Friends of the Sunset Hill Substation will try appealing to the "green" side of political leaders to save a small parcel of surplus city property for community use that could otherwise be sold to developers.

Residents began organizing this past summer and have come up with some ideas for how the patch of land could be used as a multipurpose park for solar energy and open space.

Located on the south side of Northwest 65th Street, west of 32nd Avenue Northwest, the 6,400 square foot parcel could produce as much as 25,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year with an elevated solar canopy. That's according to Mike Nelson, director of the Washington State University Northwest Solar Center.

The neighbors hope to use Initiative 937, which requires utilities to get at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2020, and Seattle's several "green city" programs to convince city leaders to use the dormant facility as an alternative energy producer for the neighborhood.

More than 600 signatures have already been collected from those who support the idea and about 50 people came to a meeting last week to discuss next steps at the Sunset Hill Community Association.

The solar canopy could serve as a power-producing open space center. There are ideas to provide educational opportunities for residential solar energy while also powering the community.

Since I-937 passed last year, state law requires City Light to invest in renewable energy. The utility should start by using its existing resources like abandoned substations, said Robert Drucker, chair of the Friends of group.

The Sunset Hill site has been unused for the past 15 years and is one of six other such parcels in Ballard the city plans to auction away to the highest bidder. The old substations were taken out of service as power distribution technology advanced.

The area is zoned Neighborhood Commercial-1 with a 30-foot height limit, typical zoning for three-story, mixed-use developments. A string of commercial storefronts sits to the east on 32nd.

The Seattle Fleets and Facilities Department is in charge of disposing of the property. City Light was required to offer surplus properties to government and public agencies before putting them on the market, but so far, there's been no interest from the parks or other city departments.

Following disposal guidelines, a lengthy public input process will be conducted over the next several months and the final decision will be made by the Seattle City Council. According to the Fleets and Facilities Department, it's not too late for city departments to acquire the property.

The cost for the land is about $500,000 and the community group is struggling to understand how it might begin to come up with that capital.

Kevin Carrabine, a member of the Sunset Hill Community Association, said there are "creative" ways to get money from city, state or federal governments. Business and non-profit partnerships are also a possibility, he said.

"I believe there's money out there we just haven't tapped into it yet," Carrabine said.

Another option is to convince the Parks Department it made a mistake in overlooking the property.

But Dave Boyd, a member of Groundswell NW, a Ballard non-profit dedicated to protecting and creating community parks, said the Parks Department doesn't have the money to acquire any more property even if it wanted to. Funding from the Pro Parks Levy runs out next year, and most of it is already earmarked for other projects, he said.

Ballard is recognized to have less open space than any other Seattle neighborhood, so preserving surplus city property was designated as a priority in the Ballard/Crown Hill Neighborhood Plan.

"We're doing great but we are starting from a deficit," said Drucker. "We have to take every opportunity we can get..."

So far the issue has gained the attention of a few political leaders.

Seattle City Councilwoman Jean Godden has visited the site and expressed a willingness to back the community. Ballard's King County Councilman, Larry Phillips, has written a letter to the mayor in support of the community's idea.

Brian Hawksford, legislative aide to council member Tom Rasmussen, said the process is complex and will take several months before anything is determined.

"This one will take time, so you have time to organize," said Hawksford, who came to last weeks' meeting.

Lillian Riley, a longtime Ballard community activist and co-founder of Groundswell NW, said it takes a "tremendous" amount of effort to get citizen-driven efforts off the ground through the Parks Department. Webster Park, a short distance from the Sunset Hill substation, was Groundswell's first open space project and took seven years of lobbying city leaders before it was built.

"There's nothing more important than citizen action," Riley said. "That's what really counts in a political world."

Send comments to the Fleets and Facilities Department by Dec. 31, Attn: David Hemmelgarn, P.O. Box 94689, Seattle, WA 98124-4689, 684-0701, david.hemmelgarn@seattle.gov. For community updates, email announcements@sunsethillcommunity.com.