West Seattle, Washington
26 Monday
An update on a West Seattle park project headlined this month’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting.
NANTES PARK: Back in 2019, we published word of a survey by the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association, seeking your thoughts on the little west Admiral park that honors the sister-city relationship. The project has proceeded, with a city matching-funds grant announced last November. ANA got an update on where the plan stands.
Just three and a half weeks until spring. Two gardening/growing notes:
HPAC TALKS GARDENING/COMPOSTING TONIGHT: As previewed here, HPAC is focusing on gardening/composting during its 7 pm monthly meeting online tonight. Viewing/participation/call-in info is on the HPAC website.
HIGH POINT NEEDS FRUIT-TREE HELP: From community builder Ella McRae:
City Fruit is bringing more Fruit Trees to High Point in partnership with SHA/HOA/OSA and Neighborhood House. Are you interested in joining the High Point orchard planting? If yes, see the opportunities below:
We have two opportunities for volunteers to support!
1. The first opportunity will involve planting bare-root fruit trees. Bare-root trees are not stored in soil; instead, their roots are kept in damp wood chips or sawdust. The benefit of bare-root trees is that once planted, they establish themselves quickly and grow prolifically. However, the drawback is that these trees have to be planted earlier in the season. So, the planting of these trees will actually take place in early March — either Tuesday, March 2nd, or Tuesday March 9th.
2. The second opportunity falls on Earth Day, April 22nd. Although most of the trees for the orchard will be bare-root (and thus will be planted in early March), we will still have some volunteer opportunities related to installing signage and a few potted-tree plantings.
Interested? Contact Tiare, tiare@cityfruit.org, or email Ella @ Ella.McRae@seattlehousing.org.
What’s up around our area? The District 1 Community Network met this past week to talk about it.
Updates from various community-group and agency reps are at the heart of this West Seattle/South Park coalition’s monthly meetings, as well as discussion of current issues
From the Department of Neighborhoods, Ed Pottharst had these reminders:
*Highland Park Home Zone survey open until February 15th
*West Marginal Way open house set for February 18th, mailers going out
*Neighborhood Matching Fund applications opening – online workshops to help would-be applicants are set for 10 am February 20th and March 4th and 7 pm March 17th
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Shut down the busiest street in the city, and suddenly numerous other streets have to deal with unprecedented traffic trouble.
10 months after the West Seattle Bridge closure, SDOT is still working on ways to handle that – including the Home Zone program, a major topic at Wednesday night’s meeting of HPAC, the neighborhood coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge. After community conversations and walking tours, draft plans have just debuted, and it’s time for your feedback, via a new survey.
Here’s a video recording of the meeting. First, what you need to know about what’s being proposed:
If you’ve seen our recent coverage of Southwest Precinct police at community meetings (here and here) and have questions, another chance to ask them is coming up – SPD reps are on the agenda for tomorrow night’s meeting of HPAC, the neighborhood council for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge. The announcement also promises “a comprehensive presentation and conversation with SDOT Home Zone planners, to help them prioritize the traffic mitigation proposed for” the area. All are welcome at the 7 pm Wednesday online meeting; viewing/participating/calling-in info is on the HPAC website.
For the second time in a week, police staffing was a topic of discussion at a West Seattle neighborhood meeting. First one was the Crime Prevention Council meeting last Tuesday (WSB coverage here). Two nights later, the Alki Community Council board spent a large portion of its meeting on the state of policing. Here’s what was said, plus some followup information we obtained:
SEATTLE POLICE: Third watch (6:30 pm-3:30 am) Lt. Chris Johnson attended on behalf of SPD. He said “our street racer problem is still ongoing … we do not have the bodies to put any emphasis toward that.” But he’s hopeful that now that the inauguration is past, some of the officers assigned to the protest-handling Community Response Group might return to patrol. “Almost every night I’m running at or below” minimum staffing levels. “We’re losing bodies to outside agencies at a rate I’ve never seen. … We’re treading water.” He asked about community concerns; one person mentioned fireworks and beach fires – which are continuing year-round; here’s video we received just the night before:
The newest plan for an upzoned development site tops our look at what happened during the quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting this past Wednesday:
REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT: Project-team members from StoryBuilt were there to talk about the 41st/Graham project. Brandon Burrowes and Patrick Cobb, both West Seattle residents, explained that their company specializes in “infill.” The project at 6314 41st SW is a 20,000-sf, 3-parcel site upzoned by HALA Mandatory Housing Affordability to Lowrise 3. The project has changed since they had an early community meeting last year. The project will have fewer units (now 36), plus less height – 30 to 40′ in an area zoned up to 50′ – and more parking (15 spaces) than zoning requires (zero). The units will range from 500 sf to 1300 sf, in a mix of townhouses and flats, and though the city files still describe the project as “apartments,” the StoryBuilt reps say these will be units for sale, likely ranging from $300,000 to $700,000.
We told you on Friday about the Highland Park Improvement Club/HP Action Committee plan for today’s MLK Day of Service. Tonight, we received a report and photos to share with you!
We wanted to thank everyone who turned out today, 23 folks put in over 52 hours of time to help pick up, spruce up and do demo work here in Highland Park.
We filled multiple bags with roadside trash from the Holden/Highland Park Way detour route [please don’t litter folks] and from adjacent Riverview Park and throughout the neighborhood.
A small number of highly motivated, dedicated volunteers worked to pull down 100-year-old plaster from the Club dance hall ceiling preparing for the refresh to come. Special thanks to Peter, Bruce, Billy, Greg, Emory, and Shawn for a dusty job well done!
So grateful to all and thankful we live in this caring, involved community!
Kay Kirkpatrick/ trustee for HPIC &
Craig Rankin/ Chair for HPAC
P.S. Your next chance to get involved with the Highland Park community is at HPAC’s monthly meeting, 7 pm Wednesday, January 27th – an agenda preview and participation link are on the HPAC website.
Toplines from the Fauntleroy Community Association board’s first 2021 meeting, online last Tuesday night:
FERRY TERMINAL: Frank Immel, the board’s point person for ferry issues, said the Fauntleroy terminal-replacement project is now expected to start construction in 2025. (WSF’s official name for it is “terminal preservation project.”) The budget will be $93 million and the project will address issues such as sea-level rising and seismic safety. A meeting with WSF in early December was informational but, he observed, did not seem to be open to comments or dialogue. FCA will “develop a list of what we will and won’t accept” regarding elements of the long-anticipated project. They also are considering seeking other West Seattle community groups’ support once they have an official position. A major concern is that the state will seek to expand the dock; environmental sensitivities on both sides – including the mouth of Fauntleroy Creek immediately south – might preclude that, he said. The board debated for a while about how much the rest of the peninsula might or might not care, while some members pointed out that in the end this boils down to traffic, and almost everyone cares about that. The FCA’s ferry subcommittee will discuss further.
COMMUNITY SURVEY: FCA’s every-two-years community survey is complete. Postcards went out to 3,000 households. 450 responded (including 100 on the final day after we published a “last chance” reminder, coordinator Catherine Bailey noted). 333 of the 450 respondents were nonmembers; more than half said they weren’t previously aware of FCA, while others cited reasons from not knowing how to join to not being interested in membership. Almost half the community, responding to one of the questions, reported they’d been a victim of a car prowl. Burglaries and car prowls were the crime issues respondents reported interested them most – though it was noted, the question wasn’t open-ended. Many other insight/summaries from the survey will be rolled out soon on the FCA website and in the quarterly “Neighbors” newsletter.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS: The survey did not address current issues such as housing and food insecurity, observed a community member who implored the board to diversify its membership and agenda. Members agreed the board needs to “open up.” One pointed out that the group has already broadened its interest and membership in the relatively short time she’s been involved. They talked about setting aside time at a future meeting to strategize. One member noted that schools in the area are very diverse, so reaching more community members through the schools might be one tactic.
POLICE UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Sina Ebinger is retiring and will be leaving within the month, she told FCA (as noted here earlier this week). Joining her at the start of the FCA meeting was the precinct’s new second-watch Lt. Dorothy Kim, who spoke about the recent tire-slashing suspect arrest and how an officer compiled evidence to both find the suspect and solidify that it was a felony crime. “Auto thefts are up everywhere in West Seattle – 75% – 23 in 2019, 40 in 2020 – in Fauntleroy. Everything else is down,” including burglaries, which are down citywide. Lt. Kim said they hope to have SPD represented at future meetings by an officer who patrols the area.
NEXT MEETING: The FCA board meets, online TFN, most second Tuesdays at 7 pm, so February 9th will be the next meeting. Watch fauntleroy.net for updates and the link to register to attend.
With the holidays over, community groups are returning to their regular meeting schedules. Next up: The Morgan Community Association, 7 pm Wednesday night (January 20th), online. MoCA meets quarterly; this month’s agenda includes updates on Lowman Beach – both the seawall and the possible racket court – and the landbanked Morgan Junction Park expansion site‘s contamination cleanup. SDOT will be there to update West Seattle Bridge closure-related traffic remediation, and Seattle Public Utilities is scheduled to talk about the California/Myrtle sewer project. The small-apartment-building project to be developed by Storybuilt is on the agenda too. All are welcome; the meeting link is here, or call in via 253-215-8782. For either option, the meeting ID is 863 758 2652, passcode 123456.
You’re invited to the District 1 Community Network‘s first meeting of 2021, 7 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, January 6th) online. The coalition of community advocates usually focuses on a variety of priorities, but this agenda also includes one presentation, the recently relaunched gondola-transit concept West Seattle SkyLink. We talked recently with its supporters, who believe gondolas could get people across the Duwamish River more cheaply and simply than light rail, especially with Sound Transit facing funding shortfalls and schedule realignment. If you’re interested in attending, connection and call-in information is in our calendar listing.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Hours after the City Council finalized next year’s budget, West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold was the spotlight guest at last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting.
ANA also elected next year’s leadership slate, including a new president, after David Hancock decided not to run for re-election.
We’ll start with the budget discussion.
Many neighborhood groups have continued going strong online during the pandemic, including the Admiral Neighborhood Association, which just sent this invitation to share with you:
Monday, Nov. 23rd from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.Featured Topics
-A conversation with Councilmember Lisa Herbold
-A proposed bylaw amendment* to allow longer terms for board members (proposed language below)
-2021 Board member nominations and electionsPlease email info@admiralneighborhood.org for zoom login info.
Interested in an ANA leadership position?
A number of ANA Board positions are opening up at the end of this year. If you’re wondering whether this might be the time to step up, the answer is yes. Admiral is ready and waiting for you, your ideas, and your energy. Drop us a line if you’ve got questions (info@admiralneighborhood.org).
*ANA bylaws Article VII states officers are limited to no more than three (3) consecutive terms in the same office. It has been proposed to add the following language that allows an exception to the term limit rule: “An officer may serve one or more additional consecutive terms upon unanimous vote of the Executive Committee, if no other candidate comes forward for the position.”
Three West Seattle orgaqnizations are getting money in the city’s latest round of Neighborhood Matching Fund grants. To qualify for these, you have to demonstrate a match – of donations and/or volunteer time. As announced by the city, these are the three local grants in the fall cycle:
$49,500 to Highland Park Elementary PTA for Phase 2 of the Highland Park School Playground Project. This will support updating their 2016 Playground Master Plan to reflect current community needs and develop construction documents. (Community match: $31,000)
$25,840 to Highland Park Improvement Club for Community Gathering & Performance Space Renovation to provide HVAC work, ceiling repair, and new lighting and proscenium in the interior gathering/performance space, a popular venue for community meetings, arts and cultural events. (Community match: $28,380)
Citywide, 23 organizations are receiving a total of $756,000 in this round of grants. The next round of applications will be due in February; watch here for more info.
If you live or work in Fauntleroy, watch your USPS mail for a postcard from the Fauntleroy Community Association, announcing its every-two-years survey. We’re sharing the announcement too:
Every two years, the Fauntleroy Community Association conducts a survey of more than 3,000 residents in Fauntleroy. We ask questions about current issues affecting the Fauntleroy community, West Seattle, and Seattle as a whole. This allows us to understand what is important to our community members and helps the board set priorities.
The FCA exists to consider and act on concerns affecting the quality of life and character of the Fauntleroy community. Examples of issues and projects we have engaged in include public safety, the ferry, zoning and parking. We also sponsor or co-sponsor events such as the Fall Festival, the Fauntleroy Food Fest, the business triangle planter boxes, and this year’s Halloween pumpkin hunt.
Start the survey here.
The survey was launched just before FCA’s monthly board meeting. We were there for toplines – they’re after the jump:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Eight months after the pandemic halted in-person meetings, many West Seattle community groups are still going strong online.
Among them, our area’s “supergroup” of West Seattle and South Park organizations’ representatives, the District 1 Community Network.
Even through the summer, when some groups took their customary breaks, this one soldiered on with monthly meetings. One unique aspect of D1CN: Rather than having ongoing leadership, the group rotates volunteer facilitators for each meeting. When D1CN met this past Wednesday, Randy Wiger from South Park served as facilitator. The group serves as a forum to discuss and circulate issues and ideas of area-wide interest. Here’s what was discussed this time around:
Another Hallo-week activity! The photo and announcement are from the Fauntleroy Community Association:
In an effort to bring some fun to the dwindling daylight, throughout the week of October 26-30, The Fauntleroy Community Association is sponsoring a community pumpkin hunt. If you search around the Endolyne/Fauntleroy area, you may find a white pumpkin — or even a beautiful blown glass pumpkin — with a note attached. Some even include a gift certificate for use at our local merchants, compliments of the FCA board members. We hope you’ll participate. We encourage you to take your pumpkin home with you, then take a picture of yourself with your pumpkin, and post it on social media, with #FCApumpkins
Enjoy!
Fauntleroy Community Association
2020 Board Members
We’re also adding this to the WSB West Seattle Halloween page – which we’re updating multiple times daily this week, as new decoration-location reports and trick-or-treat events/locations come in!
Toplines from Tuesday’s online meeting of the Admiral Neighborhood Association:
PREPAREDNESS: Fall is time for reminding us all to be ready for storms … and worse. Disaster preparedness, too. Longtime local preparedness advocate Cindi Barker made a guest appearance at ANA to explain the Emergency Communication Hubs, which are volunteer-led. Admiral needs new point people; so far, there are some possible successors. If you’re interested in helping (whether in Admiral or elsewhere), contact info is here.
POLICE: Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman said West Seattle crime continues to be down overall, which he attributes to the bridge closure and COVID-19. Admiral is down as part of that, but Alki had a summer uptick. He talked about the department’s staffing changes, mostly a repeat of what he said at last week’s Town Hall (WSB coverage here) – that while Chief Adrian Diaz has reassigned some officers to patrol, that’s resulted in some retirements/departures so it hasn’t yet resulted in a staffing increase at any precinct. He’s hopeful that once the process of public-safety reform brings more definition of department changes, and who should take on certain jobs currently assigned to the police, retention and recruitment will improve. What could be offloaded? He offered examples such as neighbor-conflict resolution and homelessness-related issues. (Also of note with regard to SPD staffing – the department’s announcement of the Community Response Group.)
ANA president David Hancock asked about how racism issues are being addressed. Capt. Grossman replied that there’s ongoing training on bias and institutional racism, adding that it’s important to get out to meetings like this to get community’s input and also find out what issues the neighborhood considers important.
He got a question about when to call 911 vs non-emergency – and offered this link. When in doubt, just call – the call-taker will decide how to route you.
LETTERS: Support for two letters to the city was discussed – one asking for full-time staff people to help organize COVID-19 relief efforts that are currently being coordinated by volunteers, and one asking that a percentage of West Seattle Bridge funding be dedicated to bicycle safety.
NEW LEADERSHIP: The ANA board is looking for new members for next year, including a president to succeed Hancock. Interested? Don’t miss the next meeting – email info@admiralneighborhood.org to be sure you’re on the list for the announcement.
From the Admiral Neighborhood Association – both of these online events are happening Tuesday:
RENTER-RIGHTS WORKSHOP: Noon-1:30 pm Tuesday, ANA is co-hosting a renter-rights workshop with Be:Seattle, as described:
This is a workshop put on by Be:Seattle, educating renters how to assert their rights, find solutions to various issues, and and organize for better living conditions. We will discuss how the pandemic is affecting renters and what protections are currently being offered.
Register to get the teleconferencing link by going here.
ANA MEETING: At 7 pm Tuesday, everyone living, working, shopping, and/or studying in the Admiral area is welcome at the ANA meeting, with these featured topics:
*Discussion with Seattle Police Dept. SW Precinct leadership
*West Seattle Emergency Hubs update
*Opportunities to support and collaborate with community-led efforts across District 1
*Future ANA Board positions (more on that below)
Please email info@admiralneighborhood.org for zoom login info.
Interested in an ANA leadership position?
A number of ANA Board positions are opening up at the end of this year. If you’re wondering whether this might be the time to step up, the answer is yes. Admiral is ready and waiting for you, your ideas, and your energy. Drop us a line if you’ve got questions (info@admiralneighborhood.org).
#1 – The one-week-delayed (because of the holiday) Camp Second Chance Community Advisory Committee meeting is tomorrow (Sunday, September 13th), 2 pm, online. If you have questions or concerns about West Seattle’s only city-sanctioned tiny-house encampment, or if you want to hear updates firsthand, be there. Link here; password 9701; access code 858 5523 4269; or, call 253-215-8782.
#2 – No West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting this month, says WSCPC president Richard Miller, because precinct leaders are unavailable. (The meeting otherwise would be this Tuesday; instead, next meeting is October 20th.)
Our toplines from the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s monthly meeting this past Tuesday:
BRIDGE DETOUR TRAFFIC: The SW Barton route to/from the Fauntleroy ferry dock is a lot busier since the West Seattle Bridge closed almost six months ago. The FCA is working on a letter to City Councilmember Lisa Herbold and SDOT‘s bridge-project leader Heather Marx, asking them to come take a look in person and see what can be done about it. The group is also collecting photos and video to show the problem.
FERRY WATCH: No major news, but anecdotally, long lines are making a comeback in Fauntleroy, though Washington State Ferries says traffic is still off a third from this time last year.
POLICE: Operations Lt. Sina Ebinger from the Southwest Precinct said one of the crime trends they’re keeping a close watch on is gunfire, with several reports in West Seattle so far this month. Regarding the department-wide shift of 100 officers to patrol, she said the SWP will likely lose its Community Police Team members in the redeployment, so the long-running projects/issues they’ve been working on will have to be rethought.
ON THE MOVE: FCA tracks new community arrivals and says 100+ people have moved into Fauntleroy this past quarter.
The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets second Tuesdays, 7 pm; community members are welcome – watch fauntleroy.net for info. And check out the newest quarterly “Neighbors” newsletter!
The Fauntleroy Community Association is, so far as we know, the last West Seattle neighborhood group to regularly publish and distribute a printed newsletter. “Neighbors,” sent to FCA members, is edited by Judy Pickens and published quarterly. It’s always newsy: The newest edition, which you can also read online, includes updates on ferry traffic, the planned culvert replacement project, and the Fauntleroy Fall Festival‘s pandemic postponement. Other stories include two looks into history – how Seattle’s “redlining” is still reflected in current demographics, and the soggy saga of the development of the Fauntlee Hills subdivision. Interested in more history? Editions going back to 2003 are archived here.
P.S. As also noted in “Neighbors,” the FCA’s business meetings are on second Tuesdays, which means the next one is two days away (7 pm September 8th) – if interested in attending, you can register here.
Though this is likely to be a relatively quiet week, leading up to Labor Day weekend, at least one community meeting is scheduled: The District 1 Community Network, a coalition of West Seattle and South Park organizations, groups, and advocates, meets online at 7 pm Wednesday (September 2nd). The final agenda’s not out yet, but expected topics include the biggest issues everyone’s dealing with right now – the pandemic and the bridge. All are welcome; here’s the connection information:
ZOOM LINK
Meeting ID: 222 985 415
Password: 625318 (only needed if you manually enter the meeting number)Call-in-only info:
Phone number: 669-900-6833
Meeting ID: 222 985 415#
We should have the agenda by the time we publish a reminder in Wednesday’s daily preview.
Password: 625318#
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