West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
(Rendering by Mahlum Architects – north side of school)
After a pre-hearing conference today, the city Hearing Examiner’s Office has set the date for the hearing on the latest appeal of a zoning exception for the Alki Elementary rebuild: May 22. Today’s conference was presided over by the same deputy hearing examiner who ordered Seattle Public Schools last year to reconsider its “no on-site parking” plan, Susan Drummond, after different appellants challenged it. As we reported in December, SPS subsequently came up with a plan for 15 spaces; in February, the city Department of Construction and Inspections approved it (as they originally had done for the no-parking plan); then this month, a new group of appellants calling themselves Friends for a Safe Alki Community filed a challenge. Their lawyer was at today’s conference as were two lawyers for the school district as well as the SDCI land-use planner assigned to the project. The levy-funded rebuild and expansion of Alki Elementary is on hold until this is resolved, because the building permit can’t be granted until the zoning exception for parking is either finalized, or rendered unnecessary by a plan allowing for the 48 spaces the current zoning rules require. Meantime, all sides have a series of deadlines to prepare for the May 22 hearing (for which a second day is set aside May 23 if needed), per the order resulting from today’s conference.
West Seattle High School students are getting ready to open its spring production, “Mean Girls: The Musical” with three performances this week and three more next week. And community businesses are hosting fundraisers in the two nights before opening night. First, here’s the announcement about the production:
(Photo courtesy Westside Drama)
As Cady (Elena Smith) gets ready to take down the group’s apex predator Regina George (Olivia Walum), she’s faced with wild challenges from friends and foes. With the help of her outcast friends Janis (Lucy Warren) and Damian (Mason Nguyen), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating The Plastics (Ava Gem Anderson, Fiona Armstrong) and the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.
We invite you to join us for a wacky, irreverent (and at times inappropriate for very young audience members) journey into the modern American high-school social landscape. Like the movie, this musical is rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and general teenage romantic themes.
The Westside Drama program was created in 2003 with their first production, “Grease.” Since then the program has grown to include three shows per year: a fall drama play, a winter student-directed production, and a spring musical. Recent productions include “The Laramie Project,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” and “Almost Maine.” To date, the WSHS Drama program has staged more than 50 shows and counting.
The program strives to produce high-quality, technically complex, artistically relevant shows, never forgetting the goals of educational theater: to give students opportunities to build self-confidence, develop their teamwork skills, learn responsibility and accountability, and, ultimately, explore the human condition – all while working towards a common goal with their classmates. On stage or backstage, important skills are learned every time a show is produced.
This particular production is full of notable talent on stage and off. It features a live band directed by Ethan Thomas, WSHS music director. “Mean Girls” is directed by Joe Lambright, a drama and social studies teacher at West Seattle High School.
“Mean Girls: The Musical” will be presented at 7 pm in the school theater (3000 California SW) Thursday-Saturday this week (March 28-30) and Wednesday-Friday next week (April 3-5). You can buy tickets online by going here. You can also support the production via one or both of these fundraisers this week: Dine out at Circa (2605 California SW) 9 am-10 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, March 26); order a special drink (21+ only) at Corner Pocket (California & Alaska) 6-8 pm Wednesday (April 27).
Thanks to the reader who sent the report on the West Seattle High School boys’ soccer team’s win over Nathan Hale on Wednesday, 2-1, five days after a 5-0 loss to the same team. While that loss was at home, Wednesday’s win was on the road; the reader says, “Freshman Noah Ott (#13) scored the game-winner in the second half for West Seattle and was swarmed by his teammates at the final whistle.” The photo above shows that winning goal, a header. According to the Metro League website, this was the first win of the just-underway spring season, and the boys are now 1-1-2, with their next game at 4 pm tomorrow (Friday), at home at Walt Hundley Playfield (34th/Myrtle) vs. Bishop Blanchet.
Ten years have passed since the Seattle Preschool Program was announced at an event in High Point. It’s a levy-funded program meant to ensure preschool is available to every family who needs it, with tuition on a sliding scale. Over the years, the program’s marked milestones in West Seattle, too – with a mayoral visit to Delridge six years ago and another visit by city leaders in 2022.
(City photo – Monday SPP expansion announcement at preschool in Central District)
This week, two West Seattle sites were part of the program’s latest expansion announcement (though the photo op was elsewhere this time); some classrooms at Community School of West Seattle and the YMCA’s Early Learning Center at Westwood Village will be part of the SPP next school year, when the program will be serving almost 2,500 children in 151 classrooms at 97 sites citywide. (15 of the current sites are in West Seattle, all over the peninsula, from Arbor Heights to Admiral.) The program is accepting ’24-’25 applications now, too.
Almost a year after a group of West Seattle High School students came to a meeting with former School Board rep Leslie Harris to ask for support forming a water-polo team, the team is launched, and the swimmers have played their first official full-length game, after starting the season with a jamboree. Jennifer, who sent the photo and update, tells us the team won the game against Northshore on Friday, 8-4. Their next game is on Wednesday, March 27, at 3 pm versus Shorewood at Innis Arden Pool in Shoreline. They’re playing home games at Medgar Evers Pool in the Central District. The team, coached by Truly Dorland, also expresses gratitude to everyone who donated during their recent fundraiser; you can support them via wsbooster.com (specify “water polo”) – since theirs is a “club sport,” they have to raise their own funding,
Spirited student in the family? This announcement was sent by West Seattle High School head cheer coach Nadine Nguyen:
Are you ready to become a part of the State-Winning West Seattle High School Coed Cheer Team?
Now’s your chance. Tryouts will be held in person March 26th-March 29th from 4:30 pm-8:30 pm @ WSHS. To try out, you will need to fill out all online forms and provide a current Sports Physical.
*We will also be hosting Cheer Clinics on March 19th.
CHEER CLINICS – Learn the cheer basics to help prep you for tryouts!
*For those interested in trying out for our State Winning Competition Team, you are invited to attend our Stunt Clinics where you will learn basic stunt skills.
Stunt Clinics are on March 20th @ 4:30 pm-8:30 pm
To participate in tryouts on March 26th – March 29th, Stunt Clinics, and the Cheer clinics, please bring a printed and signed copy of the following items below to the first day of the clinics/tryouts.
-Student Athletic Registration Form
-Signed Parent Waver
-Up-to-date PhysicalThe Tryout application and required forms are available through the following link tree:
For tips and more information regarding tryouts, follow our Instagram @westseattlecheer
Good Luck and Go Wildcats!! For Questions email: nmnguyen@seattleschools.org
Five years after voters passed the levy that funded it, Madison Middle School‘s upgraded playfield was dedicated this morning in a short ceremony featuring an all-school photo.
Madison principal Dr. Robert Gary, speaking to his assembled students via megaphone, recalled, “This used to be a mud field with mud problems. It wasn’t healthy and-or safe.”
Now the field has turf and lighting; as first reported here in 2019, the ~$3 million project included widening the field by more than six feet.
It’s getting rave reviews – among the people we talked to was 8th grader Oliver Miller, who played soccer on the upgraded field earlier this week, and declared it “really nice,” recalling its previous near-unusability because of the damage done by neighborhood use as a dog park. Sheree Porter, who retired as Madison’s longtime PE teacher two years ago but was back today as a substitute, declared it “amazing.”
She laughed, “I retired too soon. This is the real thing.” Another PE teacher, Courtney Schiro, marveled, “This is going to be a game-changer.” Then in the bright-but-breezy sunshine, members of Madison’s student government cut a ceremonial ribbon.
Dr. Gary says the field will be reserved for school use during the day but then there’s an agreement in place with Seattle Parks for community use, such as sports teams, during other hours. Other major West Seattle projects in 2019’s BEX V levy included the West Seattle Elementary addition that opened last fall and the on-hold-for-another-appeal Alki Elementary rebuild.)
Here’s another West Seattle school fundraiser you can participate in right now – the Fauntleroy Children’s Center annual online auction, continuing through late Sunday night. Here’s the announcement:
The Fauntleroy Schoolhouse has been part of the heartbeat of West Seattle since 1917. In 1977, Fauntleroy Children’s Center was founded to provide local working families with high-quality, affordable child care. FCC is governed by the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency and is a nonprofit organization.
On behalf of Fauntleroy Children’s Center (FCC), which serves over 130 families in our community, we would love for you to participate in our 37th annual auction.
Our online auction catalog is NOW OPEN for bidding! Families, friends, and neighbors are all welcome to bid. Online auction bidding begins March 9th ends at 11:45 pm on March 17th.
The annual auction is a significant opportunity for the FCC community to come together and ensure the school has funding to carry on its mission of being the place children want to be. Our fundraising goal is $40,000 as we try to help with tuition scholarships, teacher continuing-education credits, rainy-day funds for capital improvements, and raise the final dollars needed to break ground on our new playgrounds!
Thank you for contributing to FCC and the work that they do to provide a safe, nurturing, educational, and creative place for our community’s children.
More than 130 items are up for bidding, including a wide variety of certificates and cards to be used at local businesses.
The Roaring Twenties is the theme for Holy Family Bilingual School‘s Viva La Gala this Saturday (March 16) – you can celebrate the past while helping the school get ready for its future: “Currently, 52% of our student body receives some type of financial assistance and more are still in need. We need your support to help keep our school running strong. Monetary donations of any size are greatly appreciated.” You can help by attending the gala – get tickets here – and/or donating to “Fund A Need” – and/or bidding in the online auction that’s open to all, right now. (Almost 100 unique items and services!) Saturday’s event is at the school hall, 9615 20th SW; doors open at 4:30 pm.
Another jewel in the crown for West Seattle High School‘s basketball prowess – statewide success for the WSHS Unified Basketball team! Here’s the photo and announcement sent to us to share with you:
The West Seattle High School Unified Basketball team has reason to celebrate after placing 2nd at the Special Olympics Washington State Unified Basketball Tournament held in Wenatchee. The team is coached by head coach Tim Bauer and assistant coaches Jessica O’Connor and Brandon Marks.
The tournament was part of the 2024 Winter Games.
(Birds, including a Bald Eagle, on cleared Alki Elementary site – photo by Don Brubeck)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Alki Elementary rebuild is being appealed again.
To recap: This all traces back to Seattle Public Schools proposing a new, larger school that, as announced in 2022, would require nine zoning exceptions, officially known as departures. City reviewers approved the departures last May. Nearby residents filed appeals shortly thereafter. All but one of the challenges were either dismissed or settled. The one that was not involved parking – under zoning rules, 48 offstreet spaces would be required, but the district wanted to build the school with none. A city hearing examiner told the district in August to go back to the drawing board on that. Instead of coming up with a counterproposal immediately, the district went to court. Its challenge was dismissed in October, not on its merits, but on the premise that the court only had jurisdiction on a final decision, and that’s not what the district was challenging. In December, the district came up with a new plan that would include 15 parking spaces. Last month, the city said OK. And now, that’s what’s being appealed.
The appellant is different this time – it’s a group calling itself Friends for a Safe Alki Community, led by local “semi-retired lawyer” Steve Cuddy, who says the group has more than 50 members. The appeal contends in part:
The Revised Decision has not ensured that the proposed facility is compatible with the character and use of its surrounding area and the Decision fails to consider and balance the impacts on traffic, noise, circulation, and parking in the area. For example, the Revised Decision erroneously concludes that the proposed departure request will result in no significant loss of vehicular parking on site and will establish an increase in parking for the record. That is simply false. The school of approximately 300 students and 30-40 staff had approximately 29 parking spaces and the adjacent Community Center had approximately 27 spaces and still experienced persistent parking, traffic, and safety issues. The Revised Decision grants the departure to almost double the number of students and staff while reducing the number of parking spaces down to 15. The Revised Decision also fails to consider impacts to emergency/first responder access in the area.
Among other contentions, the appeal says the information used for the city’s approval of the revised plan was still faulty – with another parking study done after the old Alki Elementary was demolished last year, with its student and staff now housed at the former Schmitz Park Elementary.
In addition to the parking issue, the new appeal includes safety concerns, as did the previous ones. The appeal documentation uploaded to the city Hearing Examiner‘s website includes Cuddy’s personal 22-page letter of opposition written one year ago, including background that he worked more than 15 years ago to get the traffic-calming speed humps installed on 59th Avenue SW alongside the school and adjacent playfield, and a decade ago to get stop signs at 59th/Stevens, near the campus’s north edge. It also includes a letter to the city from his wife Linda Cuddy, written this past January, and noting she worked years ago to get a sidewalk installed along the north side of Alki Playfield. She wrote, in part, summarizing some of the safety concerns that also were aired in the first round of appeals:
The Alki School, SPS’s smallest parcel of 1.4 acres, is located in an incredibly busy environment, in the midst of regional parks and Alki Beach attractions, all within a “Parking Overlay.” As the Hearing Examiner said, “The school site has limited street access, with just one right-of-way, on the east side of 59th Avenue SW, from SW Admiral Way looking south. 59th Ave SW is signed for on-street bus loading and unloading on the east parallel to the school and for parent drop-off north of SW Stevens Street also on the east side. Due to its limited and cramped street access, difficult vehicle circulation patterns and the narrow width of 59th Ave SW, during peak drop off and pick up times, passage on 59th Ave SW effectively becomes a one lane street creating unsafe and unmanageable traffic and parking issues.” Parents are forced to park in an unsafe and illegal manner in the parent drop off zone. Otherwise, traffic issues would be much worse and restrictive on 59th.
So what happens now? The city Hearing Examiner’s Office will schedule a hearing on the new appeal, which will be followed by a ruling, which may be appealable in court. The school construction remains on hold pending a building permit, which can’t be granted until all this is decided. The new school originally was projected to open in fall 2025 but even prior to this new appeal, the district had moved that to fall 2026. (Planning for the rebuild dates back to 2018, when the district was deciding what to send to voters in its 2019 BEX V levy, and it was described even then as a potential expansion of capacity to 500. Our archives show parking questions arose before the 2019 vote, too.)
Friends of Roxhill Elementary invites local businesses and organizations to support the school and its students by advertising in the Roxhill yearbook. Here’s the announcement we were asked to share with you:
Calling all West Seattle business owners!
Support Your Neighborhood School and Your BusinessRoxhill Elementary is your local neighborhood elementary school. Roxhill is a Title 1 public school, meaning that a high percentage of students live in low-income households. This year, we are working with 5th graders to produce a high quality yearbook that will be distributed to every student regardless of their family’s ability to pay for one.
You can help support your local school and students in your community by buying an ad to promote your business in our yearbook. This helps offset the cost of yearbooks for families who cannot pay for one themselves and introduces families to local businesses they can support. Best of all, it ensures that ALL students can keep this memento of their elementary school days.
Ads are affordable and help build awareness in your immediate community. Roxhill Elementary is made up of ~245 students and 50 teachers and staff members. All ads are printed in color and yearbooks will be distributed at the end of June 2024.
Ad prices range from $45 to $155, and the deadline is (updated) March 25 – you can fill out this form (which has more details) or email friendsofroxhill@gmail.com. (You can also donate to the yearbook fund without an ad – do that here.)
Last year, almost two dozen local businesses and organizations were part of the West Seattle High School Job and Internship Fair. This year’s event is a month away and organizers asked us to share this invitation for participation:
West Seattle High School Job and Internship Fair – 4/3/24
If you’re looking to hire teens and/or soon-to-be high school graduates, West Seattle High School is hosting the WSHS Job and Internship Fair on April 3rd from 11:30am-2:30pm. Come showcase your opportunities and connect with students!
Fill out this MS Form to attend: forms.office.com/r/vh7TccqWEZ or email Brian Fitzgerald at bjfitzgerald@seattleschools.org with questions or concerns.
Positions offered can include:
Paid
Volunteer
Internships
Permanent
Seasonal
Pre-apprenticeships
Apprenticeships
Moving on to college? Going back to college? Thinking about a career change? South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) likely has something for you. As part of “Discover Seattle Colleges” events these next two weeks, you have multiple opportunities to learn about the possibilities. First, four online events this week will explore academic programs and career pathways offered by SSC and its sibling campuses (North and Central):
Health and Medical / Education and Human Services: Monday, March 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Business and Accounting / Science, Engineering and Technology: Tuesday, March 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Culinary, Hospitality and Wine / Skilled Trades and Technical Training: Wednesday, March 6, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Arts, Design and Graphics / Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages: Thursday, March 7, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
RSVP to get the links for any or all of those online events – go here.
Then next week, the Seattle Colleges campuses all have in-person open houses where you can meet faculty, take tours, get admission/resources information, and more. (Even if you’re not considering enrollment, community members are welcome to visit and learn more about the colleges too!) Here are the two for SSC:
Georgetown Apprenticeship & Education Center, South Seattle College: Monday, March 11, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
South Seattle College Main Campus (in West Seattle): Tuesday, March 12, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
To RSVP for either or both, and to get info about open houses at the other colleges, go here. (And if you’re ready to enroll, you can do that now too, for spring-quarter classes starting April 1st.)
This request was sent by Malia from the West Seattle High School Student Council:
We’re trying to jazz up our student community room and we could really use some help finding furniture and decor due to budgeting.
We’re on the hunt for some furniture donations to make our student community room super cozy and welcoming. We want it to be a place where students can hang out, study, and just enjoy being together!
If anyone out there has some gently used chairs, decorative lights, tables, couches, etc., we’d be so grateful. We’d be happy to swing by and pick up any donations. If you need more info or have any questions, just reach out to me at maliahbarker@icloud.com.
We asked Malia for a few specifics. The community room is about 200 square feet and “what we’re focusing on finding at least is 2 couches and 2 living chairs. Other decor is much appreciated as well!”
That’s the West Seattle Big Band, guest-starring again this year at the West Seattle High School music-program-supporting Big Band Dinner Dance, 6-9 pm Friday, March 15, in the WSHS Commons (3000 California SW). Here’s the announcement:
Tickets are now available for our annual community dinner dance! Come and listen to the high school music students perform – not just our jazz band, but the band, orchestra, and choir too! And a wonderful dinner will be prepared by the WSHS Culinary Department. Come and see what our fabulous students are up to!
Featured Performance by the West Seattle Big Band, under the direction of Jim Edwards.
Dinner/Dance tickets are $30 when preordered, or $35 at the door (if available)
Dinner/Dance tickets for students, staff, or seniors are $20
Dance-only tickets are $10.
Go here to find the ticket link.
On an evening when some of us have a bit of snow on the ground, let’s talk summer camp! It’s the first day of open enrollment for new camps offered by West Seattle’s independent Tilden School (WSB sponsor), and it’s open to non-Tilden students too. Here’s the announcement:
This summer we are hosting the first Tilden School Summer Camp on campus. There are four camp sessions:
*Week of July 8
*Week of July 15
*Week of July 22
*Week of July 29Each camp session runs Monday – Friday. Camp hours are Monday – Thursday from 9 am to 3 pm, Friday from 9 am to 1 pm.
There are three grade cohorts per session, with up to 14 students planned per cohort. The grade-specific cohorts are based on the grade of your student for the current school year:
Cohort 1: Kindergarten/First Grade
Cohort 2: Second/Third Grade
Cohort 3: Fourth/Fifth GradeThe theme and programming of each camp only occurs once per grade cohort. For camps that run across distinct grade cohorts in different weeks, appropriate grade-level adaptations will be made to programming.
Camp instructors are current staff and will include alumni students. We are excited that you will get a chance to meet some Tilden grads who are now in high school and college. There will be at least two instructors per cohort, per camp.
The cost per camp, per student, is $500 per camp, per student. An activity fee may apply to select camps (e.g., entrance fees for activities in Around the Sound Adventure Camp) and will not exceed $40 per camp. Activity fee information will be released by June 14.
Today begins open enrollment to the general community. If camps fill up, we will maintain a waiting list.
Register here (where you’ll find more information on the camp’s weekly themes).
For more information, please email us at info@tildenschool.org.
Despite a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback, the West Seattle High School boys’ first game in the state 3A tournament was also their last game of the season, a 60-56 loss to Tacoma’s Lincoln High School this afternoon at Bellevue College. The Wildcats fell behind midway through the first quarter; they trailed the Abes 14-6 after the first quarter, 31-18 at halftime. But WSHS came out fighting for the second half, opening with a three-pointer by #2, sophomore Sully Janiwade. They shaved Lincoln’s lead down to five points twice before the third quarter ended, with back-to-back baskets by #0, junior Alex Pierce:
He was West Seattle’s top scorer for the day, with 15. Second-highest for the Wildcats was #3, senior Bo Gionet, who contributed the first two points of the fourth quarter, bringing them within three of Lincoln:
Half a minute later, #23, senior Pawlose Aschalew, cut the Abes’ lead to one, and followed that basket with a three-pointer, giving WSHS the lead, 47-45, with six and a half minutes left in the game.
The two teams alternated leads and ties until about the two-minute mark, and WSHS fans were on their feet:
But those last two minutes were filled with missed opportunities, and when two foul shots put Lincoln up by four with :14 to go, victory was out of range. The Wildcats finish the season 16-12.
Two more notes: After the game, the tournament organizers announced the Sportsmanship Awards; WSHS’s winner was #13, senior Nathan Schiavo. During the game, head coach Dan Kriley was absent from the bench; we asked athletic director Corey Sorenson and principal Brian Vance, both of whom were at the game, why, but both said they couldn’t comment.
The new Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors rep for West Seattle/South Park, Gina Topp, decided to try hosting her second community-conversation meeting online, after having her first one in-person. Result: Less than half the turnout. Could have been the day, time, the fact that many are on break since school’s out for conversation. Nonetheless, conversation ensued, though Topp and her attendees ran out of things to talk about after about 45 minutes, and the Thursday night meeting – announced for an hour – ended early. Like her first one (WSB coverage here), this was more of an around-the-table chance for everyone to bring up a question or comment, rather than an in-depth discussion of any one topic. School funding was a common thread for most, though, with SPS facing a nine-digit budget shortfall. Topp said the district needs to be able to show state reps that they’re being fiscally responsible. She also noted that principals have recently received their schools’ money information for the year ahead and will have to sit down with their Building Leadership Teams (as explained at the recent School Funding 101 event) to “make it work.” One attendee, West Seattleite Fiona Preedy – there though her children have graduated out of the district – spoke about the importance of funding for music, a program that keeps so many kids interested and engaged in school, yet has to fight for funding scraps and plead for donation.
Topp said the board doesn’t have a uniform policy for meetings like these – it’s up to individual directors whether to have them at all – but she intends to continue having them monthly. She also said she’s sharing feedback from her meetings with the rest of the board, so they know what she’s hearing. You can reach her other ways, too – her email address is here. She reminded those in attendance that the next board meeting will be March 6 (watch for more agenda details here). And when asked if she plans to visit schools, Topp said she’s already contacted all the schools in her district inviting them to let her know about occasions on which she can visit.
The memorial outside Southwest Teen Life Center/Pool lingers, one month after the January 23 shooting death of 15-year-old Mobarak Adam inside the center. Steps away from the memorial, a crew worked on the outside of the building today:
We believe, but have not yet confirmed, they were working on the new camera system promised for the center. Last night, Seattle Parks’ chief deputy superintendent Christopher Williams told the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners that the new cameras would be in place within “a couple of weeks.” City records show an electrical permit was granted this week for installation of what the application described as “a CCTV system with 16 camera locations.” (The city website shows a similar permit was granted to a different contractor last June; we’ll be following up on why the cameras apparently weren’t installed then.)
Meantime, no new information from police; we had filed a public-records request four weeks ago for the initial report on the incident, and received a notice today that the request has been denied, with the explanation that “the records requested are associated with a case that is under active investigation and non-disclosure is essential to effective law enforcement.” (The reply invited us to try again in about six weeks.) But during Williams’ briefing at the Parks Board meeting last night, he said the city and Seattle Public Schools planned to participate in an upcoming meeting organized by the Chief Sealth International High School PTSA focusing on safety at the adjoining Chief Sealth and Denny International Middle School campuses as well as the center, pool, and stadium facilities across the street. He mentioned a tentative date in mid-March; we have checked with the Sealth PTSA and they say a date isn’t finalized yet.
(New design proposal for Alki Elementary, with 15 parking spaces in southwest corner of site)
Two months after Seattle Public Schools proposed a new plan for the Alki Elementary rebuild/expansion, with 15 offstreet parking spaces instead of zero, the city has approved it. This comes six months after a city hearing examiner told SPS it had to revisit its no-on-site-parking plan, after nearby residents appealed the original city decision allowing nine zoning exceptions (“departures”) for the project. Without a zoning exception, the rebuilt/expanded school would require 48 spaces. We discovered the decision on the plan revision while checking online files today; it’s scheduled to be widely circulated via tomorrow’s twice-weekly Land Use Information Bulletin. From the 21-page decision document, here’s the bottom line:
In evaluating the initial parking departure request, the Director reviewed the district required school program, the DON recommendations, public comment, the proposed site plan, and location of the programmatic elements such as circulation, shared learning areas, outdoor play area, and classroom spaces, and all technical information and analysis. The Director approved the initial parking departure request (for zero on-site vehicular parking stalls) with the conditions listed at the end of this report (May 2023). The Hearing Examiner Decision (August 2023) returned the parking departure request back to the Director for additional study of parking impacts. Upon further review of the proposal, including the additional parking analyses, revised site plan (to include 15 on-site vehicular parking spaces), and all public comment, the Director finds that the departure is appropriate in relation to the character and scale of the area; there is a presence of edges, a right of way, a park and a topographic break which provides a transition in bulk and scale and the departure does not exacerbate or diminish the area character; and the departure will not significantly exacerbate traffic, noise, circulation, parking or impact housing or open space in the area.
The Director finds that the educational need for this departure is met and that the impacts of the proposal could be adequately mitigated by the conditions recommended by DON and the Director. Therefore, the Director grants the departure request …
The “educational need” is explained elsewhere in the decision document as the district’s contention that providing more parking would require actions that would affect how well the new school could function, Meantime, the decision argues that the new plan is actually an increase in official parking for the site, compared to the now-demolished school:
The proposed departure request will result in no significant loss of vehicular parking on site and will establish an increase in parking for the record. First, the prior Alki Elementary had a surface service area that was informally used by staff for vehicular parking and was estimated to accommodate approximately 19-20 vehicles. The hard surface play area north of the building (and off-site) is City of Seattle property and is signed for “Community Center Parking Only” but was used for school-event parking and was estimated to accommodate approximately 27 vehicles. In addition, there was a right-of-way that was used for informal parking at the northeast corner of the site, where Parks has a community center. This city property will continue to exist. Further, Parks has two parking spots for the community center that continue to exist (one 15-minute load space and one accessible permit space). To the east of these spaces are six spaces signed for “Alki Community Center Permitted Staff Parking Only.” SPS’s revised site plan for Alki Elementary now includes 15 medium-sized vehicular parking stalls with an ADA accessible space located in the southwest portion of the Alki Elementary site. The addition of these 15 parking spaces required redesign or elimination of project elements previously included in the design such as the staging area for delivery trucks and garbage pickup, location of the transformer, building storage space, bicycle storage area, and pedestrian path.
As with the original zoning-exception decision, this approval can be appealed. The publication notice explains how, and sets a deadline of March 7. The original plan was for Alki Elementary to hold classes at the former Schmitz Park Elementary this year and next, but the construction delay already has the district acknowledging Alki will be housed there for 2025-2026 too.
Before we get to what’s happening today – here’s a heads-up for tomorrow: The Seattle Public Schools Board director for West Seattle and most of South Park, Gina Topp, is hosting her second community-conversation meeting Thursday night (February 22). This time, it’s online, 6-7 pm. The link for participating is here. These are usually informal meetings with an opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns; here’s our coverage of her first one last month.
In the first of two back-to-back district-tournament games tonight for West Seattle High School‘s varsity basketball games, the Wildcat girls fell to Lake Washington, 38-35, playing at Sammamish HS in Bellevue. WSHS led 14-10 after the first quarter but the Kangs had pulled ahead by halftime and went on to win.
(added) Top scorer for WSHS was #21, junior Alyssa Neumann, with 12:
#4, senior Carmen Cruz, had 9:
And #20, junior Colby Timmons, collected 7:
The Wildcats get another chance at districts, playing Roosevelt at 5 pm Friday (February 16) at Bellevue College.
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