Admiral Neighborhood Plan

No Admiral up-zone

letterarchive — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:00:00 +0000

letterarchive Wed, 12/12/2007 - 12:00am

I am writing to declare my opposition to the proposed up-zone of NC-30 properties along California Avenue.

For over 10 years I have been an active participant in the community definitions and Neighborhood Design Standards for the Admiral Urban Village. There are agreements and standards published and supported by the city that were the result of over four years of community participation in the Admiral Neighborhood Plan and Design Standards.

With this proposed up-zone, I see three major deviations from our Admiral Neighborhood "agreements" with the City of Seattle.

First deviation is the property developer's disregard of our agreed community standards for commercial construction in the Admiral Urban Village. The issue is the interface between single family and commercial zoning and the abrupt jump in building height, parking requirements and lot coverage differences.

In our planning efforts, which involved more than 300 neighbors and residents of the declared urban village, we agreed to require gradual transitions between commercial zoning and single family 5,000 zoning. For example, between commercial properties and single family, there would be a rezone for a buffer strip of multifamily or town homes.

Your proposed up-zone from NC-30 to NC-40 creates an unacceptable and unmitigated trespass to the single family properties abutting the proposed up-zone.

The second deviation from our neighborhood standards was the understanding that there was to be a well-established need and community support for significant deviation from our standards. The proposed up-zone must be a positive contribution to the value and quality of life for the residents of the Admiral Urban Village and not just for the property owners along that strip of land.

As I walk this strip of properties each day, I have not seen the burning need for this strip of the village to be up-zoned to help alleviate some pent-up demand for more development. Eighty percent of the properties are not developed to the present allowed NC-30 as of Nov. 6, 2007. There appears to be little need to rip out the present structures, build bigger boxes and up the rent to "drive out" the existing renters. There appears no evidence that the up-zone would benefit or improve the quality of life for the other residents of The Admiral Urban Village.

The third deviation from our agreements between the City of Seattle and the Admiral Urban Village Plan is the recent changes the City of Seattle has approved in commercial property design and development such as reduced parking requirements and lot coverage standards. These city-wide changes were proposed and decided through planning department decisions and our neighborhood had little or no input as to how these changes will affect our local community design specifications. This little neglected issue has all the sting of a slap in the face to the entire body of work completed by our Neighborhood planning efforts.

Because these issues, I see the up zone of this piece of the Admiral Urban Village resulting in a "select few" property opportunists, pocketing a huge increase in property income. The many other residents of the neighborhood will be burdened with a lower quality of life from less parking, less gardening sun light, congestion and no mitigation for the increase in traffic.

Way to go, city government.

Robert Shives

Admiral Neighborhood

Admiral

Admiral Neighborhood Plan

Admiral plan outdated

letterarchive — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:00:00 +0000

letterarchive Wed, 12/12/2007 - 12:00am

I'm a third generation West Seattleite. I've lived and worked my entire life in West Seattle. I've had my offices located on the 3200 block of California Avenue since 1981. It is, has been and will continue to be my neighborhood. I've been here longer than most. I am quite familiar with the area and the community. I really do care about this neighborhoods future. I will still be here no matter what happens with this request.

Roger Cayce and I were not expecting the level of anger, mistrust and personal attacks that took place at the neighborhood meeting. It was not a very neighborly meeting. Many who came to speak in favor of the requested change were not able to because we ran out of allotted time. The vocal minority spoke and the squeaky wheel got the grease.

There were a lot of angry emotions from neighbors who live adjacent to the proposed rezone properties. They would be opposed to any change. How can they expect California Avenue to remain the same, unchanged? Many who spoke had recently moved to West Seattle from Bainbridge Island, Texas and other parts of the country. Now that they are here they feel they are the voice of the community. Even Mark, the president of the Admiral Neighborhood Association has only been in West Seattle a few years. Most who spoke said they were the voice of the community and some said that Roger and I were not listening to the community. Well, we were listening. We just happen to disagree with them and have a different vision for this block and what is good of the community. Again, we have been spent many years investing our time, energy and money in our vision for what we feel is better for us and the community. Our community!

Our block, the 3200 block of California, used to have the same zoning as the blocks to the north and south until it was down-zoned by the city in the late 1980's. We are simply asking it to be returned to match the other blocks just like it was. No more, no less.

We and the other property owners cannot afford to build the type of buildings we'd like to build with the current zoning. The current zoning does not make it economically feasible to build nice buildings with adequate parking. Every owner in this block that has tried to build in this current NC130 zone has aborted their projects because the numbers just don't work. Any development must make financial sense or it will not happen. Lenders or investors will not finance projects that don't work financially.

Like it or not, the best kept secret is out. Seattle and West Seattle have been discovered. You cannot expect a community as desirable as ours to remain unchanged. It is time we, as a community, embrace change and update our community plan. Our current Admiral Neighborhood Plan is outdated and, in my opinion, was written for another time and place.

Roger Cayce and I have worked hard and have plenty invested in this block and the community. Yes, we probably have more to win or lose by what happens here than most. We would like to build something nice that we can be proud of and move our offices into. We are proud of our past accomplishments and are not quite done. We do like to make money and by some are considered successful. Is there something wrong with that? We do care about our community and its future. We are just two local boys trying to do good things. We are living "The American Dream" or should I say "The West Seattle Dream."

Mike Gain

Admiral

Admiral Neighborhood Plan

Neighborhood plans helped here

Guest — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Guest (not verified) Tue, 10/02/2007 - 12:00am

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

Delridge

Admiral

Seattle City Council

Admiral Community Council

Admiral Neighborhood Plan