Central Area Greenway Route selected

Details on Greenways website

(you can zoom in on the map in the above website, but not the one below. Sorry)

It will be interesting to see how they handle the very busy block of 22nd next to the Safeway, and how they deal with the 1 way blocks of 21st past Meany School

Community Forum addresses 23rd & Denny development

WHEN:  FEBRUARY 19TH  6:30 – 8:30 PM

WHERE:  THE BULLITT CENTER (1501 E MADISON ST)

The Central Area Land Use Review Committee (CA LURC) will be hosting a community meeting to give residents a chance to review and make comments on two new development projects at 23rd Ave & E Denny Way and MLK Jr. Way & E Union St. Please join us in providing feedback & direction to the developers in order to help them create a project that is well suited to the needs of our residents and a great addition to  the unique fabric of the Central Area.

WHO IS THE CA LURC?

We are a community group composed of residents, some of us with experience in the building industry, all working together in a positive atmosphere of collaboration with incoming developers. We aim to facilitate community conversations that constructively shape development as it enters our neighborhood.

QUESTIONS? 

Check out their website at www.centralarealurc.org or email them at info@centralarealurc.org

(via this CD News post)

But wait, there's more…..

SDOT is hosting a public open house about changes coming to the 23rd Avenue corridor. As we continue to refine our design of the 23rd Avenue roadway and Central Area Neighborhood Greenway, we want to share details with you.

Save the date!

Wednesday, February 26

5:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Thurgood Marshall Elementary

2401 S Irving Street

About our work in the 23rd corridor area

23rd Avenue connects a variety of users to businesses, educational institutions and residences in the Central Area and beyond. This area also serves high volumes of vehicles, pedestrians, people riding bikes, and transit users (approximately 5,800 daily– the 8th highest ridership in King County). Today, the road is in poor condition with hundreds of patches where potholes existed, narrow lanes, a lack of turn pockets at key intersections and is bordered in many places by narrow and uneven sidewalks. 

To balance the needs of users in the area, SDOT will redesign 23rd Avenue between E John Street and Rainier Avenue S (Phases 1 and 2) from the current four lanes (two lanes in each direction) to three lanes (one lane in each direction and a center turn lane). Between E Roanoke Street and E John Street (Phase 3), the road will remain four lanes. SDOT will also implement a nearby neighborhood greenway, called the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway. This greenway will provide a safer, calmer street for people to walk and ride bicycles.

The purpose of our projects in the Central Area is to balance safety, mobility and reliability needs for a variety of users in the area, as well as enhance the local community and natural environment.

More info

Central Area Neighborhood Greenway: www.seattle.gov/transportation/centralgreenway.htm.

23rd Avenue Corridor Improvements Project: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/23rd_ave.htm

23rdAveCorridor@seattle.gov

206-684-7963 (Maribel Cruz, Outreach Lead)

How to join our E-mail list

There are TWO options for availing yourself of the benefits of being involved with our neighborhood association:

If you just want to sorta hover and be watchful of the neighborhood haps and the association’s activities:  Go to this blogspot, bookmark it, and read along, checking the blog routinely for updates:

http://millerparkneighbors.blogspot.com

Quick note, the “Email notification of new posts” option on the blog won’t get you on the neighborhood association email list. That option will serve to let you know when there’s news available via the blog.

OR, if blogs aren’t your thing, and you’d rather just get direct emails:

Send an E-mail to:

MILLERPARK-subscribe-request@talk2.seattle.gov

Then act on the instructions in the E-mail you receive. Your E-mail will not be displayed in any messages (about upcoming meetings, etc) we send to you and other interested neighbors.

I personally recommend doing both.
(Thanks to co-chair Julianne for this handy guide).

Reminder and flyer for Tuesday Feb 18 meeting about 23rd Avenue project

(feel free to print and distribute to your neighbors)

See previous post for more details

Note also February 26th meeting 

at which SDOT will reveal its recommendations for the 23rd Avenue Greenway

Slides from Thursday 2/13/14 Meany School Planning Meeting

From: "Gonzales, Vincent R" <vrgonzales@seattleschools.org>

Date: February 13, 2014 9:12:28 PM PST

Subject: SDAT-community meeting.pdf

I had a few neighbors ask for a copy of the presentation and I thought by sending it to you directly, you will probably will be able to share it with your community contacts faster than I can by posting it on the BEX IV website.  I'll be sending it out to the rest of the SDAT tomorrow morning plus our IT will most likely post it by the end of next week.


Vincent

(Meany School Project Manager)

Here's a blog page with links to previous meeting about the project

Here's the link to the Powerpoint presentation 

And here's the page of inks from their presentation:

Volunteers needed to deliver flyers for next Tuesday's meeting about 23rd Avenue and transportation

As you recall, Miller Park Neighbors (that's us!) is hosting a meeting with SDOT:

Our (rough) boundaries

Tues, Feb 18 

6:00 to 8:30 pm

Miller Community Center, 330 - 19th Avenue East

(we'll be talking with them about 23rd Ave, other road projects and traffic issues)

We're designing a 1 page flyer to get the word out about the meeting, and to spread the word about our group.

If you have time to deliver some flyers door-to-door this weekend, please drop me a note (andrew_taylor@me.com) with:

• your name
• phone #
• address
• where to leave the flyers
• what streets/blocks you'd like to cover

and I'll try and deliver them (with a map and delivery guidelines) by Friday evening.

Many thanks,

Andrew Taylor

Reminder: Thursday 6:30 PM meeting about new Meany Middle School

Seattle Public Schools invites you to a Community Meeting on the Meany School Building BEX IV Construction Project
Date: Thursday, February 13th, 2014
Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Location: Meany school building cafeteria, 301-21st Avenue East

See Capitol Hill Blog post for all the details

Seattle Neighborhood Summit, Saturday April 5th

Seattle's unique neighborhoods are what make our city great and, together, we can make it even better. I made a pledge that, if elected as Mayor of Seattle, I would hold a Neighborhood Summit within my first 100 days in office and the work has already started.
I believe there is a need for greater transparency and consistency in providing information and soliciting input from community leaders. I see an opportunity to improve how the city works with neighborhood and community leaders on issues from planning to the prioritization of city investments. This is why I am holding a summit, so we can talk -- honestly and openly.

Apodment project on East Madison Street

The empty lot on the north side of the  2300 block of East Madison Street, between El Portal Coffee Roasters (which you should visit) and the Bottleneck Lounge, has a MUP Board up announcing that it is slated to become " a six-story congregate residence with 38 sleeping units."

The developer, Gary Mulhair, from the company Calhoun Properties of Seattle, is known as the

originator of "Apodments", so that is what these new residences will indeed be. Unlike many such micro housing units, these ones will have a bar and a coffee shop as adjacent neighbors, so the residents  will have easy access to places to entertain guests.

Here's the link to the DPD Permit Status for the project: go there and you'll know as much as I do.  The City's proposed new micro housing regulations had been stalled by the appeal to the Hearing examiner (by neighborhood activists Chris Leman and Dennis Saxman). Their appeal was recently denied so (unless they appeal the case to City Council)  the proposed regulations can presumably now proceed. There was a public meeting on the related issue of neighborhood building height recently. This project is already underway, so won't be affected by any new regulations.

Q & A about the Meany School renovation/rebuilding project

On Jan 29, 2014, at 9:35 AM, Gonzales, Vincent R wrote:

Hello Debrah,

See below the response to your questions outlined in your email last week.   I look forward to our site meeting with SDOT and the SSD Risk Manager on Feb. 7^th to further discuss your concerns.

Vincent,

We would like to request that you, the architects, and whoever will actually manage the Meany property, set up a separate meeting with the Miller Neighborhood Group to discuss the proposed changes at Meany and the impacts on the neighborhood caused by those changes. We  are concerned that if the first public meeting  with the community is  design oriented and doesn't address concerns (and proposed mitigations) then it will be something of a repeat of the SDOT/ Greenway meeting.  No one needs that.

Central Co-op: An ask and an invite

Dear friends,

As you know I'm on the board of Central Co-op and feel proud to serve an organization under highly capable and creative management and much improved governance over the past year.  That's http://www.centralcoop.coop/  Most of all, I hope you always have a great shopping experience in the store and know how much your input as a member is valued. 

Our GM has set a challenge for staff and board to pull in 3000 Likes on Facebook before the 24th.  Not being on FB myself, this is my outreach to you.  If you are on FB, please to add Central Co-op to your favorite places and ask any friends who shop the Co-op to Like it too.  https://www.facebook.com/centralcoop.seattle

Our GM is completing a masters degree in cooperative management in a distance program of St. Mary's University in Halifax, NS (the only such degree program in N. America so far).  He's a walking encyclopedia of cooperative history, practices and principles.  In fact he is transforming the Co-op's community space at 1900 Madison into Rochdale Room, in honor of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, an early consumer cooperative and one of the first  to pay its members a patronage dividend, which formed the basis for the modern cooperative movement.  

The Open House for the Rochdale Room is coming up this Mon. evening, the 10th and we warmly welcome you to come celebrate it and the many ways Central Co-op is a leader in the cooperative movement of our day, in our town.  Please click on this link and I hope to see you there!

http://www.evite.com/event/0236FFBDFDRKMIZWMEPDQO2TZ5PFCE?gid=0236SEYWIIW7OA65WEPDQPAU2RTPY4

Best regards,

Elaine Nonneman <enonneman@yahoo.com>

(Miller Park neighbor)

Seattle Police Chief Search

Dear Seattle Community members: I am honored to serve on the Seattle Police Chief Search Advisory Committee and I would like to take this opportunity to let you know how your voice can be heard in the process. The timeline is short, so I encourage you to look at the following ways to engage and choose one that fits. It's up to all of us to share our knowledge and experience to guide the Mayor in choosing the best Chief possible for Seattle.    If you would like to send en e-mail use  chiefsearchinfo@seattle.gov There is a virtual town hall at  spdchiefsearch.mindmixer.com City of Seattle Chief Search information web address is www.seattle.gov/spdchiefsearch

Seattle City Council names street after noted civil rights leader

Seattle –City Council unanimously established the honorary name designation of 19^th Avenue from East Union to East Madison Streets as “Rev. Dr. S. McKinney Ave.” The resolution was adopted to honor the extraordinary civil rights work of Reverend Dr. Samuel B. McKinney.

Reverend McKinney advanced Seattle’s civil rights movement in the 1960s and served as minister and pastor of Seattle’s Mount Zion Baptist Church from 1958 until his retirement in 1998. Dr. McKinney’s voice echoed beyond the walls of the church and into the halls of local and state governments.

Dr. McKinney worked to sensitize the community to the needs of the less fortunate, regardless of ethnic background, and soon became a leading voice of the black community. In 1961, Reverend McKinney convinced his college classmate and friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to make his only Seattle visit in 1961 from November 8 to November 10.

“The push for equal employment, housing and educational opportunities from Dr. McKinney’s bullhorn are issues we still work to solve today,” saidCouncilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology Committee. “Dr. McKinney and his late wife, Louise, made a lasting impact on race and social justice issues and positively influenced this city.”

Feb. 13th Meany School Public Meeting; planning committee reports

(News from the Meany School Renovations committee, which includes neighbors Debrah Walker, Tamara Broadhead and Anne Schwab.  Here's a link to information about previous meetings, which I should have posted earlier. Sorry).

Hello,

Please find attached meeting minutes from SDAT #5.

The SDAT committee will be having their final scheduled meeting next week.

There will be a Community Meeting  at Meany MS on Feb.13^th in the cafeteria from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Attached is copy of the letter that has been distributed by the SSD Office of Public Affairs to PTA’s, schools, nearby neighbors and community organizations within the Meany MS enrollment boundary area.

Regards.

Vince Gonzales

Project Manager

Capital Projects

Seattle Public Schools

Phone: 206.252.0151

Fax: 206.252.0573

LEED Green Associate

Miller Park Neighbors meeting with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT): Tuesday, Feb. 18th

Tues, Feb 18 

6:00 to 8:30 pm

Miller Community Center, 330 - 19th Avenue East

SDOT is sending their senior policy people to answer our questions and hear our concerns:

Dongho Chang, SDOT City Traffic Engineer

Susan McLaughlin, SDOT Complete Streets Coordinator

Lorelei Williams, SDOT Capital Projects Manager

Also in attendance:

Kit Loo, Project Manager, 23^rd Corridor Project

Maribel Cruz, Project Communications Lead, 23^rd Corridor Project

If you have questions -- about 23rd Ave, other road projects and traffic issues -- submit ahead of time, send them to Tamara at tbroadhead@comcast.net she will forward them to Lorelei Williams who helped set up this meeting.

Links to our blog posts (and CHS posts) about the Greenway and 23rd Avenue "road diet" projects:

• News from a Greenway Supporter
• Thoughts on the 23rd Avenue Greenway
• 23rd Avenue Greenway Project
• Notes from Capitol Hill blog
• 23rd Avenue project to get artwork

Feedback from Jan. 28 Meeting about 1720 East Denny building proposal

(here are the details, and some drawing about the proposal)

Dear Neighbor,

Thank you all for your participation in the neighbors meeting regarding the Roxette Apartments. It was a direct and frank discussion that has given us some clear feedback and some items to work on. Below is a summary of some of the main points of feedback that we received:

 

§  Limited parking in the area is an ongoing issue. The lack of parking in the project is undesirable.  The code prohibition against using the alley for parking is not helping.

§  The perceived height and mass of the building at 18^th looks good, but the fact that a taller building mass is visible beyond is a concern. The existing poplar trees may provide some screening that would help mitigate the issue as seen from the street.

§  Massing the stair and elevator penthouses to the south and stepping the building away from the SF neighbor to the north was appreciated. The four story wall height along the north property line is a major concern.

§  The alley is a pedestrian access route that people use to walk from their homes to the commercial areas.

§  The rendered image shown had a material transition at the lobby level. Extending the brick façade all the way to street level is preferred.

§  Various aesthetic preferences were discussed. A common theme centered around a desire for the project to use high quality materials consistent with the neighborhood context and traditional building forms.

§  The roof deck is a potential noise and privacy issue.

Please feel free to contact us with additional questions or comments. On March 19^th we will present this project to the East Design review board. The preliminary design that you saw has already been submitted, so we will not be making any changes between now and that meeting. Once that meeting is done and we have received the board’s feedback, we will make revisions to the project to address all of the issues together.

Thank you again for your participation and interest. 

Sincerely, 

Charlie Waterman

Hamilton Urban Partners

"Charles R. Waterman" <charlie@hamiltonurban.com>

Transit Coalition letter about Metro and Tuesday 2/4 Public Hearing

Dear Central Transit Community Coalition members:

Thank you so much for your endorsement of the attached CTCC letter*, which was delivered to Councty Executive Dow Constantine's office on Friday afternoon. Copies were delivered to King County Councilmembers, Metro and City of Seattle Mayor and City Councilmembers as well. Also included is a map illustrating the impacts to the network of routes which serve our communities and help connect us across the city.

Please note that King County Council is holding a Public Hearing at Union Station, 401 S. Jackson St., this Tuesday, February 4, at 6:00pm, with sign-up starting at 5:30pm(although the sign-up line will start forming before that). The hearing is on the proposed Transportation Benefit District (TBD) and funding proposal of a flat $60 car tab and 0.1% sales tax increase to provide funding for Metro (60%) and roads (40%). The County Council is scheduled to vote on the TBD on 2/10 and the  public vote on the ballot measure is scheduled for April 22.

This is the only public hearing on this topic before the April vote, so it is an opportunity to voice your concerns as well as support for the needed funding to prevent the proposed set of cuts and restructures.

If you cannot attend, comments can be sent to: Council@kingcounty.gov and KCexec@kingcounty.gov. Be sure to ask for a response.

If you would like additional information, please contact us at ctccoalition@gmail.com.

Thank you again for your help.

Central Transit Community Coalition

Link to the letter and to a map of proposed cuts

More information

Meany School Renovations: updates and a public meeting on Thursday 1/23/14: UPDATED with letter

See previous blog posts for some background:

• Here's the original post, with background and lots of links to other information
• And here's Miller neighbor Debrah Walker's report on the first planning meeting

Debrah (and Miller neighbors Anne Schwab and Tami Broadhead), have now attended four meetings. Debrah and project supervisor Vincent Gonzales forwarded all the official meeting reports:

• The first (11/14/13) meeting
• Report on the 12/17/13 visits to other schools
• Report in the 1/7/14 meeting and visioning exercise
• Report on the 1/14/14 meeting and design charette

The official school website ( http://bex.seattleschools.org/bex-iv/meany-middle-school/school-design-advisory-team/ ) also posts the meeting reports and other information.

From: Debrah Walker 

Date: January 21, 2014 1:10:32 PM PST

To: Vincent R Gonzales <vrgonzales@seattleschools.org>

Subject: Miller Neighborhood Group Meeting