(Rendering by Mahlum Architects – north side of school)
4 PM: The ruling is just in on the appeal of seven of the nine zoning exceptions (“departures”) sought by Seattle Public Schools for the rebuild of Alki Elementary. City assistant hearing examiner Susan Drummond, who heard the case July 25th (WSB coverage here), denied the appeals of six of the exceptions – but granted the appeal on arguably the most fervently argued point, the plan to rebuild and expand the school with no off-street parking. From the 11-page decision:
The Appellants met their burden to demonstrate that the impacts the neighborhood would bear from no on-site parking has not been sufficiently considered in relation to the site’s unique and constrained conditions. Appellants also met their burden to demonstrate that it is not necessary to eliminate all parking to meet educational needs. The approach exacerbates the difficult parking and circulation issues already present in the immediate area even without the expansion. The parking analysis was completed during an extraordinary time-period that does not reflect current or expected conditions. This issue should be revisited, with further thought given to how to improve the balance between school needs against the parking and circulation challenges the area faces.
As the appellants – four nearby residents – pointed out (and is also noted in the decision), Alki’s parking crunch is so intense, the area has a city-imposed “parking overlay” in which one and a half spaces must be provided for every residential unit built.
So what happens now? The decision concludes, “The decision is returned to the Department for proceedings consistent with the Examiner’s decision.” That would be the Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI), whose original decision to grant the nine requested zoning exceptions is what was appealed (two of the nine – the new school’s height and a driveway configuration issue – were no longer at issue at the time of the hearing). We’ll be following up with SDCI and other parties.
6:07 PM: We asked the appellants via email for their thoughts. This is from Shauna Causey:
We were up against lawyers hired by Seattle Public Schools and it felt like an impossible situation but in the end, I’m glad the hearing examiner listened to the community.
I started an online petition before the hearing and 492 people responded in just 48 hours asking they reconsider the plan to remove ALL on-site parking. Some of the comments from the petition were shared during the hearing. From elderly who live near the school who have already had a tough time with ambulances reaching them, families with special needs who use ADA parking, to bus drivers, teachers, and parents at Alki Elementary who are frustrated, to seal sitters who help on the beach who felt like they could no longer volunteer if the accessibility and parking situation gets any worse. The community response and personal stories and comments were truly overwhelming.
Right now, most teachers have parking on-site. The new plan would come close to doubling staff (from current staff numbers) with zero parking — all just one block from the beach. It’s hard to believe this plan was even approved in the first place.
9:22 PM: Here’s context on how much parking would be required without a zoning exception – another section of today’s ruling, which refers to some of the evidence and testimony presented:
The code requires 48 parking spaces. With the removal of all on-site parking, the School is proposing no parking. Current on-site parking allows for over 20 parking spaces and the lot is “always completely full” with the parking space “well used.” As the striping is old, there is not an exact parking space number. This parking is coupled with a space to the north (but owned by the City) which can accommodate about 27 vehicles and is used for school events.
A paved surface with room to park about 20 vehicles is located on the south side of the school buildings and is accessed from a driveway at the south edge of the site on 59th Avenue SW. Much of the parking lot striping has faded, but historical aerial images indicate the area has been used for parking 20 or more vehicles. This area is also used for trash and recycling container storage and pick up.
The hard-surface area north of the building is City of Seattle Property … but is also used for school-event parking. Historical aerials indicate the surface can accommodate about 27 parked vehicles.
Public school parking requirements are based on new assembly space (commons and gymnasium) rather than daily school day demand, so do not necessarily account for day-to-day needs. For Alki, the calculation is based on the 3,800 square feet of dining commons and excludes the 6,000 gym square foot gym as total gym space is not being increased.14 If included, 123 spaces would be required. For private schools without assembly space, one space per each staff member would be required (75 spaces).
We’ll be contacting SDCI and SPS tomorrow to find out about what will happen next as a result of today’s ruling.
ADDED FRIDAY AFTERNOON: SPS says only, “The district is reviewing the ruling.” (We’ll check again next week.)
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