The completion of several projects listed in West Seattle's neighborhood plans resulted in major improvements to neighborhoods, but with a loss of city support the plans have faltered, an independent city audit has found.

Nearly 900 residents were surveyed for the audit ordered by Seattle City Councilwoman Sally Clark to review the mid-life progress of the 20-year plans. It included people who helped craft the plans in the late 1990s and some who did not, said assistant city auditor Mary Denzel.

The review, released Sept. 20, didn't examine each of the 38 neighborhood plans in depth, but evaluated the progress of 100 projects chosen at random. It resulted in an "unbalanced" survey pool that overrepresented West Seattle and neglected to include other neighborhoods at all.

The audit shows the need for more city support and funding, but gave the city an overall score of about 9 out of 10, 10 being the best. According to the survey, neighborhood plans also helped with major capital investments, such as the passage of parks and library levies.

"We gave the overall effort a very high score," said Denzel. "A lot got done."

But the plans have suffered from the loss of six city staffers and a division director whose job was to help neighborhoods implement the plans. Those positions, which at the time included Councilwoman Clark, were cut from the department of neighborhoods in 2003. The city adopted the plans in 1999.

The city staffers were able to coordinate various city departments to get projects done. The loss of that support has caused some plans to become "stale," while others have thrived with enough community support, Denzel said.

"If the city wants to do it right," any revision should include adding support at the city level, she recommended.

"That was really successful," said Denzel. "(It) takes someone looking from a broader prospective."

Generalizations about how each neighborhood is actually doing can't be drawn from the audit because it would have taken too long to check in on all 4,300 recommendations.

"It's meant to give us a taste, a flavor of what's been done on some specific items," said Denzel.

There were four plans developed in West Seattle; Admiral, Alaska and Morgan junctions and Delridge.

Denzel and her team found a lot has been done in the Admiral neighborhood to enhance its character and pedestrian experience. Benches, street lighting and trashcans have been installed.

Other accomplished goals include a new passenger landing for the Water Taxi and replacement of the Admiral Viewpoint totem pole, which was completed and installed last year.

Dennis Ross, president of the Admiral Community Council, said a lot has been done in Admiral because people like him "keep plucking away at it."

"We just keep trying," Ross said.

Ross, who was involved with creating the Admiral Neighborhood Plan in the late 1990's, was "impressed" with the audit but said a lot of the work could have been done without the plans because funds came from existing sources, such as city neighborhood matching fund grants.

"The city didn't come forward with anything special that wasn't there before," he said.

In Delridge, the audit gave highest marks for the completion of Puget Boulevard Commons Park and a new park-and-ride at Southwest Andover Street.

The city scored poorly for not providing regular reporting on plan accomplishments. An update process should explain clearly to communities whether it will be city driven or neighborhood directed, according to the audit.

It should also be plainly communicated to residents that the city expects a public service commitment to see the plans through, said Denzel.

"The plans are hugely dependent on community initiative," she said. "It takes grassroots activism."

Ross said that by and large the community was under the impression the city would take the lead on project initiation. It's also felt the loss of the city staffers who worked on coordination between neighborhood groups and the city.

"Now the citizens are left to do that themselves and they get stonewalled quite a bit," Ross said. "It's just the fact the neighborhood has cared enough to keep asking."

Council member Clark said the audit was a good first look at the plans but wasn't the "be-all-and-end-all." Progress has been a "mixed bag," but one thing is certain, "people are still ravenously excited about local community planning," she said.

Any revision, Clark said, should include a system for nurturing community involvement and stewardship groups.

"Without those folks in the community knocking on doors regularly the plan does falter a bit," Clark said.

The council began reviewing the mayor's $3.5 billion proposed 2008 city budget this week, which includes about $1.5 million and 10 staff to begin examining the neighborhood plans by dividing the city into six sectors. The proposed structure puts most of the control into the hands of the Department of Planning and Development and Department of Neighborhoods, instead of citizens.

The public process would include approximately two to three meetings per neighborhood and one to two per sector. Each sector would be completed in one year and take five to six years to complete, according the mayor's office.

Clark said she favors a more "citizen driven process."

Ross said the Admiral plan could benefit from a strengthened transportation plan and updates to the neighborhoods design guidelines to fit with changes in zoning that occurred in the past 10 years.

"Maybe (the city) can turn this around and get some of this in the driver's seat again," he said.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com