Squire Park Community Newsletter

Central Area District Council Considers Becoming Neighborhood Planning Stewards

Last year the Central Area completed several years of neighborhood planning, which was accepted as city policy by the City Council. The geographic area defined by the city stretches from East Aloha as the northern boundary down to the I-90 corridor to the south. The western boundary travels along 17^th Avenue, cutting west to Broadway along Madison and then down Boren and Rainier Avenues. The eastern boundary generally follows along 34^th Avenue. Within these boundaries, the Central Area is divided into three Urban Villages or economic nodes: Madison-Miller, 23^rd from Jackson to Union, and 12^th Avenue.

The Central Area neighborhood plan covers a wide range of topics. The major areas of concern are transportation, parks and open space, land use and zoning, housing and design, economic development, and human development. The plan is intended to guide city policy and actions for the next 20 years.

Those continuing to be involved in neighborhood planning have struggled for the past year and a half to establish an independent body to steward the neighborhood plan. The Central Area District Council has been asked to take on this role. This would require the District Council to invite Madison-Miller and Spruce Park Community Councils to be included in the Central Area District Council, since they are included in the plan’s boundaries. The District Council members are currently taking this idea back to their respective community councils for consideration.

The Central Area District Council is an existing, functional body, already meeting monthly. It is comprised of one representative from each community council plus ad hoc members from the business and religious communities. As Neighborhood Planning Stewards, the Central Area District Council would oversee several Action Committees formed around the major areas of concern and the Urban Villages. The Central Area District Council would be accountable to a larger group of active Central Area residents meeting quarterly, which would form the Implementation Advisory Committee.

One of the driving forces for this decision is that virtually the same individuals would be serving on both the Central Area District Council and the Stewardship Committee. So they might as well consolidate resources and do both functions within the same meeting. Heaven knows, I don’t need to attend another meeting.

Central Area residents will be encouraged to join one of the several Action Committees to guide and work on specific projects. Central Area leaders will be asked to serve on the Implementation Advisory Committee. I encourage all residents of the Central Area to become involved in the shaping of this community’s future. The Central Area is changing rapidly, and rather than let things happen to us, we should step up to the plate and control our destiny.

—John Jeannot