The city's Department of Planning and Development is putting the final touches on a proposal that would increase height limits and change development standards in areas zoned multifamily, which make up much of residential West Seattle.
The changes are meant to simplify the code, which has been revised several times since it was adopted in 1982.
The current 32,000 square foot Safeway in the Admiral district will be replaced, but planning is in a very early stage, said a representative of the company last week.
In addition, city council member Tom Rasmussen, who lives in Alki, attended the meeting and told of progress made with the Coast Guard to cut down the number of rush hour openings of the lower West Seattle swing bridge.
Two representatives from Safeway's regional corporate offices in Bellevue, plus three from their Seattle architect Fuller/ Sears were at the Admiral Junction Association's meeting last week.
Alaska Junction residents and members of the West Seattle Design Review Board said last week a proposed eight-story apartment building with ground level retail space was too huge to fit into the area at Alaska Street and California Avenue.
At the same meeting, a proposed 200-unit apartment complex between Fauntleroy and Alaska, met greater acceptance but review board members and citizen said it faced difficulties trying to incorporate a Montessori school into the nearly block-long, five-story building.
The city's regional design review board are meant to encourage better
A lawsuit aimed at derailing the plan to build a new Denny Middle School next to a refurbished Chief Sealth High School is "without merit" and should be quashed, says a spokesman for Seattle Public Schools.
A group of parents and a union filed suit on March 29 seeking the court to order the school district to halt plans for the co-location of the two schools.
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce honored three of its members for high achievement and leadership that helped shape the West Seattle community.
The event took place at their April 9 breakfast at Salty's. Sun and sentiment poured through the dining room as Chamber President Dawn Leverett hosted the event and Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis presented the awards.
Despite some restiveness over a new sidewalk plan for the Alki Point Place area, many of the 70 Alki area residents at a recent meeting seemed to accept the city's changes and modifications.
A man whom other media said was going to sue, made it clear he only wanted the city to follow its own procedures.
Responding to prior strong complaints from Dick Warren and others living on Alki Avenue and Beach Drive, project manager Sam Woods said her department went to great lengths to preserve as many street parking spaces as possible with the plan.
At a family disturbance, officers spoke with a 9-year-old who has been hanging around with gang members. The boy acknowledged that they probably weren?t the best friends to keep. But he also told officers that he has been waiting to be assigned a "Big Brother" for a year but has not gotten one yet. He'd appreciate someone who is into sports and who could help him with his angry feelings.
rubber-stamping
Mayor Nickels has a heavy burden. In addition to grandstanding, ribbon-cutting and paper bags (more trees cut down) he is a promoter of taxpayer money for basketball teams, the chambers of commerce on earth and in the sky, the building industry, and Seattle's condo-izers and developers.
The mayor is also energetically engaged in building new low-income housing towers downtown in exchange for abolishing building height limits (soon as he takes the money out of his pocket).
I appreciate the effort to partner with those benefitting the most financially with the new residential construction taking place in downtown Ballard. Open spaces and parks add greatly to liveability of a business and residential community. My concern is with the sustainability of this partnership. Portland has recently included a cost to developers of projects of a minimum size to be set aside for open spaces and parks. This guarantees a consistent income for the acquiring, developing and maintaining of open spaces.
If the tunnel is too difficult and expensive and the replacement viaduct would be too big and bulky what about a land-based suspension bridge or some oversized arches supporting the roadway. We would not be known as the Big Apple but we might be known as the Big Mac.
Now if we could just get the King Dome back.
Tim Carney
Ballard
