Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Neighbors gathered at the Delridge Library on Wednesday night for the May meeting of HPAC, the community coalition that includes Highland Park, South Delridge, and Riverview.

The meeting was facilitated by HPAC co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick, and featured discussion about crime statistics and prevention, an update on the Holden Natural Drainage System (NDS) project, and a presentation on RV waste outreach efforts. Meeting notes are below:

POLICE UPDATE: First on the agenda was an update from SPD’s Jennifer Satterwhite regarding crime stats in the area.

• Trends for the whole Southwest Precinct, year-to-date compared with the same time period last year, show that overall crime is down 15% (approximately 300 fewer incidents), including both property and person crimes. Burglaries are down 39% (135 fewer incidents), shots fired down 15% precinct (38 incidents vs. 45), and person crime down 9% (about 15 fewer incidents). Assault and robbery remain low. Motor vehicle theft is down 40%, and Satterwhite attributed this reduction to arrests of prolific offenders, targeted enforcement, and security improvements,
• Crime trends specific to Highland Park, for 2025-to-date compared to last year: Overall crime down 5% (14 fewer incidents). Robbery up by 2 incidents (possibly related to convenience stores), auto theft down 32% (17 fewer incidents), shots fired down (7 incidents in 2025 vs. 11 in 2024).

Although the numbers look good, Satterwhite said the summer months typically bring increases in criminal activity, so continued vigilance by the public is advised. She mentioned the increased summer emphasis on Alki and other hotspots, with overtime patrols and public education on burglary prevention. Regarding illegal vending on Alki: There is only one permitted vendor there; most are unpermitted, raising health and safety concerns as well as pushback from local restaurants. Enforcement is complex due to overlapping agency jurisdictions, and fines are often ineffective as vendors just pay the fine and quickly return.

Regarding the recent uptick in car crashes possibly linked to a social media challenge, Satterwhite said she’s been engaged with the community and SPD is investigating and facilitating prevention meetings. There were 4 crashes on the SW Alaska hill west of the Junction, and another in Sunrise Heights, just in the past couple of weeks.

DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER: Next up was a Seattle Public Utilities presentation from the team behind the Holden Natural Drainage System (NDS) Project, which is described on their website as follows:

More than 12 million pounds of pollution are carried into our water bodies through stormwater runoff each year. Stormwater that falls on the roofs, streets, and parking lots in your neighborhood can pick up harmful pollutants before entering Longfellow Creek, which flows into Puget Sound. The pollutants can harm fish, wildlife, and our ecosystems. The Holden Natural Drainage Systems (NDS) Project plans to build natural drainage systems, also known as roadside rain gardens or bioretention, on SW Holden St between 16th Ave SW and 17th Ave SW. The NDS will capture and treat stormwater runoff before it reaches Longfellow Creek and Puget Sound.

The NDS will be built in the space between the existing sidewalks and the edge of the road. The project will include roadway and pedestrian safety improvements such as curb bulbs and ADA ramps, in addition to new landscape plantings.

Project manager Wan-Yee Kuo led the presentation of the latest project plans and designs. Here is a PDF of the slides, provided by team member Val Bak, and you can also visit the “Project Documents” section of the project website which contains the “Final Design Concept” visuals as well as a narrated version of the presentation (“Final Design Narrated Presentation.”)

The NDS will be on the south side of Holden, using the parking lane for plantings. Some driveway and sidewalk reconstruction will be required. Underground water quality infrastructure (“tree cells”) will be installed on the north side to address flooding (which has been an issue in the area), using special filtering soil and structural elements.

Two small crabapple trees will be removed, and one new tree (hornbeam) will be planted. SPU will pay SDOT to plant five additional trees nearby. The NDS will be maintained by SPU, and the trees maintained by SDOT with annual inspections. Contractors will be responsible for plant establishment in the first year, which prompted some questions from meeting attendees about concerns with tree maintenance (or a lack thereof) on for past projects in the area — Kuo said that the contractors for this project will be carefully vetted.

Construction timeline: The final design is complete, advertising will begin in July, and construction is expected to start winter 2025 and last about a year. Planting will occur in appropriate seasonal windows. Construction will involve noise, dust, parking restrictions, and temporary bus stop relocation; clear communication and on-site engineer presence will be part of the project, according to the team.

Want to learn more? SPU will be hosting a project design drop-in Q&A session at BedHead Coffee at 1513 SW Holden St. (SE corner of SW Holden/ 16th Ave SW) tomorrow – Saturday, May 31st – between 11 AM and 1 PM (WSB event listing here). Free drip coffee for attendees! The team will also be providing the public with ongoing updates via flyers, mailers, and their website.

Sweeney said that the vehicle outreach program, powered by SVdP volunteers (which she affectionately refers to as “Vincentians”), provides direct outreach to RV residents, addressing public health and sanitation by coordinating with SPU to pump out wastewater and offer basic supplies to those in need. She said she has 20 volunteers, and sends out 2-3 people every day.

Sweeney said that many RV residents are local workers displaced by the housing crisis and pandemic. Most RVs are old and nonfunctional, leading to illegal dumping of waste. Residents of the RVs tend to face hostility, frequent displacement, and lack of safe parking options. St. Vincent de Paul initiated the program after discovering the extent of waste dumping in some areas of Seattle. Years of advocacy led to a pilot with SPU, which was later expanded due to demonstrated cost savings and a significant reduction in sewage spills, which in turn saves the city on costly hazmat cleanups and improves public health.

Volunteers accompany SPU staff and provide food (often provided by local churches and schools such as Holy Rosary with their Lunches of Love program) and connect residents to services, with an emphasis on treating residents with dignity and compassion. Sweeney said the program is unique in the U.S., and (as far as she knows) no other utility offers similar services. She said volunteers are always needed, and the program aspires to be a temporary solution until broader systemic changes occur.

OTHER NOTES: After the meeting adjourned, Satterwhite noted that registration for Seattle Night Out opens this week (Tuesday August 5th). Register your block, and hang out with your neighbors! Also, HPAC leaders said that public feedback is still welcome regarding the city’s Sidewalk Development Program, which was a driving force behind last week’s neighborhood walking tour (WSB coverage here).

NEXT MEETING: HPAC meets on the fourth Wednesdays of most months. Be sure to check the group’s website, hpaction.org, for updates and meeting confirmation.

(West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Groupfile photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Your role in a vision for Seattle’s largest stretch of remaining forest was the largest topic at this month’s gathering of HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.

Police had updates too during the meeting at Delridge Library, which was facilitated by Kay Kirkpatrick, HPAC co-chair.

RIDGE TO RIVER: While this initiative is being reinvigorated, it’s not new. Paul West, who said he had lived in the area for 25 years, explained that Ridge to River was inaugurated in 2019 “to make more connections between the Longhouse and the nearby neighborhoods,” particularly through the West Duwamish Greenbelt, a “four-mile-long corridor along the Duwamish River,” stretching south to White Center. He summarized, “We’re in the process of introducing people to the greenbelt … our goal is to make people fall in love with the greenbelt …it has a lot of existing .. and future potential.”

That love would be accompanied by community connections, West continued. Ridge to River has in its sights the entire stretch, north to south, especially underserved neighborhoods. And as a centerpiece, it’s the historical home of the Duwamish Tribe. “They don’t just think that their ancestors are in the greenbelt, they KNOW their ancestors are in the greenbelt.” And now is prime time to get more people involved with the land, the trees, the wildlife.

Some are working on that through other groups and initiatives – West and Caroline Borsenik, who also was there for the Ridge to River presentation, are also involved with the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails group, a volunteer organization that’s been improving trails in the WDG and leading community hikes through it. The trails-focused group also has produced a map, announced earlier this year.

As for Ridge to River, “We’re just getting up and running,” including their new website, city connections, and a pilot project, the first trail that will connect to the longhouse. West said they expect the first phase to take about two years to roll out. They’re also doing studies, and then next year they’ll ask the community for opinions to refine the draft plan, shaping it into a final version they hope the city will adopt for the area. About a dozen organizations are directly involved.

Borsenik told the HPAC attendees that this year’s focus is “gathering community input” and they really want to know what you love about the West Duwamish Greenbelt – or whether you even know about it. They’ll be launching a community survey in May, open through August 25, and will attend some community events (like the West Seattle Farmers Market on June 1, and the WDGT hikes). Contact info is on their website. But this isn’t just about a plan; after one is finalized, hopefully in 2027, there’ll be another phase to turn it into reality, which she acknowledged will be hard.

What about volunteer opportunities? asked an attendee. “There are groups running volunteer events right now!” said Borsenik; West had noted that the area’s been part of the Green Seattle Partnership efforts for ~20 years.

Who owns the land? another asked. Answer: Primarily multiple city departments, plus adjacent South Seattle College (WSB sponsor).

A variety of issues then bubbled into the discussion – from the long-running kiln-dust contamination in part of the area, to “sketchy people,” to a shipping container that’s long been in the forest for storage (Borsenik said “we’ve been trying to get it out of there”). Kirkpatrick also introduced an attendee she’d invited, owner of a nearby building that’s being revived as an event venue, who had temporarily activated a trail through the greenbelt between his property and the SSC parking lot rented for a recent event.

Regarding trails past and present, West explained, the ones there now were built without a central plan/vision so might not be optimally located, and some areas don’t have access at all.

Overall, “activate it and that’ll get more people interested” was a prevailing sentiment. Watch for opportunities – starting with the survey next month. (We’ll of course publish that announcement here when it’s available.)

The meeting started, as many community-coalition meetings do, with an update from Seattle Police.

POLICE UPDATE: Gunfire is the only category of crime that’s going up; in response to that, they’re doing “emphasis patrols” in North Delridge and High Point, “trying to comb this area to be sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Southwest Precinct Community Liaison Officer German Barreto. (Editor’s note: It’s been quieter in the week since this meeting.) SPD has emphasis patrols continuing in Westwood too. One attendee asked about the encampment along Barton Place; Barreto says he’s brought it forward to the Unified Care Team. The attendee said what they believed to be stolen bikes are a particular concern. Another attendee asked about the issues at 9th and Henderson, and two trucks “constantly bringing in trailers” with suspended licenses. They can’t be removed because they’re occupied, Barreto explained. “If they’re living in their vehicle, that’s their home, and we can’t take it.” But the officer clarified that if there are “no-parking” signs, vehicles can be towed. The attendee engaged with Barreto back and forth about “constant traffic” on the street at all hours. Are you calling 911? Barreto asked. No, said the attendee, but they’re recording security video. You can always call suspicious activity in, Barreto said – get the incident number when you call, and then ask for the outcome. Meantime, he mentioned the RV/trailer that was hit by a driver on Henderson a day earlier; Community Service Officers had talked with its owner/resident afterward.

WHAT’S NEXT: HPAC meets fourth Wednesdays most months – time and location might vary, so check the coalition’s new website, hpaction.org, for updates.

The neighborhoods for which HPAC serves as the community coalition – Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – are also the West Seattle neighborhoods with the largest current concentration of encampments. So this Wednesday night (6:30 pm March 26 at Delridge Library) they will be discussing the city response. From the announcement:

We expect to have folks from SPD, the CARE team, and a discussion with a representative from the Unified Care Team. For those not familiar, they are tasked with doing direct outreach and intervention with our houseless and RV residents. We hope to learn more about their work, their workflow and response times and start a dialogue about more robust ways to bring help getting folks housed in the South Delridge area. While we know this is a citywide, even nationwide issue, we want to lean in as to why we have concentrations of illegal campers here and how we can work together to improve the situation.

The Citywide dashboard from 2024 Quarter 4 notes 2 tent and 3 verified RV sites contacted by UCT in Highland Park. It also gives a relational snapshot of where we are in a list of neighborhoods with unhoused residents. The numbers unfortunately do not reflect the reality what we see around us now.

If you are interested in taking action right away, a current opportunity to help out folks in need is via donation to the Westside Neighbors Shelter.

The library is at 5423 Delridge Way SW.

The fourth Wednesday of most months brings a gathering for HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, South Delridge, and Riverview – but not this month. HPAC leadership has announced they’re canceling the February meeting, but keep your calendar set for a meeting on March 26. No meeting doesn’t mean no activity, though; on the HPAC website, you can see the issues the group’s paying attention to right now.

P.S. If you missed last month’s meeting – which featured local beaver expert Pamela Adams revealing everything you didn’t know about beavers – here’s our coverage.

This week isn’t as busy as last week for community-coalition meetings, but so far there’s one on the calendar: HPAC – the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – meets in person on Wednesday, 6:30 pm at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW). Here’s the announcement:

While Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge sit along a ridge, we have huge environmental impacts on the watersheds to our east and west. This month our meeting will hear reports from both sides, Longfellow Creek along Delridge and the Duwamish Waterway.

We are super excited to have guest Pamela Adams from BeaverInsights coming to discuss her research and observations of the beaver families living in Longfellow Creek.

It’s easy to pass over or near this urban creek daily without noticing it’s presence, but up and down the creekbed, from Nucor Steel to the Roxhill Bog, several families of beavers, plus other wild critters, have taken up residence and are busily going about their lives. Find out more about them and learn about the benefits they bring to water quality and salmon habitat.

On the Duwamish Waterway side, we will be hearing about progress in the plans for the new West Duwamish Wet Water Treatment Facility, soon to be built near the base of the Highland Park Way hill. King County Wastewater staff will update us on the design and upcoming construction milestones.

As usual, we will have a chance to speak with representatives from the Seattle Police Department about any public safety concerns. The Southwest Precinct building sits directly atop Longfellow Creek, as it runs through an underground culvert below the Home Depot parking lot.

Our meetings are free and open to the public, please join us!