West Seattle, Washington
06 Monday
No formal environmental review for the new Arbor Heights Elementary School project that’s replacing the crumbling original 65-year-old school. That’s what the district originally had decided, issuing a Determination of Non-Significance; more than two dozen neighbors appealed the decision, arguing their case at a May 8th hearing (WSB coverage here), and now the appeal ruling is in, starting with an introductory letter by Superintendent José Banda:
(If you can’t see the Scribd embed above, here’s the document as a PDF.) If you want to skip ahead, the conclusions of Margaret Klockars, the hearing examiner who handled the case, start on page 7, after a recap of what the district originally decided and the points that were argued. Bottom line: While Klockars agreed that the checklist leading to the original Determination of Non-Significance had a few errors and omissions, she believed the supplemental information provided later by the district showed no major impact in areas of concern from traffic to trees, so the DNS conclusion “was not erroneous.”
SIDE NOTE: As reported here last night, the district has set a community meeting June 2nd for questions/answers/updates on the project, which will start after the school year ends and everything is moved out of the to-be-demolished buildings. AHES will hold classes at the Boren Building for the next two years, with the new school expected to be ready for fall 2016.
(Can you pick out our peninsula in this pic? Sunset from the sky, by Bill Schrier, shared via Flickr)
Happy Wednesday! The sun’s supposed to be back later. Meantime, your calendar highlights for today/tonight:
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Everybody loves a story, especially the littlest among us. Bring yours! 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library. (2306 42nd SW)
TACOS FOR BASKETBALL: 5-9 pm, it’s an all-you-can-eat taco-bar benefit for West Seattle High School‘s basketball program at Pecado Bueno in The Junction – details here.
STEPS AT STEVENS, SECOND COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP: Tonight, see three potential design concepts for the proposal to create a new, safer pedestrian path into West Seattle High School from California SW. The community-proposed project now has its own website; if you missed the first community design workshop, here’s the presentation from that meeting, including potential inspiration for the steps and art elements. 5-7 pm at WSHS. (3000 California SW)
AFTER THAT … WSHS PTSA MEETS: Right after the Steps at Stevens workshop, it’s the final West Seattle High School PTSA meeting of this school year, 7 pm. (3000 California SW)
SEATTLE PARK DISTRICT? BRING YOUR QUESTIONS: Tonight, the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council focuses on something you’ll vote on in August – whether to create a Seattle Park District as a permanent way to raise more money for city parks, instead of another fixed-term levy. From DNDC chair Mat McBride:
Continuing our civic engagement series, we are hosting Councilmember Jean Godden, chair of the Parks Committee. She will discuss parks, and how the MPD factors at the City Council level. We also have presenters for the Yes and No campaigns relating to the MPD. Time is allotted for each speaker to answer questions from the community. This is an important conversation, and possibly the best chance for folks to hear from all sides of this big decision in one forum. All are invited and welcome.
Full agenda here. DNDC meets at 7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
LOOK! UP THERE! Tonight – assuming the sky really does clear – you’ll see the last quarter moon, according to Alice Enevoldsen‘s most-recent edition of Skies Over West Seattle.
WHAT NEXT? You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to see what’s happening tomorrow.
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
“Uneventful” commute so far, as WSDOT’s Twitter account put it.
ROAD WORK: SDOT confirms that crews are expected back at Charlestown hill (west of California) today, between 46th and 47th.
7:31 AM: Crash reported (via the SFD 911 log) at Olson/Myers – no word how/whether it’s affecting traffic on the hill to/from 509.
8:08 AM: That call is closed on the 911 log and we haven’t heard anything further.
8:53 AM: SPD is/was back on bus-lane enforcement today, according to this Twitter exchange.
Tuesday night at Southwest Branch Library, a handful of community members met with SDOT reps and consultants to brainstorm the city’s in-the-works School Road Safety Plan for next year and beyond. Whatever emerges in the future plan will get funding from the city’s increasing arsenal of school-zone speed cameras, noted SDOT’s Jim Curtin, who recapped the pre-existing plan to add two more in West Seattle this fall, both on Roxbury, near Roxhill Elementary and Holy Family School. The plan remains to have them in place by September, with a monthlong grace period and ticketing starting in October. Those are two of five to be added at schools around the city this year, joining 4 in place, 1 of those in West Seattle, on Fauntleroy by Gatewood Elementary (existing cameras are in black on the SDOT map below, with the next round of additions in blue):
More than a dozen additional ones are expected around the city next year, Curtin said, with 60 schools being studied right now. The camera revenue has to go to school-safety improvements by order of the City Council.
The consultants at the meeting were from Toole Design Group, which is working with SDOT on the plan. They explained that this is in the opinion-gathering stage, and collected reaction to some possible plan components including traffic calming and different types of crosswalk signals. They promised more meetings in West Seattle; tonight’s attendees suggested one of those meetings be held on a weekend so that people with school-age children might be more likely to attend.
Thanks to Guy Smith on Alki Point for sharing the photo of the 175-foot buoy tender USCGC Henry Blake, seen between our peninsula and Bainbridge Island today. We noticed it while out for a midday walk on Duwamish Head, but didn’t have binoculars or zoom lens or even MarineTraffic.com handy at the time; Guy’s e-mail tonight with the photo enabled us to identify it via its number, WLM-563. It’s based in Everett and was commissioned there in 2000, according to the Henry Blake’s official USCG fact sheet, which notes, “Henry Blake’s primary mission is servicing navigational aids, but it also provides marine environmental protection and search and rescue.” Closer view:
P.S. Bonus info – here’s a closer look at the Coast Guard’s “black-hulled fleet,” including this ship, and how the USCG’s ships are color-coded.
What once was something of an eyesore is getting beautified, bit by bit, reports Barry White with Friends of Morgan Junction Parks, who also shared the photos:
A delegation from Peace Lutheran Church again joined Friends of Morgan Junction Parks in our ongoing restoration project of the Junction triangle property. The two groups first teamed up last September to clear brush and weeds from the overgrown site. The groups continued that work (on Sunday) and began the process of arborizing some of the many shrubs that sprang up from the fruit of the strawberry tree (arbutus unedo), with the long range plan of training the shrubs to match the structure of the parents and create an extensive shaded canopy on the site. A sunny afternoon aided the labor of the small but dedicated group and we accomplished nearly every task on our list. Thanks to everyone who turned out.
See more photos on the FoMJP Facebook page.
(Rendering of new Arbor Heights Elementary)
If you’re interested in the new Arbor Heights Elementary School, your next chance to get project updates, and to get questions answered in person, is less than two weeks away. Seattle Public Schools has announced a community meeting for Monday, June 2nd, 6:30-8 pm at the current AHES.
The meeting will be presented by representatives of Seattle Public Schools BEX IV capital projects team and Bassetti Architects, and will include information about the project’s building and site design. You will be able to learn more about the project’s scope of work and construction schedule. You will be able to share comments and ask questions.
Meantime, we’re still awaiting word of a ruling on the appeal of the project’s no-formal-environmental-review-needed decision (here’s our coverage of the May 8th hearing).
4:27 PM: Just in case you were planning afternoon-commute detours – we checked the hills on Genesee (east of Avalon) and Charlestown (west of California) in the past hour and both are now open again, after traction-improvement work. Along with Olson, where crews worked last weekend, that makes three West Seattle roads where the work was done in the past week.
6:32 PM: And now we’re getting conflicting information from neighbors regarding the status of both sites, so we’re trying to reach city spokespeople/consultants for an accurate status beyond both hills being open *right now*.
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: Ironically, the work crews have had trouble on the steep hills – and so the work’s on hold. SDOT promises updates.
(Video by Mark Jaroslaw)
Thanks to Clay Eals from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society for sharing video excerpts from Lou Whittaker‘s West Seattle High School appearance sharing memories from “A Life in the Mountains” (and screening the biographical documentary of the same name). As you’ll hear him observe at one point (or maybe you were there to hear him in person), “It has been a heck of a ride.” And it’s not over yet – he is going strong at 85. More than 100 people came to see and hear him. Read more about it on the SWSHS website.
NEXT UP FOR SWSHS – BRIDGE ANNIVERSARY AND MORE: So much is going on in June, it might take us until then to mention it all here. So instead – check out the right side of the organization’s home page for the latest on the totem-pole unveiling, the next “Words, Writers, West Seattle” author, and … a multi-modal celebration of the 30th anniversary of the high-rise West Seattle Bridge (dedicated July 14, 1984).
(Seattle Municipal Archives photo of The Bridge while it was being built)
According to the SWSHS website, it all starts a month in advance with a special exhibit at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor). Read all about the bridge-i-versary plans here.
One week after the announcement that construction was beginning on the mixed-use project at 4435 35th SW, the lone building on the site is coming down. We recorded the short video clip of the backhoe at the former Bridge/Redline/Legends/Pizza Pete/etc. around noon; the south wall was still up when we went by again a short time ago. The six-story building was designed with 159 apartments, 151 parking spaces, ground-floor retail and a public “hillclimb” stairway on the south side, to connect it to the rest of The Triangle and, beyond, The Junction. The developer is Trinsic; the architect, GGLO; the contractor, Compass Construction.
Looking ahead to the upcoming holiday, we checked with Forest Lawn (6701 30th SW; WSB sponsor) to verify that they’ll again host the traditional Memorial Day ceremony/service with American Legion Post 160 and VFW Post 2718. They confirm that it’s set for 2 pm Monday (May 26th) as usual, everyone welcome. Never been? Here’s our coverage from last year.
A ceremony last night at Alki Masonic Hall in The Junction honored the local students chosen for this year’s School Awards from Lodge #152, the 36th year the lodge has presented awards “in support of our public-school system.” Eight juniors from each of two schools were honored, four girls and four boys:
Above, the West Seattle High School honorees. Accompanied in our photo by principal Ruth Medsker, they are, in alphabetical order:
Megan Duong
Charli Elliott
Maxwell Eronimous
Holly Hinnant
Nathaniel Livingston
Isaac Peck
Edward Sander
Annalisa Ursino
And from Chief Sealth International High School, photographed with counselor Jol Raymond, the honorees are:
Olivia Boyd
Sophia Boyd
Mabel Hernandez Collazo
Kelsey Lawson
Aidan McMurray
Yael Pina
Simon Tweolde
Lincoln Vuong
The lodge also honored four selected students from the previous year’s honoree roster. From those four, Matthew Wo from CSIHS received a $1,000 scholarship:
The “2013 Top Boys and Girls” also included Sealth’s Eileen Lee and WSHS’s Megan Antalan and Michael Lee. Last night’s ceremony was emceed by Martin Monk of Lodge 152; he also is a member of the Education Council that coordinates the awards program, along with Gary Langenbach, John Bozeat, and Elmer Lindseth.
Thanks to Lise for sharing husband Brian‘s photo of an eagle and heron on Alki over the weekend. Lise says the eagle “promptly made a U-turn and attacked the heron. No animals were harmed, they flew off their separate ways. What a sight!” Now, some of the sights and sounds on the schedule for today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
‘SALUTE TO VETERANS’ LUNCHEON: 11:45 am at the Senior Center of West Seattle, you’re invited to lunch, and to hear from Col. Kevin McMahan of the Washington National Guard. Lunch is free for veterans, suggested $3 donation for others, call ASAP to RSVP – info’s in our calendar listing. (California/Oregon)
‘PRINCESS ANGELINE’: 1 pm at the Duwamish Longhouse, free screening of the film about Chief Seattle‘s daughter; details in our calendar listing. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
PATHFINDER PLAYGROUND PROJECT – YOUR PRESENCE COUNTS! The more the merrier at tonight’s 5:30-7 pm meeting about the ongoing Pathfinder K-8 playground project; be there not only to share your thoughts about design, but because participation is counted as volunteer hours matching part of the grant that’s involved. Easy and fun. Details in our calendar listing. (1901 SW Genesee)
HIGH-SCHOOL FAIR: Tonight’s the night that Westside School (WSB sponsor) hosts its first High School Fair, 6-8 pm, and all West Seattle families are welcome. Almost 20 schools are expected to participate; details in our calendar listing. (7740 34th SW)
HELP SHAPE SAFER WAYS TO GET TO SCHOOL: The SDOT School Road Safety Plan is in the works; your help shaping it is vital. 6-7:30 pm, join a workshop at Southwest Branch Library; details in our calendar listing. (35th/Henderson)
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: No featured guest tonight, so this meeting of the WSCPC is all about your chance to hear about crime trends and ask local police leadership about neighborhood concerns. 7 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room. (Webster/Delridge)
SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE: 7-10 pm at The Cask in The Admiral District, including “surprise guests.” (2350 California SW)
…AND MORE NIGHTLIFE: Jazz, blues, karaoke, guitar, trivia – you’ll also find listings for tonight for all of the above (and more) on our calendar!
Have a terrific Tuesday.
From SPD Blotter: A 35-year-old suspect pulled over in Highland Park last night for alleged speeding/reckless driving turned out to be in possession of a pound of methamphetamine, say police, worth about $45,000 on the street. The SPD Blotter report also notes that the suspect had 23 prior felony convictions, and a current arrest warrant. The arrest happened in the 7800 block of 16th SW (map). Here’s the report on SPD’s website; we’re checking for more on the suspect’s background.
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:39 AM: No problems reported so far on the routes through/from West Seattle. Road-work reminder: Crews are expected to be working on both Charlestown (west of California) and Genesee (east of Avalon Way) today.
8:01 AM: From comments – bridge trouble, explained by D as: “Stalled truck on the bridge just before midspan.” (Not seeing it on the cameras, though.)
(Before being pulled up & out, the pickup was out of view, downslope & behind the trees)
1:19 AM: Bizarre hit-and-run crash in Gatewood; pickup truck down an embankment off the east (northbound) side of California by Fontanelle (map). A tree kept it from hitting a downslope house; its driver got out and ran. The pickup was not stolen, though, police told us at the scene. Pulling it up off the slope will be a bit of a challenge.
2:39 AM: Setting up to get the truck back up to California SW – and out, between a bus-stop sign and a power pole – took painstaking work, but the tow crew did it (with SFD Ladder 11 on site for a while, and then a Seattle City Light employee keeping watch to be sure the power pole made it through unscathed).
California was closed while this operation unfolded. What caused the pickup to veer off the road, we don’t know; the area had some signage left over from daytime utility work in the road, related to two newly built homes on the west side. A witness had told us the pickup hit a parked car before veering off the road, and we noticed it about a half-block uphill.
If you’ve only driven, never walked or bicycled, down that stretch, you likely don’t know just how steep the dropoff is, though height-wise, it’s only about two stories.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight and a reminder.
BANK-ROBBERY FOLLOWUP: First, we followed up on Friday evening’s Washington Federal bank robbery north of The Junction, inquiring with both Seattle Police and the FBI, hoping they would have surveillance images to circulate. So far, none have been made available. Police had only a bare-bones report available; it describes the robber as a white man estimated to be between 40 to 60 years old. The report says the “handgun” shown by the robber might have been plastic, and that he might have fled to a sedan in the alley. We also heard from a reader who says she was in the bank when the robbery happened and offered additional descriptive details: That the robber wore “a plastic, full faced Halloween mask, not a ski mask. He had gloves on … no taller than 5’6”. thin build. walked in stealthily … gruff voice.” If you have any information, call 911.
PHONE ROBBERY: Later Friday night, a 13-year-old girl was robbed of her cell phone while walking near Southwest Athletic Complex, on her way back to the late-night teen program at Southwest Teen Life Center. One of her parents e-mailed us to share details; the victim was holding her cell phone, says the parent, when a group of girls asked her for it – she refused, but one girl pulled her hair and the other one grabbed the phone and they ran off. She wasn’t otherwise hurt, and they did file a report with police, but not until the next day, because at first the victim was embarrassed to tell her parent what had happened, since she had checked out of the program without getting permission. The parent says there’s one more sad part: The phone was her last gift from her other parent before that parent became critically ill, “and now it’s gone.” The message for other teens: “Rules are put there to protect them and they need to follow them … people do horrible things … walk in groups, don’t take out (your) cell phone.”
REMINDER: Tomorrow (Tuesday) night is the monthly West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, and this time instead of a guest presentation, it’s all about recent trends and your concerns. If you have a question or concern for local police, be there – 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).
This year’s salmon-release season at Fauntleroy Creek is at the midpoint, reports watershed/creek steward Judy Pickens: “We’ve hosted some 350 children so far, who have introduced an estimated
900 coho fry into the creek.” She shared that short video clip, recorded by volunteer Peggy Cummings during the KapKa Cooperative School‘s salmon-release visit. That’s volunteer Dennis Hinton helping the students in/by the water, and mostly off-camera, that’s the voice of KapKa staffer Jamie Shilling, leading the singing and drumming. This week and next, nine school visits remain before this year’s round of releases is done (here’s our coverage of the season’s first one).
Two years after neighborhoods around the city started sounding the alarm about what became known as small-lot development, the City Council has passed new rules to regulate it.
While the final vote on the bill was unanimous, the votes on two amendments were not – with one regarding developable lot size approved by a 6-3 vote, and one limiting height passing 5-4. That one was proposed by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who later said that zoning rules for small-lot development were “not about keeping people out, but about welcoming people in” within the context of neighborhoods’ existing character.
Those speaking in the public-comment period that started the council meeting included West Seattleites from the Benchview neighborhood, which has been prominent in the small-lot fight for a year and a half, since discovering a house on an 11,500-square-foot corner lot had been sold, after its owner’s death, to developers who planned to split it into three and add two new houses. Benchview residents took their concerns to court; while the judge partly sided with them, the city allowed a lot split and the new owners began building the houses, one of which was featured in neighbors’ projected-video protest this past weekend. (While some development advocates contend small-lot development is more affordable and environmentally friendly because the houses are “smaller,” the new Benchview houses are 3,162 square feet and 2,624 square feet; the pre-existing home is 2,380 sf.)
One of the earlier briefings on the city zoning changes even cited the Benchview case as one that would not have been allowed under the new rules, which will regulate lot sizes and shapes as well as characteristics of homes on the smallest lots. Councilmember Mike O’Brien, who chairs the Planning/Land Use/Sustainability Committee, said he expects followup legislation including some rules for neighborhood notification of lot-split proposals.
A busy three days north of the border for West Seattle High School Marching Band musicians and director Ethan Thomas, marching this morning in the Victoria Day Parade in Victoria, B.C. Thanks again to Steve White for the photos (including this Saturday update after the band arrived), then the top photo from today’s parade, and below, their participation in the “Parade of Bands” outside the Parliament Building in Victoria.
The Victoria Day holiday is a celebration of not only Queen Victoria but also the Commonwealth’s reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth, as explained here.
Thanks to Leslie and Paul (whose photo is above) for word that the non-toxic microorganisms known as noctiluca have returned to West Seattle waters. When the weather and water warm up, this type of bloom tends to show up, rendering the water an alarming orange-ish-red, but authorities assure us it’s not toxic to humans or animals. It’s been almost exactly a year since the first reports of noctiluca in spring/summer 2013; it also showed up in June. This state webpage has more information as well as an e-mail address for a researcher who would like to hear about it when you see it.
(Added: Seattle Channel video of the Sawant/Licata announcement)
Two Seattle City Councilmembers say they have a different idea for raising tax money to avoid Metro Transit cuts. Less than a week after Mayor Murray unveiled his sales-tax/car-tab-tax plan, Councilmembers Nick Licata and Kshama Sawant have just announced that they are asking city staff to draft a proposal to raise money through a commercial-parking tax and the return of the so-called “head tax,” repealed in 2009 amid claims it hampered job growth. Those taxes could be imposed by a council vote. (They’re among the alternatives listed in the online poll the West Seattle Transportation Coalition is running until tomorrow; parking tax is currently the top vote-getter, head tax second from last.) They would not fully replace Murray’s proposal, though, reports The Seattle Times (WSB partner); they would replace the proposed sales-tax increase, but a car-tab tax would still go to voters. Here’s the official Licata/Sawant announcement:
Councilmember Nick Licata and Councilmember Kshama Sawant and individuals representing working people, elderly, disabled, students, and people of color announced their plan today to address proposed cuts to Seattle Metro bus service. The proposed plan would use a Commercial Parking Tax increase and an Employer Head Tax to prevent devastating cuts to transit.
With the failure of Proposition 1 on April 22, King County Metro will implement the first of four planned rounds of bus service cuts. If all of these cuts happen, 16% of bus service, or 550,000 annual service hours, will disappear.
“If approved by Council, the Mayor’s proposal will go to the ballot in November, but not in time to prevent the first round of cuts. These initial cuts, and the funding that would kick in if ‘Plan C’ were approved, places a burden on poor and working people,” said Licata. “There are other options, and they are options that don’t expose our most vulnerable populations to more regressive taxation. The City Council has the ability to implement an Employer’s Head Tax and increase the commercial parking tax to fund public transportation,” Licata added. “If the City Council moves on this, we can prevent devastating cuts. I have asked our policy staff to research exactly how much revenue could be raised through these means, and to begin drafting legislation to introduce to the City Council.”
When the city announced a week ago that three stretches of West Seattle roadway would get traction-improvement work this month (along with other areas of the city), there was a warning that the dates were “subject to change.” Indeed, one date did change – thanks to Paula and Marc for the heads-up; in case you missed the mention in today’s traffic/transit watch, here’s your standalone advisory that the SW Charlestown traction-improvement work west of California SW, originally planned for this Thursday/Friday, is under way NOW. Side streets are all marked a block to the north and south with signage warning that access is for residents only. It’s expected to take two days.
The first West Seattle project on the list, Olson Place, happened as announced, over the weekend; we asked SDOT if the Charlestown acceleration would affect the remaining West Seattle project, SW Genesee east of Avalon Way, but spokesperson Marybeth Turner says Genesee is still scheduled to start tomorrow.
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