Category Archives: Backyard Cottages

Wear Black to the City Open House, Thursday October 26

A.K.A. the “Funeral of the Neighborhood Voice”

Thursday October 26, 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Hales Brewery (in the Palladium)
4301 Leary Way NW

Wear black as together we mourn the loss of our Neighborhood Voice

The City wants to remove Single-Family zoning language from our Neighborhood Plan to allow for upzones and increased building heights in our neighborhood. This Thursday, the City is having an Open House in which they want to “start a discussion” around changes to five neighborhood plans.

If you think that neighborhoods should have a voice, and believe that residents, neighborhood businesses, schools and the city should all be involved and working together to plan the future – then wear black and attend the Open House.

We can make a statement about our lack of voice. Here’s how:

Show up, dressed in black as a visual protest of the City killing our Neighborhood Plans by controlling its language and not allowing neighborhood-directed planning.
The City will ask you to rewrite a section of our neighborhood plan to remove single family zoning language and will dictate what language is allowable, or ask you to choose one of their options. Instead, we recommend you tell the City that our neighborhood plans and zoning should only be changed through a formal neighborhood planning process.

Please join us for the “Funeral of the Neighborhood Voice”.
Suggestions for Signs:

RIP – Neighborhood Voice
RIP – Democracy in Seattle
RIP – Livability
RIP – Affordability
Death of the Neighborhood Plan
Silenced! Neighborhood Voices
Resurrect Neighborhood Plans

Continue reading →

Important Land Use Issues

1. Request an extension: MHA DEIS

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) evaluates the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program impacts in Urban Villages, and in multi-family and commercial areas throughout Seattle. It presents three alternatives. The first alternative is to not do the MHA Upzone program. The second appears to be an expanded variation of what was presented at the end of the HALA Focus Groups and in the Urban Village Workshops. The third alternative presented is brand new, and is not based on discussions with the HALA Focus Groups or the Urban Village Design Workshops.

Please request to extend the MHA DEIS comment period! Released on June 8, 2017, the DEIS is 462 pages long and the appendices are 364 pages long. This is over 800 pages to review within only 32 days.

Please send your request to: MHA.EIS@seattle.gov, as well as to the City Council by phone, 206-684-8888, and/or by email: Lisa Herbold, Bruce Harrell, Kshama Sawant, Rob Johnson, Debora Juarez, Mike O’Brien, Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Lorena González.

Please submit your request to Mayor Murray:
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/get-involved/contact-the-mayor

These documents may be viewed or downloaded from the City’s MHA Environmental Impact Statement website, or from copies in the EIS folder on the Wallingford Community Council (WCC) website. These are large documents! The main document is 50 MB, and the appendices are 95 MB.

2. Public Hearing: MHA DEIS

Attend the Public Hearing on the DEIS on Thursday June 29, 5:30 PM at Seattle City Hall. Open House at 5:30 PM; Public Hearing starts at 6:30 PM.

Request an extension to the MHA DEIS comment period.
Ask for clarifications on MHA issues.
Share your concerns on MHA impacts.

3. Submit comments: Design Review Process “Improvements”

Please comment on the proposed Design Review Process “Improvements” by Monday July 10, 5:00 PM.

Ask the Land Use Planner and all Council members to:

Leave the Design Review Process as is.
Direct city employees and the Design Review Boards to enforce existing design guidelines.

Growth without Oversight: Without the check and balance of inclusive design review, growth can destroy neighborhoods. With it, the character and quality of the neighborhood is strengthened when adding housing and commercial spaces.

Click here for WCC call-to-action and contact information for comments.

HALA Open House, Saturday April 29

Saturday April 29, 1:30 – 3:30 PM
Northgate Community Center
10510 5th Ave NE

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is hosting a Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Open House for NW Neighborhoods. All ages are welcome, so feel free to bring the kids. There will be complimentary food and beverages.

The Open House will feature maps detailing proposed changes to Urban Villages in the event’s specific focus region. Come talk with City staff, connect with your neighbors, and express your concerns with the City’s plans!

Click here for a short list of questions to ask the City.

The Wallingford Community Council (WCC) advocates redrawing the Wallingford Urban Village boundaries as recommended in the second page of the WCC Position Paper on Affordable Housing, Increased Density, and Livability in Wallingford.