One more community meeting to recap for you before the weekend’s out – HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge, gathered online this past Wednesday, with HPAC co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick facilitating. Major agenda item: The South Delridge Action Plan, announced by the city when a survey was launched in January.

David Goldberg, who led the North Delridge Action Plan in the mid-2010s, is shepherding this one too. He noted that he’s worked on West Seattle neighborhood plans back in the late ’90s – Admiral, Delridge, Westwood-Highland Park – and on local park projects including Ercolini, Myrtle Reservoir, and Cottage Grove in the ’00s.

So why does South Delridge need an Action Plan? Goldberg listed multiple reasons including public-safety concerns, food insecurity, health inequities, and the fact none of its neighborhoods has had a new plan since 1999.

The desired goal: A vision shared by the community and city.

Though light rail is only going to North Delridge, buses from South Delridge will take people to it, so this planning is taking that into account, Goldberg said:

Longfellow Creek, whose historic headwaters are in Westwood, is another focal point:

So how is the plan going to be developed, if it’s to be a “shared” vision? Goldberg said they weren’t expecting to have “large” community events, but more direct engagement with smaller groups and institutions, and looking for other ways to reach people to ensure “all voices are heard.” Almost 300 people responded to the winter survey, he added.

After listening to the presentation, HPAC co-chair Craig Rankin observed, “This doesn’t feel community-driven.” Goldberg insisted it’s intended to be, and that right now they’re simply “trying to understand how to start the work.” He promised Rankin and HPAC that it would indeed be collaborative, and said he “will have failed” if when all is said and done they don’t agree it turned out that way. They do already have a “rough schedule,” though:

He promised to return to HPAC to talk more about the SDAP in May.

RV ENCAMPMENTS: Brief update from outreach leader Michelle McClendon – she noted that the 2nd/Michigan (1st Avenue South Bridge) outreach work had just concluded (as we’ve reported, 30 people were said to have been placed in shelter or housing), so they have moved on to other areas, including RVs at Henderson/Barton.

DAY OF SERVICE: Kirkpatrick noted that May 20th is the One Seattle Day of Service this year and welcomed community ideas for what could be done.

NEXT MEETING: HPAC meets most months at 7 pm on the fourth Thursday, so that’ll be April 27th. Topics planned for the agenda so far include the SW Holden Natural Drainage Systems and West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility projects. Watch hpacws.org for updates and meeting-access info.