Minutes of September 12, 2005
Attending: Dan Becraft, Susan Bennett, Jennifer Biely, John Clark, Jeannie Hale, Joe Herrin, Tom Maider, Heather Newman, Lora Poepping, Mark Trumbauer, Maggie Weissman, and Pat Wright
Excused: Mark Holden, Dermot Noonan, Stan Sorscher, Don Torrie, Bonnie Zinn
Guests: Elise Hart, Children’s Sapristi Guild: Matt Messina, Karen Archuleta, Adam Chawes; Karen Ko
Laurelhurst Nutrition Advisory Committee: Elise Hart, founder and chair of the Laurelhurst Nutrition Advisory Committee briefed the board about her committee. She is the parent of three children and said that she is always looking for creative ways to help educate her kids about healthy food choices. With the growing concern over childhood obesity rates and her desire to see more nutritious food choices in the school cafeteria, she was inspired to form the Laurelhurst Nutrition Advisory Committee (LNAC).
The mission of the LNAC is to integrate a comprehensive nutrition and health program that maximizes the students’ opportunity to learn and grow. The goals are:
· To raise awareness through health and nutrition education/outreach for children, families and staff;
· To help the school staff implement policies and guidelines to support the District nutrition initiatives; and
· To improve the quality of the food served in the school cafeteria (by working with the Seattle School District Office of Child Nutrition..
In September 2004, the Seattle School Board unanimously approved a comprehensive and far-reaching set of nutrition-related policies designed to provide students with healthy food and beverage choices during the school day. Specifically, the policies ban sales of all foods containing high levels of sugar and fat, improve the quality and appeal of school meal programs and prohibit contracts with beverage vendors for "exclusive pouring rights." Hart supports these policies, but believes that many improvements can be made at Laurelhurst School.
Many ideas are in the works. Second graders are planting crops in the school garden and there will be a bulletin board to spread the nutrition message. A Harvest Celebration is in the planning stages for the fall.
Motion by Weissman, seconded by Poepping, to support efforts of the Laurelhurst Nutrition Advisory Committee and provide assistance in education the community and encouraging involvement in healthy eating. Motion passed unanimously.
Children’s Sapristi Guild: Matt Messina, Karen Archuleta, Adam Chawes briefed the board on its plans for the eighth annual concert series to benefit Children’s Hospital. Their goal is to raise $75,000 this year and they would like support from LCC. Specifically, they would like LCC to:
· Inform the neighborhood about the concert series to boost ticket sales;
· Inform neighbors about the opportunity to volunteer to help out;
· Inform sponsors about the possibility of contributing cash or in-kind donations; and
· Help cultivate potential partnerships with local businesses.
By general agreement it was decided that LCC would support the efforts of the Sapristi Guild. Weissman distributed informational material about an event that Great Harvest Bread Company is cosponsoring, along with The Seattle Times, KOMO 4, Children’s Hospital and the Seattle PI to benefit Children’s.
ADMINISTRATION:
Treasurer’s Report: Clarke reviewed the balance sheet and materials relating to billing for professional services included in the packets. Carol Eychaner’s bill for the period is $3,354.98, which includes $150.98 for expenses and reflects a reduction of $798.00 (13.3 hours) for “no charge” time. The bill essentially marks the end of work on the settlement agreement amendments. LCC has asked Eychaner to write an article for the newsletter summarizing the new settlement agreement amendments and additional expense would be required for this.
Clark will be working with his committee on a budget for 2006. Those interested in assisting include: Biely, Becraft and Hale. Priorities for next year include implementation of the sidewalk safety program, memorial plaques for the Holly Oaks on the boulevard and the Corson memorial.
Motion by Biely, seconded by Newman, to pay the Eychaner bill in full. Motion passed unanimously. By general agreement, it decided that approximately $300 should be allotted to Eychaner to finish up work on Talaris and write an article for the newsletter.
Minutes: Consideration of the August minutes will be deferred until the October meeting.
CALLS AND CONCERNS
1. Commercial Renting in Residence: On 8/17, LCC heard from several neighbors about a sign posted at a home on NE 44th Street advertising office space for rent (behind the business district). Because commercial uses are not allowed in single-family neighborhoods, LCC inquired with the Department of Planning and Development and at least two neighbors filed an online complaint. The sign has since been removed.
2. Noise: Beth Bennett emailed on 8/31 to ask what can be done about the evening party events at the Beach Club that have a music from loud speakers and loud voices. Several of these events have gone past 11 p.m. Hale responded that the noise ordinance is trigged at 10 p.m. She said that citizens can call 9-1-1 to report noise ordinance violations or they can file a complaint online with the Department of Planning and Development (DPD). A link to DPD’s noise abatement page was provided to Bennett.
3. Moving: Barbara and Bruce Davis emailed on 8/31 to report they are moving out of the neighborhood to a one-story home in the middle of September. Barbara thanked LCC for its work and send best regards.
4. Map: Meg Bannecker emailed on 8/31 to request that a map showing the location of the Beach Club should be added to LCC’s website. Hale forwarded this request to LCC’s webmaster and Sorscher to see if it would be possible. The current Laurelhurst map on the website lists many places, but not the Beach Club. LCC’s webmaster is working on this.
5. Springbrook Building: Steven Reisler emailed on 8/25 to report that the professionals that will be displaced by Children’s leasing at the Springbrook Building will be meeting to discuss their options. They invited LCC to attend. Gina Trask emailed on 8/20 to report that she and others are still trying to negotiate with Children’s. The letter they wrote to Children’s CEO that was included in last month’s correspondence packet was not shared with the Children’s board of trustees. She asked that LCC write a letter support the tenants. By general agreement, it was decided that LCC would do what it can to support our local business community.
6. CUH Work Party: Doug Schmidt emailed on 8/9 to see if about the possibility of involving Laurelhurst neighbors in work parties in the natural area adjacent to the Center for Urban Horticulture. They need help removing invasive plants. Hale explained that this is something that could be included in the monthly email message to neighbors.
7. Waterway No. 1: Hale received several emails from Kate Lloyd about waterway issues. Biely has heard from Judith Thornton and Lloyd. Kay Stimson called today to pass along her ideas for a landscape plan. Jenness Stark emailed to say she didn’t want any view obstructions. These comments as well as those that surface at the upcoming design meeting will be put together in a report to the board for next month’s meeting.
8. Ditch: Biely reported a positive response from the Department of Planning and Development regarding an unsafe ditch in her part of the neighborhood. A neighbor took pictures and an inspector came out. An area was bulldozed and the trench filled in.
9. Rats: The Department of Health responded to a complaint about rats in the Town of Yesler. A letter was sent to the owners of the property with the problem.
10. Dogs: Burge reported that a neighbor has requested a newsletter article about dogs and owners duties to pick up after then and keep them under control.
11. Speed Limit Enforcement: Maider reported that the police have been issuing speeding tickets on NE 41st street, about seven or eight during each patrol. Maider has made inquiries about speeding problems on 41st and 45th.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Thank you! Thanks to Torrie for coordinating distribution of the agenda packets and to Noonan and Biely for assisting. Poepping and Bennett are willing to help in the future.
2. Discount Vehicle Anti-Theft Devices Available: In response to Seattle’s dubious honor of being named one of the top ten cities for auto theft, the Seattle Police Department has partnered with Safeco Insurance Company to offer vehicle anti-theft devices at reduced prices. They are available in two sizes—regular at $20 and SUV at $25 to Seattle residents. Shipping is free. The regular size Club® is a highly visible yellow vinyl covered lock. This is for use in cars, small cab pickups and vans. The blue truck/SUV Club® is approximately six inches longer than the standard model. This unit is self-locking, meaning that you only need the key to unlock it as it locks itself automatically when extended on the steering wheel. There is a limit of two devices per address. Order forms are available at www.sngi.org/theclub.
3. Children’s Helicopter Oversight Committee: Trumbauer reported that there was no controversy about landings at Children’s helipad at the last meeting. There had been a complaint about landings at Graves Field where pilots seemed to be flying lower than usual. Airlift Northwest was contacted and was very responsive to concerns.
4. Hurricane Katrina: Clark informed the board of the opportunity to contribute to the Washington Cares Fund to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. Contributions may be made at Washington Mutual banks and they will provide a match up to the first $100,000. Biely noticed a car wash and lemonade stands to benefit hurricane victims.
5. Get involved in Neighborhood Playgroups: Jodi Van Lom emailed on 9/30 to let LCC know about Playgroups USA. This group would like to help residents get better acquainted with their neighbors. They have just launched a new website at www.playgroupsusa.com where families can go online and find a playgroup in their area for their kids. Playgroups are great for getting families together and a wonderful support system for new moms and caregivers. Playgroups USA allows you to form or join an organized playgroup in your area that fits with your busy schedule for free.
6. Great Harvest and Children’s: Great Harvest (ours and all 8 in the area) are participating in a fundraising project for the Uncompensated Care Fund for Children’s Hospital on Sunday, September 18. Our community is so supportive that I would like to get them to all come out.
7. Talaris: All parties have signed the amendments to the Battelle Settlement Agreement. Copies are included in the packets.
8. Memorial Plaques: A briefing on the status of the memorial plaques for the 41st Street planted median will be deferred until October or November.
9. UW Golf Driving Range: The University’s environmental impact statement on the golf driving range remodel is now available. Holden, Newman and Hale have a copy of the UW has provided additional copies. CUCAC will be briefed on the report at tomorrow night’s meeting. In response to LCC’s preliminary comments, the UW significantly revised its original plan by reducing the number and size of poles, pursuing a one-story, rather than a two-story remodel, reducing the height of the fencing and addressing the impact on the nearby wetlands. The only remaining issue is whether the UW uses woven chicken wire fencing or a soft nylon mesh. LCC supports the latter because it will mean fewer bird fatalities. At LCC’s request in earlier comments, the UW surveyed and considered four other driving ranges in its bird-on-netting study. The earlier draft report relied on studies on much shorter deer fencing in the Scottish Highlands and transmission wires. By general agreement, it was decided that LCC would write a letter of support of the project.
10. Pilot Training Flights: Airlift Northwest will conduct pilot training lands on Thursday, September 22 between noon and 3 p.m.
11. Rocks: Two 600-pound rocks have been installed on the 41st Street planted median. Dick Barnum checked out various rock possibilities on a website provided by Heath Landscaping, then traveled to Issaquah to personally pick them out. The boulders are light in color so that they can be easily seen. They are attractive and will keep the trucks from destroying plants and curbs when they make their turns.
REPORTS/ACTION
Crime Prevention Report:
1. Update: Wright reported that all has been quiet at the playfield this past month according to Dave Yim. Diane Horswill reported a quiet month for Laurelhurst. The following incidents were reported:
· On 8/03/05 at 11:39 p.m. in the 5000 block of Ivanhoe Place NE, there were suspicious circumstances. A white female circled the block and stopped at a house under construction. When confronted, she left and didn’t return
· On 8/05/05 at 8 p.m. at the playfield, there was a secondhand call about a male with a gun. The original complaint was filed by two 13-year-old girls and there was a delay in reporting to the police. The police were unable to find the suspect.
· On 8/13/05 at midnight in the 3800 block of 44th of 47th Avenue NE, a resident in his basement called the police to say he heard a noise in the upstairs of his house. Officers checked the house and found no sign of attempted entry.
· On 8/16/05 at 3:48 a.m. in the 4700 block of 47th Avenue NE, a homeowner heard footsteps in the yard, but saw no one. Officers checked it out and didn’t find anyone.
· On 8/19/05 at 11:12 a.m. at 51st and NE Laurelcrest Lane, there was a report of three white males carrying picket signs and using a megaphone to prot3est Northwest Asphalt Company, which was working in the area. The protesters were gone when police arrived.
· On 8/20/05 at 11:18 p.m., Officer Havenar in one of his many checks of the playfield, discovered a group of juveniles hanging out near the fire pit. He stayed in the area until they left.
2. City Public Safety Initiative: At its September meeting, the North Precinct Advisory Council voted to support the City Public Safety Initiative. Materials about this initiative are included in the correspondence packet. The goal of the Public Safety Initiative is to maintain and enhance the economic vitality and livability of the city and its neighborhoods by supporting and implementing coordinated strategies that will improve the perception and reality of public safety in the city. They are asking for 45 new police officers and for community groups to support this position and write letters to the appropriate public officials. Forty-five new officers will give the police department 250 new officers, which includes the 25 positions approved this year. Motion by Biely, seconded by Clark to support the city public safety initiative and increased funding for public safety. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Fire Station Relocation: The City has settled on a site that was suggested by a number of people who attended the November 2004 community meeting and by others who sent in comments. The new location will be on the northeast corner of 40th Avenue NE and NE 55th – a site that is currently occupied by an auto repair business and a balloon shop. Legislation authorizing this property acquisition is on its way to the Council and should be heard in committee sometime in September. The city council is expected to act on legislation authorizing the purchase sometime in September. The new location will enhance response times to Laurelhurst.
Planning and design for the new fire station will not begin until 2007, so the two affected businesses will have the opportunity to continue operations until construction begins in early 2008.
By general agreement, it was decided that LCC would write a letter of support for the proposed location. Clark pointed out an issue regarding the ability of fire trucks going down 40th into Laurelhurst across Sand Point Way to maneuver across the center divider. LCC will follow up on this issue and mention it in the letter that is written.
4. NPAC Meeting: Sergeant John (Jay) Mooney of the Major Crimes Task Force was the main speaker at this month’s NPAC meeting. They are focussing on the “bait car auto theft” program which will be in effect before the end of the year. The will use the GPS system in the bait cars so that the auto can be disabled when it is about to be stopped. The type of cars being used and their locations will be unknown to the public. Ten percent to 25 percent of stolen cars were bait cars. Funding for the program will be provided by insurance companies. They have ten top car theft candidates and have made some arrests in the last few weeks from the list. Mooney commented that the use of methamphetamines seems to be behind auto theft.
Captain Oliver reported that the North Precinct is the only precinct that was assigned five new officers. Captain Oliver is being assigned to a special project for seven months. Captain Mike Washburn will be his replacement.
Nominations for the Denny Awards: The Denny Awards honor volunteer service to the city’s park system. The Awards acknowledge and honor the crucial role volunteers play in neighborhood parks, community centers, and recreation programs throughout the city. Denny Awards nominees should meet the following minimum qualifications. The nominee must have:
· Demonstrated exceptional stewardship to parks and/or recreation;
· Provided stellar leadership related to enhancing and preserving parks and/or recreation programs;
· Demonstrated a significant personal commitment of time and effort to assist the Seattle Parks and Recreation department, and
· Gained respect of community peers for efforts to help Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Don Torrie who could not attend tonight’s meeting due to his vacation recommends that LCC nominate Al Hovland to receive an award. Hovland is the chair of the Laurelhurst Community Advisory Council president. He serves on the project advisory team for the community center expansion and is the hot dog chef at the annual salmon bake. He also attends many meetings on behalf of the advisory council and our community. Hale also recommended that LCC nominate Kit O’Neill who has worked for over a decade in daylighting Ravenna Creek, a project that recently broken ground. LCC has supported that project since its inception. By general agreement, it was decided that LCC would write a letter nominating Hovland and O’Neill.
Alternate for Northeast District Council: Hale serves as LCC’s representative to the Northeast District Council. LCC needs an alternate and Susan Bennett has agreed to do this.
Waterway No. 1: The Waterway No. 1 project has its roots in the city’s shoreline street end ordinance. That ordinance, adopted in 1999, creates a new category of permit fees for private property owners who have "encroachments" such as fences, hedges or buildings on shoreline street ends (where a street ends at a body of water). The fees from the permits are directed to a fund for improving public access to shoreline street ends. LCC submitted written comments supporting the ordinance along with other community groups throughout the city.
Although the shoreline street ends were always intended for public access, the City of Seattle flatly ignored them for decades. Those that didn’t become overgrown during this time didn’t because usually adjacent neighbors took care of them on their own time and at their own expense. Some were taken on as extensions to the adjacent neighbors own gardens. Some had public access to them blocked altogether.
The City’s approach to shoreline street ends changed when Friends of Street Ends urged them to pass an ordinance that included specific instructions for the City’s treatment of them. The status of each of the City’s street ends was carefully reviewed because each is unique and all have adjacent neighbors who deserve to be respected. Both Friends of Street Ends and the transportation department agreed that a street end project is far more complicated that simply having an ordinance in one hand and some money in the other. Consensus, consideration, meaningfulness and a long-term maintenance plan are all critical. It has always been the City’s, Friends of Street Ends and LCC’s policy to try to provide a buffer to the adjacent neighbors at these public access sites.
Since late 1999, Liz Ogden, an LCC trustee at the time, took the lead in working the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) in opening up the six shoreline street ends in Laurelhurst and working with neighbors in this effort. Ogden has briefed the board periodically or provided written updates. At the 2000 annual neighbors meeting, Friends of Shoreline Street Ends briefed our community about the shoreline street ends program and implementation in Laurelhurst. Ogden continues to represent the Laurelhurst community on Friends of Shoreline Street Ends.
Policies. LCC developed policies to guide successful implementation of the new city program. The policies call for working with property owners living adjacent to the shoreline street end, respecting the privacy of those property owners and developing community consensus on improvements. LCC also supports incentives to encourage adjacent landowners to minimize private use of the public space. In most of the shoreline street ends in the neighborhood, the fees did in fact serve as an incentive to reduce the size of the encroachment. Also, adjacent property owners receive some credit on the fee owing if they agreed to maintain the public space.
Waterways in Laurelhurst. There are three shoreline areas in Laurelhurst that look like shoreline street ends. They are different though because both the state Department of Natural Resources and SDOT have jurisdiction over these areas. One is located on 55th Avenue NE, another adjacent to the Beach Club and the third is Waterway No. 1 located on 43rd Avenue NE. LCC learned about the classification of these areas when it sought funds from the shoreline street ends account for improvements at Waterway No. 1. LCC was told that those funds could only be used for shoreline street ends. Because of the dual jurisdiction and the numerous state and local regulations, application for neighborhood matching funds grants was complicated, if not impossible.
LCC efforts on Waterway No. 1. In 2002, LCC wrote to its state legislators asking for a minor change in state law allowing DNR to delegate its authority over state waterways in residential areas to local jurisdictions. The idea was to treat similarly situated neighbors the same in terms of paying “encroachment” fees that could then be used to improve the public space. Senator Ken Jacobsen responded and since then, DNR has been working with LCC. Instead of a change in the regulations, DNR has agreed to work in cooperation with SDOT and LCC to implement a program similar to the shoreline street end program—similar, but different. LCC has adhered to the policies it adopted in addressing shoreline street ends since 2002.
Fees. Under the cooperative arrangement between SDOT and DNR, adjacent landowners at Waterway No. 1 have been assessed fees for private use of the public property. The fee paid by one owner is $1845 and the fee paid by the other is $4197. This is a regulatory fee. Prior to this assessment, the owners now paying $1845 were assessed $467.28 for the dock that intrudes into the water portion of the waterway, with no fee for the fence and vegetation on the upland portion. The other property owners had never been assessed a fee for the laurel hedge that encroaches on the public space in the upland area.
The adjacent property owners will also be assessed a proprietary fee by DNR based on the value of the land and other factors. DNR has indicated that these uses WILL BE permitted, that they are in fact authorized uses under the waterway regulations. There are still negotiations underway between SDOT and DNR and a few details to work out with what they are calling “a right of entry agreement.”
One thing that DNR has required is that the fees for private use of the public property be dedicated to improvement of the public space. As a result, SDOT has allocated $20,000 for improvement of Waterway No. 1 for a two-year period.
Complaints about Waterway No. 1: Over the years, LCC has received many complaints about the condition of Waterway No. 1 as it is quite an eyesore filled with tall grass and weeds. Several neighbors have mentioned the dock on one side of the lot where there is a big boat parked alongside and a couple of pilings. This interferes with the launching of non-motorized boats. In talking to the new property owner, she has agreed to consider parking the boat on the other side of the dock (and removing the boat lift that is in that location) and removing the pilings. This will make it easier to launch canoes and kayaks. Two neighbors want no encroachments by adjacent landowners, although the private use of the public area has already been permitted or authorized. These two neighbors consistently talk about public access to the water. Unlike some of our shoreline street ends where neighbors actually had blocked total public access to the water, there is an open area at Waterway No. 1 to access the water.
Since July 2004, LCC has received seven letters about the waterway and various issues from neighbor Judith Thornton and these letters have been included in the monthly correspondence packets and the issues have been addressed periodically by the board.
Moving forward. Because LCC now has a source of funds to make improvements, a design meeting for neighbors has been scheduled for the evening of September 15. A flyer distributed to neighbors is included in the agenda packets.
In the process of working with the city, state and neighbors, it became clear that the waterway situation needed to be tackled one issue at a time. The landscape design issue at Waterway No. 1 is being addressed first both because there is funding for it dedicated by the city, and because it is proposed to be a phased design working from the middle outward, allowing time to address boundary concerns concurrently with the landscaping work.
Thornton provided a draft of her ideas for the waterway that was distributed and will likely be distributed at the September 15 meeting. It incorrectly cites state regulations that apply to harbor areas and not to state waterways. The proposal calls for no private encroachments on the waterway. This would mean that there would be no funds available to improve the upland area and it would continue to remain the eyesore as it has been for the past 65 years.
Regarding maintenance. For improvements to the waterway to be successful, there must be a long-term maintenance plan. One of the adjacent property owners has agreed to allow the City to install a “deduct” meter in their water line to provide irrigation for a three-year period—the time recommended by SDOT to get new vegetation established. The City will pay for the water, but they need a source to draw from.
Thornton refers to neighbors who have mowed and maintained the waterway for more than a decade. As a practical matter, the only maintenance for much of the time has been when her husband mows the lot. Another neighbor paid to have the lot mowed once or twice. There have been a handful of work parties in the last decade to clean up and remove debris.
One other problem raised by Thornton’s proposal is that it would require changes to city regulations—not an easy undertaking and state law. There is currently no opportunity for citizens to comment on SDOT permit applications and there is no requirement that citizens be provided with the right to approve obstructions on public property, nor is there any opportunity for comment on DNR permits.
Next month. Liz Ogden will brief the board about the Waterway No. 1 design meeting at the October LCC meeting as she was unable to attend tonight’s meeting and at other future meetings. LCC will revisit its policies of dealing with shoreline street ends and waterways over the next several months.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM