Category Archives: Urban Planning

Urban Planning

DPD recommends conditional approval of Christian Restoration Center project

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Design illustration
Design illustration
The project planned for the site across from MacPherson’s produce stand, the former Christian Resoration Center building (and before that, Tradewell grocery store), has been awarded a unanimous recommendation of conditional approval from the Department of Planning & Development’s Design Review Board.

The project calls for “an L-shaped 4 story structure consisting of 3 stories of residential uses with approximately 30 units above 6,000 square feet of ground level commercial space” in one of three configurations.

The project’s design update has the building set back from 15th Avenue South and offers a large gathering place at street level, and includes a canopy above the entrance. Also, stormwater planters on the courtyard and street levels of both 15th and South Oregon Street, and a water feature along Oregon west of the garage entrance. The review board recommended a more prominent and safe entryway along 15th, adding a canopy or marquee above the entry, window glazing in the north-facing commercial space, etc. They wanted to see a clear access plan for commercial visitors parking in the garage space and plans for landscaping management and maintenance.

The full decision document (pdf) is available on DPD’s website.

Urban Planning

Denmark architect to speak on transit-oriented neighborhood planning

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At 6:00pm on April 28th, in the Bertha Knight Landes room at city hall (600 4th Ave.), the Seattle Planning Commission and councilmember Sally Clark are bringing in Helle Søholt from Copenhagen-based Gehl Architects to speak on the topic of creating walkable and bike-able neighborhoods, especially around transit sites.

From the announcement:

How do we transform auto-oriented communities to make pedestrian-friendly communities? Helle Soholt of Gehl Architects will discuss the vibrant mix needed for creating successful communities. Copenhagen-based Gehl Architects is a world leader in urban design.

For more info please contact Barbara Wilson, Executive Director with the Seattle Planning Commision: 206.684.0431 or barb.wilson@seattle.gov

Recreation, Urban Planning

Follow-ups: Daejeon Park’s spelling change explained, North Beacon car wash inspected

Photo of Daejeon Park pagoda by Bridget Christian.
Photo of Daejeon Park pagoda by Bridget Christian.
Following up on the earlier post about the car wash located at an intersection not zoned for auto-centric businesses, 15th and Beacon: an inspector from the DPD visited the business on April 13, and apparently found it in violation, reporting: “‘Violation Alert’. Violation of the Seattle land use and zoning code observed. Change of use permit required for new car wash business. Also help wanted sign for auto detailers, stereo installers & auto tint installers.”

In more cheerful news, Laurie Dunlap at Seattle Parks and Recreation sent us some information on the recent change of name from Taejon Park to Daejon Park.

“A sister-city delegation was recently here to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their connection with Seattle, and they brought to our attention that their city is now officially known as Daejeon.

If you look around on the internet, you see the city referred to most places as Daejeon, some places as ‘Daejeon (Taejon),’ ‘Taejon or Daejeon,’ and some places (the online Encyclopedia Britannica) still give Taejon as the primary spelling, saying ‘also spelled Daejeon.’

…In both cases, correct pronunciation of the first syllable is a long “I”, so DIE-john.”

Apparently the Korean government adopted a new romanization style a few years ago: the Revised Romanization of Korean. In this change, Pusan became Busan, Taejon became Daejeon, and Taegu is now Daegu. The new romanization style is intended to represent the sounds of Korean more accurately. So the new sign at Daejeon Park represents the current spelling of the Korean name; the park name hasn’t changed, just its spelling in Roman characters.

Urban Planning

Your input needed for North Beacon Hill’s future

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Judith Edwards sends the following request:

Many of you were unable to attend the March 28th North Beacon Hill workshop on Neighborhood Planning held at El Centro de la Raza. We are one of three SE Seattle locations which will have updates to our neighborhood plans, due to our proximity to light rail stations. (This) link takes you to a simple survey that is being used to gather input from the residents of the community. It asks what you want Beacon Hill to be like in the future, what appeals to you about the Hill, etc. Please take the time to fill it out – it only takes about five minutes.

At the workshop, copies of our Neighborhood Plan were made available to each table group. Neighborhood facilitators helped groups to identify those improvements to the Hill that are part of the Neighborhood Plan. We also looked at those aspects of the plan which have yet to realize completion, for example Jefferson Park, a boulevard on Beacon Ave. that extends south to Jefferson Park, and other improvements. Please look at the plan on your next visit to the Library. An ad hoc committee of the North Beacon Hill Council is now meeting to define those elements of the Neighborhood Plan which have high priority. If you would like to join this committee, contact Freddie Merrill at frmerrill@seattleschools.org or Robert Hinrix at robphin@yahoo.com.

Your input to the future of Beacon Hill is important. Thanks for taking five minutes to fill out the survey.

Local Business, Urban Planning

New car wash on Beacon Avenue a zoning violation?

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Sign in front of the new car wash. Photo by Jason.
Sign in front of the new car wash. Photo by Jason.
The building with the large garage door at 2507 Beacon Avenue South has long been a concern for neighborhood residents. Previously, it was being used as a warehouse, and caused problems for local pedestrians, and for cars and buses right in front of the business, with delivery trucks and forklifts blocking traffic and pedestrian walkways. More recently, the building was vacant and bore a large “For Commercial Space Lease… For: Light mfg., Retails, Office” sign. Month after month went by, graffiti appeared on the door, and there was no sign of anyone moving in.

Until now. A new business recently set up shop in the site, and the activity has picked up. That’s the good news. The bad news? The new business, a hand car wash, is a pretty blatant zoning violation. The site in question, right on the junction of Beacon and 15th, is zoned NC2P-40. (Here is the basic zoning information for the site.) NC2P-40 means Neighborhood Commercial 2, Pedestrian-Designated Zone, 40-foot height limit. (Here is a city document that describes the various commercial zones.) Continue reading New car wash on Beacon Avenue a zoning violation? →

Recreation, Urban Planning

Supporters appeal for Beacon Mountain Playground funding

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The planned design for the Beacon Mountain Playground at Jefferson Park. Click this image to see a larger version of this design.
The planned design for the Beacon Mountain Playground at Jefferson Park. Click this image to see a larger version of this design.

David Gackenbach forwards this appeal from Glenn Herlihy:

Dear Friends of the Playground,

This is a crucial moment for funding the Beacon Mountain Playground.

As you might have heard the levy money is now (this week) being allocated to different parks projects and Jefferson Park will receive a portion but where it will go is still up in the air. There is a good chance we might be able to fund the entire new Playground design if we can convince Parks Department Head Timothy Gallagher, and Parks Committee Chair Tom Rasmussen to allocate the levy funds to build Beacon Mountain Playground.

If we get them to fund and build the entire new design we will have a magnificent playground completed by next year. If they don’t allocate the funds toward the the new design it would be phased construction for the next few years.

It been a long road to get our design approved by parks and ready to build so with one last push maybe we could see this dream through to completion. Those of us on the Beacon Mountain Playground Team believe play infrastructure is a healthy and sustainable investment for the future of our community.

Please take a moment and write a letter stating you wish to see levy funding to build the entire Beacon Mountain Playground at Jefferson Park. Include your name and address. Thanks

timothy.gallagher@seattle.gov
tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov

Long live play

Glenn Herlihy
18th Ave S

You can read more about the Beacon Mountain Playground here.

Beacon Bits, Local Business, Photos, Urban Planning

Beacon Bits: Recession affects light rail area development and local cut glass company

On a positive note, the cherry trees are blooming! (A little late this year, aren’t they?)

Photo by Joel Lee, in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Photo by Joel Lee, in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Urban Planning

Jefferson Park Expansion community meeting scheduled for April 21

Jefferson Park schematic design. Click for larger version.
Jefferson Park schematic design. Click for larger version (PDF).
Seattle Parks and Recreation is hosting a community meeting to discuss the Jefferson Park Expansion on Tuesday, April 21 from 6:30 – 7:45 pm. The meeting is at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South.

At this meeting, Parks staff and the community will discuss the community’s priorities for Phase Two of the expansion project, and the community will hear an update on Phase One. Design of Phase Two begins later this year. For more information, contact Kim Baldwin, Project Manager at 206-615-0810 or kim.baldwin@seattle.gov. For translation services at this meeting, contact Karen O’Connor at 206-233-7929.

Urban Planning

North Beacon Hill Council meeting this Thursday

The North Beacon Hill Council monthly meeting is this Thursday, at 7:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South.

Here’s the agenda, as sent by Judith Edwards to the Beacon Hill Mailing List:

The North Beacon Hill Council Meeting will be a short one this month, as we must be out of the Library by 8:00. Though short, it’s very important.

Planning Director Ray Gastil of the Seattle Department of Planning and Development will be with us. Ray chairs the inter-departmental team that is updating our Neighborhood Plans.

On Saturday many of us met with Ray and others to provide input to the Station Area planning and ultimately, our Neighborhood Plans. Ray is meeting with us to answer these questions:

1. How can the community stay involved in the process, particularly concerning how the information gained at Saturday’s workshop is incorporated into our existing neighborhood plan and matrix?

2. What are realistic time lines for different phases of the planning process? How do zoning updates, review by other city departments, Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan, etc. affect this timeline?

3. How can we build a collaborative and trusting relationship with your department and others in the city? What can we expect from you? What do you expect from us?

Please plan to attend this important meeting. The agenda is as follows:

7:00 Hellos, Introductions, Announcements
7:15 Ray Gastil, Director, office of Planning and Development, City of Seattle
7:25 Q&A with Ray
7:40 Community Concerns – due to our limited time frame there will be no police visit this month.
7:55 Close

Urban Planning

Neighborhood plan update comments

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If you attended this morning’s meeting about updating the neighborhood plan at El Centro, I’d like to invite you to comment on what you saw there, and how you feel about the direction things are headed. Was there something that was missed? Something that needs particular attention? How’d you like the food? What worked well about this meeting? What should be done differently for the next one coming up in May? What did you hear that you liked? Disliked? Want more information about? Pretty much anything.

A few of my thoughts: The room was too small and too loud with all the groups working at once. The food (from Kusina Filipina and… er… Dahlak? Please, someone confirm or correct — I seem to have misplaced their card) was great. The ideas discussed were good, most of them were much in-line with what had been in the plan previously. P-I boxes to flower boxes is an entertaining idea. I’d like hear more about ‘micro villages’ outside the formal Urban Village area.

This isn’t an official feedback route to the city, but we’d love to hear what you think!

Update: Freddie Merrell has a pretty relevant comment she just added to an older article here.