Wedgwood Action Group

Could Wedgwood actually be in-line for some open space investment from the city?

2008-07-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

Wanted to pass this along because it could be a benefit for Wedgwood.

The citizen's advisory committee for the upcoming Parks and Green Spaces Levy has made their final recommendation. (You can grab it here).

What is interesting for Wedgwood is that $24 million is being set aside for park acquisition - and of specific note were those neighborhoods that lag behind others in terms of how much open space they have. Well, guess whose on the list, our very own misspelled Wedgwood.

Anyway, two potential properties for acquisition are - the pocket park at the corner of 35th Ave NE and NE 86th Street, and the open space at 35th Ave NE and NE 80th Street.

So, there's going to be two public hearings on this - if you want to do something to help Wedgwood, these would be great meetings to attend and make your voice heard.
Public Hearing Times, Dates and Locations:

Thursday, July 10, 2008 - 5:30 start time
Seattle City Council Chambers
City Hall
600 4th Ave. 2nd Floor

Wednesday, July 17, 2008 - 5:30 start time
Seattle City Council Chambers
City Hall
600 4th Ave. 2nd Floor

Park Land, Facilities or Trail Corridors in Urban Villages and Single Family Neighborhoods - $24 million

Description:
This project will allow for the purchase of land in areas of the Seattle that have been identified by the Seattle Parks and Recreation as having most deficit in its 2006 Development Plan and Gap Analysis.

Urban Villages:
To increase open space in urban villages, this project focuses on those areas where the amount of available open space does not meet City standards in 50 percent or more of the village. Open space could be increased either by acquiring property for new parks, facilities or trail corridors and/or by buying property to expand existing parks, facilities or trail corridors. The 17 urban villages which do not meet City standards in 50 percent or more of the village area are:
-12th Avenue Urban Center Village
-Ballard Urban Village
-Belltown Urban Center Village
-Bitter Lake Hub Urban Village
-Capitol Hill Urban Center Village
-Chinatown-International District Urban Center Village
-Commercial Core Urban Center Village
-Denny Triangle Urban Center Village
-First Hill Urban Center Village
-Fremont Hub Urban Village
-Greenwood-Phinney Ridge Residential Urban Village
-Morgan Junction Residential Urban Village
-North Rainier Hub Urban Village
-Ravenna Urban Center Village
-University Urban Center Village
-West Seattle Junction Hub Urban Village
-Westwood-Highland Residential Urban Village

Single Family Areas:
To increase open space in single family areas that do not meet City open space standards, this project allows for the acquisition of property for new parks, facilities or trail corridors. Single family areas that are deficient in open space are:
-Wedgewood (sic) Neighborhood NE of Dahl Playfield
-Beach Drive Northwest of Morgan Junction

Why is there a new 59 1/2 foot cell phone tower in Wedgwood?

2008-05-14T11:32:00.001-07:00

Recently saw a comment on the blog asking why a cell phone tower was built without public comment at the corner of 35th and 75th.

There actually was a comment period, and I've listed a response from Seattle City Light below. How well the comment period was promoted within the neighborhood is another question, but on the other hand nobody really stepped up to try to stop it. So, the thing now is to try and make the best of the situation.

The subject pole is in a Neighborhood Commercial 2-30 (NC 2-30) zone, and the proposed height (59′6″) is under 60′, so DPD review is not required by code and the facility is exempt from SEPA review. T-Mobile provided SCL a copy of the notice of a neighborhood meeting held at Eckstein Middle School on 12/11/06 and reported that the notice was sent to property owners (151) within 500′ of the pole. T-Mobile also reported that only one person attended the meeting; she did not want to sign in but was in favor of the project because her T-Mobile service is so poor. SCL did not receive any written comments.

Update - Wedgwood condo development on hiatus too.

2008-04-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to send out this quick update - I talked to a representative from Murray Franklyn and due to the current market conditions, now isn't the best time for them to start this condo project. Construction may start in 6 to 9 months, but nothing is firm.

Blog on hiatus

2008-03-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hi, just wanted to write up that since everything seems to be all quiet on the Wedgwood front right now, that the blog will be on hiatus until anything pops up again.

Reality denied. Church says no to hosting tent city this summer in View Ridge.

2008-03-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

On March 10th the Sand Point Community United Methodist Church voted to decline hosting a tent city this July and August. The church didn't mention the specific reasons why in their press release, but KOMO TV coverage of an earlier tent city meeting strongly hints at why this failed - high tensions with View Ridge residents.

One quote from KOMO TV said,

"The fear is not for me, it's for my children and that is my responsibility," yelled another parent. "They're the most vulnerable members of this community and for you to stand up and tell me it's irrational is completely unacceptable!"

Personally, I think tent cities can be good opportunities for sheltered neighbors to tackle some of their fears about the homeless and perhaps even use it as an opportunity to educate their families about what being homeless is like. In a way, you could say that the View Ridge neighborhood lost the most by letting go of the opportunity to learn about a different reality.

Hopefully the View Ridge community will now focus their passion and efforts on helping the tent city find a new location this summer. I'll update you on that progress later.

Tent City at Sand Point United Methodist this summer?

2008-02-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Sand Point United Methodist church is currently debating whether to host Tent City this summer. There was a community meeting about this last night (sorry about the lack of notice) and the church has put together a page on their web site with more info.

And here's something I just learned, not only was Wedgwood a host to Tent City back in 2003, but it seemed to have been a good experience for everyone. The PI wrote an article about it called 'Roving shelter wins over neighborhood'.

Hopefully the Wedgwood experience here can help provide some guidance to ensuring that this summer's tent city is as equally successful.

(PI photo - getting your braid on in Wedgwood)

Yummy cafe is...what's the word I'm thinking of...oh, right, yummy!

2008-02-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to start giving shout outs to some of the great businesses in the Wedgwood/View Ridge/Hawthorne Hills metroplex. So with that in mind...let me start off with one of my top take-out joints.

Located across the street from the Hawthorne Hills Metropolitan Market in a cheerfully lit double-wide, Yummy Cafe not only offers a fine dining experience inside, but they deliver all the way up to Wedgwood! (Very important when you'd rather stay at home watching Flight of the Conchords).

Some of my faves here; hot and sour soup, beef chow fun, and brocolli in oyster sauce.

And if you don't trust my food choices, check out the sign they posted from the 55th Street School - c'mon, you don't get something like that if your food isn't good.

Wedgwood Democratic caucus packs 'em in, Obama wins the fightin' 46-2271st (4 to 2)

2008-02-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, I now know that you can pack an entire neighborhood into a small elementary school. Things were pretty chaotic between 1-1:30pm today as folks jammed into AEII/Thornton Creek Elementary to caucus for Clinton and Obama today.

Things took a little slower to get going, but it's because the turnout was WAY more than what was expected.

In the 46-2271 precinct 119 folks showed up and voted 79 for Obama, 35 for Clinton, and 7 undecided (down from 14 at the beginning of the caucus). Because we were given 6 delegates, it means that 4 went to Obama and 2 to Clinton.

When people stood up to speak for their candidates, I felt that the Clinton supporters had more consistent and on-point messages. However, at the end of the day, the main points I took away from each side were:

Pro-Clinton - Clinton is experienced and knows how to get things done.

Pro-Obama - Obama can rally the nation and beat the Republicans.

Against-Clinton - Clinton voted for the Iraq war and when pushed she will abandon her core convictions.

Against-Obama - Obama hasn't given us his specific plans, can't solve issues with generalities.

All-in-all though, it was a good natured group of Democrats and they all appear ready to line up behind whoever wins the party nomination.

Here are some photos from today's caucus, and 'good job' to everyone who showed up!
(If anyone has any Wedgwood Republican updates they want to send - let me know).

Wedgwood neighborhood history display - now available at the NE Branch Library

2008-02-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Make sure to check out the Wedgwood neighborhood history display at the NE Branch Libary - You can learn more about Wedgwood's history from our neighborhood historian Valarie Bunn.

If you enjoy seeing photos of Wedgwood in the old days, please visit the neighborhood history display at the North East Branch Library, 6801 35th Avenue NE, in the month of February. The display includes Wedgwood, Meadowbrook, Laurelhurst and others. I'll be there every Wednesday at 1 PM to hear your questions and comments.
--Valarie Bunn, Wedgwood neighborhood historian

Wedgwood Caucus Locations - Sat, Feb 9 2008

2008-02-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

Interested in helping decide how many delegates from Washington your presidential candidate will take to their National Convention? Well, you're in luck, next Saturday you can express your discussion at one of our two neighborhood caucus locations.

Democratic 46-2271 Precinct Caucus
AEII/Decatur/Thornton Creek School
7711 43rd Ave NE
Feb 9, 1pm

Republican 46-2271 Precinct Caucus
Nathan Hale High School
10750 30th Ave NE
Feb 9, 1pm

Wedgwood neighbor's appeal to save the 1904 farmhouse.

2008-01-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

This letter was sent over to us by Linda K. from Wedgwood. Here are her thoughts in response to an earlier post about the 1904 farmhouse that is scheduled to be destroyed and turned into townhomes. Thanks Linda for sending this over!

The 1904 farmhouse on 35th should not be sold, torn down and redeveloped. Slowly, gradually, all tidbits of unique personality and flavor in our neighborhood are being taken away from us. Somebody has maintained this property carefully, at least on the outside (I don't know what the inside looks like). A close look reveals detail in the shingles on this building that one would never see on a new structure built today. The way the building is up on a hill almost implies how it is looking down and watching us all. This is a beautiful piece of Wedgwood's history that should be saved.

Weird dude running out from the side of our yard this morning.

2008-01-31T07:20:00.001-08:00

This morning at about 6:30 am some strange guy with a backpack ran down our driveway after exiting from the east side of our fenced yard. The guy then ran up towards 35th Ave NE and was gone.

This guy didn't break in or steal anything, but just wanted to point it out here on the blog as something to look out for in our neighborhood (specifically around 86th and 87th Ave NE). The officer we spoke to mentioned there currently is no significant increase in criminal activity, and that Wedgwood is one of Seattle's safest neighborhoods. So...

*Update: Yes, they did steal something - the crazy windchimes we hung by the side of our house! I wish I could tell this person that the windchimes themselves are protected by a terrible curse, whoever steals them will be forever haunted by neighbors with irritating windchimes and dogs that bark all night.

Dec 2007 Wedgwood Crime Report - forced entry burglaries up 2X compared to Dec 2006.

2008-01-24T23:10:00.000-08:00

Here's last month's report from Wedgwood Block Watch where 6 forced entry burglaries were reported, compare this to December 2006 when just 3 forced entry burglaries were reported.
----------------
*WEDGWOOD RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY REPORT: DEC 2007

The following is a burglary summary for the Wedgwood area provided by Diane Horswill, SPD North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator. For details contact Diane at (206) 684-7711 or diane.horswill@seattle.gov:

CT21: NE 85th to NE 100th / Lake City Wy to 35th NE
12/10 2300blk NE 92nd St., called in at 6:21PM, report of a forced entry burglary
12/15 2500blk NE 90th St., called in at 12:53AM, report of a forced entry burglary where a rifle was stolen
12/29 3200blk NE 89th St., called in at 10:18AM, report of a forced entry burglary

CT22: NE 85TH to NE 105th / 35th to Sand Point Wy
None to report

CT24: NE 75th to NE 85th / 30th NE to 40th NE
12/04 8200blk 39th NE, called in at 2:19PM, report of a non forced entry burglary
12/05 7700blk 36th NE, called in at 8:07PM, report of a forced entry burglary
12/24 7500blk 34th Ave NE, called in at 4:17PM, report of a forced entry burglary

CT25: NE 75th to NE 85th / 20th NE to 30th NE
None to report

*Unofficial stats

Should this 1904 Wedgwood house be saved?

2008-01-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

You may have seen this house on 7321 35th Ave, it sits right by the Starbucks. Built in 1903 it is Wedgwood's oldest building.

Don't think it's worth saving? Well the folks in Fremont worked with the Historic Seattle Preservation Socity to save their 1902 residence below.

Wedgwood Community Council Land Use Committee.

2008-01-23T23:40:00.000-08:00

One of the painful lessons learned during this past year is that Wedgwood doesn't register on the city's radar. We largely are just an area somewhere northeast of Roosevelt where every once in awhile the citizens rally around a cause (whether it's the Red Apple or this condo project). And the reason we are largely invisible is that we really haven't defined for ourselves and the city exactly how we want to 'fit in' with the city's growth plans.

Anyway, during our 'condo fight' I learned quite a bit about the importance of deciding what our neighborhood wants, documenting these needs with the city, and then actively defending these decisions when they're challenged. Other neighborhoods such as Wallingford, Laurelhurst, Maple Leaf, Roosevelt, etc.. are all active in defining what they want, and then (with varying degrees of success) defending those positions.

And don't think development isn't coming here because the ball is rolling in Wedgwood. Things will change over the next 10 years in our neighborhood and the first stages of this development is already happening. So the question is, are we ready for it? And right now the answer is 'no'.

Here are some examples of likely things that could happen that we haven't planned for:

The Hunter Tree farm lot will not stay a tree farm forever, do we want a park or some other service there? Like a Farmer's Market? If we don't define this now and lobby the city to support what we want, this property will go condo.

Safeway at 75th and 35th. This is a very big piece of property that is anchored by a dumpy Safeway. What goes in here will be a very significant development.

The Rite-Aid at 35th and 85th is also a under-utilized space with a low-performing business. Why not build apartments/condos ontop of a smaller Rite-Aid.

And what about the space across the street from the condo building on 86th? It's city property and they know they need to do something with it.

Anyway, if you'd like to be part of coming up with suggestions and recommendations for properties like these ahead of time so that we can influence the kind of development that takes place, I encourage you to join the Wedgwood Land Use Committee that I'm heading. You can request more info by checking out our official Wedgwood Land Use web site at http://wedgwoodlanduse.spaces.live.com/.

Help out our friends in Maple Leaf - here's the bad development they're fighting.

2008-01-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

Maple Leaf's really got a battle on their hands with this one, but there is a window of opportunity to let the city know what you think about plans to replace the old Waldo Hospital and surrounding forest with 39 townhomes.

The city is going to accept written comments about the project through January 16th, so if you want to send them your opinion, now is the time.

You can learn more about the scope of this project at Maple Leaf's SaveWaldo.org web site.

Will this,

become 39 of these?

Laurelhurst hiring off-duty police to increase patrols in their neighborhood.

2008-01-09T21:47:00.001-08:00

I ran across this interesting crime fighting program being offered by the Laurelhurst Community Club.

Back in November they decided to follow Windermere's lead and run a pilot to add off-duty police patrols to help monitor their neighborhood. The pilot is costing families $200 extra each, and is an interesting idea that we should track for Wedgwood.

Here's the LCC's letter to their community about the idea.

Thursday at 7pm - Focus on Crime - Wedgwood Community Council General Meeting

2008-01-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that tomorrow the Wedgwood Community Council will hold it's January general meeting on the topic of Crime in Wedgwood.

Doors open at 7pm at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church at the corner of where the city doesn't feel it's necessary to add a lighted crosswalk (35th Ave NE and NE 80th St). (And we'll talk about that crosswalk red tape later.)that discussion's for another post).

Attending the meeting will be Wedgwood Block Watch leader Brian Capocccia (yay!) Diane Horswill (North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator) and Officer Kipp Strong.

Stop by and learn more about things you and your neighbors can do, along with asking Ms. Horswill and Officer Strong what they can do to make the community safer.

Update - agreement made between developer and Wedgwood Action Group - Jan 2 hearing cancelled

2007-12-31T15:35:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

I wanted to let you know that on Friday WAG negotiated an agreement with the Murray Franklyn Group that will be constructing the project at 35th Ave and NE 87th St. Because of this, we have withdrawn our hearing which was set for Jan 2.

We want to give a big thanks to Shaun Watchie Perry (our lawyer, and Wedgwood neighbor, who carried us through the long home stretch - www.swp-law.com), Linda Pruitt, Wayne Wurzer of All that Dance, Jose Sama, Gina Iandola of HomeStreet Bank, Tim Anderson, Scott Osterhage, Our Lady of the Lake and Dennis Saxman (for providing us with great advice and support). Also, we'd like to say thanks to every Wedgwood neighbor who came out and supported this effort during the last year.

The opportunity to negotiate an agreement came up when Shaun Watchie Perry and I met with the hearing examiner and Murray Franklyn about a week and a half ago. Looking at our case, we felt that the best opportunity to make meaningful change would be in a negotiation setting. So...we focused our efforts on working on a compromise where we could add value to Wedgwood from a retail/traffic safety/design point of view.

We negotiated the following points:
* The developer will fund a crosswalk at the intersection of NE 87th and 35th or NE 86th and 35th. (this is pending SDOT approval)
* Building design and related sidewalks will be designed to minimize surface water run off
* No national chain which is in the same business as any locally owned non-national business located within 1/2 mile of the project will be permitted.
* Retail signage will not include any back lit plastic molded signs
* No check cashing, sun tanning or pawn shops will be allowed in the building
* Established plants/trees to be installed in the eastern green belt of the project
* Developer will conduct rodent extermination before demo
* Reimbursement to neighboring houses in the event of any damage caused by vibration from the construction
* No noisy construction activity before 10am on Saturdays
* Developer will need to comply with all monitoring recommendations made in the geotech report
* WAG and the developer will work together to bring a physical sense of Wedgwood community to the project, and vice-a-versa.
* WAG will be reimbursed for all of its legal and paperwork fees.

And in the final design, the NE setback was pushed back additional feet to accomodate a green belt, which led to the reduction of one entire unit and space on both the third and fourth floor.

Although we didn't get the building reduced as much as we hoped, I think we succeeded in improving the overall building design; at least guiding the types of retail businesses we want to see there; and bringing Wedgwood neighbors into the process of designing some of the features that will help tie the building back into the community.

Our next step is to work with the developer to make this a good building for our neighborhood, strengthen and add value to our community, and to use this relationship as an opportunity to create something that benefits both our current and future neighbors.

Thanks,

Greg

Our Wedgwood group is featured in this week's edition of the North Seattle Herald-Outlook

2007-12-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this article in this week's North Seattle Herald-Outlook, it's a great article about our efforts to bring in a better building to our neighborhood.

Here's the first part of the article, click to read more!

Group forms to amend condo-development plans for 35th N.E. and N.E. 86th

In an on-line community ranking of Seattle's hippest neighborhoods, Wedgwood was ranked 76th of 99. That's tragically un-hip, according to the Amazon.com poll, though some residents are far more concerned with other neighborhood issues.

Neighbors living in nearby single-family homes are more worried about an 85-unit condominium unit set to break ground next spring on the corner of 35th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 86th Street.

The four-story building would stand nearly 40 feet tall and feature nearly 6,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.

A group of developers from Murray Franklin began its plans in December 2006 and brought the designs to the Wedgwood Community Council in January. When community member Greg Raece - who lives just a few feet away from the property - saw the plans, he almost immediately spoke up.

"It just doesn't fit in with the scheme here," said Raece, who has lived in Wedgwood since the late 1990s. "There hasn't been much development in Wedgwood over the years, and a building like this will really set the tone for all development that's to come."

Since Raece and a number of other concerned residents saw the plans in January, they have formed the Wedgwood Action Group, a group that hopes to amend the current plans, if not halt them entirely.

"It is such a big complex, and with the downward slope of the land, it could [negatively] affect the natural landscape of the area," said Raece, who also noted that the building's proximity to existing single-family housing is a major point of concern. "It's going to be 8 feet away from our houses."

More

Are you on the same block as 35th Ave NE? Here's what your backyard view could look like.

2007-12-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Phinney Ridge is like Wedgwood, lots of single family homes that back up to higher-intensity zoning. Well, here's what the neighbors who live behind Murray Franklyn's new fini condos on Greenwood will get to see from their back windows.

Another big house for Wedgwood.

2007-12-09T11:02:00.001-08:00

I was helping some of my friends drop off some flood damaged items to the transfer station on Saturday when I came across this new construction at the corner of 31st Ave NE and NE 82nd St. Pay special attention to how the new construction interacts with the smaller house to it's right.

Seattlest proclaims 'Wedgwood' as unhip, citing the poll results from a wholly owned Amazon.com beta web site.

2007-12-06T15:02:00.001-08:00

An insider from Seattlest clued me in to this post. It's called 'Capitol Hill, you're the top hip' and writer James points out that, "Wedgwood, our old nemesis, comes in at #76, behind places like "Blakely Alley by U-Village," Covington, and Monroe. That's a loosy-goosy definition of "neighborhood," even for Seattle."

Of course, what's the source of this report? How about a beta version of an Amazon.com social network called 'UnSpun' which also tackles such important questions as, "Best color to write with", "Favorite Sandwich", and "Favorite Male Cat Name". Wow, a really hip site that asks questions like that must be an authority on hipness.

Anyway, here's three good arguments to use when anyone challenges Wedgwood's hipness and says we have no character.

1) Because the Seattlest says we're not hip. Can you really trust the opinions of a blog like Seattlest that hilariously confused the glorified fajita shown below with an actual Philly Steak Sandwich?
2) Ciscoe lives in Wedgwood and he swings a mean hoe.
3) And my group of unhip Wedgwooders could smoke any collection of Seattlesters in a 'Trivia' challenge anywhere or anytime. (Well, as long as the challenge isn't held too late on a school night or in a scary biker bar. We are from Wedgwood you know.)

Reader comment - pedestrian safety in Wedgwood

2007-12-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a good follow-up comment left by 'Puppieson87th' on our post about the condition of NE 87th.

Puppieson87th said...
I use 87th from 35th eastward, and it's hazardous without sidewalks now, especially as cars swerve to avoid the sink holes. It's difficult to understand that the City has approved such density without making appropriate plans to address potential safety hazards. It's difficult as it is to cross 35th at 87th to catch to bus or visit any of the businesses on the north side of the street. When the condo building is completed it will be much worse. Someone will no doubt be hit by a car racing up from Lake City in a hurry to get to work on dark rainy morning. The up side is that fatal pedestrian/car accidents often result in the installation of traffic lights. Any volunteers?

More crime in Wedgwood - update

2007-12-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

I just noticed there were some additional comments about Wedgwood crime on the original crime report post, so I've listed them below.

The community council is going to hold a general neighborhood meeting about crime on January 10th, this should be a good one to attend.

Additional comment:

November 30, 2007
Pippieson87th said...
Last week while walking the dogs I noticed in front of two separate houses what appeared to be broken car glass. Obviously cars had been parked at the curb in these locations, and it appeared that front and back windows had been broken because there were two spots of glass about a car-length apart in each location. This was at the East end of 86th where the road curves around. I don't think that street is actually 86th, but the cross street. If anyone knows if car break-ins are occuring it would be helpful to know so that we can keep an eye out.