Urban Planning

Master Use Permit application filed for station block site

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The currently-vacant site on the station block. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

A Master Use Permit Application was filed recently for a six-story structure on the property at 2721 17th Avenue South, the southeast corner of the “Beacon Hill Station Block.” The deadline for comments is this Wednesday, September 19. However, the comment period may be extended if a written request to do so is received by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) before the deadline.

The notice of application from the DPD says:

“Land Use Application to allow six-story structure containing 47 residential units and 2,046 sq. ft. of retail space. Parking for 17 vehicles to be provided below grade.”

The site is zoned Neighborhood Commercial 2 (NC2), 65′ tall, with pedestrian incentive, and it is in the light rail station area overlay district. NC2 is defined by the city as “A moderately-sized pedestrian-oriented shopping area that provides a full range of retail sales and services to the surrounding neighborhood.” Because the project is in the light rail station area overlay, no parking is required.

You can comment at this link, or by mail to:

Department of Planning and Development
ATTN: Public Resource Center or Assigned Planner
700 5th Ave Ste 2000
P.O. Box 34019
Seattle, WA 98124-4019

Comments may also be submitted by fax to 205-233-7901, or email to PRC@seattle.gov.


View New development on Beacon Hill Station block in a larger map

News

Mayor asks FAA for more comment time, south end meeting

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This is part of a map on the Greener Skies website labeled “Future South Flow Arrival Procedures Over Current Flight Track Density, North of Airport.” See the full map here.
The West Seattle Blog reports that Mayor Mike McGinn has sent the FAA a letter asking for an extension on the comment period for the “Greener Skies” proposal. (See earlier posts here and here.) The letter also requests that a public comment meeting be held in South Seattle, and for the FAA to set up a meeting with the mayor to brief him on the Greener Skies initiative.

Here is the full text of the mayor’s letter:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Greener Skies Environmental Assessment.

Since the public comment period on the Greener Skies Initiative was announced, I have been hearing from residents throughout Seattle about the possible impacts the proposed flight operation changes could have regarding jet engine noise over their neighborhoods.

In particular, those concerned neighborhoods are primarily from areas where flight operations are already a significant issue. While it appears that these new procedures could reduce noise overall and narrow flight paths, it is unclear whether or not these changes might direct flights disproportionately over a specific community, who could then experience greater noise impacts as a result.

The residents of many areas of Seattle are concerned that they have not had an adequate opportunity either to hear from the FAA about these proposed changes or to comment on them. I respectfully request that the FAA extend the comment period on the Greener Skies EA an additional 30 days and in that interim period schedule a public comment meeting in a south Seattle location, as the prior meeting was on the opposite side of the city. I would also like a meeting with FAA staff to receive a briefing to better understand the desired goals of the initiative and how they will be achieved.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Thanks to WSB for the heads-up!

Arts, Life on the Hill, Neighborhood Pride

Beacon Hill Library reader wins a Kindle

Photo by owenfinn16 via Creative Commons/Flickr.

The Seattle Public Library has announced the winners of 20 Kindle e-readers through the recently-completed 2012 Adult and Teen Summer Reading Program. Readers in the program entered to win a Kindle for every three books they read and reviewed.

Shirley Xu was the winner from the Beacon Hill Branch library. Congratulations to Shirley!

News

UPTUN on why Beacon broadband needs improvement

At Tuesday night’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting, Robert Kangas  of UPTUN (Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors) was there was there to discuss the current state of broadband on Beacon Hill. There was no projector, so he was unable to do the originally-planned presentation on the current situation and the reasons it is so hard to upgrade equipment on the Hill. 

Since then, Kangas has released the presentation online as a PDF. Even without the narration and discussion, it’s worth reading if you wonder why your house is still stuck with 1.5 Mbps DSL. Here it is.

According to UPTUN, Seattle’s permitting process for installing new broadband cabinets is slower and more restrictive than that of other cities.  Additionally, “in order to get a fiber cabinet approved, 60% of the households in a 300 foot radius of the site have to say yes. People who don’t speak up are counted as no votes. Contacting everyone is extremely difficult since lots of people will never respond.”

There is a meeting (see our earlier post) at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S., at 6 p.m. on September 20 to discuss this issue.

News

NBHC: Better outreach needed for “Greener Skies”

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Yesterday, the North Beacon Hill Council sent a letter to the FAA and to the elected officials representing Southeast Seattle in the United States Senate and House. The letter was also released to neighborhood mailing lists and other neighborhood news sources.

The deadline for public comment to the FAA is today.

Here’s the notice sent out by the NBHC yesterday:

Thank you to everyone organizing efforts to extend the FAA comment period regarding the “Greener Skies Over Seattle” proposal. We’re sending this letter by mail, addresses to follow. We encourage you to use this as a template for communicating with our elected officials. The current deadline for public comment is 9/14.

Greener Skies EA
Augustin Moses, AJV-W2
Federal Aviation Administration
1601 Lind Avenue SW
Renton, WA 98057
comments@greenerskiesea.com

Senator Patty Murray
2988 Jackson Federal Building
915 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98174

Senator Maria Cantwell
915 Second Avenue
Suite 3206
Seattle, WA 98174

Congressman Adam Smith
2402 Rayburn Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515

Congressman Jim McDermott
1809 7th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

Over 60 concerned neighbors attended the North Beacon Hill Community Council meeting on September 11th. Our neighborhood consensus is that the recent ‘Greener Skies’ public outreach meetings didn’t meet the needs of our community. (September 5, 2012, Federal Way Library and September 6, 2012 Ballard Branch Library)

The NBHC Board is concerned that the large populations of low-income, elderly, minority and other residents living within the 98144, 98118, and 98108 zip code areas did not have an opportunity to participate in the public process. Furthermore the meeting format made it nearly impossible to have questions answered in any kind of understandable or meaningful way.

We are requesting that you help hold the FAA accountable to:

  • Hold meetings in Southeast Seattle within the 98144, 98118 and 98108 zip codes
  • Offer translated outreach materials and simultaneous translation to at least four languages during the meeting
  • Host meetings in a wheelchair accessible facility
  • Conduct outreach by postal mail and other non-electronic methods of notification to all citizens impacted by this proposal

Southeast Seattle is affected by THREE airports; Boeing Field, Renton Airport, and Sea-Tac Airport. We are the MOST negatively affected community in the region. We need to have a better public process, with more outreach, and at a time and place which will ensure more community awareness and engagement in these important air traffic changes.

Thank you,

North Beacon Hill Council Board
Melissa Jonas, Chair
2821 Beacon Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98144

Getting Around, Local Business, Neighborhood Pride

New bicycle parking at Red Apple

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Jumping for joy at the Red Apple’s new bike corral. Photo provided by Dylan Ahearn.
Dylan Ahearn of Beacon BIKES sent us a celebratory announcement and photo:

“It is the small things that count.

“After months of persistent effort, hours of off-the-cuff design work, and even construction management, out own Ryan Harrison has, with the gracious support of our friends at the Beacon Merchants Association and Red Apple, succeeded in shepherding the construction of a sweet new bike corral at Red Apple. As you can see from the attached photo we are jumping for joy up on Beacon Hill.

“Way to go Ryan for all the hard work, the Beacon Merchants Association for supplying a $500 grant, and Red Apple for footing the rest of the bill.

“Ryan has all the details if you want more.

“Show the Apple some love and roll in soon for your next shopping trip.”

News

Neighbors seeing red over “Greener Skies”

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Robert Bismuth of the Magnolia Community Council spoke at last night’s NBHC meeting. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
West Seattle Blog recently captured the frustration of many South Seattle residents at a Ballard meeting regarding proposed changes in flight paths and landing patterns that may negatively affect Southeast and Southwest Seattle.

Many of the 60+ attendees at last night’s North Beacon Hill Council (NBHC) meeting were there to discuss their concerns with the proposed FAA changes—and especially the confusion and frustration about location and tone of the FAA outreach meetings.

The lively discussion included a succinct yet thorough history by Magnolia Community Council Chair Robert Bismuth of how Magnolia successfully defended airspace above their neighborhood from changes that would have have “exponentially” increased noise and pollution.

NBHC Board member Ticiang Diangson is working with community activists from Beacon Hill and other neighborhoods to form a task force to address concerns regarding the “Greener Skies Over Seattle” proposal. (See the FAA’s website about the project here.)

If that FAA link seemed confusing or overly technical to you, you’re not alone. The NBHC voted unanimously last night to support efforts by the task force regarding “Greener Skies” to extend the public comment period on the FAA Environmental Assessment until the FAA has given residents of potentially-impacted communities the opportunity to learn more about the project. The current comment period ends on September 14. (Addresses to submit comments are here.)

The NBHC is asking Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, Congressman Jim McDermott and Adam Smith to request the FAA hold public outreach meetings regarding “Greener Skies Over Seattle” in Southeast Seattle (of course, we’d prefer Beacon Hill), and also to extend the comment period beyond September 14 to give the FAA an opportunity to correct problems with outreach—and give our communities the opportunity to understand this proposal. Outreach materials need to be offered in the languages read by our communities and translation must be offered during the meetings.

(Melissa Jonas is the current chair of the North Beacon Hill Council.)

City Services, Local Business, Meetings

Broadband improvement meeting at El Centro 9/20

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Annoyed at slow Internet speeds here on Beacon Hill? Mark Thursday, September 20 at 6 p.m. on your calendar—CenturyLink is hosting a community meeting to discuss what needs to be done to have faster speed in the area.

According to representatives from UPTUN (Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors) and from CenturyLink who spoke at last night’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting, there have been problems with Seattle’s permitting process for installing new broadband infrastructure, causing hold-ups or cancellation of several broadband upgrade projects that had been planned for 2012. (The Beacon Hill Blog posted about some of these potential projects in July.)

Those interested in finding out more are invited to the meeting on September 20 at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S., Room 307 (top floor, north end of the building). The meeting will run from 6-8 p.m., and there will be cookies and coffee provided.

Meetings

Tonight: Flight noise, more on agenda at North Beacon Hill Council meeting

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Sound familiar? Photo by Helen Cook via Creative Commons/Flickr.
The North Beacon Hill Council meets tonight (September 11) at 7 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Ave. S. While there are several topics on the agenda including updates on public safety and Internet connectivity, one topic expected to draw a crowd is that of airplane noise and the Greener Skies project to adjust flight patterns into SeaTac, and what sort of impact the project may have on the residents of Southeast Seattle.

There has been a fair amount of worry on Beacon Hill about the potential changes. The materials produced by the FAA to explain the project are somewhat opaque to non-pilots, and conflicting information on whether it will negatively affect the Hill at all has come in from various sources. Community meetings to discuss the plans have been located in Ballard and Federal Way, but none of them near Southeast Seattle.

Some neighbors were able to attend the meeting in Ballard, and will report back at tonight’s NBHC meeting. West Seattle Blog recorded video of the meeting. The Ballard News-Tribune was also there. According to neighbor Tina Ray, part of tonight’s plan is to set a date and agenda to meet with the Port of Seattle and the FAA about the Greener Skies plan.

Here’s the complete agenda for the evening:

  • 7:00-7:05 Introductions
  • 7:05-7:20 Public Safety Update: Reports about an increase in street burglaries and updates on recent shootings in the Beacon Hill area
  • 7:20-7:35 Airplane noise/Greener Skies: updates from FAA meetings 7:35-7:50 New Project Updates: Proposed developments in the neighborhood including El Centro, Holgate property, and McClellan project
  • 7:50-8:05 Opportunity Fund “speed dating”: brief presentations from Friends of Lewis Park, Beacon BIKES, El Centro, Cheasty Greenspace, etc.
  • 8:05-8:15 Neighborhood calendar and group updates, DON news
  • 8:15-8:30 Update on Internet connectivity in Beacon Hill: Representatives from UPTUN (Upping Technology for Underserved Neighbors) will be presenting with invited representatives from Comcast, Wave (formerly Broadstripe) and CenturyLink

As always, all interested neighbors are welcome to attend.

BH in the News, Crime, News, Volunteering and Giving

Fire leads to landslide risk at Rizal Park

By Elizabeth Dinh, KOMO Communities
(Beacon Hill Blog news partners)

A fire at Dr. Jose Rizal Park on North Beacon Hill Saturday night did more than ruin a viewpoint—it has put some motorists in danger.

The area at Rizal Park is prone to landslides—and now that the plants have been destroyed in a fireworks-sparked blaze, the risk of a slide has re-emerged.

Volunteers have spent years beautifying this park, and Saturday night’s fire ruined some of their work. And if heavy rains sweep in before this charred land is reinforced, it could pose a threat to the many people who walk and jog there.

Nine years have passed since Craig Thompson first started putting a lot of time and effort into the park that’s a few minutes away from his home.

“And we’ve done quite a bit of good work,” he says.

Volunteers have planted an apple orchard and put in more vegetation—including thousands of trees.

“We’ve managed to put ivy control measures around about 1,000 trees. We’ve planted upward of 7,000 trees,” says Thompson. He has even worked with Seattle police on how to take back the park from drug lords.

Then, at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, fireworks touched off flames that raced across the dry land.

“I live about block and a half away from here, and we heard the bottle rockets go off,” Thompson says.

Below the beautiful Seattle skyline is now a charred patch of land that—with rain—could pose a danger to people who visit the popular park.

“This is a historically landslide-prone area,” says Thompson.

The devastation bothers David Choy, a visitor from Texas who’s been coming here for more than two decades.

“That’s a terrible shame,” he says. “I always come through here because this is such beautiful scenery. I brought my uncle and my aunt over here to look at the scenery.”

But Thompson isn’t mad about having to clean up and bring in more plants. He’s only looking forward.

“I look at it, and rather than becoming depressed or angry, I see what needs to be done,” he says.

He sees yet another opportunity to make this a better place. Volunteers already had plans to come out here on September 21 and 22 to clean up the park. Thompson says that with the added work needed to fix up the area where the fire was, it would be nice to have even more helpers come out.