RAVENNA-BRYANT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
April 1999
v Spring 1999 General Meeting    v

Monday, April 19
7:00 – 9:15 P.M.
Ravenna Eckstein Community Center
6535 Ravenna Ave. NE

AGENDA

7:00     Meet and greet the neighbors, help set up chairs, and double check the neighborhood map showing the zoning in the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood.
7:15 RATS: Our nastiest neighbors. Speaker-Bill Lasby, Environmental Health Supervisor, Department of Public Health.
8:00 Election of board and officers.
8:15 University Village: A history of recent developments and explanation of the master planning process now being developed for the University Village and possibly all other shopping centers in the City. Speaker-Laura Yeats, Dept. of Construction and Land Use.
8:40 Report: Seahawks at Husky Stadium--Traffic Management Plan
9:00 Other Business and adjourn

Come to this Neighborhood Meeting!

RATS, RATS, RATS, and a few mice

Others may worry about the stock market, global warming or Y2K. RBCA board members lately have been hearing about rats. Not normally a topic of general conversation, it becomes a subject of riveting, indeed obsessive interest, in those who have come in contact with our rodent neighbors. Lately, the number of people reporting this particular problem to various board members has given the board the creepy impression that Willard has returned, and thousands of whisker-twitching, beady-eyed, long-tailed little creatures are swarming the streets.

One board member had the personal pleasure of seeing a fat little rat waddle across her back yard toward the bird feeder. "Oh, you've domesticated it," the woman at the Department of Health told her cheerfully.

In an effort to provide assistance, education, and perhaps eradication we have therefore asked the north end rat guy to speak at our meeting about how to prevent rats, how to get rid of them if you've got them, and what to do if, worst of all worlds, you live next door to them. Be prepared for a furry audiovisual aid.

We have also invited Seattle City Councilmember Margaret Pageler to attend the meeting. She chairs the committee that oversees funding for the folks who deal with pests.
 
 

SEAHAWKS TRAFFIC PLAN NEEDS WORK

In March, Vulcan NW, on behalf of the Seahawks, provided the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association with a copy of its proposed traffic management plan to be followed while the Seahawks use Husky Stadium. The board asked a committee, composed of neighbors Barb Berry, Pete Fiddler and Bob Solomon, to review the plan.

The committee concluded that the plan was long on concepts and short on specifics. To be clear and easy to understand, the plan should be organized into major and minor mitigations--all of which must be specific. Among the committee's own recommendations were:

A complete list of the recommendations and the cover letter explaining them, was sent to Vulcan NW and the city council. It is also posted on the RBCA web site, and a copy will be available at the April 19 meeting.

Anyone who wishes to comment on conditions of the Seahawks use of Husky Stadium should contact the city council at 600 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, or call the receptionist at 684-8888. Individual council members can be e-mailed using their names and the city address e.g., peter.steinbrueck@ci.seattle.wa.us.
 
 

THANK YOU TO KING COUNTY COUNCILMEMBER
CYNTHIA SULLIVAN

Councilmember Cynthia Sullivan has awarded the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association a $1000 grant to help increase membership and help with newsletter distribution.

Councilmember Sullivan represents District Two, which includes Ravenna-Bryant, on the King County Council. She has been a staunch ally on transit issues, coming to the rescue of Metro routes scheduled for termination. As a councilmember she sits on the Water Quality Committee and has secured funding for daylighting Ravenna Creek.

Councilmember Sullivan’s legislative aide is Andrew Schmid. He regularly attends community association meetings and is a ready source of information about legislative issues that impact the neighborhood.

We appreciate their work and support!
 
 

REZONING IN RAVENNA SPRINGS

In November of 1998 the City Council approved parts of the University Community Urban Center (UCUC) Plan. "Ravenna Urban Village" (RUV), one of the two "Urban Villages" that make up the UCUC, includes Ravenna Springs, which overlaps the south end of the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood.

The RUV portion of the plan is a result of several years of hard work by Ravenna-Bryant and Ravenna Springs residents on the RUV planning group, originally convened by Kit O'Neill, and lately chaired by Barb Berry. Kit and Barb deserve special thanks for a job well done.

Of the many changes adopted in the plan, the zoning changes may be the most significant. Parts of 25th Avenue Northeast, Ravenna Place, and Ravenna Avenue have been upzoned or downzoned to try to meet both population growth and neighborhood preservation goals.

Both sides of 25th Avenue, between Blakeley and 55th, have been downzoned from NC2-40 (four-story Neighborhood Commercial) to NC2-30 (three-story NC).

The NC zoning already ensured that the buildings that eventually replace the 7-11, BP station, Econo-Lube, and McDonald's will provide a "pedestrian-oriented shopping area," with "commercial along the street front," and probably residential on the upper floors.

The difference is that now any new buildings can have at most three stories, more closely matching the height of the houses in the adjacent single family neighborhood.

In a bargain with the City, a triangular area south of Ravenna Park was upzoned, in exchange for downzoning a long stretch of Ravenna Avenue to "preserve small-scale housing...and the integrity of the steep slopes" of Ravenna Woods.

"Park Triangle," as it is called in the plan, is bordered by 55th on the north, Ravenna Place on the west, and 25th Avenue on the east (except the lots that actually face 25th, which are discussed above). Park Triangle has been upzoned from L3 (three-story lowrise) to L4 (four-story lowrise), with provision for small businesses across from the park).

In exchange Ravenna Avenue, between the 45th Street viaduct and 53rd, with its charming houses, small apartments, cottages, and forest, has been downzoned from L3 to a mixture of L2 (two-story lowrise) and LDT (lowrise duplex/triplex), designations intended to preserve the pleasant character of the street.

Copies of the UCUC plan are available at the University Neighborhood Service Center, at 4534 University Way NE, phone 684-7542. Be sure to also ask for the latest version of the City Council's "Approval and Adoption Matrix," which lists the parts of the plan the Council approved.


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JOIN THE RAVENNA-BRYANT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION!

RBCA and its members work hard on issues important to you. We want new contributing members, and need volunteers to distribute the newsletter and work on projects. Annual dues are only $10.00. Your dues allow us to continue distributing this newsletter and keep you informed. Return this form with your dues to: Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115. You will receive the newsletter and other special mailings, and know that you have made a contribution to help your community. 

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Upcoming Events:

Ravenna and Cowen Park Restoration, Saturday, April 24. EarthWork Northwest is organizing park and environmental restoration projects to coincide with Earth Day. Anyone interested in joining a neighborhood team working in Ravenna or Cowen Parks please call Beth Williams at 528-0329 or send email to willieb_2@yahoo.com. Teams will be planting, removing non-native species, restoring habitat, and maybe trail building. For volunteer projects in Ravenna and other Seattle parks call Janine VanSanden at 233-3979. Those interested in Cowen Park specifically call Penny at 528-4984 or email penny@eskimo.com.

Ravenna-Bryant Neighborhood Y2K Meeting, Wednesday, May 5, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. University Heights Community Center, Room 209. Facilitated by Bryant residents Mary and Steve Anderson, who have held similar sessions for various neighborhood and other groups. For more information about this and other Y2K-related meetings, call 206-527-4609, or write Council@SelfReliant.org

Seattle Works Day, Saturday, May 8. Neighbors will be working on a variety of one-time service projects in the neighborhood. Possible sites include the Children's Home Society. If you would like to work on a project or have one to suggest, call Beth Williams at 528-0329 or send email to willieb_2@yahoo.com. Seattle Works also has a web page with a list of projects at http://www.seattleworks.org.

For more community information, see the RBCA web site, at http://www.scn.org/neighbors/rbca/.

RAVENNA-BRYANT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Ravenna Eckstein Community Center
6535 Ravenna Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98115
 
 
 
 
 
 

GENERAL MEETING, MONDAY, APRIL 19, 7:00 p.m.