Protect Our Seattle Neighborhoods!

Seattle Neighborhoods Call to Action

 

http://www.queenanneappeal.org/

 

Appeal Update

Councilmember Mike O’Brien’s legislation is now rapidly moving forward to eliminate EVERY single-family neighborhood and convert your property to triplex zoning with no parking or ownership requirements!

 

Please forward this email to every neighbor and friend!

Please consider joining hundreds already from all around Seattle in helping us defend you and every Seattle neighborhood by offering a contribution here.  And for much more information, please visit our Appeal Website here.

20 November 2018

Good Evening Neighbors City-wide;

 

Re:     Eliminating Single-Family Neighborhoods

          Compromise Negotiation Proposal Rejected by Councilmember Mike O’Brien

 

Update - QA Appeal of the ADU-EIS.

 

On November 1^st, well over 200 Seattleites gathered on Queen Anne to learn more about Councilmember O’Brien’s pending legislation to eliminate all single-family neighborhoods city-wide.  Everyone in attendance from all around our city had the opportunity to learn about our appeal and publicly share their opinions, ideas, and personal stories and concerns.  Everyone felt it was a great public meeting.

 

One week later on the 8^th, the Hearing Examiner held the Pre-Hearing Conference where the parties joined to schedule the upcoming events associated with holding the hearing.  The basic dates below have been established going forward:

 

1. Document Delivery:  Due December 14, 2018

QACC submitted a formal Public Records Request a after filing the appeal in order to review all documentation connected with the proposed legislation including the EIS and all other work products surrounding the appeal.  The City stated that 100% of that document request will be delivered on that date.  Upon receiving the complete set, a QACC committee including our experts and volunteers from around our city will review the document history.

 

2. Hearing Date:  March 25^th – March 29^th 2019

During the next few months the QACC committees together with our attorney and professional experts will work to prepare our case which will be heard by the hearing examiner on these dates.  Some will question the delay but all parties had conflicts in January, February, and early March 2019.

 

During our Prehearing Conference, we made it clear that QACC is open to negotiating a reasonable settlement including compromises to the legislation.  At our city-wide community meeting on November 1^st, I invited participation from everyone in attendance to contact us and propose ideas that could improve the legislation in hopes that the city would entertain discussions of compromise from many perspectives.  Several accepted the invite.

 

I reached out to Councilmember Mike O’Brien and we grabbed coffee yesterday to discuss the issues and opportunities and areas of compromise that may lie ahead.  I proposed that he and the council accept our invitation to review and consider obvious alternatives that the he and the Environmental Impact Statement failed to consider.  I saw this as a win-win as I feel strongly that councilmembers should be facilitators, not autocrats strictly beholden to their own narrow ideology.  Keep in mind that less than 150 Seattleites attended the only two abbreviated scoping meetings held by the city where the legislation was open for public review!  Very few Seattleites know of this huge change!

 

Unfortunately, I must inform you that CM O’Brien has closed the door to negotiating.  He relating to me unequivocally that the EIS spoke to all his issues leaving no room to consider any compromise.  He remains firmly entrenched in every line-item of his legislation to eliminate every Seattle single-family neighborhood without considering any important neighborhood, property, infrastructure or economic differentiations.  One-size-fits-all!  

 

In addition, he shared his confidence that every councilmember firmly supports him and his legislation.  He left no door open and even told me directly that there was no reason for us to withdraw our appeal – nothing would change!

 

As the EIS is woefully deficient in adequately identifying and analyzing the true environment impacts from CM O’Brien’s indiscriminate conversion of every Seattle neighborhood, we will continue to proceed full-speed ahead in preparing and proving our case, now that we have been given the unambiguous decision from City Hall. 

 

Invite you friends and neighbors to write a letter to your councilmember and strongly voice your opinion!

 

Please consider joining hundreds already from all around Seattle in helping us defend you and every Seattle neighborhood by offering a contribution here.  And for much more information, please visit our Appeal Website here.

 

Thanks as always for your support,

 

Queen Anne Community Council

Land Use Review and Planning Committee

Martin Henry Kaplan, AIA Chair

Protect Every Seattle Neighborhood!

A City-Wide Community Meeting

November 1, 2018    7:00-9:00 pm

Queen Anne Community Center, Room 1

1901 1st Avenue West, 98119

Seattle Neighborhood’s Call to Action

Urgent Action – Every Neighborhood!

The Queen Anne Community Council invites you to attend our City-Wide Community Meeting to discuss the City’s Final Environment Impact Statement (EIS) and the background behind our filing the necessary appeal.  We will discuss the EIS, answer your questions, discuss next steps and hopeful outcomes, and consider ways that you can help protect your neighborhood.

While Queen Anne officially filed this appeal, we are representing you and every other Seattle neighborhood and single-family property owner.  Our appeal challenges the adequacy of the EIS as it concludes that Mike O’Brien’s proposed city-wide legislation to eliminate and convert your single-family property to multi-family triplexes with no parking or ownership requirements has not even one impact. 

Please forward this email to neighbors and friends!

We’ll see you next Thursday

Queen Anne Appeal Website

Thank you,

Please consider helping fund our collective city-wide appeal - here

PHINNEY RIDGE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING 

June 5, 2018 @ Phinney Neighborhood Center

​

June 5th, Phinney Ridge Community Council is hosting a discussion about our urban forest and a City Council proposal to further protect our vegetative canopy. The Council and others believe Seattle is losing trees and other plants, along with the critical functions they provide. We will hear a presentation by Friends of Urban Forests,  a coalition reviewing the proposed changes. Discussion will focus on if the PRCC should endorse this effort.   

Among the issues that will be discussed:

Recommended revisions from tree, plant & environmental advocates

Increased protection for exceptional trees, heritage trees, groves, etc. 

Rules regarding trees when building and remodeling

Should tree protections be exempt for developers and apply only to property owners?    

  

Other items on the agenda are briefings on:

Green Lake road resurfacing

How new City rules affect Phinney Flats parking requirements

Shared Roof rezone request for increased height

HALA policy status

Northern Urban Village boundary 

 

Please join me and the other PRCC volunteer board members to learn about changes that will affect our neighborhood. Our meetings are open to all. This is also a chance to meet PRCC's newly elected board members.

Sincerely,

 

Alice Poggi

Phinney Ridge Community Council President

phinneyridge.ccouncil@gmail.com

 Phinney Neighborhood Center is located at 6532 Phinney Ave N.

Please bring Ballard Market receipts to donate to PNA     

http://www.phinneyridgecc.org 

 Next PRCC meeting July 10, 7 p.m.

Seattle’s urban forest is an integral and vital part of our city.  It provides many benefits and amenities to those living in Seattle and region.  Trees help clean our air and enhance public health, reduce stormwater runoff, mitigate climate change, increase property values, decrease the impacts of heat and wind, provide habitat for birds and wildlife and connect us with nature in our neighborhoods. 

Seattle’s current rules regarding tree removal have been not effective in identifying and preserving trees or replacing trees lost to development. As a result, Seattle is rapidly loosing it’s urban canopy and all of the critical functions a robust tree canopy provides. See recent article by Investigate West: http://www.invw.org/2016/07/27/seattles-long-neglected-tree-canopy-is-on-a-collision-course-with-development. 

A coalition of local groups including Friends of Urban Forests, TreePac, Plant Amnesty, The Audubon Society, Seattle Greenspaces, and others are working to develop an improved tree ordinance that seeks to balance tree preservation and growth with the goal of a net increase in Seattle’s urban tree cover to reach the City’s stated goal of 30% tree canopy.

It is urgent that the Mayor and the City Council act now to pass an effective ordinance to stop the loss of trees, particularly exceptional trees, Heritage trees and tree groves, and to promote environmental equity as we commit to increasing our tree canopy. 

The Phinney Ridge Community Council will have a presentation on a new Draft Seattle Tree Ordinance at the Phinney Center at 7:00 pm on June 5.  We are actively seeking community input at this meeting. Please join us.