Continuity of new building designs, transportation and community involvement were the primary concerns at the West Seattle neighborhood plan status check meeting Wednesday, July 28.

These status report update meetings, which have occurred all over the city this and last month, serve as a way to check in with the neighborhoods on their growth and improvements; both achieved and still needed, since the creation of the original plans between 1995 and 1999.

The meetings are hosted by the Seattle Planning Commission and Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee.

“The plans identify actions that the city, the neighborhood and other agencies can take to ensure that each neighborhood will continue to thrive and improve as Seattle grows,” according to a statement from the draft Neighborhood Plan Status Reports brochure.

After a brief introduction on the background of the plans and the goals of the status checks, there were group discussions between community members in each neighborhood.

Almost all of the neighborhoods saw positive changes with the increased number of parks and green space.

Individuals in the Junction neighborhood generally approved of new businesses and the developments over the last several years, which they said serve to make the area more desirable to residents.

However, there was significant disapproval of the current construction projects, for fear the “mundane big box businesses” will detract from the “small town feel” of downtown West Seattle, said resident Rene Commons.

“I’m really concerned that forward development has a cohesive flow so we’re all one unit,” said Joan Jeffery.

At least one comment about maintaining architectural continuity was made from almost every neighborhood.

In addition to concerns for the structures themselves is access to these developing centers.

Various Junction community members pointed out that as the Junction becomes more desirable, traffic congestion has and will increase, leading to limited parking availability. In addition, some felt public transportation was not effective enough to be a viable alternative to driving, due to bus tardiness and limited routes.

Transportation, whether around the neighborhood itself or to the business centers, was also a concern in almost every neighborhood.

“My 2,000 foot disappointment is that there is no master plan of the Junction,” said Jerry Williams, referring to both building continuity and transportation.

Midge Batt countered this, saying there is a plan but it comes secondary to the city's priority of density.

Erica Kavlovits of the Junction Neighborhood Organization added: “Where the plan has stalled is where the community is taken out of the process.”

While the Junction neighborhood had concerns about the city's involvement with the community, other neighborhoods were more concerned about community involvement within their own neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods such as Delridge, Westwood or Highland Park and Admiral pointed out that advertising for community meetings should be done both online and offline, and provide translated versions. This way they can reach out to individuals who do not have computer access or do not speak English.

After these and many more topics were covered, the words of Irene Wall, which kicked off the meeting, seemed to sum up the evening consensus: “I think a lot of good work is going to happen.”