Tag Archives: city council

Meetings, Recreation, Urban Planning

Jefferson Park Clubhouse on agenda for City Council committee meeting Friday

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A proposed design for the new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, as viewed from the Beacon Avenue side.

Advance notice — this Friday, October 26, at 9 a.m., the Seattle City Council Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee will meet to discuss (and possibly vote) on the Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse project.

There will be a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting according to an agenda distributed yesterday.

Here is the information from the agenda about the Jefferson Park discussion and vote:

5. C.F. 312119
Council land use action to allow a new 19,800 square foot two-story clubhouse and driving range structure, a new 4,1 00 square foot cart storage structure and 20,000 square feet of paving improvements, including a request to waive development standards to allow field lighting up to 90 feet in height and netting and net poles up to 140 feet in height (Project No s. 3012845and 3013107, Type V).

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE VOTE (10 minutes)

Presenters: Susanne Rockwell, Department of Parks and Recreation; Dan Miles, Bassetti Architects; Michael Jenkins, Council Central Staff

Supporting Documents:
a. Central Staff Memo
b. Attachment to Staff Memo
c. Jefferson Park Golf Master Plan
d. Jefferson Park Presentation

The new clubhouse has been the subject of some controversy, with some wanting the old clubhouse preserved, and others who want the new clubhouse built. Read more about the clubhouse in our Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse archive here.

Local Events, Recreation

Bowl with Burgess on Beacon, 9/12

City Councilmember Tim Burgess. Photo courtesy of Seattle City Council.
Judith Edwards and Jodie Vice would like to invite you to join them for an evening of lawn bowling with Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess on Monday, September 12 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Park Lawn Bowling Club. Burgess chairs the City Council’s Public Safety and Education Committee. He’ll be here on the Hill to enjoy some late summer lawn bowling and find out what’s important to Beacon Hill residents. Food and beverages will be provided.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Catch-up edition

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Apologies to everyone. We are way behind on posts this week. Here’s a catch-up edition of Beacon Bits to fill you in on the latest.

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Notice the newspaper up in the windows of the old Beacon Pub? According to the Bar del Corso blog, they have started work on the building, where their pizzeria will be opening later this year.

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Just south of the former pub, another change is about to take place: ROCKiT space is moving. Betty Jean Williamson reports that ROCKiT will continue regular hours of operation at the current location, 3315 Beacon Avenue South, through January 31. After that, Open Mic moves to Kusina Filipina (3201 Beacon Avenue South) on Saturday, February 5. The event starts at 8:00 pm and costs $5. Tots Jam is moving to El Centro de la Raza room 310 (2524 16th Avenue South) on February 2 at 9:00 am. Classes are $7.

In the meantime, the ROCKiTeers have a lot of work ahead before vacating the building at 3315 Beacon and moving their activities into other locations. It sounds like they will need some volunteer help, including cleaning, repair, and moving. Contact Betty Jean at 206-658-0187 or bjwlmp@msn.com if you can help.

There will be a ROCKiT space moving sale on January 29 from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. If you have loaned ROCKiT anything, please pick it up soon or let them know if you want to donate to the sale.

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Travis Mayfield at KOMO points out that Edwin Lee, the new mayor of San Francisco and the first Asian-American mayor of that city, was born on Beacon Hill!

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On the less-happy side of things, you may have heard that some very bad people were out and about last week, posing as Water Department workers to convince neighbors on Beacon Hill and in Columbia City to let them in their homes for a “water quality check,” but stealing their stuff instead. Here’s a Seattle Times (BHB news partners) report. The Seattle Police South Precinct Email Community Newsletter went out yesterday with their own take on the subject:

“For those of you who are ‘seasoned’ enough to remember the song ‘Let ’Em In’ by Paul McCartney & Wings from 1976 (I know, so last century), it should not be a surprise that we disagree with Sir Paul. Just because someone knocks or rings at the door does not mean that you let them in.”

The SPD reminds you that City employees will have laminated picture ID that includes a name, department, and serial number. If you see a suspicious person come to your house, and that person can’t produce a City of Seattle picture ID, call 911 to report the situation immediately.

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The Nova High School Book Night is coming on January 26. We are told it’s a “book fair/book exchange with books of all kinds, free for all!” Beacon Hill neighbor Levecke Mas is collecting books for the the book exchange; contact Levecke at leveckeinseattle@gmail.com. You can also drop off your book donations at the Nova office, in the Meany school building on East Capitol Hill (300 20th Avenue East).

The event is from 6:30-8:30 pm on Wednesday, January 26, and it is open to all.

Learn more about Nova and the Book Night at http://novaproject.my-pta.org.

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Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool invites the community to learn about the school at an open house on Saturday, February 5, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, and Thursday, February 10, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The parent-run preschool is located in Beacon Hill Lutheran Church at 1720 South Forest Street. More info at their website.

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Cass Turnbull of Plant Amnesty doesn’t approve of Beacon Hill-style yard topiaries. Joel Lee begs to differ:

“I can certainly appreciate wanting to protect plants from senseless mutilation but Plant Amnesty seems to have nominated themselves the arbiters of taste with comments like ‘When the inherent beauty of a plant is compromised, it’s painful for those of us who know what it should look like.’ Who gave Plant Amnesty the authority to decide what plants should look like?”

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While it’s not Beacon Hill-specific, I can’t resist posting this link to a photo of former City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck with a man in a heron costume. Thank you, Seattle Municipal Archives.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Breakfast, Black Stax, and the budget

Last week, Laura Onstot of the Seattle Weekly’s Voracious food blog visited Beacon Hill’s Despi Delite Bakery on the way to the airport on Link, and posted about her experience there.

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The new crosswalk on Beacon Avenue in front of the library is now complete and functional. When pedestrians pass between the sensors on either side of the street, flashing lights activate in the crosswalk to alert drivers.

The lights do not seem terribly bright; they are invisible during bright daylight and even in the evening, not as bright as we expected. But they should help make evening and nighttime pedestrians a bit more safe at that intersection.

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Neighbor Ray writes: “I found this guy this morning wandering and looking lost at the corner of S. Oregon and 10th Ave. S. He has no tags and no chip. I can be reached at 206-349-3147.” Is this cute lost dog yours?

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Camp Fire groups are forming in the area, with activities for boys and girls aged 3 to Grade 12. Groups can be all boys, all girls or boys and girls together. Parents decide where, when and how often to meet. For more information contact Janelle Kitson at 206-826-8910 or by email at janellek@campfire-usa.org.

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Local hip hop group Black Stax are opening for Les Nubians just down the hill at Showbox SODO this Thursday, September 23. You may remember that Black Stax performed on the rooftop of Spoons (at 15th and Beacon) last summer.

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As the City Council works to balance the city’s 2011-2012 budget, they are seeking input from residents to develop a budget that best reflects the needs of the city. To do this, the Council is inviting everyone to participate in this year’s budget process in one of the following ways:

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The Beacon Hill P-Patch needs volunteers on October 2 for a clean-up work party. Volunteers will weed and aid in brush removal in the upper slope of the P-Patch, and afterward gather for food, drinks, and socializing.

Further information and RSVP here.

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Nearly 800 freshmen and transfer students at Seattle Pacific University will be volunteering on Beacon Hill on Saturday, September 25 as part of SPU’s “CityQuest” program. From 10:30 am until 2:30 pm, SPU student and staff volunteers will be working on an orchard and a public garden at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, helping Operation Nightwatch with a community clean-up, and clearing out invasive plants at Lewis Park.

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Because of an all-staff meeting, all locations of the Seattle Public Library will open late on Thursday, September 30. All library locations will open at 1:00 pm that day.

People waiting for the library to open in the morning. On Thursday, September 30, library patrons will have to wait a bit longer because the library will open late. Photo by Jason.
Local Events

Council members to tour North Beacon next week

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L to R: City Council members Richard Conlin and Mike O'Brien. Photos courtesy of Seattle City Council.
City Council members Mike O’Brien and Richard Conlin will visit our neighborhood for a Walking Tour of North Beacon Hill on Thursday, June 3. Anyone interested is welcome to participate. Here’s the schedule:

If you have questions about this walking tour, please contact Steve Louie at steve.louie@seattle.gov or 233-2044, or Esther Handy at esther.handy@seattle.gov or 684-8800.

(Editor’s note — corrected date since original publication. The correct date is Thursday, June 3.)

Urban Planning

Neighborhood planning with SPUNC

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On Tuesday, March 9, the Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods Committee (SPUNC) agenda included a review of the North Beacon Hill Neighborhood Plan update.  You can watch the committee meeting on the Seattle Channel website.

Some points of interest in Tuesday’s meeting:

(approx. 20 minute mark) Brief discussion of the goals of the presentation, including mention of the recent appeal of the plan update process, and how the appeal may affect Council actions on the plan (basically, the Department of Planning and Development advising the Council to honor whatever decision the Hearing Examiner makes on the appeal).

(approx. 43 minute mark) Richard Conlin and Sally Clark discuss the idea of easing the transition between the “Urban Village” and the surrounding single family area, perhaps by changing the zoning of the single family area around the station. There’s also an interesting discussion of the definition of “Urban Village” and “Urban Core” — “it’s a thing.”

(approx. 51 minute mark) Lyle Bicknell describes an idea for collecting community input and making the work plan section of the neighborhood plan. Council members discuss the pros and cons of this new format versus the existing matrix.

Overall, committee members showed interest in supporting the community desires for continuing public input in neighborhood planning and implementation of specific goals.

After the committee meeting, Dennis Saxman approached me to discuss the three appeals to the SE neighborhood plan updates. He mentioned he had helped draft the appeals and stated that there is nothing notable in the appeals being identical.  Saxman also expressed concern about media coverage of the appeals.  (We agreed that comments on some blogs went too far and became personal attacks.)  Saxman is familiar with challenging DPD via the Hearing Examiner’s office, most notably in this case on Capitol Hill.

City Councilmember Mike O’Brien is the SPUNC chairperson. This committee is responsible for legislative matters including:

  • Water, drainage, wastewater and solid waste services provided by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), including SPU environmental services and utility rates, regional water resources and endangered species recovery plans
  • Neighborhoods, including neighborhood plan updates and implementation

If you are able to attend SPUNC committee meetings and/or City Council meetings in person, it’s a fantastic way to engage with our local elected officials and play an active role in shaping our community. Feel free to contact Esther Handy in Councilmember O’Brien’s office with questions about the neighborhood planning process: esther.handy@seattle.gov, (206) 684-8800.

Local Events, Meetings

NewHolly hosts mayoral, city council candidates tonight

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Tonight from 6 to 8 pm is a candidates forum at NewHolly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Avenue South.

All the council candidates save President Richard Conlin, plus mayoral candidate Mike McGinn and, a little bit later in the evening, his opponent Joe Mallahan are expected to be there, addressing budget cuts, immigrant rights, education, and gang violence and taking questions from the hosts and the community.

The event is sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and OneAmerica.

More info in The Times.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Planes quiet down, neighbors speak up

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Joel Lees happy dog recently posed in front of the Beacon Hill Fire Station. Photo by Joel in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Joel Lee's happy dog recently posed in front of the Beacon Hill Fire Station. Photo by Joel in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
Could there eventually be less airplane noise in Beacon Hill and other Seattle neighborhoods? According to the Seattle Times, a new GPS-based air traffic control system could move some planes over Elliott Bay instead of the path over Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Beacon Hill, and allow jets to glide in, making less noise. The new system is currently being tested by Alaska Airlines, and the article suggests that it might be used during the busy daytime period “potentially within five years.” (Thanks to the Central District News for bringing this to our attention.)

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The Seattle City Council is bringing a town-hall meeting to Southeast Seattle, from 6:30 – 8:30pm on Tuesday, September 22. The public are invited to attend this event, where Councilmembers will ask for feedback on light rail, crime and city services while also taking your questions. Questions at the event may be written or asked live on the microphone, or submitted in advance to counciltownhall@seattle.gov.

The meeting will be at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club located at 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, just a couple of blocks north of the Columbia City Link light rail station. For information or questions, call 206-684-8805. Accommodations for a disability or translation services can be made in advance by calling Nancy Roberts at 206-684-8146.

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After an August break, the North Beacon Hill Council will be meeting again this month. The meeting date is Thursday, September 10, at Beacon Lutheran Church, across the street from the library at 1720 South Forest Street.

Here’s the agenda:

  • 7:00 Welcome
  • 7:05  Lyle Bicknell, Neighborhood Planning Update followed by Q & A
  • 7:35  Brian Dougherty, Seattle Department of Transportation – 15th Ave. Parking
  • 7:50  Goodbye to Eric Sano, Seattle Police Department
  • 8:00  Community reports and concerns
    • Steve Louie, Neighborhood Coordinator (3 minutes)
    • Neighborhood Planning Ad Hoc Committee (10 minutes – includes time to vote)
    • Community concerns (10 minutes)
    • Next month/announcements (7 minutes)
  • 8:30  Close

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