About

The 35th Ave NE business district and its surrounding residential neighborhood has largely remained unchanged since the City first zoned the neighborhood in 1947 and 1973 (see '47 and '73 zoning maps in the City's Municipal Archive).  In the last decade, there have been controversial projects that have led to difficult neighborhood decisions and a renewed focus on livable, walkable neighborhoods.

In January 2012, residents of Wedgwood and Ravenna-Bryant neighborhoods formally began a community-driven process to develop a neighborhood plan for 35th Ave NE.  This planning built on the excellent work the Wedgwood community completed with the Vision Plan in 2010, which resulted in several “Suggested Actions” to achieve the neighborhood’s shared vision.  

The 35th Ave NE business district spans two neighborhood community groups which are separated to the north and south by NE 75th Street: the Wedgwood Community Council and Ravenna-Bryant Community Association.  Both the WCC and RBCA have their own priorities and taking on a joint neighborhood planning process was logistically challenging.  Therefore, both groups have since endorsed this community-driven planning effort for 35th Ave NE.

A COMMUNITY'S "NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN"

The purpose of all of this process is to develop planning tools to create the conditions for the community’s shared vision to become a reality. The City has a neighborhood planning process for community’s identified in their Comprehensive Plan as Urban Villages.  This is a process that the City’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) develops with the communities in these Urban Villages so that the growth planned for these communities can be done in a way that is desirable for the community and the City.

The communities along 35th Ave NE are not designated as an Urban Village and nor do they currently have the density to become Urban Villages.  In fact, during the Vision Plan process, its not clear whether these communities want to 
become an Urban Village.  As a result, the DPD doesn't have the resources to support the development of our neighborhood planing tools as part of their well-defined process.  

Nevertheless, we have consulted with several City officials over the past two years to develop what we believe will be an effective and acceptable process.  Through conversations with City staff, we have determined that the most pressing planning tools for us to pursue is:
  1. A streetscape plan for the business district and 
  2. A review of the existing zoning and development of recommendations for zoning changes (if any).

THE SCHEDULE

We have recently been awarded a Department of Neighborhoods Neighborhood Matching Fund grant to hire a consultant to work with the community and develop these tools.  We expect that with the consultant's assistance, we will complete these tools by the end of 2014.  

STEERING COMMITTEE

The 35th Ave Committee is the volunteer group of about 11 residents from Wedgwood, Ravenna-Bryant, View Ridge, and Hawthorne Hills which have formed to continue the planning efforts begun in 2010 with the Vision Plan. We do not have an objective other than to develop planning tools that fairly represent the community's shared vision.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

There are many different ways that the community can be involved in the process.