Minutes for January 12, 2004
The meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM
Attending: Mark Trumbauer, John Burge, Jennifer Biely, Dermot Noonan, Mark Holden, Bonnie Zinn, Maggie Weissman, Barbara Ragee, Don Torrie, Kate Lloyd, Jeannie Hale, Mimi Levin, Patricia Wright, John Clark, Joe Herrin, Stan Sorscher
Absent: Torrance and Piyarali are on leave of absence. Newman and Romano could not attend tonight’s meeting.
Guests: Rick Alvord (LVR Soccer Club) Robin Chalmers
Minutes: Minutes of the 12/08/03 meeting were amended to indicate that police were called when suspicious activity was observed prior to a neighborhood business being robbed. Motion: (By Clark, seconded by Ragee) Approve the December 2003 minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously.
CALLS AND CONCERNS
Carolyn Corson is recovering: Barbara Ragee said Carolyn Corson is recovering well from surgery.
Ballet at Laurelhurst School: Neighbor Julie Kelly called on 12/08/03 to see about attending a future LCC meeting to discuss the possibility of LCC sponsoring an “in school residency” at Laurelhurst School for Pacific Northwest Ballet. She’s on the board of that group. Don Torrie suggested she approach the Laurelhurst Park Committee which will meet on Thursday.
House-Sitting: Stephanie Dugan called on 12/10/03 to ask about housing sitting opportunities in the neighborhood. She was put in touch with Burge for a possible newsletter ad.
Vandalism: Peggy Bigelow called on 12/13/03 to report that vandals tore down two of her beautiful Christmas stars and the lighting. She reported the incident to the police. There has also been several cars egged on the block.
Traffic: Stacy Ployhar, a new neighbor who bought the house with her husband on NE 41st that faces the steep part of the hill, emailed on 1/02/04 to ask if LCC can do anything to address the lack of visibility for cars traveling on 41st on the hill. Their driveway enters the street in the middle of the steep part of the hill and they have difficulty backing out. LCC will follow-up with SDOT on the problem. Neighbor Robin Chalmers indicated he would attend tonight’s meeting to address traffic problems in his part of the neighborhood. A 4-way stop was tried a few years ago, but did not resolve the problem.
Break-In: Marielle Roloff from the Provail Burke Gilman Apartments emailed on 1/05/04 to report that someone broke into her home. The incident occurred at 10:30 p.m. on 1/04/04. She found the intruder hiding in her dark bedroom after hearing noise. Nothing was taken and she wasn’t hurt. The intruder fled after she wrestled with him a bit. The intruder is a Black male in his late 20’s or early 30’s about five-foot ten to six feet tall. He was wearing a gray ski jacket. She would like to write a piece for the newsletter to warn neighbors to keep their homes properly secured.
Plastic Peanuts: Candy O’Mally called on 1/07/04 to express interest in taking peoples’ plastic peanuts off their hands for reuse. She will call Burge about an ad.
Pipe Break: D. Vonbehrens called on 1/08/04 to report that a pipe had burst at the Beach Club and was causing flooding near his home. Hale provided several phone numbers for individuals on the Beach Club board.
Website: Wieland and Helen von Behrens emailed on 1/09/04 to report a bad link on LCC’s website. Rucker promptly fixed it.
Barking Dog: A neighbor spoke to John Burge about problems with a barking dog. Jennifer Biely suggested a tennis ball filled with peanut butter, which can occupy a dog for long periods of time.
Snow issues: Mark Trumbauer noticed that when snow is on the ground, dog owners tend not to pick up after their dogs. He suggested a Newsletter reminder. This could be combined with a safety reminder about sledding, particularly down toward the Beach Club.
Dogs off leash: Dermot Noonan observed dogs running off leash in Laurelhurst Playfield. Jennifer Biely and Don Torrie can take this item to me Park Advisory Committee meeting.
Lighting at Magnuson: Rick Alvord spoke about the lighting used at Genesee Park, and showed photographs taken at night in that area. The shielding directs most of the light into the playfield. Baseball lighting would not be shielded the same way.
Crows: Robin Chalmers spoke again to the remarkable increase in crows in the area.
Treasurer’s Report: Mimi Levin reviewed a new format for financial statements and went through the highlights of financial position to date. We intend to prepare a budget for 2004, to compare to expenses and revenues at each monthly meeting.
Dues Statement Update: Burge reported that the annual dues statements have been taken to the printer and should reach neighbors soon.
Land Use Consultant: In June 2001, LCC was fortunate to hire land use consultant Carol Eychaner to assist with issues relating to the Talaris proposed development. Eychaner has reached the $6,000 LCC budget authorization and needs to know if LCC would like to set a new budget threshold or operate on an open-ended arrangement. It is expected that some work may be required in February or March as Talaris will release revised plans that comply with the Settlement Agreement at the time.
501(c)(3): Levin and Hale are doing some of the groundwork to establish a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) organization. They will report next month.
Thank you! Thanks to Torrie for coordinating distribution of monthly trustee packets and for Lloyd, Romano and Noonan for assisting this month.
Talaris: Bob Wicklein called on 12/11/03 to tell LCC that a modified Talaris project is moving forward. They will reduce the size of the building to address height, bulk and scale issues. They have also decided to comply with the parking requirements of the Settlement Agreement, as well as all other requirements of the Agreement. They will add an additional level of underground parking. The new plans should be ready by mid-February. On related matters, Dorm Anderson retired from NBBJ and there is a new Executive Director of Talaris.
Invitation from Children’s: Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center invites you to a special community celebration of the opening of the Janet Sinegal Patient Care Building on Saturday, January 17, 2004 at 10:45 a.m. Tours will follow from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mayor Nickels will give a speech. Children’s is located at 4800 Sand Point Way N.E. Parking will be available in the Giraffe and Whale parking lots. Please enter through the new Giraffe Entrance. For further information, contact Sarah Erickson at sarah.erickson@seattlechildrens.org or 206-987-3881.
UW Stumps: In response to complaints from neighbors, LCC contacted the UW’s landscape architect about the two stumps—ranging from two feet to three feet tall—beside the UW’s student housing on Mary Gates. Bill Talley, the UW landscape architect, said that the two birch trees were removed so that the students would have a better view. He agreed that too much of the stumps had been left and has contacted the contractor who removed the trees. He said that the UW did not have tree replacement in mind in killing the trees. LCC asked for a copy of the UW’s tree removal policies. Tally also mentioned a birch stump in the street right-of-way along Mary Gates and wondered how it got left that way.
Open Space and Development Rules: The mayor and city council will soon be considering changes to the land use code to reduce open space requirements for development and to relax parking, height and other restrictions. LCC will consider these issues and proposals at an upcoming meeting.
Annual Meeting: Dave Yim has asked that we set the date for LCC’s annual neighborhood meeting as soon as possible to assist him in scheduling the Center.
Waterway No. 1: Lloyd and Hale met with representative from SDOT and the state Department of Natural Resources in December to review issues relating to the encroachments. Ogden who coordinates these issues for Laurelhurst was not able to attend, but was briefed on the meeting. The tentative plan is for the state to develop a no-fee lease arrangement with the city for the waterway. SDOT has agreed to provide the expertise of their landscape architect to assist in developing a plan to improve the upland area. This would be funded from the city’s state waterway account. SDOT crews would assist in undertaking the landscaping. SDOT will also develop a plan for ongoing maintenance of the upland area. The adjacent property owners would be required to pay for an annual permit for their encroachments, similar to the way adjacent landowners are treated for their encroachments. Fees go into a fund for waterway-related projects.
Issues remain about the water encroachments of the dock and the boat that is parked there and LCC will continue to work on this.
Montlake NEDC Rep: Paul Gibson, the long time Montlake representative to Northeast District Council has resigned from that position due to traveling plans and for other reasons. He will be missed!
New Neighbor: Councilmember Jim Compton has moved to the neighborhood. He and his new wife bought the house on the corner of Surber and Belvoir Place.
Changes at aCUH: Professor Linda Chalker-Scott has announced her resignation from the faculty of the College of Forest Resources. She will begin a position with WSU at Puyallup on April 1. She chose this career change because of the loss of the former undergraduate program in Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry. Replacing Professor Chalker-Scott or even positions in urban horticulture or forestry are not givens. Hinckley is working with others in putting something together urging a replacement.
REPORTS/ACTION
Crime Prevention: Pat Wright and Diane Horswell met with the Belvoir neighbors to talk about vandalism in the area. Nick Licata will chair the City Council Public Safety committee. Police are making a major effort regarding car thieves in north Seattle. Suspects were arrested who are thought to be responsible for many of the car thefts.
Neighbor Appreciation Day: Coco Sherman, LCC’s Special Events Coordinator, could not attend tonight’s meeting. She needs volunteers for our February 7th reception and volunteers to distribute the nomination flyers. The event will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Community Center. She needs two-three people to help in the morning with setup and the same number to help with cleanup. Refreshments are also needed. Someone needs to coordinate the sale of Laurelhurst History books. She also needs nominations for Good Neighbor Awards. The success of this event depends upon the participation of LCC trustees. Sherman would appreciate any suggestions about how to make the event an even bigger success.
Magnuson Park Issues: In response to requests from neighbors, LCC agreed to review the positions of Friends of Magnuson Park, a group that LCC has endorsed. Background materials about the position of Friends of Magnuson Park are included in the trustee agenda packets. Also included in the correspondence packet is the Parks Department response to questions about Magnuson Park from Northeast District Council (NEDC) and the original letter from NEDC and View Ridge Community Council.
In October 2002 the LCC board voted to endorse the group because its efforts were consistent with LCC’s earlier positions and comments on the Park Department Joint Athletic Field Development Plan and the impacts of field development and lighting at Magnuson Park. LCC has always supported the presence of athletic fields at Magnuson Park, but has been critical regarding the scale of proposed development, the impacts on traffic and the environment and the failure to adequately plan to mitigate those impacts.
Kate Lloyd said she reviewed the FOMP web site looking for clear statements of their position and references to LCC positions. A newspaper article referred to neighbors who complained about lighting, and eastside neighbors, already sensitized by UW stadium lights are worried about additional lights at Magnuson near the lake shore. Lloyd suggested a site visit to Genesee Park to see the lighting effects at night.
Bonnie Zinn asked about access to the playfields, which would be open to leagues who pay a fee.
Robin Alvord said lighting would end at 10 PM. Jeannie Hale understood the limits to be 9 PM in one area, 10 PM in another, and 11 PM in a third area of the park, according to Parks Department documents.
Hale summarized LCC positions on the park, originally taken over a year ago. We support development of the fields, however we would like the lights off by 9 PM, we expect traffic mitigation steps, and the development should avoid negative effects on the wetlands and natural areas in the park.
Lloyd said she thought the Parks Department might reach a compromise solution in the near future.
Closed session
At 7:55, them meeting went into closed session. Dermot Noonan left about this time.
In closed session, Trustees considered the two legal proceedings – an appeal regarding the UW Master Plan appeal and the other involving lifting the Lease Lid for the University of Washington, opening the primary and secondary impact zones to additional use by UW.
Trustees considered various options in how we might proceed in these two actions, and what instructions we should give to Peter Eglick.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:37 PM.
Minutes by Stan Sorscher