It Ain't Over Till It's Over

In my last post, I told you about the short notice we were given to file an appeal to challenge the city's decision to allow the Alki 11 row house project to go forward. I described mounting an appeal in just 9 days as a "nearly impossible task."

But not completely impossible, it turns out. Thanks to neighbor, Marty McQuaid, an appeal was filed yesterday, citing the city's failure to meet state SEPA guidelines, and irregularities in the city's granting of lot boundary adjustments (LBAs), among other issues.

Read the appeal document, filed by land use attorney, Cynthia Kennedy. And the declaration from Marty McQuaid. The appeal was filed on behalf of the Alki Neighborhoods for Sensible Growth, a newly formed association comprised of residents affected by the Alki 11 development. The filing was covered by the West Seattle Blog.

For those of us involved in the controversy, it was a great relief to hear from the land use attorney that we have grounds to challenge the LBAs. It was clear to us from the beginning that two sets of row houses back to back, as the Alki 11 is proposed, would be illegal. The city clearly states that row houses cannot have principal residences behind them. But by rearranging the lot lines and declaring each set of row houses to be on a separate piece of property, the developer was able to turn an illegal project into a legal one.

This, not surprisingly, infuriated the neighbors who saw these LBAs as sneaky and underhanded. We were further frustrated by the fact that the city told us we couldn't address the issue of boundary adjustments in the review process. We were told that the project wasn't under land use review, only a SEPA review. Our objections had to be limited to the environmental aspects of the project. Period. We were told that our comments regarding design or land use would be disregarded. I felt like we had been issued a gag order.

It is clear to everyone that if the LBAs were not granted, this project would not be a row house project. It would be a town house project. If it were a town house project, subject to the same guidelines and requirements as the other town house developments on our street, there would not have been a protest.

If nothing else, appealing the city's decision will give us the opportunity, at long last, to bring attention to the LBA issue and let our objections be known.

No date has been set for a hearing. When it is, I will let you know.

The City Has Reached A Decision on The Alki 11 Rowhouse Project

Three months after the public meeting requested by Alki neighbors, the city has handed down a decision on the SEPA review of the Alki 11 rowhouse project. They have approved the project, over numerous neighborhood objections, with "conditions." The conditions all relate to conduct during construction and have no bearing on the design.

The city published the decision on the DPD website on October 10, but neighbors did not receive notification of the decision until October 15. We were given a deadline of October 24 for an appeal - just 9 days in which to review the decision and decide what, if any, grounds there might be for appeal. A nearly impossible task.

Needless to day, neighbors are very disappointed with the city's decision. Moreover, late notification for some people, with many names misspelled, and no notification at all for others, gives the impression of lack of respect on the part of city officials. None of this sits well. And we are not alone. All over the city, citizens are organizing and protesting runaway development and lack of consideration from the city. It will be interesting to see what affect this will have on the upcoming election in which we choose a mayor and members of city council.

Coverage of the decision on the West Seattle Blog contains links to the relevant documents. 

We Had Our Meeting With The City, Now What?

The public meeting my neighbors and I requested to express our concerns about the proposed Alki 11 rowhouse project was held last Wednesday, July 17. We had a good turnout - my guess is between 50 and 60 people. This was a SEPA meeting and we were directed to offer comments on environmental issues only.

Initially, 12 people signed up to speak, but as the meeting went on, a few more signed in and spoke. Close to 20 people had their say. Topics included those covered on this blog: lack of stormwater mitigation, more cars parked on the street, more congestion, inadequate infrastructure to handle all the waste and stormwater, the potential for flooding,  and contributing to sewage overflows into Puget Sound. Older residents who have lived here for many years, some whose family has had property here for generations, talked about how this project fails to consider the character of the neighborhood. Several people reviewed the developers SEPA checklist and pointed out inaccuracies and incomplete answers. Others lamented the loss of wildlife habitat, challenging the developer's statement that there is no wildlife present in this area. Lack of green space, and blocking light and air for neighboring properties was mentioned, as was the lack of transit options available here. Between the oral and written comments, I believe we explained the negative environmental impacts pretty thoroughly.

The meeting organizer and Department of Planning and Development (DPD) planner in charge of this project, Tami Garrett, said that she would be reviewing all of our comments, along with the reviews still to be completed by other planners, before writing her decision. She will accept written comments for about one more week. If you have anything you would like to submit, email it to her at tami.garrett@seattle.gov. Obviously, the sooner she gets comments the better.

She will write her decision, it will be reviewed by her supervisor, and then it will be published. She expects this to be done within the next two months. After the decision is published, the neighbors will have two weeks to appeal the decision if we aren't happy with it.

The mood as we left the meeting was subdued. We get it. There's not much the DPD can do for us. They don't make policy or write ordinances, their job is simply to enforce the rules. The rules are made by the city council, with input from the mayor.

Since the meeting, several neighbors have written to Richard Conlin, the city council member who chairs the Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee. He has agreed to look at how the zoning evolved that could allow this project to happen. But he says there's nothing he can do about this now. Here's a quote from one of his emails:

"I am trying to be really, really clear on the permitting process. The Council cannot legally take any action that will affect a permit that has been filed with DPD. There is no action that we can take that will affect or stop the project you are concerned about. Only DPD has the authority to do that. 

If, in reviewing the zoning, there is a case for changing it, that could apply to prospective projects in the future, but it cannot be applied retroactively."

So there you have it, the DPD punts to the City Council and the Council punts the issue back to the DPD. In the meantime, projects like the Alki rowhouses and other egregious developments are sprouting up all around us. At some point, city officials may see that mistakes were made and change the rules, but for now, these projects are going to get built. Once they're here, they're here to stay - for decades - along with the problems they spawn. There has to be a better way to manage growth and development in Seattle.

Related posts:

What Does SEPA Mean, Anyway?

The Environmental Impacts of the Alki 11 Rowhouses