Laurelhurst Community Club
Serving 2800 Households and Businesses in Seattle’s Laurelhurst Neighborhood
October 30, 2007
Mayor Greg Nickels
City of Seattle
P.O. Box 94726
Seattle, Washington 94726
Stella Chao, Director
Department of Neighborhoods
P.O. Box 94649
Seattle, Washington 98124-4649
Diane Sugimura, Director
Department of Planning and Development
P.O. Box 34019
Seattle, WA 98124-4019
RE: Neighbor Exclusion from Children’s Media Event Today
Dear Mayor Nickels and Directors Chao and Sugimura,
This morning, the Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) Board of Trustees learned that Children’s would be presenting two new alternatives for study in the environmental impact statement for its proposed expansion. We immediately emailed Children’s to ask for information about the plans so our land use consultant could review the plans prior to the Citizens Advisory Committee meeting tonight. Nothing was provided. In the meantime, we heard from three reporters about a media event that had been scheduled for 1:45 p.m. today. Still no word from Children’s. I showed up with another LCC trustee and one other neighbor. We were not allowed to attend the media event. Guards were on hand to keep us out.
Children’s told me that it was a private media event conducted on private property and we were not allowed to attend. It is remarkable that Children’s would consider a media event private. I asked if I could wait outside the room where the media event was taking place to talk to reporters as they exited and was told no. I was then told the room was too small to allow one more person to enter. Later, I was told by Children’s staff person Desiree Leigh, she didn’t even know where the meeting was taking place. I felt physically threatened by the guards at Children’s. We find Children’s conduct and unwillingness to work with our community, the major stakeholder in this process unacceptable. Children’s should have taken its presentation to the Citizens Advisory Committee first or at least included that body in its media event along with other interested parties.
We encourage you to do all you can to encourage Children’s to work with the Laurelhurst community and all neighbors.
Sincerely,
Jeannie Hale, President
3425 West Laurelhurst Drive NE
Seattle, Washington 98105
206-525-5135 / fax 206-525-9631
cc: Tom Hansen, Suzanne Petersen, Ruth Benfield, Desiree Leigh, Children’s Hospital; Scott Ringgold, Department of Planning and Development; Steve Sheppard, Department of Neighborhoods; Children’s Citizens Advisory Committee; Seattle City Council