A sudden sign
The controversial construction site on ex-Gatewood Church property (across Cali from the still-for-sale church) suddenly, belatedly, has one of those big white city land-use-notice signs on the chain-link fence. The sign only mentions part of the development, however — five units — not all the permits that have been issued, totaling more than a dozen units. (By the way, the city seems to be reworking the permit status pages to make direct linking tougher, so some of our older links on this project are broken. We’ll find a way around it! Meantime, two recent complaints about the project/s have been dismissed — here and here.)
3 (projects) in 1 (update)
-Guess who’s surfaced in the growing push to keep Charlestown Cafe from being replaced by a standalone Petco store: Former City Councilman Charlie Chong. His letter to the current council members is in one of the latest posts on the Our Town/West Seattle group site, as it moves to organize the fight.
-Also stepping up their fight: The Morgan Junction/Gatewood neighbors who say the construction across the street from Gatewood Baptist shouldn’t have sneaked through the permit process as a group of small projects instead of the one semi-big project it really is. One neighbor has just posted a new comment on this WSB page, contending the project is clearly illegal, and also wants everyone to know project updates are on the ORCA site.
-And one last reminder regarding a (so far as we know) noncontroversial project: As we mentioned Sunday, tonight’s the third and final public meeting to talk about what’s going to be done to transform the “Ercolini property” (photo below) into a park.
Construction controversy
We mentioned last week that work has begun across the street from Gatewood Baptist Church, where land sold by the church is turning into “townhomes” (first noted here almost 3 months ago, then re-noted when multiple permits were issued just before Thanksgiving for four addresses all assigned to the one site – 7200 Cali, 7202 Cali, 7206 Cali, 7208 Cali). Now, with yet another permit JUST assigned to a fifth address at the site (7204 Cali) and the heavy equipment having arrived (photos below), neighborhood watchdogs have uncovered the magnitude of the project — contending this is ONE semi-big development that should have been subject to public hearings and a more intensive review process, instead of sliding through under the guise of multiple small projects. They’re conferring frantically about what they can do to get construction put on hold. They also say the work has opened “a natural spring” that’s causing water trouble at the site and may be reason alone for city review. They’d be interested in hearing from any land-use experts with thoughts on all this. (Side note, the house hidden in the trees at the upper right of the top photo is described by neighbors as an old “hunting lodge.” Who knew?)
Road report
As of mid-afternoon: Bridge in good shape (though the ramp from 99 to the bridge has dicey sides). Fauntleroy, “bare and wet” as they describe it when mountain passes are in OK shape this time of year, though that could mean trouble if it’s still wet when the sun goes down (considering this really will be a COOOOOOLD night — 13 degrees????). The Cali hill through Gatewood & Upper Fauntleroy — snowy, sandy, rugged, gonna be hell going down that tomorrow; if you have to go up it today/tonight, just follow the experts’ advice re: snow and ice driving — TAKE IT REAL SLOW — one wrong move and you’ll join the spinout crowd. Oh, and the side streets? Cringe.
Ex-West Seattleite does the new “Bond” theme
So we’re sitting in the balcony at Cinerama downtown watching Casino Royale, the new James Bond movie (six thumbs up). The theme song is by Chris Cornell of Audioslave, ex-Soundgarden. “Doesn’t he live in West Seattle?” we ask ourselves. Sadly, post-movie research reveals, he used to, but not any more. He got divorced and remarried; his ex-wife got the house in Gatewood. Good song, tho; hear it here.
Here & gone
HERE: As promised, Cactus on Alki just opened. Must have been a blitz of last-minute touches — the landscaping, the green neon sign, all up in the last week or so. We cruised by around sunset; looked like a lively crowd. We haven’t even been to Coyotes yet, so we might not make it to Cactus any time soon; please share reviews when you give it a try!
GONE: A little corner on Cali Ave at the bottom of Gatewood Hill is a lot less bright tonight. The found-items-turned-flowerpots, the stuffed-animal sentinels, the whimsical little signs, all gone from outside the funky old brick apartments (scroll down this page for photo) that are two buildings and one street south of Caffe Ladro. The corner unit is suddenly empty, bereft of the longtime tenant who clearly had a sense of humor, joie de vivre, and flair, at least so far as we passersby could tell. We walked past her/his displays dozens of times, almost always stopping to notice something new that had joined the eclectic collection of repurposed bric-a-brac arranged against walls and clumped on the parking strip. Wherever you went, whoever you were, hope your new neighbors and passersby are getting the same chance to harvest a smile from your sidewalk garden.
Tuesday morning news ‘n’ notes
-Looks like the Pathfinder advocates now comprise one of just two groups most loudly protesting the latest version of the school-closure/consolidation plan. This is the only story resembling a thorough article in today’s papers. (Looking in from outside, I’d suggest they focus their arguments on the condition of the Boren building — the complaint about Delridge won’t hold water; for example, what is arguably WS’s most successful elementary school, Lafayette, is right on Cali Ave in the Admiral Junction bizdist, across from a busy supermarket.)
-While the school district dithers over the shutdowns and shifts to save a few $, how much is it going to waste on this fight? (Side note — if you want to spend $ on something related more to body than mind, how about playground improvements? Lafayette has a project going and so does Gatewood, which plans a meeting about its playground-reno project tonight.)
-If this goes through, will our beloved, scenic WS become home to more B-and-B’s? The only one I’ve ever noticed is down by the Fauntleroy ferry dock (and political signs I’ve seen in its windows would keep me, on principle, from ever recommending any visiting relatives stay there, but that’s just me).
-Guess this means I’ll get to see those nice little old precinct workers a few more times.
Sounds, or grounds, of silence
Dropped by Caffe Ladro this chilly May Day Night. Busy but eerily quiet. A couple on laptops, a guy making some kind of print art, people at several other tables … yet no one talking. My companion and I chatted, yet felt somehow guilty about it. Is this the new coffeehouse etiquette? Or should we have just gone down to Starbucks and left Ladro in library-style quiet?
It’s not art, it’s a crime
A bit earlier this winter, some vandal spray-painted two words, including the “f-word,” on an excruciatingly visible-to-the-street garage door along California Ave, just south of the Morgan Junction McDonald’s. With the proximity of Gatewood School, I wouldn’t think it an exaggeration to speculate that vulgarity assaulted thousands of young eyes (and offended age-nonspecific others).
Someone finally has covered it with white paint. Finally. But not all spray-paint vandalism is so easy to cover — for years, I’ve shuddered at the tags that have blighted our business districts, especially when the vandals have painted them onto natural-tone brickwork. And I know that in other areas of the city, some of the more creatively criminal vandals have taken to etching.
This all brings me to a CNN.com video-game review linked prominently from the site’s home page this morning. Yeah, I know games are supposedly a harmless outlet for people to engage in even worse kinds of fantasy crime. I’d made a bit of peace with that. But for some empty-brain headline writer to declare fantasy vandalism “fresh and fun” just chaps me. Just wait till the designers wake up someday to someone having engaged in this “fresh and fun” crime on their property, requiring a costly cleanup.
If Michaelangelo had painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling without permission, that still would have been vandalism, regardless of its artistic merit.
/rant
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