garden Center on the north side of campus – 30 percent off plants! (6000 16th SW)
FAMILY GAME DAY: Looking for someplace indoors and fun to hang out? 11:30 am-3 pm, it’s Family Game Day at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) – explained here. Meeples is a café as well as a game venue, so settle in for beverages and food, too. (3727 California SW)
PHONE-WIRE BASKET WEAVING: 1-3 pm, drop in and make art at Southwest Library! While you’re there, admire the artwork on display as part of the Community Showcase (WSB coverage here). Free, no registration required. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
ARTIST RECEPTION: Reception for artist Carolyn Autenrieth at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 1:30-2:30 pm. (5612 California SW)
CLICK! DESIGN THAT FITS ANNIVERSARY: 5-8 pm, help Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) celebrate its 12th anniversary. In-store specials, gift-certificate drawings, and the first-ever Click! employee pop-up shop – all explained here. (4540 California SW)
LIVE MUSIC & KARAOKE … at Admiral Pub, 6 pm music with Lit End, 10 pm karaoke. (
JACK WILLIAMS IN CONCERT: Storyteller, guitarist, singer, songwriter – Jack Williams performs at 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall. (7904 35th SW)
THE ESOTERICS IN CONCERT: “Wilde,” as explained in our calendar listing, 8 pm at Holy Rosary. Ticket info here. (42nd SW/SW Genesee)
EVEN MORE TO DO! You’ll find today’s full list on our complete calendar.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand. Above, WSHS #84, Colin Roman)
Much more than football last night at Southwest Athletic Complex as West Seattle High School hosted Liberty HS from Renton on Homecoming Night.
The game brought the Wildcats their second loss, 63-27. Two of the WSHS TDs featured Nate Pryor (#3, above) running almost the entire length of the field. Before the game, he was among the seniors honored from the team, band, flag, and cheer squads:
WSHS head coach Tom Burggraff was also among the proud parents escorting a senior – his son, Andrew Burggraff (also among those with TDs in the game), will graduate this year:
Assistant coach Jeff Ursino is also proud dad of a senior, John Ursino.
If there were an award for the most candy leis given to a senior as part of the celebration, Billy Dee Abbott would have won:
Congratulations to all the seniors! (added Sunday – see list at end of story)
Also among those honored at the pre-game ceremony, WSHS band member Maxwell Lemke, below with dad Maxwell:
You might recall Max’s story here on WSB two months ago – he led the fundraisers to get a new tuba for the band, which performed on the field at halftime, conducted by WSHS music director Ethan Thomas:
You can see the band later this month leading the costume parade during the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival at 11:30 am Sunday, October 30th.
Another memorable music moment happened before the game, when the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” was sung before “Star-Spangled Banner.” You’ll hear part of the song in our Twitter clip:
After PA statement about respecting all views, Black Nat'l Anthem sung by WSHS before Star Spangled Banner pic.twitter.com/FyJiHsWtXM
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 8, 2016
The anthems followed a statement read over the PA system about respecting all views. WSHS athletic director Trevor Leopold told us later that this was initiated by players, who said that if both anthems were sung, they would remain standing for both. (This followed three weeks of anthem protests during home games at SWAC, starting on September 16th, when the pre-announced protest by visiting Garfield HS was joined by more than half a dozen WSHS players.)
Next Friday brings the annual crosstown contest, WSHS vs. Chief Sealth International High School, 7 pm October 14th.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: Thanks to athletic director Leopold for the full list of seniors honored Friday night:
BAND
Kevin Corona
Connor Dederich
Erin LeBreche
Kylie Leinbach
Maxwell Lemke
Leo Purcell
Ben Schuh
Brynn Snodgrass
Lindy Tongol
Drew WhiteCHEER
Riley Fredricks
Xavier Marquez
Malaika NetteyFOOTBALL
Nate Pryor
Billy Dee Abbott
Liam O’Neill
Rico Saeteum
James Blue
Cyrus Storlie
Sergei Dahl
Gabe Gangon
Holden Watkins
Sam Blackett
Trifon Papahronis
Maks Milojevich
Michael Gordan
Binh` Nguyen
Daniel Puckett
Caden Snodgrass
Demitrius Isabell
Dustin Davis
John Ursino
Ali Abdulah
Andrew Burggraff
Mathias Fink
Ounces has set the date. We checked back today with co-proprietor Laurel Trujillo at the new taproom/beer garden’s location at 3809 Delridge Way SW, and as she showed us, they’re almost ready to go. With some unique touches, too, like the fence made from palettes obtained from Alki Lumber. And spools that will be turned into tables for standing and sitting outside.
They’ll have a tent area too, and heating; Laurel promises it’ll be “toasty.” They’ll be working on a “tailgate” type of atmosphere – with a big-screen TV under the tent on game days. They’ve made lots of progress since we last checked in with Ounces a month and a half ago, Inside, the bar and 30 taps are installed.
The space over the taps will hold the menu board; the starting tap list will be finalized soon. The plan remains Washington beer, wine, cider, and kombucha – some food too.
Here’s the opening plan for Ounces: First day will be Saturday, October 22nd. A two-week soft-open/shakedown period will follow, and the grand-opening festivities are set for Friday, November 4th, through Sunday, November 6th. Probably some live music – the plan’s still evolving. Hours will be 3-10 pm weekdays, noon-10 pm Saturdays, noon-8 pm Sundays. There’s a spacious on-site parking zone on the north side of the property; on the south end, Ounces plans games, like Cornhole and Giant Jenga.
One more reminder – 9:30 am-noon tomorrow, an open house and resource fair will be your one-stop shop to see some of what the city’s up to in eastern West Seattle and to share your opinion about it – including a joint project with the county, looking ahead to the plan to turn Metro Route 120 into a RapidRide route in 2018. Tomorrow’s event, previewed here last month, has also gone by the name Delridge Projects Workshop, and here’s most of what it’s about:
That was provided by senior city planner David Goldberg, who’s been working on all this with community members for a long time. He tells WSB that tomorrow’s event at the Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle) will include a brief welcome from new Department of Planning and Community Development director Sam Assefa at 9:45 am. Whether you have 15 minutes to spend or the entire 2 1/2 hours, drop in and see what’s up.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports today – both car prowls in Gatewood, first one caught on video:
That video is from C on SW Webster in Gatewood and happened two hours ago:
At 1:15 pm a red sport car (Pontiac?) pulled up next to my contractor’s truck. A white man, late 40’s, 6 feet tall, 180 lbs, medium length dark blond hair, with black wraparound sunglasses and wearing a gray hoody sweatshirt and jeans got out of the car and opened the contractor’s truck. He shuffled in there a bit and got out with something. I walked toward him and asked him if I could help him.
He turned back to his car, saying that no, I couldn’t help him. He then sped away, going south on 39th.The item he took was just a paper notepad of no value but I just want people to be aware of that red car – that means trouble.
C says a review of earlier video shows the car went by twice before the incident. If you have any idea who the suspect is, call SPD and refer to 16-363849.
CAR PROWLER STEALS FROM MOM-TO-BE: Also from Gatewood:
Just want to alert neighbors that my car was broken into last night out in front of my house. I am 37 weeks pregnant and had 2 packed hospital bags ready to go in the trunk that they stole. There was nothing of value in them except to me (including a baby book with photos and a letter to baby) so I wish the thieves would just return the bags!
Something like that might be unceremoniously dumped somewhere, so please look around.
2:36 PM: Thanks for the text – 206-293-6302, any time – a tree is reported to be blocking the downhill lanes on the east Admiral Way hill (north of the West Seattle Bridge).
4:45 PM: Finally got a chance to go look – all clear.
North Delridge is home to lots of business development and densifying residential development.
But its neighborhood council is on the brink of folding without new participation/leadership.
That was revealed in today’s notice canceling next Monday’s meeting of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council. Outgoing secretary Nancy Folsom says it’s time for nominees for at least three open leadership positions: “As it stands, unless people take over the helm, this group will be disbanding.” Want to get involved or re-involved? Speak up, here.
ORIGINAL 10 AM REPORT: This morning, the City Council’s Budget Committee is taking a closer look at what the mayor proposes the city spend on homelessness in the next two years.
But it’s just a briefing – no vote.
Meantime, the council is getting closer, outside the budget process, to voting on a controversial proposal that we are told is continuing to take shape, but “changing daily” according to one source – a new city policy regarding people camping on city-owned property, when and where it will and won’t be allowed, and for how long.
Some have described the evolving proposal as “opening” city-owned public property to camping. At one recent meeting, as reported here, Councilmember Lisa Herbold said 40 percent of city parks, for example, already have campers, so what they are trying to do is codify what to do about that beyond pushing campers from one place to another.
One councilmember, Tim Burgess (one of two current councilmembers elected to citywide “at large” spots), declared this week that he thinks the general concept goes “too far.” The proposal doesn’t just address parks as potential campsites. It includes sidewalks.
Here is what our source says is the newest version of the proposed legislation (if you look at the PDF, you’ll see how it’s been changing).
Its definition of public areas:
“Public space” means any area within the City limits which is owned, leased, maintained, controlled, or managed by the City, and does not include Public Development Authorities, privately owned land, public schools and colleges, the University of Washington, or the Port of Seattle.
And it includes this definition of public areas that would be “unsuitable” for camping:
“Unsuitable location” means a public space that has a specific public use that is substantially impeded as a result of an outdoor living space in that location. Improved areas of City parks, including restored natural areas or natural areas actively undergoing restoration, and public sidewalks in front of houses and dwelling units are per se unsuitable. Sidewalks in commercial areas are prohibited to sitting and lying during certain hours under SMC 15.48.040.
“Specific public use” is defined, in turn, as “lawful, appropriate use that benefits, assists, or is enjoyed by members of the public more than incidentally and occasionally.”
So, that all said, two maps are in circulation related to this. Note that since this is all evolving, they are not definitive “here’s where camping would be allowed” maps – and note that the park map shows parks that have what, under the definition above, could be considered “unimproved” areas; while Lincoln Park is entirely shaded in, for example, the “unsuitable” definition above would seem to rule out camping in much of its space. Here’s the citywide map of parks and greenbelts that have some “unimproved” areas (click it for a full-size PDF version):
And here’s the citywide map showing potentially eligible sidewalks (again, click it for a full-size PDF version):
If it’s determined that campers should be moved, the proposal includes a long list of rules regarding notification, proof of it, what has to be offered in terms of services/shelter – you can read the current proposal for rules starting on page 5 of the current draft legislation.
Also worth noting: This would be followed, under a proposed change in the legislation this week, by a followup process to determine where vehicle camping would be allowed:
Section 7. Individuals Using Vehicles as Residences. The 2016 one night count of unsheltered homeless identified over 900 people using vehicles as residences. The unsheltered population living in vehicles faces similar instability to those who reside in outdoor living spaces and risk impoundment of their vehicles and loss of personal property. The Human Services and Public Health Committee and the Gender Equity Safe Communities and New Americans Committee of the Council shall draft, consider, and introduce to the full Council legislation in 2017, based on the same principles contained in this ordinance, coupled with a long-term goal of providing adequate housing for those individuals living in vehicles. The legislation should address the multiple ordinances and laws that govern parking throughout the City with the goal of providing stability and protections for those people using vehicles for shelter commensurate to those established in this ordinance. To achieve that goal, the legislation will provide to people living in their vehicles protected areas for parking and modifications of parking standards, provide for outreach to address the reasons for homelessness, and establish standards for notice and safeguarding personal property, including impounded vehicles, equivalent to those established in this ordinance. The Committees named above shall be tasked with proposing legislation that meets these purposes to the Full Council by April 30, 2017.
Back to the proposals about camping, the current version of the proposal suggests a two-year limit:
In keeping with the recognition that public camping as a substitute for permanent housing is detrimental to the health and safety of all, and that these measures are an interim response to a situation the City is expected to resolve through other policy measures, this ordinance shall expire two years after its effective date unless expressly extended by the City Council. The Mayor shall report to the Council every six months in the interim on implementation of this ordinance.
Now the big question: When will this be voted on, whatever shape it finally takes?
We checked with City Council communications staff just before publishing this. The reply: “Too soon to tell.” While there’s nothing related to it on next week’s calendar, something could be added with just a few days’ notice.
SOMETHING TO SAY? City councilmembers’ contact info is here.
ADDED 11:38 AM: The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition has sent city officials this letter expressing opposition. An excerpt:
We oppose funding for temporary, outdoor “solutions,” which leave homeless people exposed to increasingly severe weather as winter approaches. Instead, we urge you to find indoor shelter, which is available in city-owned vacant and underutilized buildings, and make that your preferred option going forward.
Meantime, the City Council Twitter account has now confirmed a committee hearing on the proposal next Friday (October 14th) at 9:30 am. It’s also been added to the council calendar since we first published this story.
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