West Seattle, Washington
12 Thursday
ORIGINAL 12:20 AM POST: Just got a note from Annie about an accident that’s blocking traffic on SW Barton in Fauntleroy (although a bus was allowed through before the yellow tape was stretched across the road again) – she said Barton/Director, the 911 log says Barton/Henderson (map suggests Annie’s description is more accurate). E-mail suggests ATVs possibly involved. Avoid the area; we’re checking for more info. 12:45 AM UPDATE: Barton’s blocked at 40th (map) to everything but buses, according to people in the area. No official info so far. 1:17 AM UPDATE: Police are still investigating – and a tow truck has been seen taking an ATV away. 1:31 AM UPDATE: Seattle Police spokesperson Officer Jeff Kappel has just left a detailed update on the SPD media line: He says this indeed was a crash involving an ATV. According to the update: When emergency personnel got to the scene, a 41-year-old man, believed to be a West Seattle resident, was lying in the street at 40th/Barton; his 4-wheel ATV was overturned nearby. He may have been riding with a friend but that friend did not see the crash and wasn’t involved. The victim has a head injury that police describe as “life-threatening,” and he was rushed to Harborview Medical Center. The department’s traffic-collision investigators are on the scene now to try to figure out what happened. Officer Kappel said he didn’t expect an update for several hours.
Till the snow rolled in last week, last Thursday was supposed to include the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting – with 4502 42nd SW in The Junction and The Kenney‘s $150 million redevelopment both on the agenda. The meeting was canceled, but now it’s rescheduled for January 8th, per the “Upcoming Design Review” section of the city’s website. Though the links haven’t been carried over, the presentations that were to be made at the meeting are still online — here’s the one for The Kenney, including this “preferred option”:
Here’s the presentation for 4502 42nd, with this proposed design for the residential/commercial/office building:
If you’re new to WSB and haven’t followed Design Review proceedings before – certain types/sizes of developments get these public reviews, with your attendance and comments encouraged, specifically regarding aspects of the projects’ design. This city publication explains the DR process. The Kenney’s project is one we have been covering closely for four months now; that coverage is archived here (newest to oldest, since we publish in “blog format”); all WSB coverage of West Seattle development is archived here.
We first told you two weeks ago that Fauntleroy Community Association leadership had announced Washington State Ferries officials will be in Fauntleroy January 21st for a hearing on the WSF draft long-range plan — which includes some major changes in direction for the West Seattle dock’s future, such as adding overhead passenger ramps and scrapping the idea of moving Southworth traffic to downtown. Today, WSF has issued the official news release announcing the plan and all hearings systemwide, so we wanted to make sure you saw that too:Read More
Tomorrow night, the Southwest Design Review Board is scheduled to meet at the Madison Middle School library, with two projects to review, including the $150 million redevelopment proposal for The Kenney in Fauntleroy. Design proposals are often made available online before DRB meetings, and we wanted to let you know that the presentation The Kenney will make tomorrow night has just been posted. See it here; it’s shorter than most of these “packets” — six pages, showing five possible configurations of the project – one that The Kenney showed as its “preferred alternative” at the October 23 meeting (WSB coverage here), one that would be “code compliant” (not requiring zoning changes or other “departures”), one that is self-explanatorily titled the “Saving Seaview Alternative” (that’s the historic Kenney building with the cupola), one called the “L3 Perimeter Alternative Plan” (subtitled as “permitting better transition to adjacent single-family structures,” and finally the “December 18 preferred plan” (shown above; tallest structure would be 5 stories, west-east wing in the middle of the campus). Again, you can get a closer look at that, and all five versions, here. The Kenney is on tomorrow night’s agenda at 8 pm, following a 6:30 pm review for 4502 42nd SW (as reported here, with links to the previous review as well as the new presentation). Here’s a map to Madison MS. And you can see all WSB coverage of The Kenney’s redevelopment plan (dating back to our first in-depth preview four months ago) archived here.
As you likely have heard by now (if not, catch up on our archive here), the nonprofit Fauntleroy retirement center The Kenney has a $150 million redevelopment project on the drawing boards – one that would demolish almost every building on the site, even the century-old Seaview (above), famous far and wide for its cupola (which The Kenney promises would return somewhere in the project). Two weeks before its architects and developers return for the next Design Review meeting, neighbors and community leaders gathered at Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) last night to talk about their concerns about, and hopes for, the project, while also getting insight into the process the project must follow before any sort of green lights are given:Read More
At the end of tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association–Morgan Community Association meeting about The Kenney’s $150 million redevelopment proposal (that report’s coming up later), FCA president Bruce Butterfield announced the date for another major meeting next month: A Washington State Ferries public hearing on proposed changes to the Fauntleroy dock and the future of the route it serves. We brought you first word of the proposals last month, in this report from FCA’s ferry-system liaison Gary Dawson, saying that WSF was no longer considering routing Southworth ferries to downtown, and instead wants to expand the Fauntleroy holding area and add overhead walkways for the passenger deck. It’s all in the proposed long-range plan (read it here); now FCA says a public hearing on that plan will be at 6 pm January 21st, The Hall at Fauntleroy.
This, we had to share the second we read it. Shelley sent it with the photo you see above:
I had to share this. Today my 13-month-old daughter and I were playing in Lincoln Park when she ran over to a bench that had a little toy sitting on it. She picked it up and under the toy said ‘A Gift: For You’. There was no one on the playground or in our vicinity and it wasn’t a lost toy. I was touched and thought it was an adorable sentiment. My daughter was appreciative too and tucked the little bicycling man under her arm and walked with him toward the swings. My heart is warm from the intentional random act of kindness and will work to pass it on.
Got word from The Kenney’s CEO Kevin McFeely that there’s an update to the FAQ addressing concerns about its $150 million redevelopment proposal – so we’ve uploaded it to share with you – read it here. McFeely says the major changes are toward the start of the document, with an added section about The Kenney’s income and executive salaries – no specific numbers, though. He also reiterates that, as the FAQ says, they’re expecting to return for the next Design Review meeting on December 18th – that’s still not on the city DR-schedule website as of this posting, so we have a call out to city planners to doublecheck. (The 12/18 Design Review Board meeting is scheduled for Madison Middle School and so far has one project on the agenda, as reported here last week, 4502 42nd SW, 6:30 pm; that still leaves room for another project to go before the board at 8.) A meeting that unquestionably IS happening: This Thursday night’s community gathering sponsored by the Fauntleroy Community Association and Morgan Community Association for an update on the project and the process – 7 pm Thursday at Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) Fellowship Hall.
There’s your new word of the night: “Rechannelization.” That vocabulary enrichment is just one bit of a pile of new information we brought out of the SDOT open house at High Point Community Center tonight. The sign-in sheets indicate more than 120 people stopped in at some point tonight, almost three weeks after first word that “rechannelization” of Fauntleroy between Alaska and California – changing it to one lane each way, plus a center turn lane and a bike lane – was in the cards along with repaving. We visited tonight’s open house in the final hour, to get a good sense of how many people had shown up during the course of the night and what they were saying about the proposal; SDOT reps told us that they had quite the crowd even before the doors opened at 5:30 – read on for everything else we found out, about the proposed “rechannelization” and the repaving project, including enlightenment as to why the same potholes keep turning up in the same spots over and over again:Read More
That’s the top of the flyer that volunteers have been distributing around Fauntleroy and Morgan Junction to continue getting the word out about this Thursday night’s community meeting to discuss The Kenney‘s $150 million redevelopment proposal (all WSB coverage, going back to our first in-depth report in August, is archived here). Click the image (or click here) to see the entire flyer – if you live in the area, Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association volunteers request that you print it out and be sure your neighbors have seen it (or share it by e-mail – right-click the headline of this post to get the direct link, or right-click the image for the direct link to the flyer) – they’ve already distributed more than 100 copies in just a few hours today, before running out of daylight and flyers; this is a big chance to get answers about the project and find out what happens next in the process. 7 pm Thursday, Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) Fellowship Hall. (If you missed it last week, here’s a link to the project FAQ just published by The Kenney.)
Bradley5 sent photos of an upside-down dead seagull in a Lincoln Park tree, noting he debated whether to share it, but is curious about what happened earlier – did anyone see it, tangled, before it died? What would you do in a case like this? Click ahead to see his photo (not particularly gross but we don’t want to put it right on the main page) and read what he has to say:Read More
You probably don’t have to cook for a crowd the size of the one that Don is preparing for. We caught him with huge pots of gravy (etc.) in the kitchen at The Hall at Fauntleroy, where Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering is again serving up the annual free Thanksgiving dinner, noon-3 pm (map). The tables are waiting, as sun dapples through the huge south-facing windows:
Those who come also will be able to take something home – donated clothing and other items are laid out:
Also offering a free Thanksgiving dinner in West Seattle today: Freedom Church (35th/Roxbury), 3-6 pm. Many people are spending part of their holiday volunteering to make these events possible – we are thankful to live in a community with so many who give so much.
Two updates tonight in the proposal for a $150 million redevelopment of The Kenney, the retirement-care complex in Fauntleroy: First, the time and place are finalized for the community meeting (first reported here) that’s being organized by Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association: 7 pm Thursday, December 4th, fellowship hall at Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor). The groups want to bring together everyone who is interested in the project, to get a briefing on next steps in the process from a city planner, and to discuss points such as “what are your concerns?” “what do we wish would happen?” and “what would it take to make this work in our community?” (per the MoCA bulletin) Also, The Kenney has finalized a Frequently Asked Questions document regarding the project and sent it to us (and others) to share with the community — you can see it here. If you have questions that aren’t answered by the FAQ – please post comments here and bring them to the December 4th meeting.
When we brought you some SDOT information earlier this week about the project that’s been tearing up roads in Fauntleroy (primarily Barton toward 35th) and now has moved east of 35th, we mentioned that we hadn’t heard back from Puget Sound Energy, whose gas line is at the heart of the work. We subsequently got a call from a PSE media person who couldn’t find our phone message but did read the WSB post – so she in turn connected us to another PSE person who had more details on the project. We have lots of new details now about what turns out to be work to replace almost two miles of old metal gas piping with plastic (as shown above) – read on for more about what’s happening, where, why, when (and how come there was no general announcement sent to news sources like us, to share with you):Read More
Gary Dawson with the Fauntleroy Community Association, who is the group’s lead on ferry-related issues, reports big changes in the Washington State Ferries plan for the future of not only the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth “triangle” route, but of the Fauntleroy terminal itself. He writes:
Monday, the 17th, the Washington State Legislature Joint Transportation Committee met in Seattle in the Puget Sound Regional Council conference room.
The entire agenda was dedicated to Washington State Ferries Long Range Plan, Legislative bill ESB5328, Ferry Finance Study, Customer Survey report, and other items related to WSF.
Of note to West Seattle was the portion of the LRP related to the Vashon/Southworth/Fauntleroy route, known as the triangle.
For the last few years WSF has proposed that to accommodate population and ferry user growth in south Kitsap County, the Southworth to Fauntleroy service would be rerouted to downtown Seattle at Colman Dock sometime in the next few years. A rebuild of Colman Dock including an additional ferry slip for the Southworth operation was to be part of that plan.
Yesterday it was revealed WSF no longer plans to enhance Colman Dock for additional growth, but to continue the triangle route as is. At some time later WSF will dedicate one of their ferries to operate between Southworth and Fauntleroy only, and two vessels between Vashon and Fauntleroy.
In addition the plan calls for expanding the Fauntleroy dock holding to accommodate the equivalent of one vessel’s amount of vehicles. Also, it is planned to erect a passenger overhead walkway on the dock as well to all walk-on passengers to proceed directly to the passenger deck on the ferry.
Rerouting Southworth traffic directly to downtown would eliminate about 40% of the current ferry traffic on West Seattle streets, not including future growth that is predicted to double in 20 years. The newly proposed WSF plan forces that traffic to continually be a part of the West Seattle commute.
The plan in its entirety can be found on the WSF website, www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/ click on Ferry Financing Legislation under Planning, and under Nov. 17, 2008, Preliminary Draft ESB2358. Pages 17 and 26 highlight the triangle route plan. [Editor’s note: direct link to the document is here]
The Fauntleroy Community Association will be challenging this plan, and anyone interested in finding out more or providing FCA support can contact the FCA at Fauntleroy.net or:
Gary Dawson
Chair, Fauntleroy Ferry Advisory Committee
garyann@quidnunc.net
This is also notable given that the Fauntleroy paving proposal we’ve been discussing – including a major stretch traveled by ferry commuters – is in jeopardy because of city budget changes (we should find out more about its status tomorrow morning, when the mayor officially announces next year’s paving plan at a media event). According to the WSF info page Gary points us to, public hearings on the system’s long-range plan are set for next month, before a proposal is finalized “going into the 2009 legislative session.”
This has come up in comments on other items (like this thread), and in the WSB Forums – what’s up with all the work on Barton, which is a busy thoroughfare for folks traveling to Fauntleroy Church and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsors) and the businesses in the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, as well as heading east from the ferry dock and Endolyne businesses? One neighbor pointed out it was gas-line work. We called the Puget Sound Energy media department. Two business days, no callback. So next we tried SDOT, knowing they would at least have had to have issued a permit, and they responded within a few hours. Here’s the information we got back from SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan:
This work is a major replacement by PSE of part of their infrastructure and is a permitted right-of-way activity. The work will replace more than 8000 feet of pipe and will run through a number of streets in West Seattle. PSE has an approved traffic control plan and we expect them to
be finished by December 6, 2008, though this work can sometime run long.Our permit requires them to notify everyone who may be affected at least 72 hours before the work in the right-of-way begins. This is a standard period of time required for this type of effort.
We will contact PSE to remind them of this obligation and will also send a Street Use inspector to examine the site.
Given how well-used that stretch of road is, you’d expect notifying “everyone who may be affected” would have involved notices to local media, but it didn’t, so far as we can tell. SDOT itself is good about advance notice of road work in the case of most projects of this scale.
The fish “flag” is flying at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook – because the first coho spawner has arrived! The notice posted at the overlook is the same one you can read on this page of fauntleroy.net. It says: “Our first coho spawner (dubbed “Hillary” as a kind of consolation prize!) came in on Saturday, Nov. 8, and as of Monday is still awaiting a mate. Congratulations to watchers Ann Samenfink and Cathy Follis for making the first sighting.” So, “Hillary” arrived less than two weeks after the gathering to “call the salmon home” (WSB video coverage here); the fish ladder is marking its 10th anniversary this fall. Shortly after visiting the creek, we headed north to catch tonight’s glorious sunset from just south of Alki Point:
Another followup to the Fauntleroy arrest early Sunday, following one break-in, another attempt, and a helicopter search: Court documents obtained from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office list the charges now filed against 41-year-old Richard Lovejoy, the convicted rapist caught after that search. Read on for details of the charges, including more information about the evidence prosecutors say they have against him:Read More
Eight nights after an election in which most of their endorsed candidates/positions emerged victorious, the 34th District Democrats gathered tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy, in a celebratory mood but not at all ready to rest on their laurels – here’s our report:Read More
Quick updates from tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting: ROADS — New 12-foot-wide “traffic humps” are on the way to 47th at Roxbury (Google Street View/map above), at two spots, 9600 block and just south of the 9800 block — this is meant to slow speeders who often approach 60 mph heading downhill. RACCOONS — Following up on previous “raccoon latrine” discussions (WSB coverage here), the county Health Department‘s sending out a mailer later this month, with information on how to keep raccoons out of your yard. REDEVELOPMENT — The location is now set for the Dec. 4 joint FCA/Morgan Community Association meeting about the big project proposed by The Kenney; meeting will be at Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor), time not yet finalized. MoCA‘s Cindi Barker was at tonight’s FCA meeting for further planning discussion and how best to utilize the participation of a city planner. ALSO — A review of last month’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival, which Martha Callard says had the biggest turnout ever; the community bus-shelter-painting project during the festival “exceeded expectations,” she added. … Local historian Ron Richardson talked about Thursday’s time-capsule project — which is open to anyone who wants to participate, in West Seattle and all over the city. FCA plans to offer contributions including a copy of the documentary “The Fauntleroy Story: 100 Years of Community.” (For more info on the Fauntleroy Community Association, explore its website at fauntleroy.net.)
It’s been three months since our first report about the “reinvention” plan that would demolish that historic building and most of the other structures at The Kenney, in a $150 million plan that leadership of the retirement complex says is essential to its future success — at the project’s first Design Review Board meeting last month (WSB coverage here), CEO Kevin McFeely said, “… without this, we are not going to be able to survive financially.” At the end of that meeting, we reported that reps from Morgan Community Association and Fauntleroy Community Association were talking about co-sponsoring a community meeting before The Kenney’s next Design Review session. Now the date for that meeting is set: December 4th. Time and place are still being finalized, but MoCA’s Cindi Barker says the city planner assigned to the project, Michael Dorcy, “will be there the first 30-45 minutes to give a recap of all the process steps the Kenney must move through” and provide other information the community needs to know regarding . The date’s being driven in part by the possibility that The Kenney might return for that next DR meeting on December 18th. We expect to get more information at tomorrow night’s FCA meeting (7 pm, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse).
During a brief hearing this afternoon in a courtroom at the King County Jail downtown, a judge “found probable cause” to keep 41-year-old Richard L. Lovejoy (left) in jail until a hearing Wednesday on what, if any, bail amount should be set for him. Lovejoy is the convicted rapist arrested early Sunday morning (WSB coverage here, including victim’s story) in Fauntleroy, where he is suspected of breaking into a home shortly after trying to break into the Colman Pool building in Lincoln Park. Thanks to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office media liaison Dan Donohoe for providing us with the document used at today’s hearing (which we attended, though the suspect himself did not actually appear); it says in part:
Suspect Lovejoy broke out two windows at the Colman Pool in Lincoln Park. The sound woke up the on-site caretaker, who confronted the suspect as he tried to enter via a broken window. The suspect ran off into the park and officers were unable to locate him. A truck registered to suspect Lovejoy was located illegally parked at the entrance to the Lincoln Park beach service road at 7171 Beach Drive SW. Several hours later, a report of an occupied residential burglary came out several blocks away. The suspect (Lovejoy) in that instance was captured.
The report goes on to say that a witness from Colman Pool identified him as the same suspect in that earlier break-in attempt, and later in the document, under the section that asks whether law enforcers would object to the suspect’s release, it says “Do not release. Suspect is a convicted felon and sex offender (and is on active Department of Corrections supervision).” His sex-offender status emerged in the comment thread on our followup report; we found him in the public lookup system, registered to an Arbor Heights address, and that’s where the photo you see at above left comes from. The document from today’s hearing also lists his criminal history as including: Rape, escape, drugs, harassment, domestic violence.
2 reports tonight: First, SPD Blotter has posted more details on the incident that sparked the helicopter-assisted search and arrest we reported early this morning (previous WSB coverage here). Seems the 41-year-old man eventually arrested for burglarizing a home in the 4300 block of Cloverdale (map) also is suspected of trying to break into another house near Lincoln Park first. Read the details here. ADDED 8:17 PM: Just posted as a comment on our original early-morning report, Kelly tells the story firsthand:
Hi All: I was the victim in this incident. A white male broke into my house in Fauntleroy last night around 12:30. I’m a single mom, home alone with two young kids (5 and 3). The guy tried kicking in my side door and then walked around up front and kicked in my front door. That noise woke me up and I went downstairs to see what was going on… and froze on my landing as I looked down and saw this jack ass standing in my doorway. I backtracked upstairs, had a complete and total moral dilemma about what to do next: cell phone and interior lock were in my bedroom, to the right but to the left were my kids’ rooms. I headed into my bedroom, locked the door, and called 911 from my balcony. The burglar juggled on the bedroom door handle and… I don’t remember much then. The police arrived within probably 5 minutes. They had been in the neighborhood because the same person had tried to break into Colman Pool (earlier) and they were just winding up their search for him in Lincoln Park. I was lucky. The police had already identified the suspect from his truck and apparently was a level one sex offender. The guy ran with a few of my household items and the police found him a few blocks away. I was taken to that scene and identified him. It was awful and scary and shattering considering the fact I thought this neighborhood was so safe. The police were excellent and gave me a lot of good pointers for security on my house. At least next time, if it happens, I’ll be more prepared.
Thanks to Kelly for sharing her story. (continuing with original 7 pm post) Meantime, we’ve just received e-mail about an Admiral break-in this weekend, including a plea for neighbors everywhere to be more watchful — read on:Read More
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