West Seattle, Washington
05 Thursday
MONDAY MORNING: The photo is from Mary Metz, who reports, “I had to dismount and wade across the little bridge over Longfellow Creek (by the athletic club on Yancy) this morning.” With rain continuing today, our area remains under a Flood Watch alert, which says in part, “Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.” (Let us know if you encounter any other flooded spots – text 206-293-6302 or email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!)
MONDAY AFTERNOON: Here’s how it looked and sounded later – thanks to Melinda for the video:
One big topic at this past week’s monthly HPAC meeting – the plan for another giant storage tank in West Seattle to contain combined-sewer overflows.
HPAC is the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge; co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick facilitated the online meeting on Wednesday night.
WEST DUWAMISH CSO CONTROL PROJECT: We mentioned this project three weeks ago, while commenting time was open for its environmental checklist. The King County Wastewater Treatment Division sent reps to the HPAC meeting to present a briefing on the plan. Project manager Maud De Bel led the presentation, calling the West Duwamish Combined Sewer Overflow Control Project‘s central feature “similar to the Murray (Wet Weather) Facility” across from Lowman Beach Park. She offered a quick refresher course on combined sewers – stormwater running off streets and roofs, going into the sewer system – “there’s a point where the sewer gets overwhelmed,” so to prevent floods and backups, the system overflows into bodies of water like Puget Sound or the Duwamish River. The county has controlled “most of those” but this project is meant to address two areas of eastern West Seattle where uncontrolled overflows go into the river several times each year.
We reported earlier this month on the 1.25-million-gallon storage tank planned in southeast West Seattle to reduce combined-sewer overflows into the Duwamish River. At its monthly meeting this Wednesday, HPAC – the neighborhood coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – gets a briefing. Here’s the meeting preview, which includes other topics:
We will be hearing from representative of the King County Wastewater Treatment Division to learn more about the upcoming West Duwamish CSO Control project set to begin soon. If you are unfamiliar with these projects, have a look at the construction at 4th South and South Michigan Street, where they are almost done with a huge holding facility. The SW Michigan site will be much smaller, but serve a similar purpose, capturing and holding excess rain runoff from Highland Park, preventing contamination of the Duwamish River during big storms.
If you attended last month’s meeting, SPD mentioned their annual report on crime trends. They will be at our meeting too for any questions or concerns, Westwood Village area ranked 4th in volume citywide in community-generated 911 calls.
Also up in the HPAC business category:
-Planning for Spring Cleanup events – sites you think need to be addressed, dates, etc.
-Helping with a Flip Your Trip outreach event? – mask mandates are lifting and traffic will be ramping up, can we help try and get more folks out of their Single Occupancy Vehicles?
-A look back at our area’s five years of hosting Camp Second Chance – what’s working? Any outstanding concerns? Do we have any guidance or response to State Sen. Joe Nguyen’s bill now in the State Senate regarding lifting SEPA requirements for new camps?
-Inviting any interested parties to help out on eBoard positions – we are an all volunteer advocacy group and rely on community energy!
HPAC will meet online at 7 pm Wednesday (February 23rd) – connection info is here.
The no-parking signs up along 16th SW in South Delridge are for repaving work tomorrow, according to this SDOT announcement:
On Friday, we will be paving 16th Ave SW between SW Barton St and SW Cambridge St to improve the street and ensure it is safe for all users. We’ll need to temporarily remove parking in the area while we pave the street. Additional traffic impacts include limiting traffic to one lane northbound and one lane southbound while we complete this work. This work is scheduled to begin as soon as 7 AM and is expected to be completed by 3:30 PM.
Next week is mid-winter break. After that, blink, and it’s suddenly summer. So it’s time to start signing up for camp! In West Seattle, Mode Music and Performing Arts has opened registration – here’s the announcement:
MMPA Summer Camps
June 20th – August 26th
Mode Music and Performing Arts is back in full swing, with camps all summer long! Each week-long camp includes a morning and afternoon session, with a lunch break in between for those who sign up for a full day.
Summer camps will run from June 20th through August 26th. The morning camp runs from 9 AM to 12 PM and the afternoon camp runs from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM.
Partial and full scholarships are available, and camp spots are limited.
Learn more and register for your camps now at modemusicandperformingarts.org/camps.
You can also email education@modemusicandperformingarts.org with additional questions.
MMPA is the nonprofit sibling of Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor).
(Rendering from 8415 Delridge design packet)
Almost three years ago, we reported on an Early Outreach for Design Review meeting about a 14-unit rowhouse project at 8415 Delridge Way SW [map]. The project is now reactivating, with a formal land-use application to the city. That opens a new comment period. The project is described on the city website as two 3-story, 7-unit townhouse buildings, with 14 offstreet-parking spaces. (See the most-recent design packet here.) Comment deadline is February 14th; today’s notice explains how.
The road-rebuilding is done; station installation has begun. But much of the newest update from the RapidRide H Line project team is about trees.
(SDOT photo)
MORE TREES: Beyond what’s already in some of the medians, the project team has a lot more tree planting to do:
We have a policy to plant 2 new trees for 1 tree that was removed. The project will plant about 150 trees along the project area once landscaping is completed.
Our Urban Forestry team has been working with the project’s landscaping contractor to identify and finalize the locations for new trees located on and near Delridge Way SW. These locations have been marked with stakes in the median and planting strips throughout the corridor. We expect to plant these trees and restore the corridor with grass this upcoming spring.
If you would like to provide feedback on the proposed locations of these trees, please contact the Urban Forestry team at seattle.trees@seattle.gov.
SHELTER-SITE TRIMMING: The project team also notes, “If you live near a bus shelter installed by King County Metro, please be aware that pruning to a greater height of 11-12 feet of vertical clearance is necessary for bus shelter installation. If trees near your property need to be trimmed, you will receive additional notification of the schedule for this work from King County Metro. This work will be done by a Registered Tree Service Company under an SDOT Urban Forestry Permit to provide an 11 to 12’ clearance for shelter installation.” They’re expecting to schedule this work in February.
REMINDER FOR PROPERTY OWNERS: The update also includes a reminder that property owners need to keep trees and shrubs trimmed to eight feet of clearance above sidewalks. Further details about that are in the full update.
Here are highlights of what happened at HPAC‘s January meeting online last night, led by co-chairs Kay Kirkpatrick and Craig Rankin:
PUBLIC SAFETY: First, from the Southwest Precinct, acting Lt. David Terry was there along with one of the officers who work east West Seattle, Officer Macaully Lakin. Terry showed screens from two public SPD data dashboards – crime reports and dispatches. (You can use the dashboards to check stats from various neighborhoods by choosing the MCPP option.)
THURSDAY NIGHT: Thanks to John for the tip. New stop signs have just been installed on SW Andover at 26th. This is the north end of West Seattle’s oldest neighborhood greenway, and also a short distance from West Seattle’s northernmost stops on the upcoming RapidRide H Line.
ADDED FRIDAY NIGHT: We asked SDOT today about the reason for adding the stop; the reply we received tonight: “These stops signs were installed as part of the Delridge RapidRide H Line project. The neighborhood greenway on 26th Ave SW was upgraded as part of the project, which included the additional stop signs to make that intersection safer for people biking on the greenway.”
For the first time in three months, HPAC – the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – will gather (virtually) this Wednesday. The agenda includes two topics of perennial concern for every neighborhood – crime and traffic. SPD will be there for trends and Q&A about the former; SDOT will be there to talk about Flip Your Trip, which the department says is now up to 5,000 signups from people trying commute alternatives. All are welcome to the online meeting at 7 pm Wednesday (January 26th) – connection/call-in information is on the HPAC website. (Here’s our coverage of the previous HPAC meeting back in October.)
(WSB photo)
As previewed here, today was the day Chef Gino Williamson of The Home Skillit served up lunch/dinner to the community to help raise money for his plan to open a restaurant. We stopped by for a quick photo before his event wrapped up – he was busy! But he emailed late tonight with this message: “Please thank everyone that came out today and supported. I haven’t felt that good in a long time. It is awesome and reassuring that our community is also a caring community. I’m happy to live here.” He’s raising money for rent and renovations to open Gigi’s Café – named for his daughter – just south of where he was serving food today/tonight, in the building that’s currently the Super 24. (That building has a new owner as of this month.) He has 45 days to amass the funding. If you missed the chance to try his food and support his plan, Chef Gino will be back at 5441 Delridge Way SW to do it again next Thursday (January 27th), 2-7 pm.
The gas station/mini-mart at 5441 Delridge Way SW is where you can get lunch/dinner tomorrow (Thursday, January 20th) and help a chef get closer to making his dream come true. Gino Williamson runs The Home Skillit, catering and selling dinner, from a local commissary kitchen but is working toward his own restaurant – Gigi’s Café, named after his daughter Gianna. To raise money for expenses including renovations and rent, he plans a “community feed” 2-7 pm Thursday. He says he’s been giving to the community, donating meals to people in need (as noted on his flyer for this event and his website), and now he needs a boost.
ORIGINAL TUESDAY REPORT: Police are currently on the lookout for a gold 2014 Nissan Murano, plates BKY3697, reported as stolen in a carjacking from the Lighthouse Apartments at 7901 Delridge Way SW. Officers have told dispatch that the victim described the two carjackers as female, white or Hispanic, in their 20s, one with light hair and a hoodie, one with dark hair, both in blue jeans. A gun was implied but not seen, they say. If you see this (or any other reported) stolen car, call 911.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: Just got word that the car was recovered in Kent, possibly linked to other robberies. We’re checking to see if we can find out more.
Thanks to Joseph for the photo. The familiar red-highlighted RapidRide station framework is appearing on Delridge Way, eight months before the scheduled conversion of Metro Route 120 to the RapidRide H Line. This work is under way on southbound Delridge just south of SW Andover. As shown on the map of the West Seattle section of the H Line, this will be the northernmost station:
The H Line is currently scheduled to launch with Metro’s September service change
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has become MLK Day of Service for many, and in West Seattle, that included several environmental-restoration/cleanup projects today. We stopped by the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association Nature Team work site in Pigeon Point Park, part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt urban forest, adjacent to Pathfinder K-8.
This is a labor-intensive, long-running project to give the life-sustaining forest some help by beating back invasive plants. Removing blackberry growth was a focus for the nearly 30 volunteers who turned out today. In the spring, work parties will focus on planting – but at this time of year, the ground has to be cleared and readied to receive those new plants. DNDA has frequent volunteer opportunities for this area and other parts of the West Duwamish Greenbelt – check them out, and sign up if you’re interested, by going here.
Mode Music and Performing Arts in South Delridge has opened registration for winter classes – here’s the announcement:
Mode Music and Performing Arts is a nonprofit organization located in West Seattle that offers educational programs to all children. MMPA provides music, theatre, and dance classes to students of all backgrounds throughout the year. Winter Classes begin January 24th and are available for students to sign up now! These classes all help students to harness their creativity, expand their horizons, and learn something new about music and performing arts. As a COVID-19 safety measure, MMPA will only be accepting students who are fully vaccinated for enrollment at this time.
For more information or to sign up for a class please visit modemusicandperformingarts.org/classes and for interest in private music lessons, please visit modemusicstudios.com.
MMPA Drama Club (one day/time for grades K-3, one day/time for grades 4-6)
This new offering from MMPA is for students who are interested in learning more about the magic of theatre. Together, we will discover what goes on behind the scenes of a stage production, hone our skills as performers, and collaborate on an end-of-season showcase to share what we’ve learned with friends and family! Students will have the opportunity to break down scenes and songs from beloved plays and musicals and work together to write their own original pieces to perform.Dungeons & Dragons Weekly Campaign (Ages 9-12)
Take a trip into the Forgotten Realms with this class, an introductory exploration of the world’s greatest roleplaying game: Dungeons & Dragons. Students will exercise their imaginations by creating Player Characters, developing their backstories, and navigating through a world of high fantasy and adventure to complete their mission. D&D teaches students valuable social and creative skills like teamwork, collaboration, problem solving, and the artistry of character building. Let the adventure begin!Broadway Dance Party! (K-5)
Get ready to bust a move at the Broadway Dance Party! In this high-energy dance class, students will learn musical theatre dance routines set to music from hit Broadway shows like Newsies, Matilda, Frozen, and more! The class will learn proper warm-up techniques, important foundations for jazz, ballet, and theatre dance, and best practices for keeping your body healthy and strong while dancing — and we’ll have a great time while doing it! Students will prepare a number of routines to be performed for a limited audience of family and friends on the final day of camp.
MMPA is the nonprofit sibling of Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor), both headquartered at the north end of Delridge Way SW. As noted on Thursday, both also have a dropoff donation drive happening right now for warm clothing, nonperishable food, and toiletries.
The Seattle Public Library has been closing some branches on a day-to-day basis because of staffing shortages. In West Seattle, the Delridge branch will be closed today. The Southwest branch was closed yesterday. If you need to use the Delridge branch’s book drop, that IS still open today.
Matthew sent this report tonight about a relative’s pickup truck, stolen from a parking lot:
Yesterday, Monday 12/20/2021, late morning or early afternoon, a red 2003 Ford F-250 pickup truck was stolen from the Home Depot parking lot on North Delridge. Here are some more details:
License plate: B96483N
Other details: Has a matching red Leer canopy & Leather interior
It has been reported to Seattle Police.
Call 911 if you see it.
(King County Assessor’s Office photos)
New in city files: The biggest redevelopment proposal yet for South Delridge. This past May, we mentioned an early-stage filing for 1704 SW Roxbury; the new filing shows that the planned apartment county has now quintupled to more than 200. That corner parcel, currently home to Meineke Auto Repair, and the vacant building to its north were bought within the past few months by an entity in which records show South Delridge’s busiest current developer – Craig Haveson of STS Construction (WSB sponsor) – is a partner.
The site plan included in the new filing says a 4-story building with “ground-floor retail” is planned, though the site is zoned for up to 55′, and 6 stories are mentioned on the website of Housing Diversity Corporation, whose CEO Bradley Padden is Haveson’s partner in this project. That website outlines the residential component of the project as a “214-unit development, 171 attainably priced market-rate units and 43 rent-restricted units through Seattle’s Multifamily Tax Exemption Program.” (No mention of whether any offstreet parking will be part of the project.) The architecture firm is Atelier Drome, whose site-plan document shows two other parcels to the north will be part of the project, though they are not yet on record as under the same ownership (Seattle Bible Church is those parcels’ owner of record).
The Longfellow Creek bridge at SW Yancy, by the West Seattle Health Club, is open again tonight, after almost six days of blockage by trees/debris from last week’s windstorm (WSB coverage here). Two readers asked us about its status earlier today; by mid-afternoon today, Seattle Parks responded, work to clear it was completed.
South Delridge continues to be West Seattle’s redevelopment hotspot. The newest project of note is a 12-townhouse plan for the 9400 block of 18th SW. Technically it’s listed as two projects – 9440 18th SW and 9444 18th SW [map] – but they’re next to each other, and the same project team is involved. 9440 18th SW is proposed with seven townhouses in one structure; 9444 18th SW is proposed with five townhouses in two structures. They’ll replace this century-old house:
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
The architect for the townhouses is Scale Design NW. The project is in the Early Outreach for Design Review phase, so look for community comment opportunities to come.
Tracie emailed this report about what happened last night to her husband Steve – who is recovering from what she described as a “random violent attack at 26th/Yancy” [map]:
I am sick over what happened near Youngstown. (The victim was) my husband, who some know and some may not … most who are out walking their pets, or out having a smoke/vape, have seen him around with his fedora. He was attacked (Saturday) night around 7:40 pm by a person with a hatchet of some sort. The person hit him on the head. 14 staples. I used to feel safe and now I am going to worry every time he walks out the door. If you saw anything, please let us know. It is an open case with SPD.
We asked Tracie if her husband had mentioned any descriptive information about the attacker: “It happened so fast, my husband did no get much of a description. Tall, 6 ft, and black was all he was able to get.” If you have a tip for police, the case number is 21-327273.
Thanks to Sarah for sending the photo and tip:
That’s Amanda Cox, who just opened Rarities at 9422 Delridge Way SW (“a few doors down from Fresh Flours” is how Sarah described the location). The grand-opening announcement explains that the shop is a “showroom full of fine furniture: Antique, mid-century modern, and contemporary. Also featuring jewelry, fine art, unique art objects, and oddities.” The grand-opening celebration continues tomorrow (Sunday, December 12th), noon-6 pm; regular hours will be Wednesdays through Sundays, noon-6 pm. No website yet but if you have questions, call 206-694-9597.
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