A Seattle City Council committee approved legislation to update the city's 38 neighborhood plans created a decade ago, and neighborhoods gaining more mass transit service will likely go first.

In 1999 the Seattle City Council approved 38 neighborhood plans in many of the city's neighborhoods designed to support anticipated population growth around the city over the next 20 years. Since then some communities have made significant progress but city leaders are in agreement they need revisions to address growth impacts.

The council's Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods committee also approved a resolution to the legislation to establish a new Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee.

Chair of the council committee Sally Clark said the process would determine if the neighborhood plans still meet the needs of the community and fit the city's aspirations for different areas.

If approved by the full council on Sept. 22, the city will immediately begin gathering information on different areas to compare the status of different neighborhoods now with their demography, zoning, housing and transportation 10 years ago.

In 2009 Sound Transit's light rail will begin operating through Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill and into downtown Seattle. As a result neighborhood plan updates are expected to first impact the Beacon Hill, McClellan and Othello, which will experience significant growth from the new transit system.

The current ordinance estimates that from the 2008 budget, $204,975 will be spent on Neighborhood Status Reports and $808,975 will be spent on Neighborhood Plan Updates for the first six areas with new transit.

In Ballard, a neighborhood project that sought to revise city policy regarding the use of shoreline street ends in industrial areas is still in progress. But according to local resident Craig Benjamin, Ballard has been taking other steps to accommodate the neighborhoods recent growth, which has already surpassed projected numbers for the year 2020.

At the public hearing last week, many community members emphasized the importance of including neighborhood residents in the updating process. In the past renters and residents with limited English language skills have not been very involved in neighborhood planning.

Community engagement will be an important task for the new Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee. The committee is designed to guide the update process while reaching out to underrepresented members of the community.

"It is truly a partnership with community," Clark said. "This is a side-by-side task with community members and city officials."

If approved, it will include a representative from each of Seattle's 13 neighborhood district councils, two members of the planning commission and seven at-large appointments from Mayor Greg Nickels and the City Council.

"I think everyone should get involved," Benjamin said. "(Neighborhood Plans) are incredibly important in shaping growth in our city."

Rose Egge may be reached at 932-0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com.