Vol. 59 No. 2 For the Community, By the Community October 2001
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What’s
Happening in View Ridge?
I hope this
newsletter finds you in good health and in good spirits. Considering what has
happened over the past few weeks, we all need a little uplifting. I hope that
your family was not directly affected by the tragedy; if so, let me extend my
heartfelt sympathy.
Since the last View Ridger, our
neighborhood has a state-of-the-art play field at View Ridge. There are also
changes occurring at the “bottom of the hill” at Sand Point/Magnuson Park
(SPMP). A committee of View Ridge, Hawthorne Hills and north Windermere
residents are working hard on designing and landscaping the 65th
Street entrance to the park, which will be the key entrance to the existing
boat launch, the new wetlands and new ball fields.
One of the concerns
our neighbors have is the extent and affect of athletic field illumination. An
Illumination Education Night was held October 8, but additional comments may be
submitted to your VRCC Trustee, VRCC President or to the Park Department.
Please send a copy of your comments to Bob Lucas, 7416 52nd NE,
E-mail blucas5134@aol.com, or to
your Trustee.
Other meetings
regarding SPMP are:
·
Off Leash Area
Shoreline and Lighting, design review:
October 16, 7 - 8:30 p.m., Community Activity Center
·
Vegetation Management
Plan, presentation of draft plan: October 17, 7 – 9 p.m., Community Activity
Center
·
65th
Street SPMP Entrance, public meeting design presentation: October 18, 7 – 9
p.m., Community Activity Center (please
see related article)
·
Drainage, Wetlands,
Sports Fields/Courts Project Advisory Team: October 22, 7 – 9 p.m., Community Activity Center
·
65th
Street SPMP Entrance Planting, neighborhood involvement: November 10, 9 a.m.,
NE 65th and Sandpoint Way (please see related article)
·
Vegetation Management
Plan, public hearing before the Parks Department Board: November 8, 7 p.m., 100
Dexter Avenue
·
Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for SPMP Drainage System, Wetland and Habitat Restoration,
Sports Fields and Courts Project, progress report: December (to be determined)
·
Public Hearing Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for SPMP, public hearing on draft: January (to be determined)
Participation in these meetings by area residents is crucial to the Council’s support of neighborhood projects. Also, please mark your calendars for View Ridge Community Council meetings (a schedule is included in this edition of the View Ridger). I hope to see a healthy View Ridge turnout!
Trustees Decide Against Holding
A Candidates/Issues
Forum
The
Trustees have chosen not to hold a Candi-dates/Issues Forum this year, due to
the over-whelming success of the jointly sponsored Mayoral Forum on September
5. The forum featured three mayoral candidates in a question-and-answer session
attended by 300 area residents. As the recent Primary has determined who will
be on the ballot come November 6, the Trustees felt there was no need for a
View Ridge forum.
The
November 6 ballot will also include election of four City Council members, a
City Attorney, Port of Seattle Commissioners and County Executive, and
decisions on the Emergency Medical Services levy and Initiative 747.
For
additional voter information, contact the League of Women Voters at 622-8961 or
on-line at www.washingtonvoter.com.
The September 18
Trustees Meeting was opened at 7:10 p.m., following a moment of silence for
those affected by the tragedy of September 11.
Increased Air Traffic:
View Ridge neighbor Jim Pirie discussed his concern about increased air traffic
over our area. It appears the FAA is not holding to an agreement reached
approximately 10 years ago, which allows such traffic only during extremely
inclement weather. Jim volunteered to investigate the problem and report back
to the Trustees at a later meeting.
Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer reported a current balance is $4,928.26.
Transitional Housing:
Peter Shapiro, board chairman of the Sand Point Magnuson Com-munity Housing
Association, reported on the progress of the transitional housing program. Since the program began more than two years
ago, he said, there have been no reports of
negative activity. There are currently 26 fami-lies, 40 single adults
and group housing for teens and teen mothers and their infants. Resi-dents are
allowed to stay for two years; most leave sooner. The program has been very
suc-cessful in assisting residents to “get back on their feet.”
Teen Crime:
Jack Robinson, Wedgwood Community Council, discussed the recent teen crime
problem in Wedgwood (see related article).
SEATRAN: Bob Lucas is
discussing with SEATRAN the need for some traffic restric-tions/revisions near
View Ridge Play Field.
Candidates/Issues Forum:
Trustees decided not to hold a Candidates/Issues Forum this year due to the
success of the joint Mayoral Candi-dates Forum held September 5.
View Ridge Metro Bus Brochure: The flyer was discussed and the design was approved. The production is Federally funded at
$1,700. Trustees approved spending $100 for additional graphic design costs.
Trustee Michael Williams volunteered to look into additional programs funded
through the City’s Car-Less/Strategic Planning Office.
SPMP Communications Committee: Trustees approved the appointment of Neale Weaver and
Lesley Sullivan as delegates.
Donation, Community Housing Playground: Trustees voted to donate $500 to the SPMP Community Housing
playground, sponsored by Ben and Jerry’s and QFC. Hawthorne Hills Community
Council and Assumption Church have also donated.
Join Us at VRCC this Year!
View
Ridge Community Council meetings are typically scheduled for the third Tuesday
of each month, except for the Annual Meeting, which is held the third Wednesday
in May. No meetings are held in December, July or August. All regular meetings
are 7 – 9 p.m. at the Sand Point Community Methodist Church, address. The
Annual Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.
Transportation Planning Affects View Ridge Neighborhood
Park-to-Park Seeks Input
About Transportation Plan
In response to
proposed large-scale transit systems that serve the Puget Sound region without
addressing individual community needs, a group of neighborhood activists has
created a concept called Park-to-Park. Still in the “idea planning” stage,
Park-to-Park hopes to give north-end riders the convenience of a bus line that
could take them easily and quickly to recreation, neighborhood shopping, and
local errands, as well as to their jobs.
The route currently
proposed would run from Golden Gardens to Magnuson Park, passing through or
within a short walk of: five neighbor-hood shopping districts (Ballard,
Wallingford, University District, University Village, and Laurelhurst/Sand
Point); four major parks (Golden Gardens, Woodland Park/Greenlake,
Meridian/Good Shepherd Center, and Magnuson); the Locks; the Burke-Gilman
trail, the UW; two hospitals; and a number of smaller parks, libraries and
service centers, post of-fices, and medical and dental clinics. Along 45th
Street the route would connect with route #44 to provide service every seven
minutes. At the far ends, the circulator transit would run every 15 minutes
using “neighborhood scale” vehicles.
On our end the
planned line runs on Sandpoint Way to its turn-around point at Magnuson, so
View Ridge residents have several things at stake: speedier, more frequent, and
more convenient bus service for “daytime users” as well as commuters; badly
needed public trans-portation access for Magnuson/Sand Point transitional
housing residents and student fami-lies living at Radford Court; and
(particularly with continued improvements/expansion at Magnuson and with the
future Children’s Hospi-tal offices at 70th and Sand Point)
alleviation of parking requirements for those coming to work or play in our
wonderful neighborhood.
Park-to-Park
advocates need your ideas, questions, and support! METRO’s six-year plan will
be updated this year and Park-to-Park wants to be part of the plan. They’re
also exploring possible federal “demonstration pro-
ject” dollars and,
further down the road, partner-ship funding from neighborhood businesses. Lawmakers and community planners really pay
attention to local input, so please E-mail your comments to Park-to-Park at p2p@nwlink.com. You can find more information and see a copy of their brochure at
www.nwlink.com~p2p. David Ward at 523-6800 is available to
answer questions, and to give local community presen-tations on Park-to-Park.
Enclosed Brochure: How to Be
“Car-Less in View Ridge”
Enclosed
is a copy of the new brochure, Car-less
in View Ridge, patterned after a brochure prepared by the Wedgwood
Community Council. The brochure shows the Metro bus routes serving View Ridge,
and is intended to help reduce the use of cars in our neighborhood.
Over
the next few months you will be hearing more about this Car-Less program, which
involves clinics, meetings and get-togethers focused on decreasing the use of
cars in our daily travels. Trustee Michael Williams has agreed to head a
committee to investigate ways in which we can take advantage of the program
here in View Ridge.
Funding
for the brochure came from a federal grant, administered by the City of Seattle
Strategic Planning Office. Local graphic artist Francine Rennert designed the
brochure and Northgate Graphics provided the printing.
To
comment about the brochure, or to request additional copies, contact Michael
Williams at 528-6182 or Bob Lucas at 526-0575.
Children’s Hospital,
70th & Sandpoint
Way Building
Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center (CHRMC) will
begin construction at its 70th and Sandpoint Way property this
month. The new facility will house Children’s staff, fulfilling largely
administrative functions, including human resources, data systems, development,
education and training. The facility will provide a single location for
Children’s staff presently housed off-site at offices in Lake City and
Northgate.
Over the past year, Children’s has met many times with
neighbors to share development plans and discuss neighborhood interests. The
facility will be a two-story structure architectural-ly in keeping with the
residential nature of the neighborhood. Landscaping and design features in the
two northern corners of the property will provide points of interest and
sanctuary to passersby.
As
construction begins, Children’s will provide weekly updates to neighbors via an
E-mail distribution list, and a non-commercial sign will be installed at the
northwest corner of the project, displaying information and weekly updates. The
neighborhood advisory group will continue to meet on an ongoing basis.
A
transition party held September 22 for the
P-Patch
at the 70th and Sandpoint Way property went very well. The
extraordinary efforts of
P-Patcher
Marty DeLong, Wendy McClure of the City, and Jeff Hughes from Children’s
Hospital resulted in a smooth transition. On Saturday, September 29, contractors Fruhling and Sellen donated time
and trucks to move topsoil from the original P-Patch to the P-Patch site at
Magnuson Park.
A
fence has been erected around the lot, allowing Children’s to begin pest
control efforts to minimize the impact of disrupted rodent populations. Safe
traps will be placed on the lot; these are currently used on the CHRMC campus,
and do not pose a threat to pets or children. Construction at the site will begin in late October or early November.
Interested
neighbors are invited to attend the next neighborhood advisory meeting,
sched-uled for November 27, 7 p.m. at the Sand Point Community Methodist
Church. If you would like to receive information, please contact Sarah Erickson
at 527-3881 or seric2@chmc.org, or Nancy
Ricci, 526-2286 or nricci@chmc.org.
The
new View Ridge Play field is becoming “the place to meet” in our neighborhood.
T.C. Richmond, chairperson of the Friends of View Ridge Play field, lives
adjacent to the play field and testifies that the play field is busy every day
from early morning until after sunset.
The play field renovation began more than two years ago, when several neighbors decided to do something about the play field’s rundown and dangerous equipment. They met several times to develop a plan to raise the money, design the space and involve community volunteers. The project couldn’t have been accomplished, however, without the assistance of two city departments: the Department of Neighborhoods, which provided a $75,000 matching grant, and the Department of Parks and Recreation, which helped to develop the superb design. Interestingly, this project co-incided with a Department of Parks plan to re-grade and replant the play field.
The
Mayor dedicated the new play field on September 9, in a ceremony attended by
many city officials and View Ridge residents. View Ridge Community Council
President Bob Lucas presented the first-ever View Ridge Leadership Award to T C
Richmond for her tireless efforts in making the new play field a reality.
The Friends of View Ridge Play field was so successful in fundraising that there are still funds available for further enhancements. So keep coming to the play field, and watch for developments!
Building 9, Magnuson Park
Building 9 is one of the oldest and grandest structures remaining from the Sand Point Naval Air Station. First built in 1929 to house barracks and commissary, the three-story brick Georgian Revival had expanded to its current form by 1941. This classic building has stood vacant for the last 10 years, however, due to safety and structural concerns. It cannot be used again without major rehabilitation.
Building 9 was transferred to the University of
Washington as part of the disposition of Federal property within the park. The
terms of transfer require that the building be used for educa-tional purposes,
and that historical features be preserved. Strict conditions limit the
occupancy of the building by any for-profit business.
At the time of transfer, the UW suggested that the
building could be renovated to provide educational offices and classrooms for
UW and not-for-profit organizations. This suggestion was investigated, but no
funds were identified for renovation. Building 9 is not a part of the UW’s long-term
master plan for capital projects.
The UW has asked Lorig Associates to investi-gate
alternative uses for Building 9 that would
not create new financial burden on the UW. Lorig has experience with adaptive re-use and renovation of
historic buildings, as well as extensive experience with the development of
university-related facilities through non-profit partnerships.
Lorig has identified a potential method of redevelopment
that would make it possible to restore Building 9 and re-activate this park
centerpiece. The proposed project would provide approximately 200 off-campus
apart-ments for UW graduate students (small, ef-ficient accommodations designed
for single stu-dents). With the exception of creating a new courtyard entrance
facing Sandpoint Way, there would be minimal alterations to the exterior of the
building and important historical features would be retained.
Changes Planned at
65th Street Entrance
Early this year Inge
Strauss, Neale Weaver and Bob Lucas met to discuss the 65th Street
entrance to SPMP. The UW student/faculty housing project was being completed
and the new building on the Southeast corner was a very visible “object.” They met with the idea of approaching the
SPMP staff to see if there was anything that could be done to landscape the
building and enhance the park entrance.
The response was
positive from both park staff and the primary contractor, Lorig. It was
dis-covered that the triangle in front of the south-east entrance is Parks
Department and SEATRAN property.
After a few more
planning meetings, Neale Weaver prepared a grant request to SEATRAN for a
Street/Sidewalk Improvement Survey and Study for both sides of the entrance.
The grant was approved in the amount of $25,000. An additional grant of $10,000
is available from the Pro-Parks Levy to be used for plantings.
The committee
responsible for this project has expanded to include representatives from Hawthorne Hills and north Windermere. The
committee will use the services of The Berger Partnership—the firm hired to
design the wet-lands and sports fields, to assist in designing and laying out
the plantings.
A public meeting to
discuss the project in detail is scheduled for October 18, 7 p.m. at the SPMP
Community Center. The planting will begin on Saturday, November 10 (the Huskies
are on the road) at 9 a.m.
Volunteers are needed
for the planting on November 10; please bring shovels and rakes! Refreshments
(thanks to Great Harvest!) and coffee will be available. We’re hoping for a
great turnout!
Perhaps you have heard of the recent “gang type” crime
in the Wedgwood area. An article appeared in the September 19 edition of The
Seattle Times.
A group of teens,
including Wedgwood residents and others, roamed the streets late at night
causing disturbances including car bashing, window breaking and a few instances
of car theft. One neighbor was beaten up when he confronted the group.
The Wedgwood
Community Council held two meetings to discuss the problem. Both were well
attended and included representatives from the Seattle Police Department and
Seattle Housing Authority. During one meeting, a crash was heard and police
went out to investigate. Reportedly there was a car accident involving a family
and a stolen car driven by one of the teens suspected of “gang” membership.
(The youth were apprehended.)
These incidents bring
home the need for all of us to be on the watch for unusual activity in our
neighborhood. Suggestions for increased vigilance include:
·
Host a crime
prevention fair. Anyone interested in volunteering please contact your Trustee.
·
Establish block
watches. View Ridge has some, but not all are active. Trustees will welcome
your requests to establish new watches or reactivate old ones.
·
Adopt alert mechanisms
such as E-mail or telephone contacts.
This type of situation has not affected View Ridge, but it could. Some of our neighbors have suffered loss due to break-ins, vandalism and stolen cars. If you do not know your Trustee, contact Bob Lucas, VRCC President, at 526-0575 or blucas5134@ aol.com to find out.
View Ridge Community Council U.S. POSTAGE
P.O.
Box 15218 PAID
Seattle,
WA 98115-0218
SEATTLE, WA
PERMIT
NO. 2222