Pinehurst Seattle

Public Hearing on Incentive Zoning for Workforce Housing – 10/7 at 5:30 pm

The City Council’s Planning Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee will hold a public hearing on the Mayor’s proposed ordinance establishing a new incentive zoning program for workforce housing.

PUBLIC HEARING
The City Council’s Planning Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee will hold a public hearing to take comments on the proposal on October 7, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. The hearing will be held in Council Chamber, 2nd floor, Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue. The entrances to City Hall are located on the west side of Fifth Avenue, and the east side of Fourth Avenue, between James and Cherry Streets. For those who wish to testify, a sign-up sheet will be available outside the Council Chamber one-half hour before the public hearing.

Questions concerning the public hearing may be directed to LaTonya Brown in Councilmember Clark’s office, by calling (206) 684-5329 or via e-mail at: latonya.brown@seattle.gov.

Print and communications access is provided on prior request. Please contact LaTonya Brown at (206) 684-5329 as soon as possible to request accommodations for a disability.

WRITTEN COMMENTS
For those unable to attend the public hearing, comments will be accepted through 12:00 p.m. October 7, 2008. Please send comments to LaTonya Brown or:

Councilmember Sally Clark
Legislative Department
600 Fourth Avenue Floor 2
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

INFORMATION AVAILABLE
Copies of the proposal are available through the Department of Planning and Development’s website: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/Incentive_Zoning_Program/Overview/.

Questions regarding the proposal or requests for electronic copies may be directed to Mike Podowski at the Department of Planning and Development at (206) 386-1988 or via email at mike.podowski@seattle.gov or Ketil Freeman at the City Council’s Central Staff at (206) 684-8178 or via email at ketil.freeman@seattle.gov

Incentive Zoning for Workforce Housing

Seattle City Council is starting discussions on incentive zoning for workforce housing. The intent is to encourage developers to build more affordable housing for families that are not in poverty, but who make below median income.

This discussion will have a direct impact in the Northgate area as there is a proposal to upzone areas in the Northgate Urban Core in which developers would be allowed to build higher than currently zoned if they include affordable housing. The specifics of what would be required are being discussed now.

See more on this issue in the Seattle PI.

Poll Results: If there was a bumper sticker (or T-shirt) for Pinehurst, what would it say?

Imagine Pinehurst	8 (33%)
Another Treehugger From Pinehurst	4 (16%)
Pinehurst: LEEDrs	0 (0%)
Feet First in Pinehurst	0 (0%)
Loving Living in Pinehurst	0 (0%)
Pinehurst First!	1 (4%)
Exactly Where is Pinehurst?	4 (16%)
Pinehurst – More North Than Northgate	6 (25%)
Pinehurst – Between Lake City and Northgate	1 (4%)
Beyond Pinehurst	0 (0%)
The Coolest People Are In Pinehurst	4 (16%)
Do you pine for the best? Think Pinehurst.	1 (4%)

Theo Chocolate Tour

Some friends were in town visiting this weekend with their children and we took them on the Theo Chocolate factory tour. Theo is a fair trade organic beans to bars chocolate producer located in Fremont. They have public tours daily at 10 am, 12, 2, and 4 pm. Tours are $6 per person, ages 1 and older. Be sure to phone for reservations, though. Spaces fill up quickly. Call (206) 632-5100 to make a reservation.

Hairnets are required.
?All of the cacao beans used at Theo are cut open and examined before they are used.
Here are some bags of cacao beans:
This machine cleans the cacao beans. I think they call this the destoner. Almost all of the machinery is vintage chocolate manufacturing equipment from Europe.
The cacao beans are roasted:
And then they are winnowed (the outer shell is removed from the cacao beans):
This is what comes out of the winnower. You can buy bags of this to add bags of this to add to your compost.
At this point, the activity moves to the main part of the factory where the cacao starts to transform into chocolate. The roasted and winnowed cacao is ground and heated making cocoa liquor. This part of the process can take up to five days.

These are the molds for chocolate bars.
This is the custom made cooler. It is the only new piece of equipment in the factory and it was made for Theo in Michigan.
After the tour. No more hairnets.
You can buy Theo products in the store after the tour. The kids picked up a few “souvenirs”.

California is on the verge of making a major step toward becoming more sustainable

[Washington did a similar thing nearly 20 years ago with the Growth Management Act, but this is still a revolutionary change for California.]

California lawmakers are close to passing legislation that would encourage housing close to workplaces, bus and other transit. The goal is for California communities to be less reliant on personal vehicles and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A key part of the proposal that I find fascinating is that cities and counties would need to meet certain requirements in order to receive state and federal transportation subsidies. How refreshing – transportation subsidies tied to incentives to reduce driving. Hopefully, more funds will go to creating pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure under this new model.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Public Forums

Come hear about possible replacement scenarios for the viaduct’s central waterfront

Public forums in September will gather comments on proposed replacement options for the viaduct’s central waterfront section. Come learn about the plan to take down this section of the viaduct in 2012.

In September, WSDOT, King County, City of Seattle and the Federal Highway Administration are hosting a series of public scoping open houses throughout Seattle. These meetings are an opportunity to review current project information and tell us what issues- such as noise, air quality, traffic, etc.- should be considered in the central waterfront environmental document. Project information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct/centralwaterfront.htm.

The meetings will be held at the following locations:

Downtown
Sept. 11
4 – 7 p.m.
Plymouth Congregational Church, Hildebrand Hall – 1217 Sixth Ave., Seattle

West Seattle
Sept. 16
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Fauntleroy Church – 9140 California Ave. SW, Seattle

Ballard
Sept. 18
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Leif Erikson Hall – 2245 NW 57th St., Seattle

If you are unable to attend these meetings, you may submit comments directly to the program by mail, e-mail or phone. To ensure your comments on currently available project information are considered, please submit them by Sept. 30, 2008.

Mail:
Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program
999 Third Ave., Suite 2424
Seattle, WA 98104

E-mail: viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov

Phone: 1 – 888 – AWV – LINE

1/3 of all 2007 Pedestrian Fatalities in the City of Seattle Occurred in Pinehurst

According to the 2007 Pedestrian and Bicycle Collision Report prepared by Seattle Department of Transportation, one third (2 of 6) pedestrian fatalities in 2007 occurred in Pinehurst. [One of the most troubling aspects of this is that I don’t recall ever reading about these accidents.]

Both of these accidents occurred near the Northgate core – near the locations where we have been advocating for the need for sidewalks and for which we have repeatedly been told that funding is a low priority.

Read the full report here: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/pmp/07%20Ped-Bike%20Collision%20Report.pdf

Lets make full implementation of the Northgate Coordinated Transportation Investment Plan (the CTIP) a reality. And, let’s do it before we have additional fatalities. (And, I think we need to finally address the mess where Pinehurst Way and Roosevelt Way and 15th Ave NE meet.)

Arterial Speed Control

Seattle Police have been issuing tickets for speeders in a number of locations around Pinehurst (NE 125th – from I-5 to Lake City Way, 15th Ave NE and on Roosevelt Way NE).

Speed limit on arterials is 30 MPH.

Judy Sterry – Pinehurst Neighbor and Habitat for Humanity Volunteer

Many of you may have met Judy Sterry. She has led a life that many of us could only dream of living. And, in retirement she is even more active. Read more about Judy and her current work with Habitat for Humanity here.

Neighborhood Matching Fund – 20th Anniversary!

(click to enlarge)

Learn more about the Neighborhood Matching Fund program here.

Pinehurst projects made possible in part by the Neighborhood Matching Fund program include: the 2008 Pinehurst Summer Social, Pinehurst Playfield playground, Pinehurst Playfield shelterhouse improvements (currently in process), Pinehurst Pocket Park and much more…

Pinehurst Seattle

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