A Seattle City Council committee has approved legislation to update the city's 38 neighborhood plans created a decade ago, and neighborhood's 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.

Cindi Barker, resident of the Morgan Junction neighborhood, said she doesn't mind that her community will not be one of the first to get updated because her neighborhood plans are still relevant.

In fact, in West Seattle, many neighborhood projects have already been completed. In Admiral an improved bus service to the Water Taxi is now operating, and near the Morgan Street Junction the Lincoln Park Annex has been redeveloped to create a panoramic viewpoint and picnic area.

In Delridge, Sylvan Way improvements were completed and the former K-Mart site, at 7345 Delridge Way S.W., was occupied by Home Depot.

Still, improvements for the Delridge Way Southwest streetscape have yet to begin.

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.

"It's important to get people to the table and make sure they all get their voices heard," Barker said. "At the same time you can't force people to participate."

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