HPAC – the community coalition for Highland Park, South Delridge, and Riverview – met in-person this month for the first time in a while. New venue, too – Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery in South Delridge. The centerpiece of Thursday night’s agenda was the South Delridge Action Plan, which kicked off back in January with a survey to which about 300 people responded. The city’s point person for the plan is David Goldberg, who shepherded the North Delridge Action Plan almost a decade ago, and he was at the HPAC meeting to talk about this plan, listen to suggestions, and answer questions, following up on his appearance in March.

The goal of the SDAP is to “create a shared community-city [government] vision and an action plan that builds community assets an capacity and aligns city investments to achieve this vision.”

Goldberg said the city was working on the foundation of the plan by gathering data on how people are connected to their neighborhood – where they gather, where they shop, other places they visit. When that information is all gathered, it’ll be presented, and the city will ask about how people get around. That’ll include transit – including Metro‘s RapidRide H Line and Route 128.

Goldberg said the overarching goal is to connect government with the people in the neighborhoods to create a narrative of what a given neighborhood is all about. Part of that is building relationships between city agencies and the people in studied areas – in this case, South Delridge.

That relationship-building needs to happen sooner rather than later, suggested HPAC co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick. She noted as an example that the new Highland Park Improvement Club has multiple city hurdles to clear before it can be built, even though it’s a building intended to strengthen the neighborhood. In general, attendees said they want more in-depth relationships with the departments/agencies that are supposed to be planning action for the community’s future.

NEXT STEPS: Goldberg’s department – the Office of Planning and Community Development – is working with the Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Public Utilities to “draft a shared Racial Equity statement for community review over the summer,” intended to “establish a shared framework for equity across the [South Delridge Action Plan] work.” OPCD also is convening seven local nonprofit community organizations to have a say in Station Area Planning and Equitable Transit Oriented Development for the future North Delridge light-rail station to which buses from South Delridge will connect. Watch for reps at community events this summer, such as the Low Rider Block Party (which will be presented for a third year by Nepantla).

HPAC’S NEXT MEETING: Usually the fourth Wednesday, 7 pm, but some months (like this one) may vary, so check hpacws.org for updates.