PORT CANDIDATES FORUM –
Tuesday October 24

In addition to the Greenwood election forum coming up this Saturday, the Greenwood Community Council is also co-sponsoring a Broadview-Bitter Lake candidate forum for port candidates on Tuesday October 24:

Please join Broadview-Bitter Lake and Greenwood Community Councils for an important  candidate forum!

Date: October 24^th, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm
Location: Broadview United Church of Christ, 325 North 125th St.

Join us on October 24th for a candidate forum to hear directly from candidates for Port of Seattle Commissioner: 

  – Seat 1: Ryan Calkins

  – Seat 3: Ahmed Abdi and Stephanie Bowman 

  – Seat 4: Preeti Shridhar and Peter Steinbruek

The Port of Seattle is a special purpose government entity with an annual operating of budget of $620 million, partially funded by King County property taxes. A major driver of growth and development, it is estimated that the Port generates over 200,000 jobs and $20 billion in business revenue for the region each year.

Three of the Port’s seats will be on your ballot this November.  This means your votes will set the direction of the Port for the next several years. The Port is managed by an elected board of five commissioners. There are three seats on the ballot this November, so the outcome will have considerable impact on the direction the Port takes in the next several years. 

Please join us to learn more about the candidates and how they will address pressing issues of our region including:

  – Ensuring the Port of Seattle remains competitive
  – Promoting transparent and accountable government
  – Addressing climate change, air pollution and traffic congestion
  – And much more!

GCC is a volunteer group that seeks to:

• Help get Greenwood residents involved in the neighborhood
• Provide an open forum where everyone is heard
• End polarization to find points of agreement and win-win solutions
• Help inform and empower Greenwood residents to be effective 

We are not an advocacy group for a particular perspective or ideology, and we don’t claim to represent the diverse populations and points of view in Greenwood. But we recognize that when we succeed in engaging and voicing agreement among broad and diverse opinions and perspectives, we can help Greenwood’s voice be stronger and more productive.

If that’s the kind of group you’d like to be part of, please attend our annual meeting tomorrow (Tuesday – see the meeting announcement below) and consider joining our board. To see more about our board positions, see this message, and if you have questions or comments send them to this email address.

The Greenwood Community Council is conducting a survey about the most important issues in Greenwood to help shape our agenda and priorities for 2017.

You can weigh in by following this link. What issues are on your mind, and which should the Community Council focus on over the coming year? 

We will tally the surveys received through Sunday night (April 16) and display the results at our annual meeting and elections next Tuesday April 18 at the Greenwood Library. Announcements and agenda for that meeting will go out this weekend, but please mark it on your calendar now. We will elect new board members and establish priorities for the coming year. 

Reminder of two opportunities this week to get involved in Greenwood:

• Tuesday 3/28 (Tomorrow), 7pm at the Couth Buzzard:
  Discuss potential interest in joining the Greenwood Community Council board before elections in April
   
• Wednesday 3/29, 7pm at the Couth Buzzard:
  Attend the initial meeting of the GCC Engagement and Outreach volunteers to help increase community and participation in Greenwood

I want to add a personal note about why I’ve been involved in the community council off and on over the last few years. I have long believed that being involved in one’s neighborhood is a good thing in itself, because it builds community. But as I’ve become more concerned about politics getting more polarized (yes, even here in Seattle!) and people self-selecting the information they’re exposed to, I’ve become more convinced than ever that face-to-face community engagement can help find middle ground win-win solutions, and promote understanding between people who have different backgrounds and values. When we talk about diversity, the first step is to listen, and understand that neighborhoods are where diverse interests come together and need to be reflected.

In Greenwood we’ve had a positive effect on development. Ten years ago GCC worked with businesses and the city to develop a town center plan for Greenwood that has promoted a positive vision for development that would be consistent with preserving the things we all like about living and working here. Now we are seeing a sudden surge in development, and many of the developers have come to the community council to discuss their development proposals early in the design process.

For transportation we have seen some progress, including some new sidewalks on Greenwood last year. But we have a long way to go to complete the sidewalk system even along arterials and in the urban villages. With new schools and light rail stations opening, pedestrian and bicycle pathways need to be made safe or available at all. And of course getting around in a bus or car is getting more difficult every day.  Every neighborhood needs to speak up to be heard downtown, not just for transportation, but for parks, playfields, community centers, drainage, libraries.

And there is also a lot to be done for safety and health issues – from responding to neighbors in need, to preparing for disasters and earthquakes. GCC has been active previously in these areas, but need new interest to get these efforts restarted and to partner with other community organizations. There is a growing interest and need to focus community and city resources on Aurora Avenue, where new encampments and shelters are planned.

Finally Seattle has challenged all of us to help voices be heard who are not always part of city debate. The community council can play an important role bringing decision-makers to Greenwood to meet with neighbors directly, to educate on how the city works and how to be most effective, and to reach out to constituencies in Greenwood who are not prone to or able to go to evening meetings.

These are the things we’re involved in as volunteers. We hope you’ll consider joining in.

Rob Fellows, President
Greenwood Community Council

85th & Phinney Project
Early Design Input

Land Use Committee Meeting
  Monday, February 13, 2017,  7:00 pm
Meeting Location: Brumbaugh & Associates, 600 North 85^th Street, #102

Owner Shea Properties and Architect Runberg Architecture Group hope to gain input/feedback from the Greenwood Community Council’s Land Use Committee on a proposed new multifamily building located at the intersection North 85th Street and Phinney Avenue North. The site is currently occupied by a building hosting “All That Dance”, previously the DOL, and also a large surface parking lot. The project team is currently evaluating early massing options, including a contract rezone ahead of, and adopting, planned city rezone requirements for the area.

This design option calls for a contract rezone from NC2-40 and NC2P-40 to NC2-65 and NC2P-65. This massing option provides retail along N 85th Street with residential units set back above N. 85th St. Residential units and a lobby are planned along Phinney Avenue North providing approximately 210 – 220 units.   Parking for approximately 150-160 cars will be provided below grade. Current gross square footage is approximately 220,000 – 230,000 square feet resulting in an FAR of 4.10- 4.25 on this site. The project will provide open space at grade and improved streetscapes which is important for continuing the character of Greenwood. The project owner/designer would like to meet and gain further insight from the GCC regarding Greenwood history, its character, the neighborhood design guidelines, and how all these guiding principles can inform design. The project owner/designer thinks it is important to have this feedback from the neighborhood ahead of our more formal city design review process.