West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
Celebrate Earth Day weekend by helping out with a community cleanup. We’re mentioning the ones we’ve heard about – yesterday, we featured Saturday’s North Delridge cleanup, and today, this announcement from the Highland Park Elementary School PTA:
Saturday is the second annual HPE Earth Day Cleanup. This year we are working together with the Playground Planning Committee to both clean up the school and design our future playground. The Earth Day portion of the event will meet at the front of the school from 9:00 – 12:00, rain or shine. Come prepared to clean up and beautify the school grounds. The playground planning portion of the event is from 8:00 – 4:00. Come to either event, or both. Stay for 30 minutes, or all day! Coffee and lunch will be provided.
HPE is at 1012 SW Trenton. The Highland Park community also has a series of neighborhood cleanups planned – more on that later – and if you’re looking for volunteers for your cleanup, we’d love to help; e-mail the information to editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
(WSB photo)
11:28 AM: Thanks to the person who tipped us about this (text/call 206-293-6302, 24/7): The guns-drawn police response in the 9400 block of 9th SW in south Highland Park is a Bellevue Police case, with Seattle Police assisting. We were told at the scene that it involves a Bellevue warrant related to auto theft. That’s all we know so far, but we’re checking with BPD and will update later if we find out anything more.
6:37 PM: We just heard back from BPD’s public-information officer, who says, “I can confirm that investigators with our Department’s Special Enforcement Team (SET) were in that area investigating a vehicle theft and serving a search warrant on a residence.” Officer Seth Tyler added background on the SET, saying that it “addresses specific types of repeat crimes with an innovative, proactive approach. The team targets prolific, active criminals in an effort to lower the overall rate of reported crime. The team conducts plainclothes surveillance of targeted areas and surveillance of known active criminals and then coordinates with the King County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure that arrested suspects remain in custody. Additionally, SET works frequently with the investigative units of other agencies to help address multijurisdictional offenders.”
ADDED THURSDAY: More info from Bellevue PD – we’re publishing a separate followup.
8:26 PM: A crowd is gathered right now for a candlelight vigil at the site of Thursday morning’s deadly crash, in memory of 21-year-old Devin Francis.
They are filling both uphill lanes of Highland Park Way, so please avoid the area for a while.
9:07 PM: The vigil was breaking up as of about quarter till. We will go back in a while to check.
Seen Whitney’s car? Just out of the WSB inbox:
1994 Honda Accord stolen from Westcrest Park Off Leash Area. Around 6:00 pm April 1st. Light green, two door. Pima Medical Institute sticker up front on driver’s side corner. With broken passenger headlight. Green middle sticker on bottom back window. License plate number AUH9649. Please help me find this vehicle! If seen, message me at (970) 596-9574.
(WSB photo from last month)
We’ve reported repeatedly in the past few weeks (most recently, on Thursday) that the “RV safe lot” announced for Highland Park has been on indefinite hold. And now, Councilmember Lisa Herbold says the mayor’s office has confirmed to her that it’s officially not happening – because it would cost too much, for the 10 or fewer RVs it would serve.
As a result, Herbold’s office says, the two interim “safe zones” set up in SODO and Interbay will be “extended for an additional 60 days,” and the 39 RV residents that were waiting there will get help with making their vehicles operational so they can comply with 72-hour parking laws, or they will get help finding “secure housing.”
That doesn’t address what happens to the half-dozen or so RVs that we’ve reported are described by SPD as “staged” along Myers Way, awaiting the now-a-no-go Highland Park lot, so we’ll check on that next week.
It’s been two months since the mayor’s original announcement that the lot would be set up at West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way within a month, along with the one that did open in Ballard. Since then, we’ve made almost-daily checks of the site – a paved lot adjacent to the longtime site of an unauthorized encampment that was closed two and a half years ago – and the only sign of preparations has been a canvas-covered fence around the lot.
Though the Parks and Green Spaces Levy has been succeeded by the Seattle Park District levy, some of the P&GSL projects are still in progress – and one of them is getting extra $ from the district. That’s the Highland Park play-area plan (for the park at 1100 SW Cloverdale), and a postcard that showed up in the WSB mailbox brought word of your chance to get a look at, and have a say on, play-equipment options. It’s more than three weeks away – plenty of time to set yourself a reminder: Monday, April 18th – with an open house at Highland Park Elementary (1012 SW Trenton) 5:30-6 pm, and a presentation at 6.
P.S. Note that this is a different project from the one for the school’s play area, which also has an event coming up, as we reported in our coverage of this week’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Highland Park Action Committee started off last night’s meeting feeling a little dissed.
The city promised new HPAC chair Gunner Scott that someone would be there to talk about the status of the possible future “RV safe lot” at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way SW.
Nobody showed.
As of the last information Scott had – similar to what we’ve reported recently here and here – it’s apparently on hold TFN. Scott said that was the word a few weeks ago when nearby businesses had met with the mayor’s office about their concerns, and they were told a news release would make the news official.
Still waiting on that, too.
SPD Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith, who’s provided most of the information that has been made public since the last official discussion, confirmed what Scott reported having been told, that the spaces in Ballard and Highland Park just aren’t able to hold anywhere near what had been originally envisioned. Ballard is maxed out at about 16, half what the city had expected; the West Seattle lot wouldn’t be able to hold more than 10.
And he repeated what he’d most recently said to the Alki Community Council, that the RVs currently “staged” by the entrance to city-owned property on the west side of Myers Way, south of the Joint Training Facility, are people “willing to work within the system” who have been helping with cleaning up the area, including nearby non-vehicle encampments.
HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY: Community involvement with the school has been a priority since the special 2014 forum discussing its challenges and opportunities.
It’s now been almost seven weeks since the mayor’s announcement that two “safe lots” for RV/car residents would be opened within a month – one in Ballard, which did open on exactly that timeline, and one in Highland Park, where the paved lot at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way remains fenced and empty. We have new information, as mentioned by Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith at last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting:
First, regarding who will use the lot, he said the precinct so far has identified nine RVs currently in the area that would be potentially eligible. The Seattle Fire Department has been evaluating the sites and wanted better spacing, he said, which might affect the capacity, though the last number we heard mentioned for the West Seattle lot was a dozen. Last week, the city Human Services Department told us that the timeline for this lot had slowed so they could “address many of the lessons learned in the first lot before we stand up a second one.” The first one, according to Lt. Smith, is hosting fewer vehicles than expected, so far. As for safety and crime prevention in Highland Park, he also said the precinct has its plan ready, whenever the lot opens.
1:50 PM: When we reported last week on the former Andover Substation going up for sale on the open market, it was the only ex-substation in West Seattle – of the half-dozen reviewed in the past year and a half – to be set for that type of disposition, right now.
Now, we’ve discovered that a second one has a “For Sale” sign – a change from the plan that was in the works last December, when the City Council authorized disposition of the ex-substations, after a review process that stretched over more than two years. And the site has a page on the city website that just went live this morning, days after the other listings.
It’s known as the White Center Substation, though it’s in Highland Park, at 8820 9th SW [map]. The city report on the ex-substations last September had said that the site was suggested as a complement to a county stormwater-infrastructure project, and that the county “concurred that the former White Center Substation would be a suitable site for stormwater bio-retention.”
The bill subsequently passed by the Council in December said that the site would be offered to King County at its appraised value, listed as $355,000. But that fell through, and now the site is for sale, with the flyer setting the minimum bid at $500,000 and describing the site as 13,750 square feet, zoned LR (Lowrise) 2.
We’ve been inquiring with the county and city as to why the sale to the county fell through, and will update with whatever we find out. Bids, meantime, are due by the end of this month.
4:05 PM: Our inquiry to the county has brought this reply from Annie Kolb-Nelson of the Wastewater Treatment Division: “King County WTD has been looking at a range of alternatives to control CSOs [combined sewer overflows] in the Lower Duwamish at West Michigan and Terminal 115, and we’ve been working closely with community members to understand concerns and priorities. With regard to the substation property you refer to, King County considered the parcel but later determined we could complete the project without it. However, because the community expressed interest in it, we looked into acquiring it through alternative funding such as grants or other resources to cover the purchase costs. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the funds needed.”
It’s been exactly 24 hours now since the Highland Park crash that ruptured a gas line and forced more than 150 people to evacuate early Friday.
(Texted photo)
We’ve been following up on three aspects of the incident and here’s what we have found out so far:
THE GAS LINE: Late Friday morning, Puget Sound Energy crews were back at the scene, and you could clearly see the piping in the area where the car had flipped, not only sending gas flowing into the air but also triggering a high-pitched noise until the gas was turned off.
(WSB photo)
We asked PSE spokesperson Ray Lane for a little more about what was hit: “The car hit what’s called a ‘district regulator’ – it’s an important piece of equipment which helps set the pressure for natural gas moving through the system and into neighborhoods and customers’ homes. That explains the sound you heard at the scene. We were notified of a problem at 12:19 a, with repairs made at 1:45 a. I believe the crews were checking on the equipment again in the daylight hours. Customer service was not impacted.”
THE INTERSECTION: SW Holden/Highland Park Way is notorious for crashes and traffic backups. The community and city have partnered on exploring possible solutions, such as a roundabout, or traffic signal. And that’s still where things stand, a year-plus later, SDOT‘s Jim Curtin told us when we asked for an update on Friday: “We’re working with nearby residents to develop a Neighborhood Street Fund proposal for this location but we do not have any official projects planned at this time.”
THE DRIVER: We weren’t able to learn anything more Friday about the driver who was taken to the hospital after flipping his car, but we know SPD classified the case as a DUI investigation.
(WSB photo)
When Mayor Murray first announced on January 19th that the city would open two “safe lots” for people living in RVs and other vehicles – one in Highland Park and one in Ballard – he said the city expected to have them open within 30 days.
While the one in Ballard made that timeline – opening February 19th – there’s been no sign of activity on the West Seattle site, a paved lot at W. Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way, aside from a canvas-covered chain-link fence around it. We’ve been asking city reps frequently for an update on the plan, and today there’s a new answer. From Katherine Jolly of the Human Services Department:
We are currently focused on getting the Ballard safe lot fully operational before we open the second lot. As you know, this is the first time the City has done this and we want to make sure we address many of the lessons learned in the first lot before we stand up a second one. I will keep you posted as we decide on a more specific timeline for the second Safe Lot.
The two lots together were originally announced as expected to hold a total of 50 vehicles; the most recent estimate for the Highland Park lot was 12. We have a followup question out to Jolly to ask about the current count at the Ballard lot, which had four when we went by two days after it opened.
Five years after becoming co-chairs of the Highland Park Action Committee, Carolyn and Billy Stauffer have stepped down, and their successors were chosen at Wednesday night’s meeting. Afterward, they sent the photo and announcement:
Pleased to introduce our new leaders! Shown left to right in the attached photo are:
Craig Rankin – vice-chair
Beth Andrisevic – secretary
Michelle Glassley – treasurer
Michele Witzki – speaker liaison
Gunner Scott – chairThank you to Highland Park and Riverview for these new awesome voices for our community!
HPAC meets on fourth Wednesdays, 7 pm, at the historic Highland Park Improvement Club building at 12th and Holden – watch hpacinfo.wordpress.com for updates.
(WSB photo)
Avoid 12th/Thistle in Highland Park for a while – a big contingent of Seattle Public Utilities repair/water crews is here, along with police, after a driver took out the hydrant in our photo, on the northeast corner. Police tell us the driver was distracted – reported to have been arguing with someone else in the car. No injuries. (Thanks to Eric for the tip!)
12:18 PM: Seattle Police say they’re investigating reports of gunfire in the 7900 block of 16th SW (map) and that’s blocked the road from Elmgrove to Holden. We’re en route – more info to come.
12:24 PM: This is reported to have happened outside a house. No indication so far of anyone having been hurt.
12:32 PM: Again, this has blocked off part of 16th SW, and that’s causing backups, so please avoid the area TFN. There’s at least one TV helicopter in the area, and more police reinforcements are arriving. Side note: While there is no information on whether this is or isn’t related, you’ll recall the most-recent confirmed-gunfire incident in our area was nearby, 16th/Holden, two nights ago.
12:49 PM: No change in the situation but Metro has now announced that Routes 125 and 128 are routed off 16th SW – use stops north of Holden or south of Trenton. A lieutenant at the scene confirms that this started with someone firing a shot outside a house, then apparently going back inside.
1:12 PM: Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis is at the scene.
1:27 PM: Police are – audibly, even from the distance that media is being kept back for safety – trying to make contact with the person they believe is in the house.
1:46 PM: Per scanner, a man has come out of the house; our crew confirms they can see a person in handcuffs.
2 PM: A lieutenant at the scene confirms to us that the suspect is in custody and has provided information that should enable them to recover the gun. No damage, no injury.
UPDATE: The suspect was booked into jail for investigation of unlawful firearm possession.
We’re at the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council and there’s been one bit of news to share separately from our forthcoming full-meeting wrapup: The upcoming “safe lot” for vehicle campers in Highland Park is NOT opening this Friday, said Michael Taylor-Judd of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, who had mentioned that likely opening date at his group’s meeting last week. He and city neighborhood-district coordinator Kerry Wade both said the opening date is “at least two weeks away,” and said that’s all they can say about it.
We’ve been monitoring the site and had noted again today (photo above) that no work has been done yet – no sign of the facilities (dumpsters, portable toilets, etc.) that were supposed to be in place before the projected 12 vehicles show up. The lot is one of two (along with a site in Ballard) to be operated by the Low-Income Housing Institute, with Compass Housing Alliance expected to offer services to help those using it get housing and more. When Mayor Murray announced the “safe lots,” they were “expected to” be up and running within a month; this Friday marks exactly a month since his announcement.
11:47 PM: Police have confirmed reports of gunfire in Highland Park.
(WSB photos)
It happened in the parking lot at the 16th and Holden 7-11, where, according to scanner traffic, at least one shell casing has turned up, and officers are looking for others. No reports of injuries or property damage, so far.
12:10 AM: Still just one casing found as of our stop at the scene a few minutes ago. The search is focusing on the east side of the store, along 16th.
They’re still sorting out the circumstances. Photos added.
(WSB photo)
New information about the RV “safe lot” that the city is setting up at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way, on a paved lot adjacent to the former longterm unauthorized-encampment site (our photo above is from Tuesday morning – part of the canvas-covered chain-link fence at the site has fallen down). As reported here Monday night, the lot could open as soon as February 19th; this afternoon it’s part of the discussion at the City Council’s Human Services and Public Health Committee meeting (2 pm at City Hall).
Documents prepared for the meeting include updates on various city initiatives responding to the homelessness emergency; “targeted vehicle response” is the one that includes the “RV safe lots” about to go into operation in Highland Park and in Ballard. That particular update answers some questions that have been asked, including answers we had been pursuing from the city and its designated operator. From the document:
Each safe lot is located in a zoned industrial area and together, are expected to accommodate 32 RVs in Ballard and 12 in (Highland Park). Each lot will also have sanitation and garbage service and meet several other criteria identified by the City Council in Resolution 31649. All residents must abide by a code of conduct policy that will prohibit drugs and violence and require residents to be good neighbors. The two safe lots are expected to be operational some time in February 2016.
R2H staff will conduct needs assessments and program intakes, distribute rapid re-housing, diversion and flex funds, provide housing navigation services, and connect clients to other resources as appropriate. The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) will manage site operations, including round-the-clock security.
The update goes on to mention the three interim lots the city has set up, none of which is in West Seattle, then continues:
(Seattle Police Department photo)
Just in via SPD Blotter – a drug bust in Highland Park last night:
Police found a big bag of crack stashed away inside a Ford Bronco after arresting a dealer Thursday evening in West Seattle.
Members of the West Precinct Anti-Crime Team were able to call in an order to the 42-year-old dealer, who offered to meet at a convenience store in the 1600 block of SW Holden Street around 10 PM.
Police saw the suspect circle the block in his Ford Bronco before pulling him over and taking him into custody.
Officers got a warrant for the car and found a bag of crack rocks inside the vehicle’s console.
In total, police found 44 grams of crack, a not-insignificant amount, and another 3 grams of powder cocaine during the search. Police booked the man into the King County Jail for a narcotics violation.
We just verified with SPD Public Affairs and yes, as written, this was initiated by West Precinct investigators (downtown and vicinity), not Southwest Precinct (in whose jurisdiction it happened). The officers go wherever the dealer offers to meet them. You can see more photos on SPD Blotter.
They’re next door … yet currently, they are officially treated as if they are a world apart: The Westwood/Highland Park Urban Village (WWHPUV) in the city, and White Center in unincorporated King County. This Tuesday night, city and county reps will join the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council to talk about it all together, including the potential of WC annexation and the Seattle 2035 “comprehensive plan.” If you’re interested in either or both sides of the line, be in the upstairs meeting room at Southwest Library, 6:15 pm Tuesday (February 2nd).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It was an emotional meeting, but not an angry one, when the Highland Park Action Committee convened a community conversation tonight about the city’s plan for a “safe lot” to host people living in their vehicles.
There were a few shouts, a few tears, and more than a few rounds of applause.
Even some laughter, when Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim thanked the crowd for being “so much nicer than the Ballard neighborhood” – not long after she had choked up while revealing that she had experienced homelessness as a child.
Ballard is the other neighborhood where the city plans to open a “safe lot” within a month. And tonight, Highland Park – already weary from the years of an encampment next to the future lot – learned more about the plan.
Like the answer to the big question: How many vehicles?
About 15, said Sola Plumacher from the city Human Services Department v, each expected to have 1 to 3 people, so a maximum of about 45 living in the “safe lot” – less than half the 100 or so who lived in the unauthorized encampment that was on the adjacent site for years.
Where will they come from?
(WSB photo of newly added canvas-covered fencing at the future lot, Wednesday afternoon)
A big question, as the “safe lots” were first portrayed as a reaction to north-end neighborhood’s discomfiture with unauthorized RV camping – prompting people to ask if this lot would just be where some of the north-end parkers moved.
According to Plumacher, police and service providers will be making referrals from West Seattle and SODO.
Now – how the meeting unfolded. (We recorded it all on video, [update] added above.)
In West Seattle (and vicinity) Crime Watch:
THANKS FOR THE TIPS: Received a few about a sizable law-enforcement presence at 15th and Roxbury this past hour. Headed that way and found King County Sheriff’s Office deputies had converged on the gas station at the southwest corner of the intersection. They were searching what one deputy told us was a stolen car; we’ll be following up on our partner site White Center Now.
ADMIRAL BURGLARY: Tyler e-mailed this weekend to share the word about this:
On Wednesday at exactly 12:44 am we had a person enter our property at 53rd and Admiral and break into our garage, stealing wire and several small tools. They then moved a camera out of the way and tried to gain access to a small basement window. They were on site for over 20 minutes.
The house is being sold, so there was no one home and only various tools on site. Police report filed Thursday.
Suspect was wearing black jeans and hooded sweatshirt also in black. He knew there were cameras as face was covered. Had a distinctive large rectangle style back back with straps.
MORE HIGHLAND PARK MAIL THEFT: Shirley in Highland Park wants her neighbors in the 11th/12th/Barton vicinity to “please be aware that there is a lot of mail being taken and thrown on the ground and or put in other mailboxes. On my dog walk this am I found some of my neighbor’s mail in my paper box. This afternoon walking the dog, I found another neighbor’s mail in the alley … Also noticed several mailboxes open along the way.”
STOLEN MAIL FOUND IN SEAVIEW: A reader “found someone’s mail from Ballard (Friday morning) dumped at the corner of 44th SW and SW Graham.” They planned to take it back to the Post Office but added, “I just wanted to let people know to be watchful for thieves using our neighborhood like this.”
The newest reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
ARBOR HEIGHTS CAR BREAK-IN: From Shaun:
Wanted to report that our Chevy Tahoe had two windows busted out last night. Perp(s) took diaper bag with my wife’s wallet inside along with various other property, daughter’s new bday purse, CD’s….Theft occurred at approx. 3 am and set off car alarm. Car was parked at curb in front of our house.
Shaun is near 39th SW/SW 106th in Arbor Heights; when we followed up to get that information, he added, “I’ve learned that the perp/s attempted to rent 4 video games at a Redbox at 5 am. The kiosk in question is located at a 7-Eleven near 112th St S and 8th Ave S.” (We found it on Google Street View.)
HIGHLAND PARK PACKAGE THEFT: Erika near 17th SW/SW Kenyon thought her package had been stolen, then contacted Amazon and was told it actually hadn’t been delivered – and then the sad truth: “My neighbor just came by with a ripped-open package that she found in our alley near her garbage, with one item found intact on the ground and another taken out of its packaging and it’s gone. … The contents included a bag of dishwashing detergent pods and a tub of Honest brand pregnancy belly balm. What a score.” She says this stirs up bad memories from a burglary last summer, but want to be sure everyone’s aware of “activity in our neighborhood.”
MAIL THEFT: From Corey:
I wanted to report continued mail theft in Highland Park neighborhood. I have now found mail discarded on lawns and stuffed in bushes on
three different occasions/3 different addresses, around 18th-20th Ave SW and Trenton St. The first occasion was in late November, the second
right before Christmas, and (Friday) January 22nd. The mail has all been from homes in Highland Park and within a few block of where I found it.
MAILBOX BREAK-IN: Mike reports this happened to his mailbox in the 7300 block of 35th SW in Sunrise Heights.
ALSO IN SUNRISE HEIGHTS: Todd at West Seattle Autoworks (WSB sponsor) reports a potential case of casing outside the shop at 35th/Webster around 9 pm Thursday night. They reviewed video from their surveillance camera after noticing it was “tilted up – as if someone had pushed it out of place.” The video shows someone walking in front of the camera and hiding his face, then a few minutes later walking back and pushing the camera up while walking under it. Todd says they didn’t find anything else out of place or damaged but wanted to alert the neighborhood.
Thanks to everyone who shares reports via West Seattle Crime Watch – once you’ve reported it to police, share it with your neighbors all around the peninsula by e-mailing editor@westseattleblog.com – for breaking news (once you’ve called 911), text/call 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Outdoor-education camp is a highlight of the year for many students in our area. But it comes with a cost, and that’s a challenge for some schools and families. The fifth-grade teachers at Highland Park Elementary are trying an online fundraiser to help make sure none of their students are left behind, and one of their colleagues asked if we could share the link in hopes of inspiring some community generosity. From the teachers’ explanation:
Every year, we get to watch our students learn in a way that cannot be provided inside the four walls of a classroom. It is absolutely amazing to see the transformation under which many students go as they see a world beyond the one where they live.
You’ll find the fundraiser here. (For more on some of HPES’s challenges, read our report on a community conversation in 2014.)
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