Two special city meetings headed for West Seattle

Concerned about development, quality of life, planning for our community’s future? These are two meetings you won’t want to miss. First – On June 30th, the City Council Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee chaired by Councilmember Sally Clark will meet at Youngstown Arts Center, 6 pm, for a “review and discussion of issues surrounding townhouses and other lowrise housing.” Second, just forwarded by Delridge Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles, this invite to a long-awaited Neighborhood Plan “checkup” meeting:

Please join members of the Seattle Planning Commission and the Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee in the first of a series of two important community meetings.

These two citizen groups want to hear your thoughts. Come and tell us how your neighborhood has changed since your neighborhood plan was adopted. Your comments and input at this meeting will help the City of Seattle complete a status report that will look at how well your neighborhood plan is achieving its goals and strategies.

This first series of meetings will provide an opportunity to learn about your neighborhood plan, the projects that have been implemented, and growth and changes that have occurred since the plan was written in the late 90’s. We will explore issues such as growth, transportation, housing, economic development , basic utilities, neighborhood character, open space and parks, public services, public safety, and other issues.

July 28th: For Admiral, West Seattle Junction, Morgan Junction, Delridge, Westwood/Highland Park, Georgetown
6-8 p.m, Delridge Community Center Gym 4501 Delridge Way SW

The second meeting series, tentatively scheduled for October, will be an opportunity to review the status report.

Want to check out your Neighborhood Plan first (providing you live in an area that has one – there are West Seattle areas that don’t, such as Alki and Fauntleroy)? Go here and choose one from the pulldown menu.

27 Replies to "Two special city meetings headed for West Seattle"

  • Erik June 8, 2009 (5:43 pm)

    I’ve gotten used to them. It’s another way of giving directions.

  • WSB June 8, 2009 (5:49 pm)

    I took the photo while watching the training fire at “Ivar’s Old House” in late April – the deck where I was allowed to hang out w/cameras happened to have a great view in several directions. I think the use of color lately is quite a relief, even though I’m a Northwest Drab type (everything is black, gray, blue) myself – TR

  • JayDee June 8, 2009 (7:30 pm)

    My opinion is: “Step away from the Paint Gun…slowly…Keep your hands in plain sight”

    ;-)

    Though they do look like they are constructed well from the outside, and attractive all lit up at night thanks to cheap hydropower.

  • diane June 8, 2009 (8:02 pm)

    I toured those few weeks ago; very nice inside; certainly VERY different from the ugly generic townhouses that have pissed off all neighborhoods
    ~
    and I love the bold colors; so sick of boring beige/tan/grey everywhere

  • Christopher Boffoli June 8, 2009 (8:10 pm)

    I think those colorful townhouses are excellent. I’m so weary of all of the bland, demographically-tested beiges and tans that seem to comprise the majority of most architecture.

  • housing June 8, 2009 (8:12 pm)

    Unfortunately can’t make the meeting but maybe they are reading this? Our neighborhood doesn’t appear to have a plan like you said. I am concerned about Mega Houses being built in neighborhoods with smaller houses. I know its the great thing about living in the city and I covet the freedom of choice we have too. However, not knowing about these things, I would love to see impact reviews on these homes once they are done. The mega next to me is a an over 3,000 sf and 2 stories higher than every home in the nieghborhood. The builder put the home’s indoor vacuum vent on our side and it is VERY loud. So loud we have to shut our windows when its on. It is at head level and about 5 ft. from our home. about 1 ft if getting out of the car in the driveway. I could go on but I wonder why the builder was allowed to do this? Why is this vent not in the garage or on the other side where there are no people? This particular builder was extremely rude through the entire process. Its a well known builder in West Seattle. I like my neighbors so we really are trying to not rock the boat but its really an annoyance. I would like to see some better checks done on builders of homes like this. Especially since they are granted zero lot lines and we are all packed in like sardines!

  • Que June 8, 2009 (8:56 pm)

    Somehow this picture makes me think of the introduction to “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”…

  • WSB June 8, 2009 (9:33 pm)

    Funny, that is EXACTLY what seattlepi.com’s Casey McNerthney observed in this Twitter “tweet”:
    http://twitter.com/caseymcnerthney/status/2083651514

  • Christopher Boffoli June 8, 2009 (9:38 pm)

    This was actually the next frame in the set that TR didn’t post:

    http://bit.ly/HVqnQ

  • Que June 8, 2009 (9:53 pm)

    Awesome!!! I think that it is something about the grey light and the super saturated colors.

    CB- LOVE the trolley!

    I didn’t even know that the Land of Make Believe was right here in West Seattle!!

  • bdb June 8, 2009 (11:15 pm)

    What a joke…….ten years from now if that,those colors (inticed by a bunch of under aged “designers”) will be gone i hope. Get natural arond here…..paint is just a skin..get rid of those colors…UGLY

  • Dis June 9, 2009 (4:20 am)

    3000 sf house a megahouse? somehow, that’s not what I envision a megaahouse to be.

  • Mike June 9, 2009 (5:58 am)

    Paint can be covered by paint later. I do like the Mr. Rogers neighborhood comment, totally agree.

    The architecture is bland and boring, far too cookie cutter for my taste. Reminds me of my cheap college apartment actually.

  • homesweethome June 9, 2009 (6:53 am)

    the colors are excellent – Seattle is generally such a drab color place – so many other cities look so much more vibrant in their neighborhoods through use of color – please add more!

  • Rats in a cage June 9, 2009 (7:47 am)

    I feel your pain housing. There does not appear to be anytrhing we can do, I’ve been trying for about 5 years now…

  • Rats in a cage June 9, 2009 (7:47 am)

    *anything

  • cjboffoli June 9, 2009 (10:19 am)

    housing: I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. I also think these issues are more common than you might think in a City of increasing density. I don’t think the Seattle Municipal Code has necessarily kept up with the way Seattle is changing. Of course it is always better when neighbors can resolve their differences with a polite conversation and a handshake over the fence. But with so much entitlement these days and people masking selfishness by bringing up their “rights” diplomacy doesn’t always work. I’ve tried to communicate my own concerns to the City Council to no avail.

  • Nimby Nulu June 9, 2009 (10:52 am)

    Christopher; “with so much entitlement these days and people masking selfishness by bringing up their “rights” diplomacy doesn’t always work.”
    Whose entitlement are you referring to?
    “Housing” is the one exhibiting the entitlement here by claiming rights that “housing” does not enjoy.
    “Housing” is not entitled to dictate what is legally allowed next door.
    “Housing” is not masking, but exposing selfishness by bringing up “rights” that “housing” does not have.
    Also no mention that SMC has created these problems through the Mayor’s political call for housing density.

  • Nimby Nulu June 9, 2009 (10:55 am)

    #

    Housing’s story rings implausible.

    1. 3,000 sq ft does not make a mega house.
    2. I know of no code requirements for noise from residential exhaust outlets.
    New codes do require mechanical ventilation, i.e exhaust fans that also are noisy.
    New high efficiency furnaces require fan forced exhausts also add to noise.
    Add clothes dryers to the noise.
    Running vents from a structure is also restricted by length and number of turns in the duct. Codes and the house’s structure dictate where the vents exit.
    Complaints about a built in vacuum seem minor as the vacuum is not run continually like the other examples.
    Vacuum noise is more similar to and no worse than other homeowner noise disturbances like leaf blowers, lawn mowers, chippers, loud vehicles, loud music, loud kids, loud pets etc.
    When our neighbor bought a high efficiency furnace, the furnace contractor ran the white pvc exhaust straight out of the house between our two front doors. It was loud with clouds of steam. We worked together and extended the exhaust into the bushes of their back yard where it is far lees noticeable.
    3. “The mega next to me is a an over 3,000 sf and 2 stories higher than every home in the nieghborhood”. I do not believe this statement and would like to know what neighborhood?
    4. Claims of zero lot lines for SFR also seem suspicious without both parties acceptance. The set back claims are physically bogus…if housing’s house is set back five feet with the mega at zero as claimed, it is impossible to have driveway to park the car or even get the car door open.

    Comment by Nimby Nulu — June 9, 09 10:17 am #

  • B-Squared June 9, 2009 (12:40 pm)

    I like those colors – and would like to see more of that. no more putty, sand, taupe, beige, stone, …… ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. i have often admired the colors of the townhouses on the east side of the tunnel that was just bored under beacon hill for light rail. i think of it as “crayola ridge”.

  • yumpears June 9, 2009 (12:57 pm)

    “3. “The mega next to me is a an over 3,000 sf and 2 stories higher than every home in the nieghborhood”. I do not believe this statement and would like to know what neighborhood?”

    I’m not sure which neighborhood “housing” was referring to, but I’ll give you an example, since you don’t believe this is possible. About 2 blocks south of PCC on 44th is a very large house set right into a street of smaller homes – it looks pretty out of place.

    You can check out the listing for this 3700 square foot house on johnlcott.com http://www.johnlscott.com/propertydetail.aspx?IS=1&ListingID=300196333

    and then do a Google street view map
    http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=3036++44TH+AVE+SW+seattle+wa+98116&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&ei=0L0uSrWaBJmCtgO0_LW2CA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1
    to check out what it replaced.

    I think if I was the neighbor in the shade next to this house I might be upset.

  • homesweethome June 9, 2009 (1:28 pm)

    as to the near PCC house – yep its huge, but the falling down disaster there before was much worse

  • gordon June 9, 2009 (1:36 pm)

    The Bellevue Police Chief has a nice “mega” palace in WS that certainly stands out in the block.

  • frank gehry June 9, 2009 (2:52 pm)

    Where is it written than homes must “fit in” with the neighborhood? Has anyone taken a close look at most of the homes around here? Many are charming, but an equal or greater number are architecturally uninteresting and/or impractical for the modern people that live inside of them. This is not unique to West Seattle. It’s true that many of the townhomes popping up in the area are rather uninspiring too. But WSB happens to have selected as its poster child one of the more interesting townhome projects in the neighborhood.

    I live in a late-20s home with plenty of “old world charm,” as the real estate agents like to say. But really I don’t confuse that with good taste or interesting design. I would be thrilled to see some fresh-looking buildings pop up next to the Craftsmen and Queen Annes around here. Who wants to live in a mausoleum?

  • WSB June 9, 2009 (3:48 pm)

    I believe I clarified earlier, it’s not a “poster child.” Just happens to be a photo of an area with a lot of multifamily housing, centered on a particularly striking example. “File photo,” the parlance goes. We DID do a significant amount of reporting earlier on townhouse-design issues and there were some examples included there which had been labeled by professionals as “ugly.” Not the case here, this is JUST AN ILLUSTRATION. The lot’s previous housing, by the way, was shown here:
    https://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=3517

  • cjboffoli June 9, 2009 (4:30 pm)

    I don’t see housing density as the problem. In fact, housing density represents a better use of space and resources and makes public transport more practical. And I realize it is an incitement to some here who hang on to the notion that West Seattle is some kind of suburb where cars should always prevail. But density is happening nonetheless.
    .
    The real problem is a lack of courtesy which in 2009 seems to be at a cultural ebb. For too many the attitude is “this is a city suck it up” when I’d prefer it were “we’re all living closer together so we need to do more to be considerate to those who live around us.”
    .
    In my own neighborhood, noise has been a significant issue (including the high-pitched whine from dryers at 2am, loud wind chimes, cigarette smoke intruding the living spaces of neighbors, and people lighting charcoal grilles (not clean-burning gas but charcoal) directly upwind of neighbor’s windows. Just because there isn’t an ordinance specifically banning some of these things I still don’t think it is right for people to disregard the comfort of their neighbors to suit themselves.
    .
    Again, I’d always prefer for neighbors to work together to find solutions. But unfortunately there are people who, especially when it comes to what they are doing on their own property, feel entitled to do whatever they like regardless of the fact it is disturbing others who must live in close proximity to them. Personally, I could care less what my neighbors do on their property. But when their activities pass over the property line and spoil my property then they become a nuisance. The SMC already covers a range of noise, including loud music, car engines, barking dogs, etc. I’d love to see things like leaf blowers be added to that list (a rake always worked fine for me) both in terms of noise pollution and the exhaust those little gas engines spew. I also don’t think asking people not to smoke or charcoal grille too close to their neighbor’s windows is too much to ask either.

  • Nimby Nulu June 10, 2009 (11:02 am)

    Yumpears’ example is interesting.
    It appears to be a “Green” McCraftsman?
    But it does not approach “housing’s” claims.
    It is not 2 stories higher than every home in the neighborhood. There are 4 story buildings on the block and many 2 story SFRs.
    Nor does it have reduced set back with zero lot lines.
    I also think if I was the neighbor in the shade next to this house I might be upset, just as I would be if the neighbor put in a tall fence or an even taller hedge or line of trees.
    In each case the other property owner is acting within their rights which are the same rights as next door.
    When we acquire the property, we are doing so in the context of the local and state authorities and are rights are specific.
    We have no rights to views, much less, exposure to additional shade.
    In this case it appears that a developer renewed and upgraded some less desirable, neglected property. The neighborhood should rejoice in anticipation of increased home values.

    Christopher’s response to density not being a factor may be correct in the macro sense, but in the cases we are seeing in West Seattle, the codes were changed to allow higher density in certain corridors. And the market responded by legally maximizing development in the areas along Delridge, California Ave, Fauntleroy Way.
    The city wanted quick and affordable.
    We got cheap and deplorable.

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