Mayor McGinn Visits Wedgwood

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

UPDATE: The mayor’s office posted photos from their weekend, including their stop in Wedgwood.
UPDATE: Video of the town hall is embeded below.

Mayor McGinn paid Wedgwood a visit on Saturday, March 10th, for a walking tour of 35th Ave NE and to host a community town hall.  The mayor, who arrived on his trusted two wheeled chariot, was also joined by numerous City staff from the Mayor’s Office, Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle Police, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Department of Transportation, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.   Additionally, several community members joined the walking tour representing Sustainable NE Seattle, North East Seattle Together (NEST), Eckstein Bikes and Bryant Bikes,Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, and Wedgwood Community Council.

We started the brief walking tour by showing the mayor the new Jasper building and describing the history of recent Wedgwood land use issues including the evolution of the Vision Plan and the ongoing neighborhood planning.  We then walked down to Van Gough Coffeehouse to meet Janet Gibson, who owns the coffee shop.  The walk then carried on south to the Seattle Audubon where the mayor met Russ Steele (store manager), Shawn Cantrell (Executive Director), Cathy Jaramillo (current board president), and Charlie Kahle (incoming board president).  Lastly, we showed off the mayor the Hunter Farm Project and discussed all the different events that occur at the site such as the Wedgwood Art Festival, Planet:HOME, and theemergency preparedness drills.  As we walked, the mayor and City staff were very gracious to share their thoughts and ideas.

Following the walking tour, the mayor hosted a town hall at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church.  McGinn addressed a slew of questions to nearly 70 community members on a range of topics.  Thanks to all that came to the town hall.  A special thanks to Mayor McGinn and all the City staff that came out to Wedgwood and made time to listen to us and our NE Seattle neighbors. Watch the town hall below on the Seattle Channel.

The mayor’s office also posted photos from his weekend neighborhood walk and town hall here in Wedgwood.

Coffee Talk 2: Making a Neighborhood Walkable and the Importance of Proximity

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

Coffee Talk: “Making a Neighborhood Walkable and the Importance of Proximity”
Thursday, March 22nd, from 7-8:30PM at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE)

As part of the ongoing neighborhood planning process for 35th Ave NE, we are hosting a series of Coffee Talks on various planning concepts.  These Coffee Talks are hosted thanks to the help of the Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) of the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Our next Coffee Talk will be on March 22nd at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall -downstairs) from 7-8:30PM. The presentation will be on “Making a Neighborhood Walkable and the Importance of Proximity” and will feature Paula Reeves from WSDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program; Kevin O’Neil, transportation planning manager from SDOT; and Lisa Quinn, the Executive Director of Feet First; and will be facilitated by the UW Urban Planning Department. As always, everyone is welcome.  Thanks again to Top Pot for providing coffee and some other deliciousness for the Coffee Talk. 

Future Coffee Talks Include:

• Coffee Talk: “Design at a Human Scale. A Primer on Urban  Design Concepts and City of Seattle Design Review Guidelines” - Thursday, April 26^th at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall – Downstairs) from 7-8:30PM.  Speakers: John Owen, Makers Architecture and Urban Designand Cheryl Sizov, Senior Urban Planner with City of Seattle DPD.
• Coffee Talk:  ”Place-making and Successful Streetscape Features” – Thursday, May 24^th, Location TBD.  Speakers: Brice Maryman, SvR Design and Catherine Benotto, Weber + Thompson Architects
• Coffee Talk:  ”Density and its Benefits” – Thursday, June 21st, Location TBD – Speaker: Kevin Shively, Nelson\Nygaard Consultants
• Coffee Talk: “Financial realities of development.  Incentivizing successful development” – Speakers, date, and location not yet confirmed.  Possible dates:  July 23-27
• Coffee Talk:  ”The Trade Offs of Land Use Planning” – Thursday, Aug 23^rd , Location TBD. Speaker:  Erin Christensen, AIA, LEED AP ND, Mithun

The Conditions Needed for Neighborhood Businesses

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

Last Thursday, the 35th Ave NE Neighborhood Plan Steering Committee hosted the first in a series of Coffee Talks, which are community learning seminars on planning concepts that are relevant to creating a successful neighborhood plan. Professionals from various fields are offering their expertise to the community to provide a primer on several concepts.

Our first Coffee Talk was a presentation on the needs of neighborhood businesses.  Theresa Barreras with the Office of Economic Development’s (OED’s) “Only in Seattle” initiative presented information on the needs of successful business districts, what other business districts are doing, and the resources that the OED has available to businesses.  This includes grants to business districts like those announced today by the Mayor for nine business districts. Additionally, Wendy Schwartz shared her experience as the owner of the Fresh Boutique that had to close this past summer.  Beth Dufek with Impact Capital was going to present as well although had problems with her ZipCar and couldn’t make it to the meeting at last minute.

About 30 people showed up to listen and engage in a Q&A session which turned into a discussion and others sharing their own business experiences. Business owners from Maple Leaf and students from the UW Urban Planning Program participated. Many thanks to all that showed and took part in such a productive and wonderful conversation. Also, thank you to Top Pot for providing so many donuts and delicious coffee.

Our next Coffee Talk will be on March 22nd at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (Fellowship Hall -downstairs) from 7-8:30PM. The presentation will be on “Making a Neighborhood Walkable and the Importance of Proximity” and will feature Paula Reeves from WSDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program; Lisa Quinn, the Executive Director of Feet First; a speaker from SDOT (to be determined) and will be facilitated by the UW Urban Planning Department. As always, everyone is welcome.

We recorded most of last week’s Coffee Talk on video, although the video doesn’t capture Wendy’s presentation well.  You can also see the post-Coffee Talk survey that all attendees completed HERE.

Coffee Talk: The Needs of the Business District

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

Coffee Talk: “Creating the Conditions to Support Neighborhood Businesses”
Thursday, February 23rd, from 7-8:30PM at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE)

As part of the ongoing neighborhood planning process for 35th Ave NE, we are hosting a series of Coffee Talks on various planning concepts.  These Coffee Talks are hosted thanks to the help of theCommunity Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) of the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association.

We are hosting our first Coffee Talk this Thursday, February 23rd, from 7-8:30PM at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church on “Creating the Conditions to Support Neighborhood Businesses.”  We will hear from Theresa Barerras from the Office of Economic Development on the “Only In Seattle” Initiative, Beth Dufek from Impact Capital on what other neighborhoods and business districts are doing to support their business districts, and Wendy Schwartz from Fresh Boutique (pictured above) which had to close their doors in 2011.

We are thankful to our local Top Pot for providing coffee and some other deliciousness for the meeting.  All are welcome.

Welcome to Coffee Talks: A Series of Community Learning Opportunities on Neighborhood Planning Concepts

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

Hopefully, by now you’ve heard of the neighborhood planning process that residents in NE Seattle have begun for the 35th Ave NE corridor.  As part of this neighborhood planning process, we are trying to provide opportunities for us, the community, can become well informed.  We’ve created boards on Pintrest for Planning Articles and Posts, Streetscapes, and Architectural Style and Design.  Now, thanks to the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association’s Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT), we are hosting “Coffee Talks”.

First and foremost.  No, these Coffee Talks don’t feature Mike Myers nor are their topics the many gifts of Barbara Streisand, although the question of ‘Romanesque architecture’ is closer to point.  Instead, these monthly Coffee Talks provide an informal opportunity for the NE Seattle community and anyone else interested to learn about various neighborhood planning concepts from various professionals.  The intent of these Coffee Talks is to learn about key concepts eluded to in the Vision Planthat could help guide the community-led neighborhood planning process.

The first Coffee Talk will be on  Creating the Conditions to Support Neighborhood Businesses.  Speakers will include Theresa Barerras from the Office of Economic Development to discuss the “Only In Seattle” Initiative.  Beth Dufek from Impact Capital will be sharing what other neighborhoods and business districts are doing to support their business districts.  And Wendy Schwartz, the owner of Fresh Boutiquewhich had to close their doors in 2011 (and where rumors of 7th bank in 11 blocks is coming), will share her experience about what local neighborhood businesses like hers need to survive and thrive.

With the help of CPAT, we are identifying speakers, dates, and venues for additional Coffee Talks.  Concepts for Coffee Talks include the following:

• Creating the Conditions to Support Neighborhood Businesses – February 23rd, 7-8:30PM atWedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE)
• Density and its benefits – Date and location to be determined
• Making a neighborhood walkable and the importance of proximity – Date and location to be determined
• Design at a human scale. A primer on architectural design concepts and “design guidelines with teeth” – Date and location to be determined
• Place-making and successful streetscape features – Date and location to be determined
• Financial realities of development.  Incentivizing successful development – Date and location to be determined
• The trade offs of land use planning (e.g, up-zoning increases property taxes, increased traffic/parking, etc.) – Date and location to be determined
• Incorporating affordable housing and economic diversity into land use planning – Date and location to be determined

Everyone is welcome to these Coffee Talks, you know, no big whoop. You don’t have to be a planner, architect, engineer or policy wonk. If you have any questions, other ideas for Coffee Talks, or would like to present on one of the topics above, please email » Per Johnson.

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Take 2 – Community Meeting on the Future of 35th Ave NE on Wed, Feb. 8th at Congregation Beth Shalom

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

Community Meeting -
The Future of 35th Ave NE

Wednesday, February 8th from 7-8:30PM at the Congregation Beth Shalom sanctuary (6800 35th Ave NE)

On January 11th, the Wedgwood Community Council discussed plans to develop neighborhood planning tools for 35th Ave NE as a community, amongst other topics, at theWCC’s January General Meeting. The process would shape the future of 35th Ave NE to achieve the share vision developed by the community.  The baseline for Wedgwood’s vision was defined in 2010 with the completion of the Vision Plan.  However, this vision does not necessarily extend south of NE 75th Street, where the Ravenna-Bryant community may have a slightly different vision.

A second meeting will be held at in the sanctuary of Congregation Beth Shalom (across from the NE Branch Library) on Wednesday, February 8th, to describe the process the Wedgwood community is going to undertake. Hopefully, the Ravenna-Bryant community will partner alongside us to their vision incorporated into more unified and cohesive neighborhood planning tools for 35th Ave NE.  We will have a brief presentation to describe the process and time line before opening the meeting up to Q&A.

Please help us spread the word to your friends and neighbors so that we can make sure the community is aware of their chance to come out and participate in shaping the future of 35th Ave NE.

Photo is of 35th Ave NE and NE 75th Street of the Safeway property circa 1947 (the tall trees are where the Safeway sign is today).  Photo courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archive’s Photo Collection.

View Larger Map

The Future of 35th Ave NE, A Community’s Decision

(This originally was posted on the Wedgwood Community Council's website) 

(Photo at left is looking north along 35th Ave NE at what would become the Post Office [foreground] and Hunter Farm [background] site in 1957, courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection)

This past Wednesday, the WCC held its first general meeting of the year with about 50 people in attendance from Wedgwood, View Ridge, Matthews Beach, and Ravenna-Bryant.  The meeting kicked off with a presentation by CleanScapes on the Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards program and $50,000 that the Tuesday North collection service area has to work with for a community project.  We also provided a few details on the $13,000 Small and Simple grant the WCC received to work with other NE Seattle community groups on community emergency preparedness.  However, the meetings agenda largely focused on the future of 35th Ave NE and how we as a community will be developing a “neighborhood plan” over the next year or so.

Kick off mtng the future of 35th ave ne (final)

View more presentations from wedgwoodcc

Per Johnson and Mary Beth O’Neill with the Wedgwood Land Use Committee presented has been doing over the past year to identify suitable land use tools and a potential process for creating our “neighborhood plan.”  Details on the proposed plan and process can be found on the 35th Ave NE Neighborhood Plan page, which has been linked to through the Land Use Committee page.  In general though, the WLUC is beginning a process to recruit a steering committee of community members to craft land use planning tools that will comprise our “neighborhood plan.”  We will coordinate Community Learning Seminars to educate anyone interested in land use concepts and topics found in the Vision Plan, such as “how to make a neighborhood walkable” or “how to create a diverse and thriving business district.”  These Community Learning Seminars will be presented by experts in the field so that we, as a community, will be able to discuss through Public Workshops what shared goals our community want. We hope to present our draft “neighborhood plan” in January 2013 to the community for comments and have the WCC vote on the final plan in April 2013.  If all goes to plan, we will be submitting our “neighborhood plan” by mid-May 2013.

If you have questions or would like to join the volunteer steering committee, please email » the WLUC.

Here is a video of the meeting. The audio is a little quiet and it’s a rather long video. To make it easier for you to see/listen to what you want, the presentation by CleanScapes begins at 0:46, an announcement on the $13,000 that the WCC has received to work on emergency preparedness begins at 8:13, the 35th Ave NE Neighborhood Plan presentation begins at 14:14, and Q&A begins at 50:07.

Future of 35th Ave NE, A Community’s Decision from Wedgwood Community Council on Vimeo.