The Department of Planning and Development has posted the North Beacon Hill Neighborhood Plan Update, the outcome of meetings from March, May, and September.
The goals presented in the report are split into two categories. The goals for Creating Choices for Living, Working and Play are:
- A well defined mixed-use residential neighborhood where the lives of Beacon Hill residents are enhanced, in part, through affordable and diverse housing options available throughout the neighborhood. (NBH-G1 amended)
- A vibrant mix of housing close to the light rail station.
- An urban village with a strengthened overall business district image and identity that is home to a variety of commercial services, including a grocery store and a mix of small, local and ethnic businesses. (NBH-G9 amended)
- A range of well-maintained parks, community and open spaces in the urban village core with programs that accommodate a variety of uses and diversity of users.
- North Beacon Hill is an active and safe neighborhood for a diversity of people, throughout the day and evening.
and for Shaping a Transit Oriented Town Center:
- A civic gathering space appropriate and flexible for the diversity of cultures living in the neighborhood.
- Higher density development surrounds the light rail station and is responsive to the neighborhood context at a variety of scales, from single family houses to multistory buildings.
- A redevelopment of El Centro de la Raza that builds on the site’s history and serves as a defining civic element of the Town Center.
- The future urban form of the town center carefully and successfully transitions from denser development at the town center core to less dense and single family residential neighborhoods in a manner that is responsive to the context and character of the North Beacon Hill neighborhood.
- An urban village that is a pleasant place to walk, with good access to alternative transportation; where lively, friendly and safe streetscapes encourage pedestrians and bicyclists and where roadways are seen as public access for walkers, bicycles, and buses as well as cars. (NBH-G3 amended)
Check out the attractively laid-out PDF report which adds maps plus discussion, policies, and strategies for implementation of these goals. There’s also a version formatted more for printing.
There are things I like and some things that worry me here. I like the courtyard concept next to El Centro. Too bad they have the light rail station location mismarked on the map, hope someone fixes that.
I also noticed in the original concept drawings that the corner store showed a suspiciously Starbuckian coffee shop on the corner, that has now been happily changed to Casa Bonita.
I like that a goal of the planning is to keep the neighborhood thriving as a wonderfully diverse place to live. However, I have concerns if and when any of these developments occur.
I wonder if you will still be able to see across to the Cascades and Olympic Mtns. when you walk in this area…
I wonder if you will still be able to see Mt. Rainier when you drive on 14th heading toward Beacon Ave…I wonder if you’ll still be able to see Mt. Rainier from the Beacon Hill Playfield…
I wonder if you will still be able to see Downtown Seattle from the new Jefferson Park…
These are just a few things that I would not like to lose. Please add more…
Pardon the double reply, but other thoughts besides the changing view keep weighing on my mind…65 foot buildings of new development have me concerned for the current businesses in those locations…how do current local businesses fit in with this plan? where do the current restaurants, dentist office, hair salons, accountants, alterations shop, bakery, music lessons and many more co-exist? i love the current feel of this neighborhood and my heart breaks with the possible sterility and displacement of new development. on the positive side, the open plaza and affordable housing are wonderful additions to this community š
one final thought/question…are these plans accessible in the many other languages that are spoken in this community?
I respectfully disagree, Jennie. I think our business district is abysmal – too many ground floor professional offices, gas stations, and hair salons.
I would hate to see Red Apple go away, however. I know surface lots aren’t stylish with the designanistas, but it really is a convenience to be able to buzz in and out of it, plus I love the size of it.
I hope new businesses and development would put pressure on some of the unkempt business & spaces: either clean up or ship out. I don’t feel much sympathy for business owners who tolerate broken windows, broken signs, vagrants, dirty sidewalks etc. If they can make a living this way, that’s their prerogative. If new competition pushes them out, that’s OK too…I don’t think we should go out of our way to help them just because they’ve been around a while.
I too would like to see some more retail businesses/restaurants in the Beacon Hill business strip. I’d give my right leg to have a bagel shop in the neighborhood. I have no problem if some of the existing tenants need to relocate to make this happen. I think there are too many doctor/tax accountant/hair salon-type establishments taking up the limited retail space right now. I really want to keep a neighborhood grocery. The Red Apple is awesome to have so conveniently located. I’m totally fine though if it is a different brand market and if it moves a block or two and if it has apartments above it and parking below.
“there are too many doctor/tax accountant/hair salon-type establishments taking up the limited retail space right now.”
In theory a lot of those kinds of establishments can be on the second floor, instead of being right on the sidewalk where retail/food spaces could go. That is pretty common in neighborhoods that have taller buildings. They don’t all have to be “first-floor retail, second -floor-and-up condos,” they can be “first-floor retail, second -floor businesses, third-floor-and-up condos or apartments or whatever.” Still local and walkable but leaving space for interesting businesses on the sidewalk.
Agreed on enough beauty salons and accounting/banking/insurance places on the sidewalk. It seems like they take up the majority of our prime retail spots, and, really, how many times a month do you need to get a manicure and talk to your tax preparer in person? I’d love to see more businesses that someone might want to walk to on a regular (as in weekly or more often) basis.