Mercer Street, 1959 (Seattle Municipal Archives)

The City Council approved a rezone of the South Lake neighborhood on Monday, May 6 by a 9-0 vote.

The rezone increases maximum building heights to 400 feet adjacent to Denny, and 240 feet in much of SLU to Mercer, aside from the Cascade neighborhood. Previous zoning was 65 to 85 feet in most of this area, and 125’ adjacent to Denny. The rezone is intended to meet new growth targets for Seattle’s implementation of the Seattle Comprehensive Plan, required by the state Growth Management Act.

I proposed amendments related to the urban form along South Lake Union Park and along Westlake, and to provide for additional housing, as described below.

Dept. of Planning and Development presentation, 2012

GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT (GMA)/SEATTLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The previous zoning in SLU provided capacity for 12,000 new units and 18,000 jobs; the state GMA requires development capacity to be at least 125% of the 20-year growth target. The most recent 2031 targets are for 12,000 housing units, and 22,000 jobs.

DPD estimates the new updated zoning provides capacity for 22,000 to 24,000 housing units, and 28,000 to 30,000 jobs. This equals 190% of 2031 housing estimates, and 131% of job estimates.

SUMMARY

Council amendments to the Mayor’s original proposal included:

• Views: Creating permanent setbacks on east-west corridors to protect views of the Space Needle; this was accomplished without reducing development potential;
• Landmarks: Expanding incentives to encourage preservation of all landmarked structures;
• Schools: Strengthening incentives for developers to include a public school in their project;
• Conservation: Requiring all new buildings to meet the LEED Gold standard;
• Zoning: increasing height in the Cascade neighborhood from 75’ to 85’, and from 85’ to 125’ on parts of the southwest side of the lake, and reducing height from 240’ to 160’ between Valley and Mercer.
• Affordable Housing:  Applied a Consumer Price Index increase to the existing affordable housing pay-in-lieu price for developers who don’t want to build affordable housing and added a 20% premium to incentivize on-site affordable housing development.

The Council approved other elements of the proposal submitted by Mayor, including:

• Farm/forest: the first step in a program to preserve farm land and forest land by transferring development rights into South Lake Union; if approved by future legislation it will generate funds for transportation improvements;
• Design standards for different neighborhoods within SLU;
• Most of the proposed building heights;
• Preserving existing affordable housing in Cascade by maintaining current heights.

URBAN FORM: MERCER BLOCKS AND WESTLAKE

I co-sponsored two amendments to address the visual impact of towers proposed for the blocks adjacent to Lake Union Park at the South end of the lake. The Mayor proposed height of 240’; I co-sponsored a 160’ limit, which the Council passed by a 6-3 vote. The previous zoning was 40’, with 65’ under some circumstances, so even 160’ represents a significant increase. With 400’ along Denny and in the Denny Triangle, and 240’ in between, 160’ provides a good transition for maintaining urban form. This change will reduce the visual impact of shadows from the towers on Lake Union Park during the winter months.

Secondly, I also co-sponsored a proposal to limit the floor plate size (the size of each floor), for slimmer towers to protect views. Although this didn’t pass, the Council did approve a 105’ limit on the east-west width of towers.

The Council increased the zoning of a section of South Lake Union adjacent to Westlake and Dexter avenues, from the Mayor’s proposal of 85’, to 125’. I co-sponsored an amendment to ensure a smooth transition in the base heights, in line with the slope of Queen Anne Hill. The developer who owns the site planned on commercial buildings only at 85 feet; 125 feet will allow them to build up to 4 residential towers. This area is along a High Capacity Transit Corridor identified in the Seattle Transit Master Plan, and removed from the seaplane flight path. It’s a good location for additional housing.

HOUSING

I’m pleased that the Council increased the obligation of developers taking advantage of the potential for increased building heights to provide affordable housing, but it’s not nearly enough to meet South Lake Union’s future need. The City’s goal for affordable housing in South Lake Union is 4,200 units, the proposal the Council passed will result in approximately 700 affordable units produced.  Estimates are that these SLU upzones may result in over $12 billion worth of development over the next 25 years.  Without significantly more affordable housing for people working in the city, traffic congestion will increasingly clog our streets, hurting the economy and our environment.

Whether the Council enacts upzones in SLU or any other neighborhood, upzoning adds significant value to private property.  Seattle is among the most active real estate markets in the country, and we still have a great opportunity to get this right.  Just saying we’ll build more housing isn’t enough of a solution.  Housing regulations of cities across the country generate new units of affordable housing for their workforces. Denver and San Diego set aside 10% of all new units for affordable housing and Boston and Sacramento set aside 15%. Seattle’s incentive zoning program only sets aside 5% of all units.  I proposed an amendment to increase the affordable housing setaside to 10% of all residential floor area in a 240’ high building.  The amendment did not pass.

While the legislation passed by the Council does not require that enough affordable units will be built, I’m also concerned that the housing built will not serve the full range of workers. The Council’s own study found that by 2031, 100,000 new jobs will come to downtown Seattle. If current wage levels are maintained, one in four of the workers in these new jobs and one and three of workers in all jobs downtown, new and existing, will be paid wages that qualify them for affordable housing.  I proposed an amendment that half of the affordable units produced be affordable to these workers.  It did not pass.  Instead, the Council passed legislation with a target household income set at 80% average median income.  This means that childcare workers, health care, grocery/retail, hospitality and janitors will be priced out of South Lake Union and endure long commutes, contributing to pollution and suburban sprawl.

We all suffer if we push more people out of the city.  For these reasons, I will seek city-wide incentive zoning, requiring housing be built for our entire workforce, not just those earning the highest wages.

BLOCK 59

Included in the Mayor’s original submittal in November 2012 was a summary sheet and Memorandum of Understanding with Vulcan, under which Vulcan would sell four properties in “Block 59” of South Lake Union adjacent to Aurora and Mercer, to the city, to be combined with City properties. In return, they would receive a credit of $10-12 million for affordable housing bonus payments, locked in at the rate proposed by the Mayor. The facility would provide low and moderate income housing, a childcare facility, education/job training programs, and other services. Numerous social service agencies were involved in the planning, along with Vulcan and the Mayor’s office. Vulcan would pay up to an additional $3.25 million to build up to 240’ in the Mercer waterfront blocks.

Valuation for the Block 59 properties would be determined by an independent appraiser at the proposed rezone height of 240 feet. The appraisal value would be capped at $12 million; Vulcan could opt out of the agreement if the appraisal came in at less than $10 million. The zoning at that time was for 65 feet, with the King County Assessor listing an appraisal of the land value in 2012 at $4.7 million.

The Council received a funding scenario from Vulcan at a January 31 meeting of $76 million, mostly from SLU housing credits. It estimated 337 units of low and moderate income housing would be produced over 12 years on that site. The funding scenario included $6.5 million each from the state and King County, $7 million in city land, and $4 million in additional city housing funds.

The Council opted to not pursue the agreement, because it was tied to a specific Vulcan request, and the credits could only be used for one project, rather than for projects throughout South Lake Union. In any case, the Mayor never submitted legislation to the City Council.

While I didn’t support the agreement as it was presented, I found the concept intriguing and worth considering; I am continuing to explore options for pursuing the vision of an integrated program in SLU that would provide for the same services and housing.

That’s why today’s Seattle Times guest editorial by Edward D. Lazowska on STEM –  science + technology + engineering + mathematics – caught my attention. Mr. Lasowska is chair of UW’s computer science and engineering program. He argues the importance of computer sciences for our state economy.

I agree, but I believe just as important is innovative thinking and creativity within the sciences. Without it, science is merely an exercise. How do we infuse creativity with science? Arts education. It is time for STEM to evolve into STEAM: science + technology + arts + engineering + mathematics.

Sarah Pease edited a compelling edition of ARCADE magazine recently, in which she observed that we are trained at a young age to separate art from the core subjects of our studies, rendering it unimportant in the shadows of science and math. She and other contributors argue that the areas of art and science are more closely related than not, that their overlap is more relevant now than ever.

ARCADE contributor John Maeda wrote that when he was young his teachers praised him for being good at math and art. But, his father would tell people “John is good at math.” Maeda felt he had to choose between the two. He chose the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

After many years there, he saw technology succeeding in making everything cheaper, faster and smaller—but failing to make things emotionally rich. He became convinced something else was needed to inspire true innovation – design and art. It was that realization that propelled him from MIT to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he is now president.

Check out his related TED Talk from June of last year.

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Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Nick Licata

City to develop outreach strategies for Affordable Care Act

Seattle - Seattle City Council adopted a resolution today enlisting City departments to develop outreach strategies to educate and inform the public about new healthcare coverage programs made available through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Departments will coordinate with the efforts of community partners to enroll all newly eligible residents in the new healthcare coverage options.

"The City of Seattle has an extraordinary opportunity to increase the health of our residents by working diligently on enrolling folks in the health care insurance exchange,"said Councilmember Richard Conlin, sponsor of the resolution. "This is one of the most significant advances in health care since the implementation of Medicare in 1965 and it is imperative that we take a leadership role in this."

Seattle's outreach plan will include person-to-person support for individuals, particularly communities who need more intensive help with the application processes and accessing health care services. The Affordable Health Care Act requires that most members of the public enroll for healthcare coverage by January 2014. An estimated 30,000 Seattle residents will become eligible for subsidized health care coverage through Washington's Health Benefit Exchange and Council has made it a priority to enroll them all.

Councilmember Nick Licata said, "The Council action to expedite healthcare coverage is particularly timely considering this week's report that each year in the US, 11,300 newborns die within 24 hours of their birth, 50% more than all other industrialized countries combined."

"Nearly 60,000 Seattle residents are currently without health insurance,"said Mayor Mike McGinn. "I am enlisting City departments to inform and enroll people into expanded Medicaid and subsidized insurance that will soon be available through the Affordable Care Act. This is an unprecedented opportunity that will help our residents receive the care they need and lower health care costs by decreasing reliance on high-cost medical services including emergency room visits."

"We have a landmark opportunity to increase access to health care in our community,"said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County. "By connecting residents to coverage, we will ultimately improve the health of our community."

[View in Council Newsroom]

On Monday, May 13 the Council will continue its consideration of returning Seattle to a system of partial public financing of elections. Seattle had public financing from 1979 to 1991 before a change in state law made it illegal from 1992 to 2008.

The Council will review several issues relating to how a system of public financing could be structured, including qualifying, spending limits, contribution limits, match level, and how to fund it. The agenda for the meeting is here.

The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission sent a letter recommending the Council consider a program for City Council races. Candidates would need to show a broad base of support by obtaining at least 600 contributions of $10 or more to qualify, agree to limit their spending to $210,000, and receive a 6-1 public match used in New York City.

I wrote an about public financing in Seattle earlier this year.

In January and February, the Council held forums with representatives from the Elections offices of Los Angeles and San Francisco, which have public financing, and academic experts, which included a review of New York City’s public financing program.

Materials from the first meeting of the Public Campaign Finance committee on April 29 meeting are here.

The City Council has a Public Financing issues page, with links to relevant documents, including video of the presentations the Council received. Future meetings are scheduled for May 28 and June 10, and June 17 if necessary. Approval in a November public vote would be necessary to adopt public financing.

Last week, a new coalition seeking to help homeowners in foreclosure— kicked off their new campaign called Reset Seattle.  

On their website, they announce that, “With over 16,500 Seattle homes foreclosed on and over 42,000 homeowners underwater, Washington CAN! is working with faith, community and labor groups to launch a campaign calling on City Council to stop at nothing short of principal reduction to provide real relief to struggling families.” 

The timing is good for such an effort.  Last month, RealtyTrac reported that although foreclosure filings nationally saw a decre

ase of 1% from February and down 23% from the previous year, in Washington State they were up 154% over the previous year.  Similarly, property repossessions nationally saw a decrease of 3% from February and down 21%  from March 2012, in Washington State they were up 88% over the previous year. 

In March the City Council agreed to explore new local solutions for homeowners and communities impacted by the foreclosure crisis, when they passed Resolution 31434, for which I was the prime sponsor, joined by Councilmembers Bagshaw and Harrell.

Here are couple sobering facts: 

·         According to the 2012 2 ^nd Quarter Zillow report, 38% percent of all homeowners are underwater on their mortgages and the average amount of negative equity carried by the individual homeowner because of the loss of value in their homes is approximately $92,200

·         According to the Seattle Office of Housing, between 2008 and November 30, 2012, 9,491 Seattle families have lost their homes due to foreclosures stemming from the housing crisis and approximately 34 percent of those are concentrated in Southeast Seattle where 14% of the City’s homeowners live.

Nationally, homeowners owe $700 billion more on their mortgages than their homes are worth and banks have received more than $700 billion in bailout funds.  Yet, these tax payer dollars are only marginally used to help struggling homeowners, while the industry continues to be unwilling to renegotiate loans on any meaningful scale.  The result is that the increase in consumer spending that is so necessary to our economic recovery isn’t occurring.

I’m excited to begin our review of the circumstances and causes of foreclosures as well as the foreclosure methods and practices of lenders, not to mention the inequities people in Seattle face. We’re working with a prominent expert in this field who has experience consulting for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the International Monetary Fund, and a number of federal and state legislators and local governments. Together, the City Council, in collaboration with the Office of Housing will explore all legal options to assisthomeowners who continue to suffer from the housing crisis.

If you want to read more about the impact upon Seattle homeowners and communities from the foreclosure crisis, check out the new report Reset Seattle has released in conjunction with the United Black Clergy, entiled: “The Wall Street Wrecking Ball.”

Some community members felt the meeting turned out to be about how tee-ball and youth soccer were to be scheduled for the field, not about whether they should be scheduled at all, which was their expectation. One resident told me “The meeting last night was not productive. There was an agenda, but nothing was actionable.”

This experience left me feeling the need for DPR to improve its outreach practices, which I encouraged then-DPR Superintendent Ken Bounds to pursue.

The following year, he and DPR published the department’s first public involvement policy.

This month presents Seattle residents an opportunity to test it.

DPR is soliciting help from the public in planning the future of Seattle’s parks, programs and community centers as well as other facilities. Their goal is to gather public input for incorporation into their Parks Legacy Plan. The City Council will be presented DPR’s plan for approval in December. Councilmember Sally Bagshaw Chairs the Council’s Parks and Neighborhood Committee.

• Tuesday, May 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: General Meeting
  Seattle Parks and Recreation Administration Building
  100 Dexter Ave. N
• Wednesday, May 8 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Sports, Recreation, and Aquatics
  Green Lake Community Center
  7201 E Green Lake Dr. N
• Monday, May 13 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Seniors, Teens Including LGBT, Community Centers And Associated Recreation Council (Arc)
  Northgate Community Center
  10510 5th Ave. NE
• Thursday, May 16 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Environmental Programs, Open Space And Maintenance
  Jefferson Community Center
  3801 Beacon Ave. S
• Tuesday, May 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: General Meeting
  Dakota Place Park Building
  4304 SW Dakota St.
• Wednesday, May 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Immigrant and Refugee Communities
  South Shore K-8 School
  4800 S Henderson St.
  

  A 1950 ariel photo of Seattle’s 1st public park, Denny Park, dontated in 1864 by David Denny & Louisa Denny while still a cemetery. Graves were moved at the city’s expense after the Denny’s created an 1883 deed making most of the area a public park. (courtesy Seattle PI Archives)

Some of the questions current DPR Superintendent Christopher Williams and his staff want to ask include “Are we spending resources as effectively as possible? What does the public think of our park system? What are the basic services we provide? Should the community center programs seek to bring in more revenue? What do you think is important to provide through teen programs? How would you prioritize funding dollars for cleaning comfort stations, maintaining sportsfields, and lawn maintenance?”

DPR is also inviting residents to comment on any DPR topic.

Do you know that DPR is a long time supporter of the arts?  It runs arts programs at Magnuson Park and the Alki Arts Studio while partnering with 9 other arts groups, such as Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle Public Theater, Spectrum Dance Theater and the Seattle Art Museum.

After being harangued by me over the years to prioritize reconstruction of Building 30 in Magnuson Park, they are doing so as I write. The seismically upgraded building is expected to re-open this fall with at least 20 artist work studios and its large hanger space welcoming back community groups and activities that had been turned away due to safety concerns.

Artspace, a provider of affordable artist live/work space throughout the country, estimated over a thousand working artists are on waiting lists for affordable work studio and live/work studio space in Seattle. 24 artists once worked in Building 11’s studios at Magnuson Park.

Will DPR again seek artists to rent work space in Building 11? How does it plan on working with Magnuson Park’s 20-year old arts advocacy group SPACE – the Sand Point Arts & Cultural Exchange? Will DPR update its system wide 12 year old planning documents for the arts?

To learn more, refer to DPR’s Parks Legacy Plan.

Those who cannot attend a meeting and wish to comment on DPR’s draft plan can email parkslegacy@seattle.gov.

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Councilmember Nick Licata

Councilmember Licata's statement on the passage of South Lake Union rezone

SEATTLE - Seattle City Council passed a package of land use changes that increases the development capacity of the South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhood to accommodate projected future job growth and housing demands.Councilmember Nick Licata issued the following statement following the 9-0 vote:

With today's vote, the Council significantly increased affordable housing, but not nearly enough to meet South Lake Union's future need. Estimates are that these SLU upzones may result in over $12 billion worth of development over the next 25 years. Without affordable housing for people working in the city, traffic congestion will increasingly clog our streets, hurting the economy and our environment.

Whether the Council enacts upzones in SLU or any other neighborhood, upzoning adds significant value to private property. Seattle is among the most active real estate markets in the country, and we have a great opportunity before us to get this right. Just saying we built more housing isn't enough of a solution.

We all suffer if we push more people out of the city. For these reasons, I will seek city-wide incentive zoning, requiring housing be built for our entire workforce, not just those earning the highest wages.

[View in Council Newsroom]

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Seattle City Council passes South Lake Union rezone
New zoning increases capacity for housing, jobs

SEATTLE - Seattle City Council unanimously passed Council Bill 117603, a package of land use changes that increases the development capacity of the South Lake Union neighborhood to accommodate projected future job growth and housing demands.

"After eight years of collaboration with South Lake Union stakeholders, neighbors and city staff, we're finally implementing the 2004 designation of South Lake Union as an 'Urban Center' and the South Lake Union Neighborhood Plan update," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, Chair of the Special Committee on South Lake Union and the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee. "By 2031, South Lake Union will have to absorb some 12,000 households and 22,000 jobs to continue to meet its share of future growth. This rezone will take the pressure off other neighborhoods and will shape South Lake Union for the next hundred years," added Conlin.

In addition to allowing greater building heights, the new zoning also imposes development standards and incentives to encourage a diverse urban form, more open space and an improved streetscape. For example:

• Only one tower per block will be permitted on the lake front blocks. Other blocks can have two towers but they must be more widely spaced than anywhere else in the city.
• There are strong street-level design standards and incentives to ensure a lively and vibrant pedestrian environment, such as requiring retail at ground level.
• A series of subarea standards will maintain the character of specific communities through incentives for preservation of landmark properties and existing open spaces.
• A new program that preserves farm land and forest land by transferring development rights into South Lake Union will generate funds for transportation improvements.

"This is the culmination of many years of hard work by many people," said City Council President Sally J. Clark. "Cascade neighbors, the South Lake Union Community Council, businesses large and small, property owners, research institutions, social service and low-income housing providers - they haven't always agreed, but they've all worked to shape a vision and now the rules for development of an amazing place to live and work."
"Imagine our South Lake Union alive with growing businesses a bustling neighborhood, connected to green spaces and great transit," said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. "We've reached a sound compromise that will work."

The Council modified the legislation submitted by Mayor Mike McGinn by adding requirements for greener buildings, historic preservation and view protection, and strengthening affordable housing provisions. Major amendments approved by the Council include:

• Reducing the allowed height on the Mercer blocks from 240 feet to 160 feet, and reorienting the towers to protect views by limiting east-west width to 105 feet.
• Adding the opportunity for up to four 125 foot residential towers on two blocks between the intersections of Westlake and Dexter and Highland and Galer, where the slope of Queen Anne Hill creates a significant change in the topography. This will replace most of the development capacity lost with lower heights on the Mercer blocks.
• Requiring all new buildings to meet the Gold standard of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the US Green Building Council.
• Expanding incentives to encourage preservation of all landmarked structures.
• Raising heights in part of the Cascade neighborhood from 75 feet to 85 feet to allow more flexibility in design.
• Strengthening incentives if developers include a public school in their project.
• Creating permanent setbacks on east-west corridors to protect views of the Space Needle, which was accomplished without reducing development potential.

The Mayor's proposed legislation included a requirement for developers to either include affordable housing in their projects or to contribute to funds for building low income housing if the developer chooses to build above the base height, which is 85 feet in most of the neighborhood. The Council increased the amount of the required fee by 43% for residential projects in hopes of generating more affordable workforce housing in the neighborhood. The fee for commercial projects will increase 33%, phased in over eighteen months.

"We improved the South Lake Union proposal significantly for the public by generating more resources for affordable workforce housing, encouraging the creation of a new public school and establishing a positive precedent for future upzones that will ensure smart growth for Seattle," said Councilmember Tim Burgess.

"I am proud of the work Council did to strengthen the incentives to build more affordable workforce housing in South Lake Union, creating more opportunities for people to live near where they work," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

"As we grow denser - and we must - we are growing in a manner that promotes Seattle values: affordability, an inviting pedestrian environment, open space and protected public views, and design standards that will give us a neighborhood worthy of civic pride," said Councilmember Jean Godden.

"The rezone package strikes a sensible balance between developers and the affordability targets by the City. This year, we will begin a 7-year major update to the City's Comprehensive Plan so policy work will continue to address the city's share of affordable housing needs and stimulate the market with smart development," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell. "We want a City where residents can live, work and play. Most importantly, in this process to set a clear vision for the South Lake Union neighborhood, Council was forward-thinking and inclusive."

[View in Council Newsroom]

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

City Council Town Hall Meeting on Climate Action Tomorrow
Community encouraged to share thoughts and perspectives

Seattle - Join the Seattle City Council for a town hall meeting where Councilmembers will hear directly from the public.  The meeting will be hosted in the context of the City's recently unveiled Climate Action Plan. 

The town hall will open at 6 p.m. with remarks by Councilmembers, followed by a panel discussion to provide the community with an overview of the draft Climate Action Plan, why it's important and how the community can help.  The rest of the meeting will be dedicated to open public comment.  Speakers will not be constrained to addressing climate issues.

WHO: Seattle City Councilmembers, general public

WHAT: Council Town Hall on Climate Action

WHEN: Tuesday, May 7, 6 p.m.

WHERE: University Heights Center
5031 University Way NE, Room 209
Seattle, WA 98105

Read the draft Climate Action Program at http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/climate/

For more information, visit the event flier .PDF here

[View in Council Newsroom]

At the May 8 meeting of the Housing, Human Services and Culture Committee next Wednesday, we’ll discuss and consider a decision agenda about Council Bill 117744 re: marijuana zoning, which I wrote about earlier. The decision agenda will be linked to the meeting agenda on Monday.

The Committee held a public hearing on April 24, which you can view here. You can view the presentation and Councilmember discussion here. The memo from that meeting explains the relationship of the proposed ordinance to the current land use code in, for example, commercial zones. It also lists the public comments received up to that point. A map of industrial zones  was also discussed in the meeting.

A vote on the ordinance could take place at the May 22 committee meeting.

You can view the March 27 committee presentation on the Seattle Channel here.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Richard Conlin

City Council to host second meeting on micro-housing developments
Public invited to share feedback with Councilmembers

SEATTLE - City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen today confirmed that a second public meeting on micro-housing developments will be held. The meeting will be on May 6 at 6:00 p.m. at Seattle First Baptist Church on First Hill.

The first meeting was held in April in response to questions and concerns raised by residents of several Seattle neighborhoods where micro-housing units are being constructed.

The purpose of the second meeting is to hear from neighborhood representatives who will give their views and recommendations on the micro-housing projects. Representatives of the developers who build micro-housing projects will be present to describe the projects and the market for this housing alternative and their response to concerns they are hearing from the community.

In addition to Councilmember Rasmussen co-sponsors of the meeting include Councilmembers Nick Licata, Sally J. Clark and Richard Conlin.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen stated: "A portion of the meeting will include an opportunity for the public to provide comments on what they have heard during the meeting and to provide recommendations on what, if any, regulations should be enacted for this unique type of housing."

WHAT: Micro-housing development discussion

WHEN: Monday, May 6, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Seattle First Baptist Church
Fellowship Hall (downstairs), 1111 Harvard Ave. (on First Hill)

WHO: Seattle City Councilmembers and Council staff
Representatives from communities and neighborhoods
Representatives of micro-housing developers

"I want to see more affordable housing built in Seattle along with our residential neighborhoods accommodating housing options that contribute to their character," stated Councilmember Nick Licata, chair of the Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee. "I think both objectives can be accomplished and I look forward to this forum providing an opportunity to hear suggestions on how to fulfill both."

"I've visited some of these micro-units," said Council President Sally J. Clark. "They provide decent, often attractive housing for a range of people who don't need or want a lot of space. They're also appearing in greater numbers and more rapidly than some in the surrounding neighborhood want. This forum can provide a good airing of people's support, concerns and ideas for appropriate regulation."

"Micro-housing can be an affordable option for people wanting to live close to work or urban amenities," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the Council's Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee. "They're good for the environment and they can be good for neighborhoods too if we can find ways to preserve their affordability while ensuring that these developments reflect both the letter and the spirit of our land use laws. I look forward to working with stakeholders and the Executive to craft legislation to accomplish these goals."

Background

In recent years, micro-housing has emerged as an increasingly common residential building product in Seattle. Since 2006, DPD has received permit applications for 44 projects. Those completed projects have a total capacity of about 2,000 people. In 2012, DPD received applications for approximately 15 micro-housing projects.

Micro-housing projects are generally comprised of apartment or townhome-style dwelling units, each of which contains several (often seven or eight) smaller living quarters clustered around a shared kitchen and laundry area. Each of the smaller living spaces within the dwelling unit is leased to an individual tenant. These spaces are typically 150 to 200 square feet in size and equipped with a kitchenette (refrigerator, microwave, sink) and private bathroom. Rent levels vary by location but are often in the range of $600 to $700 per month.

Developers have found Seattle offers a strong market for micro-housing, with completed projects leasing up quickly. Tenants often include students, service industry workers, and individuals who divide their time between Seattle and a residence in another location. Geographically, 52 percent of the projects are located on Capitol Hill and 30 percent in the University District, with the remainder spread throughout the city.

Because micro-housing is not well-defined in City codes it also may not be adequately regulated. Some of the issues and concerns the public has raised about Seattle's growing stock of micro-housing include:

• Within micro-housing projects, DPD currently counts the several small living quarters that surround a common kitchen and laundry area as a single dwelling unit (e.g., one apartment with eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms). As a result, most micro-housing projects do not meet the threshold for design review. Normally the design review process also provides opportunities for neighbors to comment and offer input on proposed projects.
• DPD's current practice of counting multiple living quarters within a micro-housing project as a single dwelling unit also complicates efforts to measure progress toward adopted growth targets in neighborhoods where micro-housing is located. It also can affect whether a proposed micro-housing project is subject to environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
• Micro-housing may not be an appropriate building type for all multifamily residential zones.
• Micro-housing projects are generally designed to house 30 to 60 individuals; however, on-site parking is rarely provided.
• The high cost of this housing on a price per square foot basis.

[View in Council Newsroom]

City Councilmembers to vote on gun safety public health funding

Seattle - The City Council's Government Performance and Finance Committee will consider tomorrow morning an amendment to budget legislation to fund a gun safety public health package. According to earlier news reports, the City of Seattle would be the first city in the nation to provide direct funding for basic research into the causes and effects of gun violence.

WHAT: Discussion and vote on public health gun safety package

WHEN: TOMORROW - Wednesday, May 1, 9:30 a.m.
(see agenda, item #4; timing is approximate)

WHERE: City Council Chambers
Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Ave, 2nd floor

WHO: Government Performance and Finance Committee members

Partnering with the University of Washington's Harborview Medical Center and public health agencies, the $370,500 package of initiatives would spur research on gun violence and improve the City and County's response to mental health crises resulting from tragedies.

[View in Council Newsroom]

The Awards recognize the accomplishments of artists, arts and cultural organizations as well as community members committed to enriching their communities through the arts.

This year, the Arts Awards encompasses five categories: Future Focus, for arts education and working with youth; Artistic City, for creativity; Venture Culturalist, for funders, businesses, donors or professional development/service organizations; Arts as the How, for social issues; and Raising the Bar, for artistic excellence.

2010 Mayor’s Arts Awards kick-off Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival at Seattle Center

Do you know an artist deserving of recognition? How about an arts organization that you feel is doing excellent work? Or, perhaps you work for a company that makes a difference by giving big to the arts? I encourage you to submit your nominations for the 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards via the Office of Arts website, here. The deadline for nominations to be received is 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 15.

The Seattle Arts Commission will review public nominations and recommend recipients to the Mayor for final selection.

This year, I am nominating The Gage Academy under the Future Focus category. Since 1989 the Academy, lead by co-founders Gary Faigin and Pamela Belyea, has provided community-based artistic development for artists of all ages and abilities through year-round instructional programs, public art events, lectures, youth programming, and exhibitions.

Nick Licata chats with Norm Langill of One Reel during the 2003 Mayor’s Arts Awards

Past Award recipients include public artist Buster Simpson, Three Dollar Bill Cinema (2012), Pratt Fine Arts Center (2011), Reel Grrls (2010), Artist Trust (2009), Coyote Central and Marybeth Saterlee (2008), Longhouse Media’s Native Lens Program (2007), maestro Gerard Schwarz (2006), painter Alden Mason, The Tsutakawa Family (2005), and the Seattle Foundation (2004).

2013 Award recipients will be honored at a free public ceremony that kicks off the Bumbershoot arts festival at Seattle Center on Friday, August 30, starting at 4pm. Look for details closer to the date on the Office of Arts website.

While the Awards don’t provide any money, winners do receive a snazzy plaque or trophy. More importantly, winners receive recognition among their peers and throughout the greater Seattle area that may help them expand their successes.

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Councilmember Nick Licata

Randy Engstrom Confirmed as Director of City's Arts Office
Brings Wealth of Community Organizing Skills to the Position

Seattle - Seattle City Council confirmed Randy Engstrom as permanent director of Seattle's Office of Arts and Culture (Office of Arts) this afternoon. Engstrom had been serving as Interim Director since October 2012.

"It is a great honor to be confirmed as the Director of the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture," Engstrom said. "Seattle is one of the most vibrant cities in the world - creativity is a natural resource here. I look forward to working with our partners to ensure art and culture continue to thrive in Seattle."

Engstrom brings a strong background in community organizing for arts and culture. He was the Founding Director of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, which converted a vacant school building into a community center offering affordable access to the arts, technology and cultural resources; Co-Chaired the Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee (CODAC), which provided recommendations on enhancing cultural development in Seattle; and served as Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission, the volunteer advisory body for the Office of Arts.

"Every once in a while, a generational shift in leadership comes along that jumps the needle forward on the cultural dial" said Councilmember Nick Licata." I believe Randy is that leader."

Engstrom's goals for the Office of Arts include facilitating increased access to affordable space for arts and culture in Seattle; partnering with agencies, funders and cultural organizations to develop a regional cultural plan; and advocating for more arts and culture to be integrated into civic development, neighborhood activation and economic development.

The Office of Arts has an approximate $7m annual budget and is involved in a number of ongoing initiatives, such as the Central Waterfront Redevelopment Project; supports local arts and cultural organizations through its Cultural Partnerships program; collaborates with the school district on implementing a K-12 arts education plan; and is responsible for implementing a transition plan for Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute to achieve long-term sustainability.

Mr. Engstrom currently serves as board President of the Washington Bus Education Fund. City Arts Magazine once named him "The Advocate." He was named an Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader and was named one of Puget Sound Business Journal's "40 under 40" - people under the age of 40 working to drive the economy through dynamic leadership. He holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington Evans School and a BA in Public Administration from Evergreen State College.

Engstrom's salary will be $105,000.

[View in Council Newsroom]

We face a crisis in funding for our bus service.

King County Metro estimates that 17% of current service will need to be cut, beginning next year, without additional funding.

The problem is not new. Since 2008, King County Metro has faced a funding shortfall that they have addressed through a variety of efficiencies. Decline in sales tax revenue from the economic downturn was a key reason; in addition, counties in Washington state have significantly fewer tax revenue options than cities.

The problem is worsened by two upcoming issues. First of all, state mitigation funding for Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement will expire in June of 2014.

Secondly, authority to issue a $20 vehicle license fee will expire at the end of 2013. In 2011, the state legislature allowed King County to approve a $20 vehicle license fee knows as the Congestion Relief charge, but only for 2012 and 2013.

In 2009, an agreement between Seattle, King County and the State proposed an MVET to provide permanent funding, but the fee approved by the legislature was vetoed by the former Governor.

The City Council will hold a briefing on Monday, April 29 at the Council Briefing meeting, where King County Metro will present their Metro Transit Service Guidelines Report. An earlier presentation from February is available here.

Resolving this depends on action by the state legislature, and it’s unclear what will happen there; the City Council unanimously approved the state legislative agenda calling for sustainable funding for transit operations.

Should no new revenue source be approved by the state legislature, reductions will be made according to the service guidelines adopted in 2012. 65routes (30%) will be deleted, and 86 routes (40%) will be revised or reduced. Only 66 routes will not be reduced, but they are sure to become more crowded and less reliable. Overall, this will result in more car trips, and additional congestion on city streets. You can see where the cuts are by geographic area at Metro’s website or in the Monday’s presentation.  No part of Seattle would be left unaffected.

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the launch of Family Housing Connection (FHC), a “coordinated entry” system created to make it easier for families to navigate the housing system in King County.  There are 3,210 homeless families currently on the placement roster waiting for a housing referral. 

Of the 3,210 families on the placement roster today:

• 7% are staying in a place not meant for habitation (215 families)
• 56% are couch surfing or doubled up with friends/family
• 14% are in shelter or using an emergency hotel voucher
• 10% are in a rental with no housing subsidy
• 4% are staying in a hotel without a voucher
• The remaining 9% are in transitional housing, substance abuse treatment, housing with a voucher, a home they own but are losing, hospital, incarcerated, or other.

Coordinated entry came out of recommendations of the Committee to End Homelessness, of which I am a Governing Board member.  FHC partners with more than 80 shelter and housing programs in King County and continues to reach out to programs who are not yet partnering.  Today, instead of calling 80+ programs individually, families needing housing now have a single access point to 80+shelter and housing programs.

FHC does not create additional housing resources and this new process does not shorten the months long waiting time it takes to get families into shelter or housing faster.

A year’s worth of work illustrates just how much there is yet to do.  Here is an excerpt from a recent report:

“As we all expected, year one presented many challenges.  No one has felt these challenges more than the 3,788 families who have accessed FHC. Long wait times for housing assessment appointments and much longer wait times for emergency housing produce anxiety and hopelessness for families awaiting our call.  The 215 families who are staying in a place not meant for human habitation are prioritized for emergency housing – but even with prioritization, they will wait months for a roof over their children’s heads.”  (my emphasis added)

Over this year period, FHC has referred 1,048 families to housing, 55% of them have either moved into housing or been accepted but not yet moved in; 19% of them were denied because background checks, credit checks, drug tests, etc. made them ineligible; 26% of referrals were refused by the family for various reasons.  After a family refuses a third referral, they are removed from the waiting list.

Improvements to the system over FHC’s first year include a change requested by the City Council under my leadership, specifically that the “first come first served” referral philosophy be shifted to prioritize families who are staying in a place not meant for human habitation. Future improvements planned, also requested by the City Council, include a. reducing barriers to referrals that currently lead families to be deemed ineligible as well as b. increasing placement assistance resources such as optional background checks and optional document scanning.

Tonight in King County, children in 215 families – while prioritized on top of this list – will sleep in a car, in a greenbelt, on the streets, in an encampment, or in abandoned building.  These children will wait months for their families to be placed in shelter or a hotel.  This is unacceptable for a region of our resources.  I intend to continue to advocate for additional funding to address the immediate housing needs for these children and their families and determine what it would cost to provide basic shelter services so that they do not have to sleep in places not fit for human habitation while they are working with an agency to become re-housed.

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

City Council Strengthens Affordable Housing Program
in South Lake Union
Consensus built around the need for more affordable workforce housing in the neighborhood

Seattle -- The Seattle City Council South Lake Union Committee voted unanimously on an amendment to produce more workforce affordable housing in the South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhood by strengthening the incentive zoning program. The agreement is a compromise between two existing amendments offered by Councilmembers, which were introduced in last week's SLU Committee meeting. Consensus was built around the need to strengthen the incentive zoning program without discouraging development.

"Today's decision is an important, modest step toward securing more affordable workforce housing in South Lake Union, so that people at all income levels who work in the neighborhood have a chance to live there," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien. "This is a community of opportunity where the city is investing over $500 million in public infrastructure, and I think it only fair that the benefits of this redevelopment are shared more broadly."

The legislation to strengthen incentive zoning includes a 43% increase in the residential pay-in-lieu price (from $15.15 to $21.68), effectively immediately, and a 33% increase in the commercial price that will be phased in over eighteen months (to $29.71). These prices are paid on a percent of square-foot basis in exchange for additional height and building capacity. Collectively, these provisions will produce an estimated 733 units of workforce housing in and near the neighborhood. The original legislation would have created an estimated 406 units.

"After collaborating with local businesses and affordable housing advocates, we crafted a sensible solution that goes far beyond the Mayor's status quo proposal and brings affordable workforce housing to the City's hottest real estate market," said Councilmember Tim Burgess. "Now many more nurses, school teachers, construction workers and other working families can call this booming neighborhood home."

"The Council's adjustments in this legislation and the overall commitment to seeing workforce-priced units actually built in these developments will  help more working people find homes in South Lake Union near jobs and transit," said Council President Sally J. Clark. "That's good for employees and good for employers."
              
"The new Affordable Housing Amendment reflects a collaborative and inclusive decision-making process with developers and affordable housing advocates. The Council applied the Race and Social Justice Initiative lens to ensure we were having an honest debate on equity. Council honored its promise of delivering on-site affordable workforce units in this neighborhood," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell.

"These amendments strengthen one of our tools to generate more workforce housing in South Lake Union," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the Special Committee on South Lake Union. "I look forward to working with stakeholders and housing experts to both refine our incentive zoning program and also increase the supply of affordable housing city-wide."

"It all goes back to why so many people come to Seattle -- they come because we are a city of inclusive neighborhoods, not just a copy of someplace else. A strengthened incentive zoning program reaffirms our commitment to inclusive and affordable neighborhoods," said Councilmember Jean Godden.

"These amendments, while not a bold leap, are reasonable steps in the right direction. This is only a modest beginning for making housing in Seattle more affordable for average folks," said Councilmember Nick Licata. "We cannot continue to see workers forced to move ever further from the city and drive long distances to work here. The solution is clearly to require developers to provide substantially more affordable housing."

The Council last updated the incentive zoning program in 2008, establishing the goal of producing 5% of affordable workforce residential units in the neighborhood of the development. The Council will also consider similar fee adjustments to the downtown incentive housing program to take effect in 2014.

"Even with this step, we need to go further by engaging in the process laid out in Resolution 31444 to review and update of Seattle's incentive zoning and other affordable housing programs, so we can begin to bridge the gap between our affordable housing needs and the amount we are currently producing," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

City Council plans to vote on the full South Lake Union rezone proposal at the May 6 Full Council meeting at 2:00pm in Council Chambers.

[View in Council Newsroom]

In recognition of Earth Day today, our city is garnering a lot of attention for the grand opening of the Bullitt Foundation’s new headquarters on Capitol Hill. The Bullitt Center is not only intended to be the greenest building in the world, it is intended to have a lifespan of two hundred and fifty years.

It is the first commercial building in the U.S. to earn the Forest Stewardship Council’s certification for using 100 percent FSC-certified wood and it is the largest structure to qualify for the Living Building Challenge.

The Bullitt Center on Capitol Hill

The Living Building Challenge is the built environment’s most rigorous performance standard. To be certified under the Challenge, projects, over a minimum of 12 months of continuous occupancy, must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements, including net zero energy, waste, and water.

Last year, The Living Building Challenge was a topic of discussion for me and other Councilmembers during a Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee (PLUS) meeting regarding the approval of Ordinance 117516, which allows additional design departures under the Demonstration Program for Living Building Design.

Stone 34 in Wallingford

During that discussion, many people testified to object to developer Skanska USA’s plan for the Stone 34 building in Wallingford. Skanska’s plan calls for qualifying through the City’s Living Building Challenge for a 20 foot height increase above the property’s then current height limit of 45 feet. The International Living Future Institute, which manages the Living Building Challenge certification program, objected, claiming that the Skanska project doesn’t meet the Challenge’s intentionally stringent standards. The Bullitt Foundation expressed concerns, also, that the City’s green building standards appeared to be weakening. Skanska’s project was eventually approved under the City’s less stringent Deep Green program, rather than under The Living Building Challenge.

July 25, 2012 PLUS Committee Meeting Video

In response to concerns raised over the Skanska project by the surrounding community, the Bullitt Foundation, and Living Building Challenge representatives, I have introduced Resolution 31400. It calls on the City to provide updates and enhancements to its Living Building Challenge and Seattle Deep Green pilot programs.

Resolution 31400 also requests the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to form a standing Green Building Advisory Board to advise the City on sustainable building practices; to screen proposals for eligibility; and to assist in developing new or updated sustainable building programs.

Although DPD has in the past employed ad hoc technical advisory groups to advise on sustainable building projects, those groups do not always include members certified in LEED architecture, sustainable building practices, and building energy systems engineering, nor do they always include representatives of a neighborhood community council. My proposed advisory board would require such members and would also create a standing body rather than one that is ad hoc. Such continuity, along with community and expert membership, should help quell the kind of criticism the Council received over the Skanska approval process.

My resolution will be discussed and possibly voted on during the May 8 meeting of the PLUS Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Richard Conlin. Councilmember Conlin is co-sponsoring my resolution. The committee agenda isn’t posted yet, but you can check for it a few days before the meeting by clicking here.  I encourage you to read my proposed resolution, here, and consider sending your comments to the committee members listed below.

Seattle City Council Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee, May 8, 2013, 9:30 a.m. meeting in the Council Chamber: 600 4th Ave 2nd Floor:

Richard Conlin, Chair, 684-8805;

Tim Burgess, Vice-Chair, 684-8806;

Mike O’Brien, Member, 684-8800;

Sally Clark, Alternate, 684-8802.

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Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

City Council to host Town Hall Meeting on Climate Action
Community encouraged to share thoughts and perspectives

Seattle -- Join the Seattle City Council for a town hall meeting where Councilmembers will hear directly from the public.  The meeting will be hosted in the context of the City's recently unveiled Climate Action Plan. 

The town hall will open at 6 p.m. with remarks by Councilmembers, followed by a panel discussion to provide the community with an overview of the draft Climate Action Plan, why it's important and how the community can help.  The rest of the meeting will be dedicated to open public comment.  Speakers will not be constrained to addressing climate issues.

WHO:             Seattle City Councilmembers, general public

WHAT:           Council Town Hall on Climate Action

WHEN:          Tuesday, May 7, 6 p.m.

WHERE:        University Heights Center
                     5031 University Way NE, Room 209
                     Seattle, WA 98105

Read the draft Climate Action Program at http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/climate/

For more information, visit the event flier .PDF here

[View in Council Newsroom]

So, what are Microunits? They sprung up about 4 years ago, when some innovative developers discovered that they could build new housing projects that provided very small living units without individual kitchens. Using the available building codes they put up residential buildings that provided a shared kitchen for eight living units. The result was an economically viable model that has resulted in tapping a great demand for housing units that can be rented in the range of $500 to $700 a month. The buildings are new, generally have free wi-fi, and provide a common room in addition to a shared kitchen. On the downside, parking is limited and the rooms are small, very small, some small as 100 square feet; the average micro-unit size is subject to some debate. The City’s Department of Planning and Development estimates their average size as 260 sq. ft. but provides no backup data. There are ample examples of new buildings providing micro-units averaging barely 200 square feet.

The developers note that their buildings are filling up with low income renters, some are young workers and others are retired workers. The major developer says the average income of their tenants is under $20,000 a year. Their model is so successful that developers cannot meet demand, there are now more than 2,300 living units located in 48 buildings, and more, many more are on the way.

These buildings cannot be built in single-family neighborhoods, but they can be built in areas zoned Low Rise or Medium Rise Residential, which do have many single family homes, although the zoning in these areas allows for higher density buildings. It is in these areas that their impact is being most felt. Of the 48 projects, 30 have been built in the Low Rise Zone which is a dominant zone in neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, University District and Eastlake. Single-family residents in these areas are now organizing and asking for a moratorium on issuing additional permits for constructing these projects until City departments can provide a consistent set of regulations for controlling their proliferation.

Up until the City’s Office of Housing made a change in their rules, micro-housing developers were using two different set of rules to allow them to receive property tax subsidies based on the number of their living units, while avoiding any design oversight based on a different measurement provided by the City’s Department of Planning and Development. In essence, developers were able to provide a much larger number of living units without being subject to design review that would normally be applied to this number of units.

The Council held a public hearing on April 17th and heard a number of residents complaining of their impact on their neighborhoods. Their complaints are balanced against others who have argued that given the lack of affordable housing in Seattle, micro-units provide one possible solution to the challenge of living in Seattle for those that work in Seattle.

I believe the Council is doing the right thing by reviewing the rules and regulations that govern the permitting of micro-housing. I expect that our work will be completed in the next months, which should result in dramatically altering the process for permitting micro-units and for regulating the size of their units. Currently other cities set minimum square footage for these type of living units. Boston has a proposed minimum of 350 sq. ft, Portland has one that ranges between 295 and 385, New York’s range from 250 to 370, and San Francisco’s is at 220 sq. ft.

Micro-housing has a place in Seattle, but they must be regulated much more than they are now. But the larger problem of providing affordable housing in Seattle must be tackled straight on by recognizing that all new housing development in Seattle must be required to provide a percentage of new housing affordable for people who wish to live and work in Seattle.

Councilmember Tim Burgess
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Councilmembers to consider Publicly Financed Campaigns for Seattle
Possible ballot measure coming to voters in November

Seattle -- Seattle City Councilmembers announced today a timeline to consider a proposal to publicly finance elections for local campaigns in the city of Seattle. The plan outlines a series of five meetings in April, May and June, leading to a decision about whether to ask voters to approve such a program in November 2013.

At the request of four councilmembers, the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission recently submitted a recommendation for the Council to consider a public campaign finance program. The Council will review the details of the Commission's proposed program structure starting Monday, April 29.

"It's the right time to explore new ways to engage Seattle in the electoral process," said Councilmember Tim Burgess, chair of the Special Committee on Public Campaign Finance. "Seattle has long been at the forefront in upholding fair elections, but we should learn from other cities about what can be achieved through a public campaign finance system."

Public campaign financing, sometimes called "voter-owned" elections, allows a candidate to qualify for public funds to run an electoral campaign if he or she is able to demonstrate a broad base of community support. Candidate participation would be optional, and participants would agree to set standards that could include limits on private fundraising, a limit on using personal funds or limits on third-party funding assistance. Similar programs currently operate in many cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

"I'm looking forward to creating a program that helps a diverse cross-section of Seattle residents to run for local office," said Council President Sally J. Clark.  "Plenty of smart, qualified people would love to run, but the price tag has run so high in recent cycles that otherwise great leaders sit out. Money shouldn't determine who runs and serves."

"Voter-owned elections get more people involved and keep campaigns focused on people, issues and ideas, something I think that strengthens our democracy and that we all value," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien. "Seattle was the first municipality to put a system in place in 1979, and I think it is time to ask the voters to reinstate it."

"The influence of money on elections has grown nationally and locally; with publicly financed campaigns, we can at least minimize its influence on local elections, said Councilmember Nick Licata. "The voters should have an opportunity to decide if Seattle joins other cities with public financing."

[View in Council Newsroom]

Comparison of a 128 sqft parking space, a 150 sqft microunit, and a 180 sqft basketball court lane

Don’t know what micro-housing is?  Here is an except (full content at link below) from a Council Central Staff briefing document:

“Microhousing projects are generally comprised of apartment or townhome-style dwelling units, each of which contains several (often seven or eight) sleeping rooms clustered around a shared kitchen and laundry area. The sleeping rooms are typically 150 to 200 square feet in size and equipped with a kitchenette (refrigerator, microwave, sink) and private bathroom. Each sleeping room is leased to an individual tenant and rent levels, while subject to variation by location, are often in the range of $600 to $700 per month…Tenants include, but are not limited to, students, service industry workers, and individuals who divide their time between Seattle and a residence in another location. Since 2006, DPD has received permit applications for 48 microhousing projects. Once all those projects are complete, it is estimated they will yield residential capacity for more than 2,300 people. Eighteen (38%) of the projects are located on Capitol Hill, 12 (25%) are in the University District, and the remainder are spread throughout the city.”

The event will be an opportunity for public comment as well as hearing presentations from the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the Office of Housing (OH), and Council Central Staff.

It will be held in City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Seattle City Hall.  The agenda and supporting documents can be found here.  If you can’t attend, but want to watch, the live streaming video is found here and the archived video will be located here.  Because not everyone can attend daytime meetings, within the next few weeks, Councilmember Rasmussen and I plan to host another evening public forum on microhousing development. Details about this event will be available as soon as it is scheduled.

]]> http://council.seattle.gov/2013/04/17/forum-on-microhousing/feed/ 0 http://council.seattle.gov/2013/04/16/city-council-to-discuss-micro-housing-developments-thursday/ http://council.seattle.gov/2013/04/16/city-council-to-discuss-micro-housing-developments-thursday/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:51:19 +0000 City Council News Releases http://www.seattle.gov/council/newsdetail.asp?ID=13546 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/16/2013

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Richard Conlin

City Council to discuss micro-housing developments Thursday 
Public invited to share feedback with Councilmembers and City staff

SEATTLE -- Seattle City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Nick Licata, Sally J. Clark and Richard Conlin today reminded Seattleites about a public meeting on micro-housing developments on April 18, in response to questions and concerns raised in several Seattle neighborhoods.

"Several Councilmembers and I are sponsoring a two hour meeting to review what is occurring due to the strong interest and concern we are hearing in the neighborhoods," Councilmember Tom Rasmussen stated. "A portion of the meeting will include an opportunity for the public to provide comments and recommendations on what, if any, regulations should be enacted for this unique type of housing."

In addition to a public comment opportunity, representatives from the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the Office of Housing (OH) and City Council staff will discuss Seattle's recent experience with micro-housing. 

WHAT:             Micro-housing development discussion

WHEN:            Thursday, April 18, 11:30 a.m. -- 1:30 p.m.
                        Members of the public are welcome to bring their lunch

WHERE:           Council Chambers, second floor
                        Seattle City Council, 600 Fourth Ave

WHO:              Seattle City Councilmembers and Council staff
                        Representatives from Seattle's Dept. of Planning and Development
                        Representatives from Seattle's Office of Housing

"I want to see more affordable housing built in Seattle along with our residential neighborhoods accommodating housing options that contribute to their character," stated Councilmember Nick Licata, chair of the Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee. "I think both objectives can be accomplished and I look forward to this forum providing an opportunity to hear suggestions on how to fulfill both."

"I've visited some of these micro-units," said Council President Sally J. Clark. "They provide decent, often attractive housing for a range of people who don't need or want a lot of space. They're also appearing in greater numbers and more rapidly than some in the surrounding neighborhood want. This forum can provide a good airing of people's support, concerns and ideas for appropriate regulation."

"Microhousing can be an affordable option that works well with neighborhoods," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the Council's Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee. "However, it does not fit neatly into Seattle's land use code, and we are looking for input on code improvements that will preserve the affordability while ensuring that these developments reflect both the letter and the spirit of our land use laws."

Background

In recent years, micro-housing has emerged as an increasingly common residential building product in Seattle. Since 2006, DPD has received permit applications for 48 projects. Once all those projects are complete, it is estimated they will yield residential capacity for more than 2,300 people. In 2012, DPD received applications for approximately 15 micro-housing projects.

Micro-housing projects are generally comprised of apartment or townhome-style dwelling units, each of which contains several (often seven or eight) smaller living quarters clustered around a shared kitchen and laundry area. Each of the smaller living spaces within the dwelling unit is leased to an individual tenant. These spaces are typically 150 to 200 square feet in size and equipped with a kitchenette (refrigerator, microwave, sink) and private bathroom. Rent levels vary by location but are often in the range of $600 to $700 per month.

Developers have found Seattle offers a strong market for micro-housing, with completed projects leasing up quickly. Tenants often include students, service industry workers, and individuals who divide their time between Seattle and a residence in another location.  Geographically, about 40 percent of the projects are located on Capitol Hill and 25 percent in the University District, with the remainder spread throughout the city.

Because micro-housing is not well-defined in City codes it also may not be adequately regulated. Some of the issues and concerns the public has raised about Seattle's growing stock of micro-housing include:

• Within micro-housing projects, DPD currently counts the several small living quarters that surround a common kitchen and laundry area as a single dwelling unit (e.g., one apartment with eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms). As a result, most micro-housing projects do not meet the threshold for design review. Normally the design review process also provides opportunities for neighbors to comment and offer input on proposed projects.
• DPD's current practice of counting multiple living quarters within a micro-housing project as a single dwelling unit also complicates efforts to measure progress toward adopted growth targets in neighborhoods where micro-housing is located. It also can affect whether a proposed micro-housing project is subject to environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
• Micro-housing may not be an appropriate building type for all multifamily residential zones. 
• Micro-housing projects are generally designed to house 25 to 100 individuals; however, on-site parking is rarely provided. 
• The high cost of this housing on a price per square foot basis. 

[View in Council Newsroom]

Since 1998, I’ve hired local poets to read for the Council’s Words’ Worth poetry program at the beginning of my committee meetings. Over 195 poets have presented 218 readings since then. And in 1999, I proposed electing a Poet Populist for the City of Seattle as a response to the more conventional practice of appointing a Poet Laureate (after clicking on Poet Laureate, scroll down to find ‘poet populist’ on that page).

Among the many events celebrating Poetry Month is one I find rather interesting called National Poem in Your Pocket Day. It’s sponsored by the Academy of American Poets’ Poetry.org and happens this Thursday, April 18th.

The way it works is that you select one of your favorite poems sometime in April, during National Poetry Month, and carry it around with you to share with co-workers, family, friends…even strangers. Is your office water cooler conversation lagging? Whip out a poem to spice it up or to at least surprise your co-workers.

You can also share your poem on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem.

If you’re feeling particularly creative you can design your own Poem in Your Pocket Day event. Check out some ideas, below. Or email Poets.org your projects and suggestions at npm@poets.org.

Find a Poem for Your Pocket

Along with your local library, bookstore, or bookshelf at home, you can find the poems for your pocket by browsing Poets.org, where you can download pocket-sized Poem PDFs to print and share with others.

Put Poems In Others’ Pockets

Check out the ideas below for how you can get involved:

  Start a “poems for pockets” give-a-way in your school or workplace

  Urge local businesses to offer discounts for those carrying poems

  Post pocket-sized verses in public places

  Handwrite some lines on the back of your business cards

  Start a street team to pass out poems in your community

  Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines

  Add a poem to your email footer

  Post a poem on your blog or social networking page

  Project a poem on a wall, inside or out

  Text a poem to friends

Poem in Your Pocket History

In 2002, New York’s Mayor, in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, initiated Poem in Your Pocket Day as part of the city’s National Poetry Month celebration.

In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative national, encouraging individuals around the country to join in and channel their inner bard. Each year on Poem in Your Pocket Day, schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, and other venues ring loud with open readings of poems from pockets.

Highlights from Past Poem in Your Pocket Day Events

Throughout history, poems have been stashed in pockets in a myriad of ways, from the commonplace books of the Renaissance to the pocket-sized publications for Army soldiers in World War II.

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The annual report is required to include, among other things, the estimated total amount of tax exempted annually and cumulatively for individual projects in the MFTE program, as well as for the entire program.  The report is also required to provide an estimated annual impact of the MFTE program on the individual Seattle homeowner.  In the 2011 Annual Report we learned that for MFTE projects receiving an exemption under this program, their owners are estimated to receive about a $170,184,350 exemption for the life of the building’s participation in the project, with a total Seattle homeowner tax impact of $197.50 through 2025.

This year, OH was not ready to provide information on the tax impact of the program and has asked for additional time.  Last year, at my request, the Office of City Auditor conducted a performance audit of the MFTE Program, which is managed by the City of Seattle’s Office of Housing (OH).  One of the findings from the Audit Report was that “OH should…report on actual data, if it is available, rather than estimates. This should include providing actual tax exemption impacts from the King County Department of Assessments…”  My HHSHC Committee is in the midst of a program review.   I support getting accurate information now from the King County Assessor’s Office about the actual tax impacts of the program.

This program was passed in 1998.  There were changes to the program in each 2004, 2008, and 2011.  My emphasis has always been to support increasing the number of rent-restricted units required under the program and making them available to lower income people, for whom the need is greatest.  I voted against the program in 2008 because I believed the changes undermined its effectiveness by 1) subsidizing private developers to build units at essentially market rents, 2) expanded the program to build these market rate units in neighborhoods that have already met growth targets and 3) raised taxes for the rest of us to pay for it.

Each of the times over the last 12 years that program changes were made, the Council and the public was told that there was no general fund impact resulting from the program because the tax reduction developers receive were actually offset with increased property taxes for all other property owners.  Today we found out that this is not the whole story and that some portion of the exempted property taxes is forgone altogether.  In evaluating the project and making future changes it is critical to know what funds we may be foregoing that would otherwise pay for other critical tax-funded services.

While you may know about our city’s arts office and the important contributions it provides to Seattle’s ranking as a top U.S. arts destination, you may not be aware that Seattle’s DPR contributes, as well.

Their summer arts program is designed to provide summer learning opportunities, build self esteem, promote cross-cultural experiences, build ongoing participation in Parks, including welcoming drop-ins, and support the City’s Youth and Families Initiative. Up to $8,400 will be awarded for each of four parks: Othello Playground, Lakeridge Playground, Judkins Park, and Maplewood Playfield.

Summer Art in the Park is intended to offer fun, innovative, curriculum-based visual and performing arts activities in our parks for children, families, early childhood education facilities, and community centers.

The winning proposers are expected to offer activities complimentary to existing uses of each park while providing programming that appeals to young children ages 5 to 9 and teens ages 10 to 14 starting June 24th, ending August 16th, 2013.

Susan Tidwell’s temporary 2011 art installation in Occidental Park.

Proposers must also participate in the Free Summer Food Service Program, provided by the Seattle Human Services Department and coordinated through Seattle Parks and Recreation, as well as participate in the End of the Summer Celebration – a performance showcase, food and visual art display held August 15th.

Electronic submissions are not being accepted. Proposers must snail mail their applications to:

2013 Summer Art in the Park Program RFP
City of Seattle, Dept. of Parks & Recreation
Out of School Time Office
Attn: Daisy Catague
4209 W Marginal Way SW
Seattle Washington 98106

For more information, call DPR at 206-615-0303 or email daisy.catague@seattle.gov. Click here for DPR’s “Request for Proposals” website and scroll down to find the RFP.

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You can visit the Mayor’s Office on the 7th floor, and Councilmember offices on the 2nd floor.

There will be adoptable animals, food trucks, and performances (acrobatics at 11a, and the Massive Monkees at noon).

On display on 5th Avenue between Cherry and James will be the Seattle Police Mounted Unit, and an antique Fire Truck.

This week, the Human Services Department (HSD) announced that they will use the Council-allocated funds to allow Seattle Winter Shelter operations to be extended at both a. the City Hall Winter Shelter serving adult men and women and b. the Women’s Shelter at Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) Connections.

In 2011, thanks to the advocacy of the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH), the Seattle City Council voted to make shelter available “behind the red doors” inside City Hall all winter long.  Again, in 2012, SKCCH called for an extension of winter shelter to meet the ongoing, yearlong unmet need when turnaways at year-round shelter spike after winter shelters close.

I’m glad that with the 2013-2014 budget money allocated by the Council in 2012, HSD agreed to allow these shelter operations to extend past the winter months.

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien

The opportunity is yours: Ask City Councilmembers your questions
Councilmembers Clark, Licata and O'Brien to appear on
April's City Inside/Out: Council Edition

SEATTLE -- Do you have questions for members of the City Council? What is the Council's plan for marijuana dispensaries in Seattle? What is the future of police surveillance drones? Can public financing of political campaigns work successfully? Join the conversation by submitting your questions now.  

The April 9 episode of Seattle Channel's City Inside/Out: Council Edition will feature Councilmembers Sally J. Clark, Nick Licata and Mike O'Brien answering your questions with host Brian Callanan.

Submit your questions for the Councilmembers by 10 a.m. on Friday, April 5.

• Email: contact@seattlechannel.org
• Online: http://www.seattlechannel.org/CouncilEdition/
• Twitter: @SeattleChannel
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SeattleChannel

Don't miss this opportunity to put your issues before the city's lawmakers. Send in your questions now and tune in to Seattle Channel, Cable 21, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday,
April 9 to hear the Councilmembers respond.

[View in Council Newsroom]

The Levy Opportunity Fund is a $15 million fund within the 2008 $146 million 6-year Levy. The fund’s projects are proposed by neighborhood and community groups. After consideration and recommendation by the Oversight Committee, funding for these projects is approved by ordinance. The City Council approved a 1st round of Opportunity Fund projects totaling $9,758,000 in November of 2011. Their April 22nd hearing is for a 2nd round allocating up to an additional $8 million.

Flo Ware Park project Pro Parks Levy check presentation, 2002.

Back in 2000, I sponsored legislation sending the City’s 2000 Pro Parks Levy to the ballot. It was an eight-year $198.2 million Levy. As chair of the Culture, Arts, and Parks Committee, I had worked with then-Mayor Schell and Department of Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ken Bounds to create the citizen-based Pro-Parks Committee that proposed the measure to fund Seattle neighborhood parks, recreation and open space projects. That measure – Proposition No. 1, Parks, Green Spaces, Trails & Zoo Levy – passed with 54% approval, second only to the Monorail’s Proposition 2, which garnered a 56% yes vote.

This past January, Parks staff and the 2008 Levy Oversight Committee members heard more than forty 2nd round funding presentations.

Some of those presentations included a land purchase in South Park to build a future gateway park and connection to the Duwamish River; a Sensory Garden at Woodland Park Zoo designed for the disabled and all abilities to experience nature through imaginative, therapeutic, and educational ways; and a Northwest Native Canoe Center Carving Shed where the public is welcome to observe native carvers working on distinctive varieties of Native American culture.

Projects funded in the 1st round include the roof replacement at the Green Lake Bathhouse, home to Seattle Public Theatre; renovation of the Rainier Beach playfield play area; and renovation of the Madrona playground shelter restrooms.

The 16-member volunteer Citizen Oversight Committee advises the Parks Superintendent, the Mayor and the City Council on the Levy fund. Members serve staggered terms over the life of the current 2009-2014 levy. Members represent the community at large geographically. Half are appointed by the Mayor and half by the City Council.

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Councilmember Richard Conlin
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Seven remaining Councilmembers announce candidacy for Mayor
Will run as collective

Seattle -- The seven Councilmembers who are not already in the race for Mayor today announced that they will pioneer a new model for Seattle governance by running for Mayor as a collective. The seven will appear on the ballot as a single name, "O'Bagcloddenconrasita," reflecting their collegial approach to the position.

"Experience teaches us that seven heads are better than one," said the group speaking in unison. "Seven of nine is an excellent model for decision-making," they commented, making the obligatory geeky Star Trek allusion.

"This way the people of Seattle will know that there will always be a Mayor on the job," O'Bagcloddenconrasita added. "By taking shifts, we can cover the Mayor's office 24-7. And the Mayor can lobby in Olympia, cut a ribbon in West Seattle, and hold a town meeting in Ballard, all at the same time."

Commenting on the legality of the proposed candidacy, City Attorney Pete Holmes was sanguine about the outcome of any possible court challenge. "Nothing in the City Charter prevents innovative approaches to governance," Holmes added. "Furthermore, this will make it much easier to get a Mayoral signature on City documents."

The group noted that the departure of seven Councilmembers simultaneously would make it difficult to do business and fill the seven vacancies on the Council, since there would not be a quorum remaining. However, the group agreed that this could easily be resolved by the use of serial resignations spaced one week apart between the election and taking office on January 1. That way, each week eight Councilmembers could conduct business and appoint someone to the vacant seat. By the end of December, seven new Councilmembers would be seated and join Mayor O'Bagcloddenconrasita in governing the City.

[View in Council Newsroom]

INTRODUCTION

I begin this UP with a request. After you read this Urban Politics, consider sending a message to the Councilmembers asking them to dramatically increase the City’s plans for providing for more affordable housing in South Lake Union. My prior UP #322 provided background on how the City is developing SLU into a new and vibrant neighborhood, with expectations that in 18 years it will be the site of over 50,000 jobs and hopefully 15,000 housing units to accommodate those employees. Quite likely it will become one of Seattle’s densest urban centers. The question before the City is what kind of a new neighborhood will this be? Will it become a homogenous residential neighborhood, with employees car dependent on getting to work?

BE BOLD – TAKE THE LEAP

Before you is a strategy for creating an environmentally sustainable and an affordable neighborhood in the heart of our city. If you are in agreement, then email Councilmembers and put in the Subject Line: “BE BOLD – TAKE THE LEAP” In the body of the message use your own words for why you believe there should be more affordable housing in Seattle and South Lake Union in particular. Emails for the Councilmembers are:
Sally.Bagshaw@seattle.gov
Tim.Burgess@seattle.gov
Sally.Clark@seattle.gov
Richard.Conlin@seattle.gov
Jean.Godden@seattle.gov
Bruce.Harrell@seattle.gov
Nick.Licata@seattle.gov
Mike.OBrien@seattle.gov
Tom.Rasmussen@seattle.gov

WHAT DOES “TAKE THE LEAP” MEAN?

In short it asks Councilmembers to dramatically increase the requirements on South Lake Union developers to provide affordable housing units when they build larger and higher buildings due to the upzoning of this area. My proposal, which was kindly referred to as the “Licata Leap” by Councilmember Burgess, would do three things. First, reduce carbon emissions from employees driving to work from long distances by creating a greater incentive to provide affordable housing in SLU and in the city. Second, significantly increase the number of affordable housing units beyond what the other plans are proposing. Third, it will begin to make those changes now, capturing the potential to build hundreds of new housing units that would otherwise be lost if we were to wait another year for more discussions.

COMPARISON OF SLU PROPOSALS FOR FUNDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The performance requirement (i.e. the developer builds the affordable housing units on or offsite site) and the in-lieu payment amounts (i.e. the developer pays a fee to the city and the funds are used by someone else to build the units elsewhere) would significantly increase with the Leap Plan. Below is a table showing the differences.

This table applies only to new residential construction, not commercial construction, taking advantage of the SLU upzone. Commercial developments would also pay a fee, but their numbers would vary from those presented below.

Notes:

• *AMI is Average Median Income
• **Office of Housing suggests that non-profit developers may build an additional 300 units by 2031.
• *** This is the number of affordable housing units that the Office of Housing has determined that we’ll need by 2031 to meet our needs for the growth of jobs in SLU. Our consultants have confirmed this number and believe that it would be higher by 50% if we included the demand for affordable housing coming from the rest of the central business district.

The Council is moving in the right direction by increasing the amount of affordable housing from what the Mayor has proposed. One way that some Councilmembers have proposed is to increase the fees is by capturing inflation costs through applying the CPI index. This increase is one that could have been administratively applied, without legislation, any of the years since the 2007 passage of our first incentive zoning program.

I’m also glad to see that some Councilmembers are proposing a higher fee (referred to as an “in-lieu premium” of 20-25%) on developers who do not provide onsite affordable housing. I appreciate that Councilmember Burgess, who was the first to propose higher fees than what the Mayor proposed, acknowledges that even with this in-lieu premium, “the fee would be well below what is allowed by state law, RCW 36.70A.540 (h)”… well below the total cost to develop the workforce units.”

My objective is to encourage the development of affordable housing within projects and discourage the practice of developers writing a check to fulfill their incentive zoning obligations. Since its inception, San Francisco’s differential performance requirements and pay in-lieu options has succeeded in this objective, resulting in 80% of projects performing on-site units, 4% have performing offsite, and 16% making an in-lieu fee payment. My proposal is much more modest, but it will still increase the amount of on-site development than is currently being considered.

Here are some of the details of my proposal:

• For developers building affordable housing onsite: 10% of all residential floor area would be set aside as affordable for 60% and 80% average median income workers, which works out to about $60 gross square foot.
• For developers who don’t build affordable housing onsite, they make a “payment in lieu fee” which is equivalent to the cost of developing more units, instead 15% of units, or about $96 gross square foot.

IS THIS PROPOSAL REASONABLE?

The City Council’s consultant produced The Spectrum Report which concluded that an in lieu fee of even $104/gross square foot (mine is estimated as $96) would result in a 6.8% Return On Equity for developers and investors, the baseline threshold accepted by in the current market is 6%. In other words, developers could still make a healthy return on their projects.

Some have suggested that if we ask developers for too much in exchange for them using the upzones, they will not build in SLU if they can make larger profits elsewhere. While that is a possibility, there are other things to consider.

Although incentive zoning should be applied city wide, SLU is and will continue to be the hottest real estate location in the city for some time. The Mayor created a taskforce for considering how incentive zoning should be applied city-wide. It should move quickly and make a proposal by mid-summer, not at the end of the year as is currently planned. We do need city-wide consistency in applying incentive zoning. With a good portion of the Mayor’s appointees on the taskforce being for-profit developers, I expect that they will voice their hesitations about robust incentive programs. Consequently, I have low expectations that they will endorse anything that is bold enough to meet our city’s needs for more affordable housing. However, while the public deserves to hear their concerns, we should not use this taskforce as a barrier for tackling our affordable housing needs now. Rather, we should move forward before the end of the year to address the need city-wide.

Seattle is currently the sixth most active real estate market in the nation, and the risk factor for investors in this market is the second lowest in the nation as well. Both stats come from a report of Real Capital Analytics, a nationally respected firm, whose report received wide attention. However, San Francisco is even a “hotter” and they have a more aggressive affordable program than what I’m proposing (their “in-lieu” fee is over $300 a gross sq. ft. compared to mine of $96, or the Mayor’s at $15.) The requirements of their program applies even when there is no concurrent upzone and any time a builder is building more than 5 units of housing. And developers there have to provide housing units that are affordable to a lower income worker – 55% of Area Median Income, while all our proposals are at 80% of AMI (mine is half at 80% AMI, and half at 60%). Finally in San Francisco the affordable units are permanently affordable, for the life of the project. Our program guarantees affordability for only 50 years.

We need to build housing for our entire workforce, not just those at the highest wage scales. That is why we must have an incentive zoning program that also produces housing for workers earning 60% of the AMI. These are the security, clerical, maintenance, sales and hospitality workers. One proposed new building, just outside the SLU boundary, will be Seattle’s largest hotel employing over 400 people earning less than $25,000 a year. These are people who deserve the opportunity to walk or bike to work, rather than being forced to drive from Kent, Renton or beyond every day because they cannot find affordable housing in Seattle.

CONCLUSION

Council does recognize the opportunity of capturing additional public value for the private value we intend to create.  And, upzoning adds significant value to private property. The Department of Planning and Development has estimated that future growth due to upzoning SLU could result in over $12 billion worth of development over the next 25 years. Is it reasonable to expect that we should shape that development to be sensitive to our physical environment and our community values? I don’t want to see a downtown enclave created that can only house the most highly paid workers.

My vision is the creation of a functional and sustainable new downtown urban center that reflects the social diversity and environmental goals of our city. Can we do that by creating another 500 or even 700 affordable units when we expect there to be 15,000 housing units in SLU by 2031? I, for one, believe we can and must do better.

I welcome the Council’s continued resolve to grapple with these issues now, as well as the fact that we are also collectively rolling up our sleeves to do the same for incentive zoning throughout the City. But we need your guidance. What do you believe we should do?

The 10th Annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival kicks off April 13th at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. It will run through April 20th.  The festival brings to Seattle thought-provoking, illuminating films that showcase stories of people of African descent, from around the world, by independent filmmakers. Check their website for more information.

ART IN THE PARK

A couple of years ago, in response to dwindling revenues, the City’s Parks Department sought to save money by having three of its most popular arts programs paid for by the City’s Arts Office so they could continue. During 2011 and 2012, funding for the Parks Department’s Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, its Downtown Parks Arts program, and its Outdoor Neighborhood Parks Activation program was drawn from the City’s arts account, which receives revenue from City admissions taxes to fund the Arts Office. The Parks Department continued to manage those programs.

Blue Trees, by Konstantin Dimopoulos. Photo by Graham Syed.

This funding agreement ended last year and some worried that the Parks Department might not continue its commitment to bringing art into City parks. I then sponsored a budget paper expressing the Council’s intent to see continued arts programming in our parks. The Parks Department agreed. That’s good news for the many children and adults who participated in past Parks Department arts programs.

ARTSparks, a partnership between the Parks Department and the Arts Office, is now seeking proposals for arts projects to be temporarily installed in Occidental Square between June and September 2013. Individuals and organizations are asked to submit one to three distinct proposals. ARTSparks is part of the City of Seattle’s Center City Initiative, which contributes to making downtown parks more attractive, safe, and welcoming to the public.

The Summer Art in the Park Program seeks individuals, groups, or organizations to provide culturally relevant, safe, and reliable arts programming for Othello Playground, Lakeridge Playground, Judkins Park, and Maple Wood Playfield. The program’s focus is to provide fun, innovative, curriculum based visual and performing arts that will have a positive impact on the children, families, early childhood education facilities, and community centers of Seattle.

For the Summer Art in the Park program, the Parks Department will host a free workshop on Thursday, April 4th, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Miller Community Center, 330 19th Avenue East in Seattle on completing the Request for Proposal.

The deadline for applying to either program is May 10th.

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A staff report provides a good summary and description; here’s a link to a map showing where the proposal would apply.

I am co-sponsoring this legislation, along with Councilmember Clark; we met with several District Councils late last year and early this year.

The ordinance would establish limits on the production, processing, selling, or delivery of marijuana from a business or residence in a historical or special review district or Single-family, Multifamily, Pioneer Square Mixed, International District Mixed, International District Residential, Pike Place Mixed, Harborfront, and Neighborhood Commercial 1 zones.

In addition, it would modify the existing provision that limits community gardens and urban farms on industrially zoned property in the Manufacturing and Industrial Centers (MICs) from allowing “rooftop and vertical farms” to allowing “rooftop farms and indoor agricultural operations”.  Indoor agricultural operations would be limited to 10,000 square feet, excluding associated office or food processing areas.

In the zones and areas not mentioned above, the production, processing, selling, or delivery of marijuana would continue to be regulated according to existing provisions in the Land Use Code for comparable uses by zone designation.

In the restricted zones and areas, the production, processing, selling, or delivery of marijuana, marijuana-infused products, or useable marijuana in any business establishment or dwelling unit would be limited to:

• 45 marijuana plants;
• 72 ounces of useable marijuana; and
• an amount of marijuana product that could reasonably be produced with 72 ounces of useable marijuana.

These limits are consistent with the State’s requirements for individual collective gardens.

Below is background to the development of this proposal.

In 1998, Washington voters passed I-692, approving medical use of marijuana by patients with qualifying conditions. In 2011 the state legislature passed a bill permitting collective gardens by medical marijuana patients, and stating that cities may use their zoning authority to regulate.

The City Council passed Ordinance 123661 in 2011, clarifying that the manufacture, production, processing, possession, transportation, delivery, dispensing, application, or administration of marijuana must comply with all applicable City laws, and that compliance with City laws does not constitute an exemption from compliance with applicable state and federal regulations.

In 2012, Washington state voters approved I-502 legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and directing the state liquor control board to develop a process for regulating the production, processing, selling and delivery.

Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Richard Conlin

City Council to discuss micro-housing developments 
Public invited to share feedback with Councilmembers and City staff

SEATTLE -- Seattle City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Nick Licata, Sally J. Clark and Richard Conlin today announced a public meeting on micro-housing developments on April 18, in response to questions and concerns raised in several Seattle neighborhoods.

"Several Councilmembers and I are sponsoring a two hour meeting to review what is occurring due to the strong interest and concern we are hearing in the neighborhoods," Councilmember Tom Rasmussen stated. "A portion of the meeting will include an opportunity for the public to provide comments and recommendations on what, if any, regulations should be enacted for this unique type of housing."   

In addition to a public comment opportunity, representatives from the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the Office of Housing (OH) and City Council staff will discuss Seattle's recent experience with micro-housing. 

WHAT:           Micro-housing development discussion

WHEN:           Thursday, April 18, 11:30 a.m. -- 1:30 p.m.

WHERE:         Council Chambers, second floor
                        Seattle City Council, 600 Fourth Ave

WHO:              Seattle City Councilmembers and Council staff
                        Representatives from Seattle's Dept. of Planning and Development
                        Representatives from Seattle's Office of Housing

"I want to see more affordable housing built in Seattle along with our residential neighborhoods accommodating housing options that contribute to their character," stated Councilmember Nick Licata, chair of the Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee. "I think both objectives can be accomplished and I look forward to this forum providing an opportunity to hear suggestions on how to fulfill both."

"I've visited some of these micro-units," said Council President Sally J. Clark. "They provide decent, often attractive housing for a range of people who don't need or want a lot of space. They're also appearing in greater numbers and more rapidly than some in the surrounding neighborhood want. This forum can provide a good airing of people's support, concerns and ideas for appropriate regulation."

"Microhousing can be an affordable option that works well with neighborhoods," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the Council's Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee. "However, it does not fit neatly into Seattle's land use code, and we are looking for input on code improvements that will preserve the affordability while ensuring that these developments reflect both the letter and the spirit of our land use laws."

Background

In recent years, micro-housing has emerged as an increasingly common residential building product in Seattle. Since 2006, DPD has received permit applications for 44 projects. Those completed projects have a total capacity of about 2,000 people. In 2012, DPD received applications for approximately 15 micro-housing projects.

Micro-housing projects are generally comprised of apartment or townhome-style dwelling units, each of which contains several (often seven or eight) smaller living quarters clustered around a shared kitchen and laundry area. Each of the smaller living spaces within the dwelling unit is leased to an individual tenant. These spaces are typically 150 to 200 square feet in size and equipped with a kitchenette (refrigerator, microwave, sink) and private bathroom. Rent levels vary by location but are often in the range of $600 to $700 per month. 

Developers have found Seattle offers a strong market for micro-housing, with completed projects leasing up quickly. Tenants often include students, service industry workers, and individuals who divide their time between Seattle and a residence in another location.  Geographically, 52 percent of the projects are located on Capitol Hill and 30 percent in the University District, with the remainder spread throughout the city.

Because micro-housing is not well-defined in City codes it also may not be adequately regulated. Some of the issues and concerns the public has raised about Seattle's growing stock of micro-housing include:

• Within micro-housing projects, DPD currently counts the several small living quarters that surround a common kitchen and laundry area as a single dwelling unit (e.g., one apartment with eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms). As a result, most micro-housing projects do not meet the threshold for design review. Normally the design review process also provides opportunities for neighbors to comment and offer input on proposed projects.
• DPD's current practice of counting multiple living quarters within a micro-housing project as a single dwelling unit also complicates efforts to measure progress toward adopted growth targets in neighborhoods where micro-housing is located. It also can affect whether a proposed micro-housing project is subject to environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
• Micro-housing may not be an appropriate building type for all multifamily residential zones. 
• Micro-housing projects are generally designed to house 30 to 60 individuals; however, on-site parking is rarely provided. 
• The high cost of this housing on a price per square foot basis. 

[View in Council Newsroom]

Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata

Seattle City Council passes legislation to protect public's privacy from surveillance equipment

Seattle -- The Seattle City Council today unanimously passed legislation to require City departments to obtain Council approval prior to acquiring certain surveillance equipment. Council Bill 117730 additionally requires Council review and approval of department protocols for operating the surveillance equipment and managing the data collected by it.

Through an open and transparent discussion, the Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology committee listened to the public's concerns regarding the use of surveillance equipment and acted to ensure strong legislative protocols are in place to protect the public's privacy and civil liberties.

Council Bill 117730 creates a decision framework for City departments to acquire surveillance equipment.  Before acquiring any surveillance equipment, City departments must obtain approval from the City Council.  The department must also propose operational protocols that address how the equipment will be used and protocols that address logistics around data retention, storage, and access.  If the Council approves a department's request to obtain the surveillance equipment, the department cannot use the equipment until Council adopts operational protocols by ordinance.

"With this inclusive legislation, the Council is proactively setting up a framework to ensure the public is involved regarding the use of surveillance equipment," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology committee.  "The City establishes public trust by earning it through openness and transparency in its decision making."

"For me, the question is should a free society allow personal activities that occur in public to come under 24/7 surveillance? I think that this legislation strikes a balance that provides for safety without compromising the principles of our democracy," said Councilmember Nick Licata.

Departments that currently have surveillance equipment in place must propose operational and data management protocols for Council review and approval no later than 30 days after the effective date of Council Bill 117730.
The information required for the operational and data management protocols include:

1. A clear statement describing the purpose and use of the proposed surveillance equipment.
2. The type of surveillance equipment to be acquired and used.
3. The intended specific location of such surveillance equipment if affixed to a building or other structure.
4. How and when a department proposes to use the surveillance equipment, such as whether the equipment will be operated continuously or used only under specific circumstances.
5. How the department's use of the equipment will be regulated to protect privacy and limit the risk of potential abuse.
6. A description of how and when data will be collected and retained and who will have access to any data captured by the surveillance equipment.
7. The extent to which activity will be monitored in real time as data is being captured and the extent to which monitoring of historically recorded information will occur.
8. A description of the nature and extent of public outreach conducted in each community in which the department intends to use the surveillance equipment.
9. The time period for which any data collected by surveillance equipment will be retained.
10. The methods for storing recorded information, including how the data is to be labeled or indexed.  Such methods must allow for the department personnel and the City Auditor's Office to readily search and locate specific data that is collected and determine with certainty that data was properly deleted, consistent with applicable law.
11. How the data may be accessed, including who will be responsible for authorizing access, who will be allowed to request access, and acceptable reasons for requesting access.
12. A viewer's log or other comparable method to track viewings of any data captured or collected by the surveillance equipment, including the date, time, the individuals involved, and the reason(s) for viewing the records.
13. A description of the individuals who have authority to obtain copies of the records and how the existence and location of copies will be tracked.

[View in Council Newsroom]

Upzoning the 340 acre South Lake Union Urban Center could set the tone for how Seattle grows in the future. It provides a seminal turning point for creating a more economically sustainable and socially diverse city, or for becoming a major development that contributes to more urban sprawl and urban gentrification.

Without doubt the Council, the Mayor and a wide range of citizens, organizations and businesses wish to create a more dense community providing increased employment and residential opportunities for new South Lake Union workers. But while we have succeeded in attracting new employment in SLU, we have lagged behind in meeting our goal of providing more housing, both in total units and in affordable ones.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

When we started this work in 2004, there were 778 affordable housing units in South Lake Union, today they number 1,274, with over 80 percent being provided by non-profit housing developers of low income housing. Affordable housing is defined as having rent which is no more than 30% of an occupant’s income, w

ho earns 80% of the Average Medium Income or less for that metropolitan area. Lots of numbers there, but they are needed to actually measure need and the supply of housing which would be affordable to people, who often work in the lower paying restaurant, security, clerical, hospitality, maintenance, and sales jobs. According to Community Attributes a consultant hired by the City Council, approximately 58% of Seattle employees work in those occupations (see their Community Attributes report).

Affordable housing is clearly needed for our mid and lower wage workers so that they are not commuting over long distances, carrying a personal financial burden and a having a community-wide environmental impact by contributing to greater carbon emissions. Currently only 37% of people working in Seattle live in Seattle, and about 25% live outside the Greater Seattle region (including the areas directly east, north, and South of Seattle), commuting from distant rural and urban areas like Everett and Tacoma.

Community Attributes estimates that currently 29,200 people are working in SLU, with them estimating that the total number of housing units needed for them would be 21,900. Following our city’s Comprehensive Plan, which the City Council adopts and the Mayor approves, we should provide 37% of all housing to be affordable to workers earning 80% or less of the AMI. Assuming that the percentage of those working in SLU commuting from outside the city is the same as from those working in Seattle, there is a need for a total of 8,100 housing units in the city for all SLU employees. And approximately 3,000 of those units should be at affordable rent levels.

Having only 1,274 affordable units now in SLU, leaves a gap of 1,726 for SLU workers. Without them, these workers commute from other parts of the city and beyond, in places where they can locate affordable housing, defeating the goal of concentrating workers and their housing in the city.

FUTURE CONDITIONS

The affordable housing shortage in SLU will only grow worse over time if the city does not take dramatic measures.

Planners tell us that in 2031, there will be 51,100 employees in South Lake Union, creating a demand for 14,200 housing units in Seattle. The city’s Office of Housing estimates that we will need 5,500 affordable housing units to meet SLU’s workforce housing needs by 2031.  With 1,274 now existing, that leaves a production goal of more than 4,200 units over 18 years.

According to our Office of Housing (OH), the Mayor’s proposed program for incentivizing developers to build affordable housing in exchange for receiving valuable upzones for SLU, will provide only 450 additional affordable housing units, when we need 4,200.

OH also hopes to see another 500 units from the Multi-Family Tax Exemption program, but these units are only affordable for 20 years, not 50 years as would be the ones provided through an incentive program attached to a rezone. That office also suggests that another 250 affordable units might be provided through micro-housing type of units and an additional 300 for the very low income through other city and state funds. All of these numbers strike me as overly optimistic. Even so, there would still remain a gap of 2,700 affordable housing units to reach our goal of 4,400 affordable units.

Another solution floated by planners and echoed by some councilmembers is to take the money provided by the Mayor’s incentive program and build housing along the Light Rail Line in Rainier Valley, where land for new housing would be cheaper than in SLU, which is being up-zoned. Philippa Nye, of Ally Community Development, addressed that suggestion in front of the City Council by saying: “Having everyone commute from Rainier Valley or Rainier Beach feels like housing segregation to me.”

I view the Mayor’s proposed incentive program for developers as being akin to wanting to build a house with a staple gun, when you really need a hammer and nails. We need an incentive program in SLU that will produce thousands of new affordable housing units to match the expected growth in jobs in this urban center; one that we are paving the way for by legislating upzones worth millions of dollars on each parcel and by the $200 million in city and federal money that we have devoted to Mercer Street improvements.

Without a new approach, housing disparity will actually increase in South Lake Union, resulting in more workers having to drive into the city to work, reducing the value of their hour of work as well as further harming our environment with their long commutes.

Another consultant, Spectrum Development Solutions, presented a report to the Council on February 25 that confirms these concerns and concludes that if our current Incentive Zoning policies were retooled to increase the investments developers make in affordable housing development, the profit of these projects would still meet the reasonable profit expectations of stockholders and other investors.

WHAT THE CITY CAN DO TO GET MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN SOUTH LAKE UNION

The City has incentive zoning programs in several Seattle neighborhoods.  These programs create affordable housing with contributions from developers utilizing additional development capacity granted under the zoning code. In late 2007 the program was extended into South Lake Union for use on specific projects proposed by Vulcan Real Estate for the new Amazon campus.  The program does not exist otherwise in South Lake Union and the Council intends to extend the program throughout South Lake Union.

The current Incentive Zoning program allows for additional development capacity if developers contribute to affordable housing.  They can set aside units equivalent to approximately 5% of all residential floor area in a 240 foot tall building fully utilizing the bonus provided through incentive zoning.  Those units can be built either onsite or offsite in other developments and they must be affordable to people earning 80% of area median income.  Developers who don’t want to set-aside affordable housing in their developments pay $15.15 per gross square foot of 60% of the extra residential floor area above the original height of the building (before the additional development capacity).

AFFORDABLE HOUSING NOW OR LATER?

Throughout this debate the Council has withstood incredible pressure from the business community, who entreated the Council to pass the South Lake Union legislation increasing building heights from 85 feet to 240 feet as well as allowing for several 400 foot towers, together with adopting the Mayor’s proposal for status quo affordable housing requirements that are far more lenient than experts have revealed are necessary for a reasonable return on investment.

I believe we must take the opportunity to increase the public value today, at the same time that we are considering increasing the private value thorough this rezone. Thankfully, Councilmembers O’Brien and Rasmussen agree and on March 3 joined me in taking the position that the:  “Council shouldn’t wait to strengthen affordable housing requirements”
Specifically, they joined me in saying “Zoning is fundamentally about creating public value. The suggestion that we should not create new affordable housing requirements within the South Lake Union legislation before us risks our ability to meet our housing needs, as well as our social equity and sustainability goals. Rezoning an area with the highest opportunity in our region for development is the perfect time to meet these goals.”

I believe now there is agreement among a majority of Councilmembers that we want to improve the affordable housing investments of developers in South Lake Union. On Monday, March 25^th, the Council will have an open discussion in its Special Committee on the SLU Rezone on a number of Councilmember generated proposals on what the City can do to increase affordable housing in SLU.

I’ll write more about the affordable housing proposals developed by myself and other Councilmembers on Monday.

In making the announcement, he acknowledged SPS has not been providing equitable arts access to their students. In fact, it’s rare for any public school in Washington State to offer an arts curriculum on an equal footing as other curricula.

That’s why between 2007 and 2009 I proposed to the State legislature a state-wide arts education program to be funded by both an expiring baseball stadium admissions tax and a food and beverage tax. However, the legislature decided to re-directed those expiring taxes for other purposes.

SPS was encouraged to prioritize arts education by both the City’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs (OACA) and the Wallace Foundation, which provided the school district a $1 million grant in 2011. The grant allowed the school district to complete a comprehensive plan to institute a city-wide arts education program with the goal of bringing high-quality arts education to every student, every year, in every school.

Check out my earlier blogs on arts education: one on the Wallace planning grant and this one on why arts education matters.

Strengthening SPS’s application to the 2011 Wallace planning grant was the 2008 OACA/ SPS partnership initiative focused on bringing quality dance, music, theater and visual arts education to every student, with special emphasis on lower income communities and communities of color. OACA will continue to work with SPS to advance high quality arts education in our public schools.

The school district begins its district-wide art education program with a pilot in the Central area for K-12 students. They will evaluate and adjust the pilot project, if needed, before scaling it for implementation in every Seattle school.

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You may have noticed the small white and blue vehicles that started appearing in some Seattle neighborhoods beginning in January. The vehicles are part of Car2Go, a car-sharing company that allows members to drive the vehicles one way, and park on city streets. It’s proven to be a popular service during its short time here, and provides a different option for people who usually take public transportation, bike, or walk.

Over 18,000 people have signed up in the first three months, the fastest-growing launch in any US city. Car2Go has requested additional permits to expand their coverage area to include parts of West Seattle, as well as Beacon Hill, Columbia City, and Georgetown, to a southern boundary of Michigan and South Orcas (see this map).

In December of last year, the Council approved Ordinance 124063, which made the program possible, by allowing for free-floating car sharing. Annual permits are $1330 per vehicle to park on city streets.  The ordinance allowed for SDOT to issue permits for up to 350 vehicles.

This Monday the Council will consider Council Bill 117733, which will allow up to 500 free-floating car share permits, sponsored by Councilmember Rasmussen, chair of the Transportation Committee.

The permits generate revenue for the City; the fiscal note for the December ordinance estimated Seattle would receive $332,500 in revenue in 2013, based on 250 vehicles, although the legislation allowed up to 350 to be permitted; 330 permits were issued. This council bill would produce estimated revenues of just under $100,000 to the City in 2013.

Car sharing legislation was first adopted in 2008 in Seattle, and allowed for designated on-street car-sharing zones.

Building 11

Unfortunately, disagreements over the lease developed between the City and the LLC that lead to litigation resulting in a settlement that the City Council recently approved. The agreement  ends the LLC’s lease and returns the building to the City while compensating the LLC for its capital improvement costs, professional services, and other related expenses in the amount of $7,250,000. The LLC will continue construction this year to meet code compliance and subsequent operation of the building by the Parks and Recreation Department.

During the original lease being negotiated in 2009, I learned that the approximately 24 artists who had leased studios in Building 11 for the previous 9 years were about to have their leases terminated. In order to retain at least some of those artists, I proposed to the LLC they allow the Parks and Recreation Department to lease a smaller area of artist studios in the building from the LLC and, in turn, the Parks and Recreation Department would lease those units to any artists wishing to return once rehabilitation was complete. Although the LLC and the Parks and Recreation Department agreed to my proposal, disagreements over the master lease prevented that agreement from being exercised.

Magnuson Park, circa 1999. Bldg. 11 is at extreme top right of the peninsula.

Now that operation of the building will return to the Parks and Recreation Department, I would like to see working artists return.

With years-long waiting lists at Seattle’s few affordable artist studios – TK Lofts, Hiawatha Lofts, the Good Shepherd Center artist lofts, etc. – I’m sure it won’t take long to lease Building 11’s artist studios to working artists.

By recruiting artists into both Building 30 and into Building 11, the City comes closer to achieving its long-held vision of Magnuson Park being a home to creativity as well as to recreation and environmental stewardship.

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Next week the City Council will hold two meetings touching on the Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reform policing in Seattle.

On Monday, March 11, the Council will host Merrick Bobb, the Court-appointed independent monitor, at the 9 a.m. Council Briefings meeting.

A federal judge is scheduled to hear the Monitoring Plan proposed by Bobb on Tuesday, March 12. The Monitoring Plan is designed to set expectations, timelines, and monitor progress to meeting the terms of the Settlement Agreement. It includes an Appendix A listing a schedule of priorities for the Settlement Agreement, and an Appendix B, a detailed matrix regarding the core requirements of policies, training and implementation submitted by the Seattle Police Department. Mayor McGinn issued a statement this afternoon re: the Monitoring Plan.

Secondly, the Public Safety Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday to consider the proposed membership of the Community Police Commission in a public hearing.  The creation of the Commission was included as part of the City’s settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reform policing in Seattle.

The members appointed by the Mayor must be approved by the City Council. A news release by Councilmember Harrell, chair of the Public Safety Committee, provides further details.

The 15 proposed members are:

1) Claudia DAllegri, Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Vice President of Behavioral Health;

2) Lisa Daugaard, Co-chair, Defender Association, Deputy Director;

3) Kate Joncas, Downtown Seattle Association, President and CEO;

4) Bill Hobson, Downtown Emergency Services Center, Executive Director;

5) Jay Hollingsworth, John T. Williams Organizing Committee;

6) Joseph Kessler, Seattle Police Department, Captain;

7) Diane Narasaki, Co-chair, Asian Counseling & Referral Service, Executive Director;

8) John Page, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, Program Coordinator at the Defender Associations Racial Disparity Project;

9) Tina Podlodowski, former Seattle City Councilmember;

10) Marcel Purnell, Youth Undoing Institutional Racism;

11) Jennifer Shaw, ACLU of Washington, deputy director,

12) Kevin Stuckey, Seattle Police Department, Officer;

13) Kip Tokuda, former State Representative for the 37th Legislative District;

14) Rev. Harriet Walden, Co-founder of Mothers for Police Accountability; and

15) Rev. Aaron Williams, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Senior Pastor.

Passed today by the Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology Committee, Council Bill 117730 will require all City departments to obtain Council approval prior to acquiring surveillance equipment of any type.  The respective department must also proactively conduct outreach in each community in which the department intends to use the equipment.  In addition, the legislation requires that operational protocols will be developed and passed by ordinance.   Separately, data management and retention protocols are required to be developed and presented to the City Council, but approval of that set of separate protocols by ordinance will be optional.

The legislation specifies the categories of information that departments will need to submit when a request to acquire surveillance equipment is made to Council.  It does not specify the actual protocols that departments must adopt.  Because protocols will very likely vary by purpose, type of equipment, and location, the Council will need to consider protocols on a case-by-case basis.

For those City departments acquiring or operating surveillance equipment prior to the effective date of this ordinance, they’ll also have to still propose written operational protocols no later than thirty days following the effective date of the ordinance for Council review and approval.

If you’d like to watch the committee discussion, you can do so here.  The legislation will be heard by the Full Council a week from next Monday, on March 18, at 2:00 PM.  I believe that this legislation goes a long way towards ensuring future, on-going open and transparent discussions on the use of surveillance cameras and weighing the public benefits of such technologies against the potential downsides, including impacts on privacy.

City Council Committee to consider legislation to protect public's privacy from surveillance equipment

Last week, OACA kicked off that effort by convening the first of up to six Action Committee meetings to be held between now and this summer. The goal is to develop initial recommendations to be presented to the City Council and Mayor this September. Final recommendations will come the following year.

The Action Committee has 15 members, including City staff, community representatives, and representatives of the broader arts community. My legislative aide, Frank Video, serves as a member.

Co-Chairing the Action Committee are Dr. Dorothy Mann, a former Seattle Arts Commissioner, and Terri Hiroshima, with Crosscut.com.

OACA director Randy Engstrom began the inaugural meeting by explaining the roles and responsibilities of the Action Committee:

1. Review previous studies and recommendations that were conducted on Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (LHPAI);
2. Familiarize itself with the history of LHPAI;
3. Use information gleaned from previous recommendations to assess LHPAI’s current situation when considering new recommendations for utilizing City resources to address the Institute’s long term sustainability.

One of the thornier questions that arose during this meeting touched upon the mission of the institution and whether there is an expectation it needs to be revised. Some interpreted previous studies as implying the mission should be expanded in order to attract larger audiences. Others worried that changing the mission might harm the Institution’s integrity. In the end, it was agreed that changing the mission was not expectated of the Action Committee. The budget document I authored requesting this planning process does not question LHPAI’s mission. The closest reference to LHPAI’s mission in that budget document is the statement that whatever plan is eventually recommended by the Committee should “focus on maintaining LHPAC’s existing programming for the African American community, while enhancing other types of programming and events.”

Stay tuned for more updates as these meetings progress.

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Council shouldn't wait to strengthen affordable housing requirements

If you’re interested in this, an informative Council staff memo covers a wide range of topics including affordable housing, urban form, the Cascade neighborhood, the Mercer waterfront blocks, Denny Way, the bonus program, transportation impact mitigation, historic preservation, and more.

The meeting is scheduled to begin after Full Council on Monday afternoon, and includes a presentation by the Legislative Department’s Race and Social Justice Change Team, and their memo.

At today’s event I received an award for my long time support of OSL.  That was nice, but OSL really should be the ones getting an award from the City for providing 3.2 million nutritionally dense meals since 1989; 3 meals a day, seven days each week!  If you want to volunteer, it’s a great community service opportunity for more than 3,800 volunteers a year.  See here for more about OSL and how to volunteer.

Over 200 attendees crammed into Velocity Dance Center to celebrate this unique development combining affordable housing, arts, and public safety.

What was once a fenced-off 29,000 square foot parking lot will soon be transformed into 88 apartments for people earning 60% or less of the area’s median income; two performance theaters managed by New Century Theatre Company, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, and Washington Ensemble Theatre; meeting space for community events; below-grade parking for the nearby Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct; and street-level space for local restaurants and retailers.

Interestingly, the last Seattle development to combine apartments with a significant performance space was the Paramount Theatre in 1928. It’s taken us 85 years to reinvent the past.

12th Ave Arts is an example of what CODAC advocated for in 2009. Then, with the number of lost arts spaces increasing, I initiated the Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee with the help of Councilmember Sally Clark. The committee delivered recommendations to the Council and Mayor addressing the loss of arts and cultural space and associated economic activity. Acting on their recommendations was stalled until last year, when I sponsored budget legislation addressing one of their top two priority recommendations: to hire a cultural development manager.

The manager’s duties include identifying culturally significant land uses; preserving the cultural amenities that make neighborhoods desirable; educating citizens, property owners, and developers on the importance of the arts and cultural community to property values and neighborhood character; and promoting tools and incentives for retaining arts and cultural spaces as well as developing new ones.

CODAC’s other top priority was to designate an arts district. A few weeks ago, I blogged about Capitol Hill’s Pike-Pine corridor’s selection by ArtPlace as one of 2013’s top twelve places in the country for art. I consider ArtPlace’s designation more evidence of Capitol Hill being a “cultural generator” neighborhood – a neighborhood that consistently contributes significant arts and culture-related economic and nightlife activity.

That’s why I intend to work this year with the City Council and Randy Engstrom, director of the City’s arts office, to act on CODAC’s recommendation of establishing arts districts, the first being Capitol Hill. In addition to protecting and promoting space for art, culture, and nightlife activities, one of the defining characteristics I want to see included is affordable artist work-force housing. Such a district model would need to include incentives and funding for the kind of affordable artist live-work housing found in Pioneer Square’s TK Lofts and in Rainier Valley’s Hiawatha Lofts.

I’ll be blogging more on this effort as it progresses, so please stay tuned.

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The first on January 31 featured representatives from the LA and San Francisco Ethics Commissions, and the Portland League of Women Voters. They spoke about how public financing works in practice.

The second forum on February 13 featured Key Mayer of the University of Wisconsin, and David Early of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. They spoke about the big picture of public financing, research, and the legal environment created by recent Supreme Court decisions, including Citizens United. They also discussed New York City’s public financing program.

You can view the forums on the Seattle Channel website for January 31, and February 13.

The materials for both events are also available online. For January 31 you can view the presentations from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland, and for February 13 from Mayer and Early.

The next step is to hear back from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission in response to the letter from myself and Councilmembers Clark, O’Brien and Rasmussen. In December we asked them to recommend a public financing model that meets the goals of increasing electoral competitiveness, reducing financial barriers to entry for candidates, and increasing the role and emphasis of small donors in the electoral process, with an eye toward a possible 2013 ballot measure.

In today’s Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology (PSCRT) Committee there will be a discussion of the proposed Port Security Surveillance Camera Project.  I have a history of working on this issue, dating back to 2008 when the Council voted to authorize a pilot project of 12 cameras to be operated in four City Parks.  More on the history can be read below.

I, like many people, learned about the Port Security Surveillance Camera Project from the West Seattle Blog.  At a PSCRT committee hearing in May of 2012, SPD got the go ahead to accept funding from the Department of Homeland Security to implement a Port Security Surveillance Camera Project, including the use of cameras on waterways, port facilities, and facing the Puget Sound.  Since this time, the ACLU and several citizens have also contacted the Council with concerns about the implications of this program.

A LEGISLATIVE APPROACH

Last Friday, the Mayor promised in the Seattle Times that there would be a public vetting of the 30 cameras before they are turned on.  I welcome that step.  But, just like in 2008, for me the question is when should a free society allow personal activities that occur in public to come under 24/7 surveillance? We must always strive for a balance that provides for safety without compromising the principles of our democracy.  To try and best strike that balance, I am proposing legislation that requires departments seeking to acquire certain surveillance equipment to first obtain City Council approval as well as requiring that they develop protocols to be passed by the Council to guide their proper use, including retention, storage, and access of any data that the cameras capture.

I was not at the May 2012 PSCRT meeting, but I am told that installation of surveillance cameras in recreational and residential zones for general surveillance was not supported by the committee. Further, Councilmember Harrell has stated since then that he believes this kind of use will not be supported in the future either.  If the cameras that are part of the Port Security Surveillance Camera Project have the capacity to deliberately or inadvertently capture the activity of individuals on public or private property, under those circumstances, the legislation that I am working on would require that those cameras would first have to be approved by the Council and the Council would also have to approve protocols for their use.  If, on the other hand, they are aimed strictly on infrastructure and the immediate perimeter for security purposes, than my legislation would not apply.

HISTORY OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS IN SEATTLE

In 2008, I voted against legislation authorizing the installation of twelve surveillance cameras in four city parks because I felt at the time that there was little information available to prove that these cameras reduce crime or lead to more convictions.  On the other hand, active parks programming and police presence are proven effective public safety tools.  In 2008, when the Council approved these twelve cameras, the $45,000 cost of one of them was equivalent to 774 hours of overtime pay for police.

Even though the Council in 2008 approved installing the cameras, I still worked limit the cameras to a twenty-one month pilot program with tight controls that were legislated by ordinance to help protect citizens’ civil rights. Ordinance 122705 set these protocols for the use of the surveillance cameras in the parks and limited their use to Cal Anderson, Hing Hay, Occidental and Victor Steinbrueck Parks. The bill also mandated an evaluation by the City Auditor to determine, among other things, whether crime had actually been reduced in the parks and required that the City Council consider the Auditors’ report conclusions before authorizing continued operation of the cameras beyond the pilot program.

Later in 2010, the Council voted on Council Bill 116975, ending the pilot program and removing the cameras from Cal Anderson Park, Hing Hay Park, Occidental Park, and Victor Steinbrueck Park and further strengthening the protocols for future surveillance programs that would seek to put cameras in the city parks.  These changes resulted from nine recommendations from the City Auditor to improve the City’s ability to evaluate the Surveillance Camera Pilot Program, to increase the effectiveness of the cameras, and to improve departmental compliance with the requirements of Ordinance 122705.

CONCLUSION

In closing, I’m very pleased that it appears that the Council is ready to broaden the scope of the legislation already passed in 2008 and 2010.  I hope that they agree to support a bill like the one that I have been working on, so that prior authorization and protocols are required when any city department, not just the Department of Parks and Recreation, seeks to install surveillance cameras.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, the Post’s interpretation of the FCC’s announcement turned out to be a little misleading. Rather than building such a network, the FCC is merely considering making available for free unlicensed high-bandwidth digital spectrum that would allow for such networks. It would be up to others – cities in partnership with non-profits, community groups or tech companies – to create and operate them.

Offering such a spectrum for free is remarkable, considering that large telecom companies paid tens of billions of dollars to buy similar spectrum from the FCC in 2008. The FCC realizes that freeing up more unlicensed spectrum could bring competition and the resulting innovation to a cellular market that seems headed for domination by just a couple of carriers. It could also help meet the growing demand for video and other high-bandwidth functions on mobile devices.

The Mayor recently announced an intriguing partnership with the University of Washington and a company called Gigibit Squared to utilize the City’s unused fiber optics system to provide ultra high-speed fiber to over 50,000 households and businesses in 14 demonstration neighborhoods. But, once that demonstration project is built out, it won’t be free to users.

While the FCC’s plan is still just a proposal, I would like to work with Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Chair of the Council’s technology committee, and my fellow member on that committee, Councilmember Mike O’Brien, to organize a possible brown bag discussion on this topic. Chair Harrell has been a long-time advocate of providing more affordable digital access for all Seattle residents.

My staff recently contacted the FCC in D.C. to request a speaker be available at such a brown bag to answer questions and explain how the program might work. A date hasn’t been chosen yet, but the FCC representative sounded hopeful that, if not in person, they could make someone available via Skype or conference phone. The brown bag would include City staff, Councilmembers Harrell & O’Brien, representatives from Seattle’s tech industry, community interest groups, and non-profit organizations and would be open to the public.

Would you be interested in attending such a brown bag discussion? Please let me know.

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Yesterday Councilmembers Rasmussen, Bagshaw and I sent out a press release stating our support for shorter, slimmer towers for the South Lake Union waterfront blocks.

I’ve copied the press release below.

Councilmembers support shorter, slimmer towers for South Lake Union waterfront blocks

SEATTLE – Seattle City Councilmembers Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen and Sally Bagshaw today announced their support for shorter, slimmer towers for the waterfront blocks in South Lake Union adjacent to Lake Union Park.

The Councilmembers support reducing the maximum height included in the Mayor’s rezone proposal from 240 to 160 feet on the blocks bordered by Mercer and Valley, and slimming down the size of the towers.

Councilmember Licata said, “This compromise configuration still allows Vulcan to build their towers, while providing for greater public views of Lake Union and less shadowing on Lake Union Park than what the Mayor has proposed. By limiting the towers to 160 feet in height and smaller floor plates, the towers will be more in scale with the rest of South Lake Union’s buildings, and still provide a significant amount of housing and retail frontage.”

“My goal is to minimize the effect of the towers on Lake Union Park. This urban gem, close to the center of downtown Seattle, provides valuable access to green space and the lake shore,” said Councilmember Rasmussen.

Councilmember Bagshaw added, “160 foot towers grant additional capacity in regards to height and density and advances our goals of future development without sacrificing space and openness.”

Current zoning establishes a maximum height of 40 feet, with an exception that allows structures up to 65 feet if 20 percent of a site is set aside for street level open space.

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Seattle City Council explores public campaign financing
National experts to share academic research

The Seattle City Council will continue their exploration of public campaign financing by welcoming national experts into the discussion:

WHAT: Public election financing in research

WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, 6-8 p.m.

WHERE:Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave

WHO:Seattle City Councilmembers
Ken Mayer, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
David Earley, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

At Wednesday's panel, experts will share their research and knowledge of public campaign financing and answer audience questions. The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission will co-host the event with the Seattle City Council. The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Municipal League of Seattle, Seattle University's Political Science Department, Washington Bus, Washington Public Campaigns and the Win/Win Network.

Panelists will be in Council Chambers at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 13 to brief Councilmembers during a special meeting of the Government Performance and Finance Committee. View the agenda here.

For more information on publicly financed campaigns, visit our issue page at http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/public_financing_of_campaigns.htm.

[View in Council Newsroom]

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Councilmembers support shorter, slimmer towers
for South Lake Union waterfront blocks

Seattle City Councilmembers Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen and Sally Bagshaw today announced their support for shorter, slimmer towers for the waterfront blocks in South Lake Union adjacent to Lake Union Park.

The Councilmembers support reducing the maximum height included in the Mayor's rezone proposal from 240 to 160 feet on the blocks bordered by Mercer and Valley, and slimming down the size of the towers.

Councilmember Licata said, "This compromise configuration still allows Vulcan to build their towers, while providing for greater public views of Lake Union and less shadowing on Lake Union Park than what the Mayor has proposed. By limiting the towers to 160 feet in height and smaller floor plates, the towers will be more in scale with the rest of South Lake Union's buildings, and still provide a significant amount of housing and retail frontage."

"My goal is to minimize the effect of the towers on Lake Union Park. This urban gem, close to the center of downtown Seattle, provides valuable access to green space and the lake shore," said Councilmember Rasmussen.

Councilmember Bagshaw added, "160 foot towers grant additional capacity in regards to height and density and advances our goals of future development without sacrificing space and openness."

Current zoning establishes a maximum height of 40 feet, with an exception that allows structures up to 65 feet if 20 percent of a site is set aside for street level open space.

[View in Council Newsroom]

The Van Vorst Building, a registered landmark, in the 400 block of Boren Ave. N. in the South Lake Union/Cascade neighborhood.

4Culture just announced two new funding programs for preserving historic places. Preservation Special Projects and Preservation Sustained Support. Special Projects supports basic community preservation work, such as predevelopment studies on significant properties. Guidelines are now posted on 4Culture’s website. The deadline for applying to Preservation Special Projects is February 27. A sampling of those who can apply include Historic Seattle, Docomomo, the Seattle Architectural Foundation, and the City’s own Historic Preservation Program.

Preservation Sustained Support provides operating funds for organizations with a preservation mission and for cities with active preservation programs. Its application deadline is October 9. This is the first preservation program to fund operations, rather than projects, and will go a long way to keeping such organizations viable, especially smaller organizations.

4Culture’s Preservation Special Projects funds can be used to conduct surveys and inventories, registering landmarks, and project planning among other things. They want preservationists to identify historic places in innovative ways, communicate through new media, and engage people who may not think of themselves as preservationists. Awards can go to individuals, organizations and public agencies and will range from $3,000 to $10,000 per project.

Alice Winship, president of the Association of King County Historical Organizations, welcomes these new funds, which can address needs that are difficult for organizations to fill from other sources, like annual memberships and fundraising drives. AKCHO has more than 70 member organizations including Allied Arts of Seattle, the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority, the Rainier Valley Historical Society, El Centro De La Raza, the Wing Luke Museum and the Ballard Historical Society.

The South Lake Union/Cascade neighborhood, looking north.

A neighborhood that comes to my mind when thinking of preservation is the South Lake Union\Cascade neighborhood. The Council is currently considering an upzone to that area that would include an alternative that would provide the ability of landmarked properties to sell their unused development rights, through a TDR program (transfer of development rights), to other properties wishing to expand their developments once a TDR program is established there. None currently exists in South Lake Union. This alternative would apply if the Council chooses not to establish a program whereby development rights from rural King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties could be transferred to property in South Lake Union.  An added alternative being considered by the Council would provide developers of landmarked properties increased density through a floor-area-ratio bonus program (FAR), which grants projects additional floor space in return for preserving portions of landmarked properties.

With 14 current landmarked buildings within South Lake Union/Cascade and another 34 structures considered eligible for landmark status, 4Culture’s two new preservation funding programs offer timely tools for preservationists to utilize there.

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While I voted against the agreement for a SODO arena, when it was under discussion I focused on details in the agreement, seeking to avoid some of the most problematic provisions included in stadium and arena deals around the country.

In researching deals around the country, one such provision I found is a requirement to maintain a facility in first-class condition. Trends in arenas and stadiums change regularly, and it’s not always possible to know what direction they’ll go. An arena that’s first-class today might be far from it 10 years from now.

For example, a few weeks ago a VP from the NFL was quoted in an LA Times article saying that new NFL football stadiums could soon more like NBA arenas:

“What if a new stadium we built wasn’t 70,000, but it was 40,000 seats with 20,000 standing room? But the standing room was in a bar-type environment with three sides of screens, and one side where you see the field. Completely connected.”

I was reminded of the first-class provision by a recent report I saw about a stadium deal in St. Louis with the St. Louis Rams of the NFL, for a $280 million domed stadium that opened in 1995.

The St. Louis football stadium agreement calls for the facility to be maintained as a “first-tier” facility, at public expense. The agreement defines “first-tier” as being in the top 25% of NFL football stadiums, and allows the Rams to break their lease in 2015 if it is not maintained in “first-tier” condition.

The “first-tier” matter went to arbitration, with the Rams proposing a $700 million upgrade, and St. Louis offering a $120 million upgrade.

The arbitrators ruled in favor of the Rams, saying in their ruling that the St Louis proposal did not meet first-tier status because it would be too small, had inadequate views from suites, insufficient leg room in premium seats, and lacked “openness, light and air”. They noted that 17 of 22 stadiums built since 1995 have been open air; 4 of the other 5 have retractable roofs, and the other one “admits light copiously through expansive windows” in the stadium.

So one reason the stadium doesn’t meet “first-tier” standards is because of how stadiums have been built since then—something no one could have foreseen.

While the St. Louis situation could eventually be resolved in any number of ways, it shows the danger of a first-tier provision–if funding responsibility falls on the public side.

I wanted to be sure we avoided a similar provision in any Seattle SODO arena deal that could come back to bite us, and spoke with city lawyers and staff about this.

And the SODO arena agreement is different: it requires Hansen to make improvements to maintain the facility as a “first-class arena.” So the SODO arena agreement requires the private party to maintain the facility in first-class condition—not the public.

While this is just one detail among many in the MOU, it’s an important one.

The good news is they are about to make a new wait list for 2,000 new households, but to be eligible to be selected for that waitlist, you need to register now. Here’s how it works.  If you earn 30% or less of area median income you can participate in a lottery to be put on a Housing Choice Voucher waitlist.  Then, if you get a voucher, you can rent a unit from any landlord in Seattle eligible to participate in the program and pay only 30 to 40 percent of your monthly income in rent.

Area median income (AMI) means that half of the people in the area, in this case Seattle, earn more than the median, and half of the people earn less. For Seattle, 30% AMI for a single person household is $18,200/yr, for a 2 person household it is $20,800/year and for a 3 person family it is $23,400.  Find eligibility for larger families here.

Registration is NOW and it is online only.  You can register until February 22nd, 5 p.m.  If you do, you will be entering a “lottery” for a chance to be placed on this new waitlist. Of all the households who register during this three-week registration period, 2,000 households will be selected at random to be placed on the waitlist.  The first households on the list could begin receiving vouchers as early as spring.   Here is a Frequently Asked Questions.

Seattle doesn’t have enough low income housing.  I’m glad that SHA is giving those in greatest need this opportunity for safe, decent and affordable housing.  If you are interested in registering for the lottery, visit http://seattlehousing.org/waitlist.  A Waitlist Hotline to take questions or to help you register is also available by calling 206-239-1674.

Last week, I attended a press conference at the site of the former Greyhound Bus maintenance shop at Denny and Pontius, celebrating new art murals bordering the planned City Light substation there. The substation is needed to handle increasing demands for electricity in South Lake Union, Uptown, Denny Triangle, and First Hill. Click on Denny Substation to learn more about it.

An interesting aspect of these murals is the organization that produced them: Urban ArtWorks. Not only do they provide attractive art for otherwise dismal construction sites, they exercise social justice by paying at-risk youth, along with local artists, to create the work. Stephanie Tschida, Urban ArtWorks executive director, tells me over 70% of those at-risk youth – those in our juvenile justice system – who complete an Urban ArtWorks project do not re-offend.

Nick (far right) with some of the mural artists and their probation counselors

For the Denny Substation project, Urban ArtWorks reached out to the Cascade neighborhood, inviting them to participate in Urban ArtWorks’s ‘Community Painting Days’, during which they transported several panels, paint, and youth interns and artists to work on the panels at the Cascade People’s Center. Neighbors from ages 2 to 80 pitched in.

The founder of Urban ArtWorks, Mike Peringer, published a book about the organization titled “Good Kids: the Story of Artworks,” which is being made into a film.

Sci-Fi Writing Contest for Youth:

Speaking of writing, last year I served as a judge for the Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story writing contest. I enjoyed reading all kinds of wild and crazy stories from some very imaginative kids.

On Friday, March 1st, the winners of this year’s contest will be announced. EMP received 111 submissions this year – more than double than in previous years. On April 20th, an awards ceremony will be held at EMP in the afternoon. Contest winners will be invited to participate in workshops at Jack Straw Productions on writing and vocal coaching and will take part in a recording session to produce an audio version of their winning entry. Winners will also read excerpts from their stories in EMP’s Sky Church during the awards ceremony held in April.

Check EMP’s website for more information.

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WSDOT 520 Bridge Replacement website

On Monday, February 4 the Council will meet as the 520 Project Committee to consider Resolution 31427 re: the Seattle portion of the 520 replacement project.

The resolution is sponsored by Councilmember Conlin, and reflects detailed work made possible by collaboration with WSDOT, and good relations built over time.

It recommends actions by the City and State resulting from the Seattle Community Design Process, which the City and WSDOT committed to in an agreement passed by the Council in 2011.

Work on the design process included working with the Seattle Design Commission, Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board, and City neighborhood groups. Residents from Laurelhurst, Montlake, Madison Park, Ravenna-Bryant, and Roanoke/Portage Bay, University District were involved, along with Forterra and the Cascade Bicycle Club.

The resolution endorses the general vision in the Seattle Community Design Process final report, and concurs with specific recommendations, including:

• Shifting the bridge to the north of the position in the EIS preferred alternative, while working (included in an amendment) with the Queen City Yacht Club to ensure any effects are addressed;
• A bicycle and pedestrian path across I-5, and
• Buffering along East Lake Washington Boulevard

It also states that the City and State should continue to develop options on issues raised in the report, including:

• A statement of support for providing a bicycle and pedestrian path on the Portage Bay Bridge, while minimizing the width of the bridge, and seeking to preserve a reliable transit pathway across the bridge to and from I-5;
• A wider range of options for the Montlake lid, and how best to support connections for transit, pedestrian and bike users;
• An amendment includes pursuing improvements in bicycle and pedestrian connections for people of all ages and abilities throughout the project area; you can view my comments thanking Conlin for this language here, in particular the importance of the language regarding people of all ages and abilities.

Finally, the resolution designates the Design Commission as a coordinating voice across City departments.

I support providing a bike and pedestrian trail on the Portage Bay portion of the replacement bridge, with minimal expansion of the size of the bridge. I am pleased the resolution supports developing options to accomplish these goals.  I also support improving bicycle and pedestrian connections, accessibility and safety in the Montlake area, and adjacent neighborhoods.

I look forward to supporting the resolution.

Currently, there is a funding shortfall of approximately $1.4 billion for the Seattle portion of the 520 project.  WSDOT is studying tolling on I-90 as a possible funding source; the Council received an update on I-90 tolling at the January 28 Council Briefing meeting. The Environmental Assessment of I-90 tolling required by the state legislature is underway. Findings are anticipated for early 2014; the state legislature would need to authorize tolls.

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Seattle City Council explores public campaign financing National experts to share best practices and research

The Seattle City Council will continue their exploration of public campaign financing by welcoming national experts to a series of discussions:

WHAT: Public election financing in practice

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, 6-8 p.m.

WHERE: Seattle University, 901 12th Ave, LeRoux Conference Center

WHO:
Seattle City Councilmembers
Heather Holt and David Tristan, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission
John St. Croix, Executive Director, San Francisco Ethics Commission
Debbie Aiona, League of Women Voters of Portland

At Thursday's panel, experts will share their experience and best practices with public campaign financing and answer audience questions. The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission will co-host the event with the Seattle City Council. The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Municipal League of Seattle, Seattle University's Political Science Department, Washington Bus, Washington Public Campaigns and the Win/Win Network.

Panelists will be in Council Chambers at noon on Thursday, Jan. 31 to brief Councilmembers during a special meeting of the Government Performance and Finance Committee. View the agenda here.

The second part of this series will focus on public election financing in research, featuring panelists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. This event will take place at the Seattle Central Library on Wednesday, Feb. 13 from 6 - 8 p.m.

[View in Council Newsroom]

DPR received ten construction bids for this project, rather than the expected five or so. Apparently, the construction market is so competitive, it resulted not only in a lot of bids, but in the winning bid coming in 8% below City estimates for the construction portion of the project – a savings of about $392,000. DPR will parlay those savings into new windows for the West Wing and removing lead paint from the Hanger doors on the North, South and East facades of the building and re-painting them.

The building, located at 7400 Sand Point Way NE, is really three connected structures. The Hangar is one. On either side of the Hanger are two “wings:” the East Wing and the West Wing. The entire project is budgeted at $8,453,000, with $6,762,400 of that going to hard-line construction costs. The rest is for soft costs, such as design fees (architecture and engineering), permit costs, staff time, inspectors time, and contracting fees.

What Building 30 will look like when completed

Once upon a time, Building 30 hosted hundreds of events each year. But, like many of the buildings at Magnuson Park, it had not been maintained since the Navy occupied it prior to deactivating the base in 1970. The Navy transferred the base to the City five years later.

A couple of years ago, Building 30 was declared unsafe for full occupancy, resulting in only a handful of events being allowed each year and throwing a wrench into the plans of regular users, such as  Friends of the Library, Rat City Rollergirls, Seattle Tilth and Cascade Bicycle Club.

Library fans will be happy to see a return of Friends of the Library, whose book sales in the Hangar raise much needed funds for our library system. Not only will the completed renovation welcome back Friends of the Library and many other popular community events and activities, it will create over twenty new artist work studios. These studios mark another milestone in Magnuson’s plan to locate arts in the park, as described by the 1999 Sand Point Blue Ribbon Committee and advocated by the Sand Point Arts and Cultural Exchange (SPACE). Artists who had worked in Building 11 at Magnuson Park for up to nine years moved out of those studios when a private developer took control a couple of years ago. I hope to see these newly constructed artist studios welcome some of them back.

Kelly Goode, with DPR, added a small caveat. Having had to wade through all those bids, the process did take longer than expected and so DPR is now left with a very tight, yet he believes manageable, construction schedule.

Goode anticipates a slightly accelerated schedule for the East Wing so that it’s ready to re-occupy by June 28th. The Hanger would be completed by August 5th and the West Wing by mid-September. Their original schedule anticipated a July opening.

Also, the City is pursuing a LEED Gold for Commercial Interiors for the West Wing. The green systems and renovation work being incorporated into this historic building will have long term sustainability benefits to the tenants and to the community.

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Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Public invited to comment on memorandums of understanding related to renovation of Seattle's Central Waterfront

Members of the Seattle City Council Central Waterfront, Seawall, and Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program Committee invite the public to provide feedback on two proposed ordinances relating to partner projects that complement the City's renovation of the Central Waterfront.

WHAT: Public comment opportunity

WHEN: Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, 5:30 p.m. (Sign up available at 5 p.m.)

WHERE:
Council Chamber, Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Ave, second floor
More information on visiting City Hall

The two memorandums of understanding (MOUs), Council Bill 117699 and Council Bill 117698, outline guiding principles, the process to move the project forward and provisions for City-funded support. They also include baseline concept designs that will be refined in coordination with City design of public-right-of-way improvements, including the Overlook Walk, the plaza in front of the Aquarium and new Alaskan Way and Elliott Avenue surface streets.

These MOUs were called for by Council Resolution 31399 relating to the Central Waterfront Concept Design adopted in August 2012.

[View in Council Newsroom]

A few weeks ago I blogged about exploring public financing for Seattle elections. The next step is two public forums on January 31 and February 13.

On January 31, we’ll hear representatives from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland to talk about how public financing works in practice. On February 13, we’ll hear from leading experts about the impacts of public financing.

Please join us; public questions are encouraged. Details are listed below, or click on the flyer.

Part 1: Public Financing in Practice

January 31, 6-8 p.m.

Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue

LeRoux Conference Center

Panel presentation with audience questions and answers featuring Heather Holt and David Tristan, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission; John St. Croix, Executive Director, San Francisco Ethics Commission; and Debbie Aiona, League of Women Voters of Portland

Part 2: Public Election Financing in Research

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 6 – 8 p.m.

Seattle Central Library Auditorium, 1000 Fourth Avenue

Because there are still so many people without shelter, despite the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness’ success in adding 5,130 housing units for homeless people, the Committee to End Homelessness (CEH) established the Single Adult Shelter Task Force. The Task Force was charged with finding ways to address the immediate needs of individuals who are unsheltered and to increase efficiencies to move people through shelter to permanent housing.

I am a member of the CEH Governing Board.  A group called, “Occupy CEH,” has begun to attend Governing Board meetings.  Over the last several months, this group has asked that the Governing Board look to partner with homeless people in seeking solutions to meet the emergency needs of homeless people.  In particular, they have been concerned that long-term housing has been pitted against the immediate survival needs of people without any shelter at all and that “partnerships between existing tent cities and their host communities should be nurtured to build the political will to end homelessness.”

The Governing Board met today to hear the Task Force recommendation that the CEH adopt a shelter strategy as part of our solutions to end homelessness in our community. This may not seem like news to some reading this, but it is significant shift in policy considering that, since its inception, the 10 Year Plan has recognized the important role of shelter but has recommended to partner-cities and funders that they focus new investments on housing rather than emergency shelter.

In particular, the Task Force recommended the development of additional shelter capacity outside of Seattle and the development of 24-hour shelter options throughout the shelter system, including Seattle.  The Governing Board voted to approve these recommendations.  I’m heartened by this change because, although shelter may not end homelessness, it does keep people safe.

* During the January 2012 One Night Count of People Who are Homeless in King County, the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness reported there were at least 2,594 people who were without shelter.  There will be another count this week, on Friday morning.  I will be joining a street count of 900 volunteers with 125 trained team leaders in parts of Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Shoreline, Kenmore, Bothell, Woodinville, Kent, Federal Way, Renton, Auburn, and White Center.

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Seattle City Council adopts updated Shoreline Master Program
New regulations protect shorelines for all

This afternoon the Seattle City Council unanimously adopted Council Bill 117585 comprising the first comprehensive update of Seattle's Shoreline Master Program (SMP) since 1987.

"These new regulations aim to meet the daunting goal of balancing three competing interests: the needs of our vital maritime industries, the public's right to shoreline access, and the state law to protect plant and animal habitat along our waters," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, Chair of the Planning, Land Use and Sustainability committee . "After five years, two drafts, hundreds of hours of staff work, and several phases of public involvement, this package of SMP amendments is a positive and proactive step in the right direction - protecting our precious shoreline resources for all."

The SMP is an important and complex set of regulations that govern development and uses on and adjacent to shorelines. In Seattle, this includes Puget Sound, Lake Washington, Lake Union and the Ship Canal, the Duwamish River, Green Lake, and wetlands and floodplains around these. The SMP affects land uses, structures and activities, including those occurring over water and on vessels, the location of structures including setbacks and allowed over water coverage, public access requirements and construction practices related to bulkheads, docks and piers.

Working extensively with the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and the City Attorney's Office, the Council addressed most of the actions required under state law. In addition to that work, the Council held a public hearing along with public comment sessions at each of our seven Committee deliberations on the SMP, met with representatives of key affected constituencies, including people who live on boats and floating homes and water dependent businesses, and took field trips to visit houseboat communities and affected businesses. As a result of that work, the Council initiated and approved nearly 50 amendments to the legislation.

Many of these amendments were technical modifications and most of theothers clarify various situations involving water dependent businesses. The Planning, Land Use and Sustainabilitycommittee also strengthened some provisions relating to environmental protection and modified provisions relating to future regulation of people living on vessels. The Council made the following amendments to the SMP:

• Created a provision in the proposed allowed height and setback provisions for water dependent businesses to match the requirements for a Seattle company to modify their structure for building boats for Washington State Ferries. The improvements will not only make it possible to construct our ferries locally in a more efficient and economical way, but will reduce environmental impacts on the waterway.
• A provision defining fueling stations as water dependent uses inadvertently omitted the qualifier that these stations must only be for boats.
• A provision regulating single family homes in the shoreline environment did not exclude the use of historic lot lines that were not intended to definebuildable lots. We modified thelot definition.
• Language limiting signs in the shoreline area was strengthened.
• A provision prohibiting artificial reefs in functioning habitats was added.
• Language was added that directs DPD to prohibit the use of pesticides and fertilizers that impact ecological functions in the shoreline environment.
• In several cases, language was added that recognized that water dependent businesses can depend on certain non water related activities to sustain them financially. We allowed some exceptions to the use standards as long as there was no ecological impact and the property owner made a proportional investment in ecological restoration.

SMP update documents may be accessed onDPD's website at: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/ShorelineMasterProgramUpdate

The most challenging aspect of the SMP amendments has to do with figuring out how to address residences on the water. State law specifies that residential uses over water are not preferred uses of the shoreline/water environment. The City cannot change that law - it is based on the SMA initiative, and only the Legislature could modify it. The State did grant exceptions to allow some 480 recognized floating homes and 34 house barges, but has made it clear that there will be no new exceptions.

The Council has formed a stakeholder group to develop and consider alternatives for providing certainty and an orderly process for people currently residingon the water whose status is uncertain because they are not identified as legal existing floating houses or legal barges and are not clearly identified as vessels.

[View in Council Newsroom]

America’s Top Twelve ArtPlaces is the group’s new annual recognition of neighborhoods in the largest 44 metropolitan areas where the arts are central to creating places where people want to be.

ArtPlace strikes me as an interesting group. It’s comprised of national and regional foundations, such as the Ford Foundation; federal agencies, such as the National Endowment for the Arts; and the nation¹s largest financial institutions, including Bank of America. Their purpose is to accelerate creative placemaking across the country through investments in art and culture that can transform communities for the better.

Although being judged one of their top twelve does not portend ArtPlace funding for any projects in the Pike-Pine corridor, Capitol Hill’s 12th Avenue Arts project was recently named one of 104 finalists from among 1,225 applicants to ArtPlace’s 2012-2013 grant cycle. ArtPlace has provided over $26 million in funding to 76 organizations in 46 communities across the U.S.

Some of you may recall the 2009 recommendations of the Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee (CODAC) assembled by myself and Councilmember Clark. I sponsored Council Resolution 31155, accepting all six of CODAC’s recommendations.

Last year, I delivered on one of their top two recommendations. I sponsored legislation establishing a new City staff position dedicated to working on behalf of Seattle arts and culture as a liaison to institutions, organizations, foundations, government agencies, individuals, and City departments.

This year, I intend to tackle the committee’s other top priority recommendation: establishing Seattle’s first arts and culture district. I suspect this ArtPlace designation will help my argument.

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I appear in a lively discussion on the January edition of the Seattle Channel’s City Inside/Out: Council edition, along with Council President Clark and Councilmember Godden.

We discuss issues such as the future of Key Arena, South Lake Union, floating homes, gun laws, and public financing of Seattle elections. The discussion is hosted by the Seattle Channel’s Brian Callanan.

Click on either of the pictures to view the conversation.

The report covered the following areas:

• Reducing Crime including: a. Responding to Crime Trends and b. Major Case Investigations
• Employee Performance, Misconduct & Discipline, including: a. Results of 9-1-1 Caller Surveys and b. an update on OPA Complaint Classification and Handling
• Leadership and Training
• Building Public Confidence

You can read the report at the link above for yourself, but I’m going to take a moment now to share a bit about one of the Seattle Police Department’s newer programs covered in the report under the topic of “Building Public Confidence.”  The program is called: Living Room Conversations.  These conversations bring local community members and police officers together with the goal of addressing neighborhood safety concerns in a more comfortable and informal way.

Since their inception, more than 70 Living Room Conversations have been held throughout the City, with about 1000 neighborhood residents participating.  In the 3^rd Quarter 2012 alone, SPD organized 18 Living Room Conversations in North, South, East and Southwest Precincts.  Here is a four minute video that will give you a sense of what this program is all about and what you can expect if you choose to host one.

A recent evaluation of the Living Room Conversations confirmed that, from the perspective of those hosting, they are a good way to get to know the officers who serve their neighborhoods, and to learn about SPD services and procedures.

The Community Outreach Section of the precinct. If you are interested, contact your community outreach officer to get more information:

NORTH AND WEST PRECINCTS
Officer James Manning 206-423-9952 | james.manning@seattle.gov

SOUTH PRECINCTS
Officer Jojo Cambronero 206-293-2749 | robert.cambronero@seattle.gov

EAST AND WEST PRECINCTS
Officer Sina Ebinger 206-941-8457 | sina.ebinger@seattle.gov

SOUTHWEST PRECINCT
Officer Alex Chapackdee 206-255-8302 | alex.chapackdee@seattle.gov

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Sea level rise will bring flooding to parts of Seattle by 2050
City plan will reduce greenhouse gases and adapt to climate change

Within the next 40 years,sea level rise caused by climate change will flood parts of Seattle during high tides, according to a new map developed by City planners, using conservative scientific assumptions.

Warming oceans are raising sea levels and changing shorelines worldwide. A new map created by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) shows parts of West Seattle, Georgetown, South Park, Harbor Island, Interbay and Golden Gardens could be inundated by 2050. The impact on Seattle shorelines depends on factors such as tides and storms, along with actions the City may take to reduce its own contribution to climate change.

"Climate change is an immediate and critical challenge," City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, chair of the Energy & Environment Committee said. "We are already seeing impacts in Seattle from extreme events, such as last month’s flooding of some 100 properties along Beach Drive in West Seattle. We need to take bold steps to prepare our city for expected impacts and drastically reduce our contribution to greenhouse gases going forward."

The City of Seattle has already taken action to deal with climate change. Departments have been taking steps to reduce their climate footprint and adapt to changes in temperature, precipitation and sea level rise. In 2010, Seattle made a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050 and is writing a new Climate Action Plan to meet that goal.

"Seattle Public Utility’s sea level rise map suggests we have work to do to ensure Seattle’s utility infrastructure and assets are prepared for climate change," said Jean Godden, chair of the Libraries, Utilities and Center Committee. "Seattle is at the forefront of cities doing climate change planning and we intend to stay there. We’re going to make sure - starting now - that climate change impacts join safety and reliability as primary planning considerations for SPU and all city departments."

Today, the City Council called for public input on a set of recommendations for a new Climate Action Plan that were put forward by a recently convened Green Ribbon Commission.

"In the absence of meaningful climate action by the federal government, the Mayor instructed the Green Ribbon Commission to continue Seattle's tradition of climate leadership among the nation's cities," said Green Ribbon Commission co-chair Denis Hayes, president of the Bullitt Foundation. "Our recommendations were designed to help Seattle significantly reduce its own climate impact, and also-learning from Katrina and Sandy-help the city prepare for climate disruptions that are now inevitable. Equally important, these actions will also make Seattle a more equitable, prosperous and safe place to live."

"The Climate Action Plan will build on Seattle’s legacy of environmental leadership," O’Brien said. "Over the next two months we will hold a series of public forums and host an online survey to gather input from the people of Seattle to help guide the actions the city needs to take. We welcome all ideas and suggestions for actions we should take in the next three years as well as in the long-term. We plan to adopt a bold Climate Action Plan on Earth Day, April 22."

It is not too early for Seattleites to start preparing, either. Residents living in areas prone to flooding are advised to obtain federal flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program, available through Federal Emergency Management Agency. The average flood insurance policy typically costs around $600 per year.

[View in Council Newsroom]

Mount Zion was too small for the anticipated audience so First Presbyterian Church had agreed to host the event. However, two weeks before King’s arrival, the church got cold feet and canceled Mt. Zion’s rental of First Presbyterian. McKinney attributed the church’s change of heart to racism and many local organizations and churches decried the cancellation.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King ended up speaking at the University of Washington, where 2,000 students gave him a standing ovation, followed by speeches at Temple de Hirsch, Garfield High School and ACT Theater, then called Eagles Auditorium. He called for non-violent protest against racial segregation and discrimination and urged first year President John F. Kennedy to declare segregation unconstitutional.

Reverend McKinney said that Dr. King departed on November 11th impressed by the progressive attitudes expressed by Seattle and its African American community.

Over fifty years later, Seattle finds itself hosting one of the largest Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations in the U.S.

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, 11:30am to 2pm. I will be attending the Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Avenue.

Below is a sampling of other events planned in Seattle around next Monday’s commemoration of this extraordinary civil rights leader.

Thursday, January 17, 2013, 12 Noon to 1 p.m:

The 26th annual King County Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at the 5th Avenue Theater, 1308 Fifth Ave, downtown Seattle.

Saturday, January 19, 2013, 1:00pm:

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy Planting at Discovery Park, 3801 Discovery Park Blvd (formerly W. Government Way – change not yet reflected in online search engines). Commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by planting a tree to celebrate peace and diversity. Register by contacting the Discovery Park or Camp Long Environmental Learning Centers.

Monday, January 21, 2013, 9:30am & 12:30pm:

The MLK Seattle Annual Rally & March at Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave. Workshops and pre-march rally start at 9:30am. March at 12:30pm.

Monday, January 21, 2013, 10am to 5pm:

“I have a dream…” events for children and adults about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his “I have dream” speech. At the Seattle Children’s Museum, 305 Harrison Street.

Monday, January 21, 2013, 10am:

History in the Making: The 57th Presidential Inauguration Viewing at the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), 2300 S. Massachusetts St. A community gathering  celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and ushering in the second term of the nation’s first African American president.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 7pm to 9pm:

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Featuring Carlotta Walls LaNier, Seattle University, Pigott Auditorium, 901 12th Avenue. Talk and book signing for “A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice of Little Rock Central High School.” Carlotta Walls LaNier was the youngest of the nine students who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. (RSVP by Email)

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Rather than selecting poets myself, I recruit a notable local literary artist or two to curate a number of poets who will read at the start of my committee meetings during the course of the year. To date, the program has presented approximately 194 poets reading 216 poems.

This year, I’m pleased to announce two remarkable Words’ Worth curators for 2013.

Jourdan Keith

For the first half of the year, Jourdan Keith will curate. The second half will be curated by Judith Roche.

Jourdan is a Seattle Poet Populist Emerita and the Seattle Public Library’s first Naturalist-in-Residence. She is a storyteller, naturalist and educator. A student of Sonia Sanchez, her work blends the textures of political, personal and natural landscapes to offer voices from the margins of American lives.

Judith is the author of three poetry collections, most recently, Wisdom of the Body, an American Book Award winner.

Judith Roche

She has published widely in various journals and magazines, has poems installed on several Seattle area public art projects and has taught at various universities and teaches poetry workshops throughout the country.

I encourage you to visit the Words’ Worth website where you can read every poem read so far as well as watch a video of many of them.

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The meeting was a good preview of some of the major issues that my committee members and I will be tackling this year, including:

• Monitoring the Yesler Terrace Re-development
• Implementation of Seattle new Rental Registration and Inspection Program passed by the Council last fall
• Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) Program changes to address a. 2012 MFTE Audit findings and b. program changes necessary to implement possible Council decisions on appropriate program goals

Here is a very quick summary of what you can expect in upcoming months on each of these 3 topics.

January 23 HHSHC Committee

At this meeting, the Seattle Housing Authority will give a presentation on their proposed Yesler Terrace Relocation Plan.  It’s important that the 561 households at Yesler Terrace are supported throughout this process, that their moving costs are reimbursed, that they not have to move more than once, that families with school-aged children don’t have their education disrupted, that they have the right to return to Yesler Terrace, and that the maximum number of very low income units are developed onsite so that they can return to Yesler Terrace if they do want to return to the new Yesler Terrace.

February 13 HHSHC Committee

In order to provides context for for future MFTE Program discussions, which will take several months this year to complete, the Office of Housing will present:

a. A snapshot of the current housing market (rent levels, vacancies, etc)

b. Current affordable housing needs data

c. MFTE Annual Report including up to date program activity and status on administrative procedures changes to respond to 2012 Audit findings

April 10 HHSHC Committee

At this meeting we will get will hear about a proposed fee structure and learn what implementation costs will be reimbursed through this fee revenue paid for by landlords and which costs will be reimbursed through other sources.  We will also get a full implementation plan for the Rental  Registration and Inspection Program that will estimate resources needed by quarter over the next 2 years to do the following:

• Establish a publicly accessible database of properties regulated under the program
• Outreach to regulated property owners and tenants
• Register property owners
• Establish a training program for inspectors
• Promulgate a rule for random inspections
• Begin inspections

I’m looking forward to 2013 and am confident that it will be another productive year for my HHSHC Committee

I believe that Seattle residents should have the opportunity to vote on whether our local elections should receive public financing.

Councilmembers are beginning efforts to explore a public financing system for Seattle. If this effort moves forward, the Council will place this decision on either the primary or general election ballot in 2013.

BACKGROUND, 1979-2009

Seattle had partial public financing of election campaigns in 1979 and 1981, and from 1987-1991. In 1992, state Initiative 134 passed, prohibiting public financing. In 2008 the State legislature passed a law allowing local jurisdictions to establish programs to publicly finance campaigns, if approved by a public vote, and the funding is derived from local sources only.

The City Council responded by passing Resolution 31061, which set up a Campaign Public Financing Advisory Committee that recommended publicly financing Seattle election campaigns; they recommended that the City Council place a measure on the November 2009 ballot for a public financing program, to go into effect for the 2011 election, with an estimated annual cost between $2.3 and $3.2 million. However the Great Recession began and City revenues plummeted, so the Council held off the vote indefinitely.

2013 UPDATE

With the local and national economies improving and added attention being drawn to the need for election reform highlighted by the Citizens United decision, citizens have requested the Council to revisit this issue. Other major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami already have public financing of municipal elections.

Last October I talked with Council President Clark and suggested that it may be time to revisit this issue, particularly since she had been a lead supporter in the past. We then kicked off a discussion of the public financing of elections in Seattle with a statement in support of exploring public financing of election campaigns in Seattle.

In December, we were joined by Councilmembers O’Brien and Rasmussen in sending a letter to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission asking them to recommend a public financing model that meets the goals of increasing electoral competitiveness, reducing financial barriers to entry for candidates, and increasing the role and emphasis of small donors in the electoral process. Recommendations were requested by March 1, for consideration of a potential ballot measure in either the primary or general election in the fall of 2013.

As part of the request, we asked that they review the 2008 report of the Campaign Finance Advisory Committee; examine new case law and changes to existing programs in other cities since 2008; explore new research on the effectiveness of public financing in meeting the goals; review local election data since 2008, and also consider potential budget implications.

SEATTLE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, 2001-2011

The case for or against public spending on helping finance local elections comes down to weighing its cost versus its benefit. While the cost is easier to measure than the benefit, there is an underlying sense that legislative bodies like a local council can most wisely spend the public’s money when they take into account the broadest range of concerns, rather than relying on a small cluster of interests.

There clearly has been a trend in Seattle of the growing concentration of more campaign money being collected from fewer donors. The 2011 Seattle Ethics and Elections report notes that from 2001 to 2011, the average donation in City Council races rose from $115 to $223. During the same period, the percentage of contributions under $100 decreased from 63% to 32% of total contributions.

THE BIG PICTURE

Democracies are based on a one-person one-vote principle; each person has the same influence in deciding who represents our public’s needs. But candidates, while attentive to soliciting individual voters, spend a good deal of their time soliciting donations. It is more time-efficient to collect one $700 donation (Seattle’s contribution limit per person) than say thirty-five $20 dollar donations. That means a candidate is spending an inordinate amount of time talking to a small constellation of voters, defined primarily by their ability or willingness to make large contributions.

The effect of that trend is difficult to measure, but it calls into question who elected officials are taking into consideration once they get into office. Who are they more likely to be talking to about issues and asking for donations? Generally less than 2% of those voting in any Council race make a contribution of any size; there is already a built in bias. It is only magnified when you consider that a clear majority of individual donations are collected in any local race from less than 20% of those making contributions. In the 2009 City Council elections, for example, only 8% of contributions were for $600 or more, but this totaled 52% of all money raised by candidates.

In pursuit of electing a City Council government that better reflects the priorities of a one-person one-vote democracy, some public funding of campaigns would increase the role and emphasis of small donors in the electoral process and by extension also broaden the public’s influence on the Council’s decision making. The public should have an opportunity to make that decision on this fall’s ballot.

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Thanks to Seattle voters who passed the Libraries for All levy last August, all Seattle neighborhood branch libraries will now be open on Sundays from 1-5 p.m.

Having libraries open on Sunday was the highest priority in the 33,000 public comments received during levy planning.

15 neighborhood libraries will be adding Sunday hours: Columbia, High Point, Madrona-Sally Goldmark, NewHolly, Fremont, South Park, Queen Anne, International District/Chinatown, University, Wallingford, Green Lake, Magnolia, Montlake, Northgate, and Delridge.

Celebrations will take place on Sundays from January through May at each of the libraries with new Sunday hours, beginning with the Columbia Branch on Sunday, January 6.

In addition, library users may now place up to 50 holds, up from 25 before. The Library also has new library cards designs with local icons, as shown here and in the image above.

The Library has a brief online survey through February 1 asking how you would like to use the library on Sundays, available here.

It’s a great honor to be included here, and I really appreciate their mentioning my sense of humor!

I’ve copied an excerpt from the article below.

Most Valuable Local Official: Nick Licata

When Local Progress, a network of progressive local elected officials, was organized in 2012, its members chose veteran Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata as chair. That made sense: Licata has practiced local politics since 1998 as a bold advocate of progressive populist ideas. He was a sponsor of Seattle’s innovative paid-sick-leave law, and he’s been in the forefront of fights to prevent corporations and wealthy sports team owners from gouging taxpayers. He pursues these tough battles with a sense of humor, once co-chairing a group called Citizens for More Important Things to oppose over-the-top demands from professional sports teams for new taxpayer-funded stadiums.

I proposed an amendment to add a provision in support of considering the creation of a state investment trust, to “provide financing for housing development, public works infrastructure, educational infrastructure, student loans, and community quality of life projects.” This was passed, and added to the Economic Development section of the legislation.

Representative and Senator-elect Bob Hasegawa from the 11^th District has sponsored legislation to create a Washington Investment Trust during recent legislative sessions, and obtained 44 co-sponsors in the 2012 session. The proposal is modeled on the Bank of North Dakota, the only state-owned bank in the country; the current version of the legislation has a narrowed scope to address concerns, and focuses on infrastructure financing, which can be used for, for example, utilities, schools, sewers, transportation, and broadband.

Hasegawa gave a presentation before the Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture committee I chair on December 12.

An investment trust could reduce infrastructure costs for the state, and allow local governments such as Seattle to obtain low-cost, short-term construction loans for infrastructure construction projects. This would reduce the cost of borrowing for the construction period, because the Trust could offer lower interest rates than the private bond market, with no additional costs or frees. It’s an example of streamlining government to make it more efficient, by reducing costs to taxpayers and generating a higher return on tax dollars. In addition, it would promote economic development, as short-term construction loans could be recycled in the same way that short-term loans can be recycled in the private construction market.

In the long-term, with sufficient capacity, it could provide long-term financing, with even further public savings.

The state constitution prohibition on lending of credit for private benefit; this proposal would provide for lending to public agencies only.

The Washington Public Bank Coalition has worked for creation of a state bank, and has additional information.

The resolution calls for a balanced approach that allows the tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent to expire at the end of 2012, upholds federal commitments, and prioritizes revitalization of the economy and job creation.

Licata said, “Automatic across-the-board cuts would directly affect the quality of life of Seattle residents, and shift costs onto states and cities. Today, we join Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and others in opposing automatic cuts, and calling for the federal government to move toward shared prosperity, and uphold commitments to Social Security and other programs that underpin the health of our communities.”

The resolution, notes the sequestration of federally-funded programs would impact funding for critical housing, public safety, homeland security, environmental, education, public health, and transportation programs that directly affect the quality of life for all residents of Seattle.

The resolution notes that more than 22,000 homeless people and 132,000 very-low income families would impact the goal of providing safe, healthy communities.

The first round of automatic cuts, scheduled to arrive on January 2, would total $110 billion.

Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Cambridge, Hallendale Beach and Yonkers have passed similar resolutions.

Nancy Guppy hosts Art Zone

A good place to start is with the City’s own award-winning television station, The Seattle Channel (channel 21). Their annual Art Zone holiday program, hosted by Nancy Guppy, features an original rap by the cast of Wisemen, currently playing at ACT theatre; local foodie Julien Perry’s samples of food and drink from her favorite holiday happy hours; Reel Grrls filmmakers teaming up with Olson Kundig Architects to create a festive storefront exhibit; and fresh holiday tunes from the band Brent Amaker and The Rodeo. Click here for broadcast times

Tomorrow night only, singer/pianist Victor Janusz performs his annual Holiday Cabaret at Egan’s Ballard Jam House with special guest jazz vocalist Joanne Klein. It’ll be a night of jazzy, sizzling original Janusz tunes such as “Christmas Without You!” “Fruitcake Blues!” and “Christmas In the Bahamas.”

Matt Owen in “Elf” playing at the 5th Ave Theatre

The 5th Avenue Theatre, one of Seattle’s jewels of the Downtown Historic Theatre District, is presenting ELF – The Musical, based upon the hugely popular film starring Will Ferrell.

Seattle Repertory Theatre is mounting Inspecting Carol, a madcap comedy about a theatre group trying to stage the play A Christmas Carol.

Unexpected Productions presents An Improvised Christmas Carol at the Market Theatre in Pike Place Market, providing a comedic twist on Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic by allowing the audience to decide the entire story, wherein every performance differs from the last.

Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann present “Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker”

The Triple Door hosts their seventh annual Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker, a spectacle of ecdysiastic pageantry. This year’s production includes new cast members formerly with Spectrum Dance Theater and Ballet Bellevue.

Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant is playing at Book It Repertory Theatre. John Irving’s quirky boy, Owen Meany, returns to wreak havoc on the annual Christ Church Christmas Pageant. Hilarity ensues.

Seattle Center Children’s Museuminvites kids up to 10 years old to relax and listen to some magical holiday stories this Saturday. And on January 3rd, the museum presents a performance by Northwest Wushu, exploring the Chinese New Year.

Town Hall presents Short Stories Live! A Rogue’s Christmas, unconventional Christmas stories, poems, and musical cheer—an “antidotal” alternative, they say, to the usual holiday fare.

Dina! Martina!

Taking “alternative” to the next level are Theatre off Jackson’s hilarious Ham for the Holidays: Ham-ageddon!, starring Peggy Platt and Lisa Koch along with Bruce Hall and Michael Oaks, and of course Re-Bar’s indescribable Dina Martina Christmas Show presenting in all her glory an all-new holiday trainwreck.

This is just a fraction of what Seattle has to offer in holiday entertainment this year. Whatever you and your family end up seeing, I hope you have a great time. I wish you all a very happy holiday season!

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Councilmember Nick Licata

Council urges Congress, President to avoid cuts to local services in fiscal cliff Calls for balanced approach, end to tax cut for wealthiest 2 percent

# # #

The Seattle Channel filmed 34 couples who told their stories on a “couple cam.” They’ve collected these moving stories on a Married in Seattle City Hall section of their webpage.

You can view photos at the City’s photo stream, or at the Flickr Get Married at City Hall photo stream.

A State Bank is mechanism to directly invest tax deposits to build critically needed infrastructure at a substantially lower cost, create jobs, and generate a higher financial returns to taxpayers, thus benefiting all Washington residents.

Here are some of the benefits of a State Bank:

• Lower interest rates and much reduced upfront fees mean borrowing costs are significantly lower

• Every time a construction loan is repaid it revolves the funds for another infrastructure project and jobs that come with it.

• Taxpayers earn a higher return on their tax dollars

Though it didn’t move out of either the House or Senate committees of origin last year, there were 44 co-sponsors on a similar bill, the greatest number of co-sponsors of any bill filed that session.  Currently there’s only one state-owned bank in the nation, in North Dakota, where one has existed since 1919.  Some credit that bank for the fact that the State of North Dakota has a surplus in state revenue when other states are making budget cuts to address revenue shortfalls.  My hope is that in the 2013 Legislative Session the Washington Investment Trust Bill becomes a reality.

If you want to learn more about how a State Bank might work, check out what the North Dakota Attorney General and Governor have to say about it on this Prairie Public Radio video.

The fund would empower local governments to ask voters if they want to increase their sales or property taxes or impose a use tax of some kind in order to fund expanded access to our state’s many cultural organizations, from aquariums to arts organizations to zoos.

The program also includes an education component expanding cultural experiences at schools, cultural and scientific educational organizations; transporting students to cultural and scientific educational organizations; and placing special emphasis on schools participating in reduced price school-meal programs.

The bill is being proposed by the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Prosperity Partnership, along with a coalition of organizations from across the state.

The Prosperity Partnership believes in supporting a nonprofit arts, culture, and scientific industry that generates a lot of business in our region. And, I agree.

Nonprofit arts alone in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish Counties generates close to $2 billion in the Central Puget Sound’s economy, creating 32,520 jobs, $882 million in labor income and $83 million in taxes. And in Seattle, over $447.6 million in annual economic activity is generated, creating 10,807 full-time equivalent jobs, $248.2 million in household income, and $38.2 million in local and state government revenues.

Aside from this economic argument is the fact culture provides essential ingredients for living: joy, wonder and a deeper understanding of life. While we would survive without it, such survival would be too dull to bear.

Before the next state legislative session starts, I will contact Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, sponsors of last session’s bill, to hear their thoughts on prospects for this bill in the upcoming session, particularly in light of recent statewide elections. My hope is to see a bi-partisan bill pass next year.

For more information, visit the Prosperity Partnership and click on “Cultural Access Fund” on the lefthand side.

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Food trucks and coffee will be available in the plaza.

You can view the Seattle Channel’s two live feeds–of ceremonies and the reception–at http://married.seattle.gov/watch-live/.

Additional information is at http://married.seattle.gov/.

This follows from Council Resolution 31337 that I sponsored, in response to Occupy movement. Resolution 31337 included a commitment to review the City’s banking practices, “to ensure that public funds are invested in responsible financial institutions that support our community.”

The resolution further stated the Council will “consider future legislation to promote responsible banking and provide an incentive for banking institutions to invest more in our City, particularly with regard to stabilizing the housing market and supporting the creation of new businesses.” I will be proposing legislation to enshrine social responsibly banking principles into city law.

State banking law sets the parameters for cities: for example, banks must have collateral equal to the City’s aggregated deposits (the City has historically used $1.1 billion). In addition, cities can deposit only $100,000 in credit unions. Because of these rules, using small banks or credit unions isn’t legally viable. In 2011, Seattle deposited $20 billion through its operating account.

This is a common dilemma for cities across the country. Those that have addressed banking practices have adapted by incorporating principles of social responsibility into how they award contacts for banking services. These include providing banking services for underserved areas and lower-income residents, home lending for underserved communities, small business lending, assistance in avoiding foreclosures, policies for foreclosed and vacant residences, inclusion plans for outreach to women and minority owned businesses, and outreach to local, small business.

Shortly after the Council passed Resolution 31337, I met with the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS); they were in the process of developing a request for proposals for city banking services. They agreed to incorporate social responsibility principles into the request for banking proposals, something the Mayor also supported.

The City has received bids, and is currently in negotiations. On December 5 FAS briefed the city council on December 5, which can be viewed on the Seattle Channel.

After reviewing what worked well, and what lessons we learned, I’ll be introducing legislation to assure that in going forward all future city contracts with banks holding our deposits must meet our socially responsible banking goals. I’m using the 11 reporting disclosure recommendations that the National Community Reinvestment Coalition provided in their July 2012 report summarizing Local Responsible Banking Ordinances.

With regards to the immediate work before the Council, I had a follow-up meeting this week with FAS staff, and told them that the City must have clear annual reports monitoring the bank’s community involvement, investments and practices. I will be working with FAS to assured that the City will have access to the most relevant data possible in these areas. I also want to identify how the bank can assist local small businesses in securing loans and encouraging their economic development.  Lastly it will be important to retain the City’s right to shape future reports to capture and track any change in Seattle’s financial and economic environment.

I look forward to writing an ordinance where Seattle will join a number of other cities that closely monitor the banks managing their funds, in order to maximize their positive impact on the communities that they do business in.

It is still an infraction to use marijuana in public.  The City encourages people who want to celebrate the passage of Initiative 502 to do so in the privacy of their homes.  Additionally, driving under the influence of marijuana remains a crime.

Over the next year, the Washington State Liquor Control Board will develop rules to regulate the sale of marijuana to adults over 21. Until these rules are finalized, it is still a felony to sell or give another person marijuana. Collective gardens and safe access points for qualifying patients are unaffected by I- 502.

After viewing a catalog Elisabetta brought to the meeting, I was impressed enough with the work to ask the City’s art curator, Deborah Paine, to consider hosting a temporary exhibit here at City Hall. The office’s director agreed, and now the art of 40 artists that comprise Un Calice per Aviero are on display at City Hall thanks to the hard work of Deborah and her assistant, Blake Heygood.

The collection is a gift to Seattle from the Moretti Ceramics Foundation, curated by Antonio Carol Ponti and Roland Giovannini. It commemorates Umbrian entrepreneur Alviero Moretti (1933-2010) and was on display for the final time in Perugia this past September. The subject of the chalice, or calice, symbolizes an offering of gratitude by each artist to Moretti for his generous support.

I encourage you to check out this remarkable exhibition before it ends on December 31st.

This exhibit is temporary, but the collection is searching for a permanent home in Seattle. If you have any suggestions, please contact Mike James with the Perugia Sister City Association: P. O. Box 31151, Seattle, WA 98103-1151, (206) 722-1746, mgjames@mac.com.

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The Central District Forum for Art & Ideas (CD Forum) has hired Sharon N. Williams as its new managing director. She will manage the organization’s day-to-day operations as well as development, grants management and community engagement.

Sharon N. Williams

Williams founded the Mahogany Project, a local theater and film production company, and holds a Masters of Fine Arts as well as a Masters in Business Administration. CD Forum is continuing to search for its artistic director and anticipates filling that position in 2013 as a part of its planned restructuring. The board’s programming committee currently provides artistic direction. Williams will begin working at the CD Forum on January 7 of next year.

CD Forum was founded in 1999 by Stephanie Ellis-Smith as Seattle’s only nonprofit organization focused solely on presenting emerging Black arts, artists, and ideas in the Seattle area.

One of CD Forum’s programs I value is their Say It LOUD! ideas series, which explores complex policies and practices affecting the Black community. Their next Say It LOUD! presentation will be in March at Washington Hall, in partnership with Seattle Urban League Young Professionals, titled Food & Race: The Politics of your Plate.

Over at the Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT), Mary Ann Ehlshlager was hired in June as its new managing director. SCT is one of the twenty largest regional theatres in the country. Their mission is to present programs that empower young people to make new discoveries about themselves and the world around them while developing a lifelong interest in the arts.  SCT has consistently provided young audiences theatre experiences that are highly entertaining and imaginative. They also have a strong educational program, which includes resources for teachers that detail how a particular play meets specific components of the State’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements.

Mary Ann Ehlshlager

Prior to coming to Seattle, Ehlshlager was executive director of the Delaware Theatre Company. She has worked at the Guthrie Theatre, Arena Stage, and New York’s Roundabout and Pearl Theatre Companies.

Currently, SCT is presenting The Wizard of Oz, aimed at kids age 5 and up. It is a classic tale of adventure, filled with precarious escapes and wicked characters, that inspires imagination and reminds us all how powerful self-confidence can be.

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Founding Local Progress

I believe that relevant and important political change can occur at the local, municipal level and I was joined in that belief on November 18^th when municipal elected officials from 32 cities in 20 states met in Washington D.C. to declare:

We have gathered together to build a coalition of municipal elected officials dedicated to broadly-shared prosperity, equal justice under law, sustainable and livable cities, and good government that serves the public interest directly. To serve these ends, we hereby proclaim the founding of Local Progress: A national municipal policy network.
                                                                                — November 18, 2012

I was selected to chair an executive board consisting of municipal elected officials Brad Lander (New York City), Wilson Goode Jr. (Philadelphia), Chuck Lesnick (Yonkers), Faith Winter (Westminster, CO), Julia Ross (St. Louis Park, MN) and Joe Moore (Chicago) as well as organizational leaders Andrew Friedman (Center for Popular Democracy) and Gloria Totten (Public Leadership Institute).

The idea for this new organization began for me when I sponsored and Council unanimously adopted Resolution 31337 which recognized the national grassroots citizen effort being made through the Occupy Movement to seek solutions for economically distressed Americans at the federal and local levels. I strongly felt that as elected representatives we had to address our nation’s growing disparity in wealth and income among its citizens by pursuing and passing legislation.

Nick Licata and NYC Councilmember Brad Lander

I believe that real solutions come about through a democratic, transparent and respectful process. No one city can solve our nation’s problems, but a network of municipal elected officials sharing information, practices and legislation, would allow us to strengthen the chances of success at the local level, while also increasing the likelihood of influencing state and national policies, to reverse the continuing concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands.

This disparity is clearly shown in the following information: the richest 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of the country’s wealth, own 50 percent of U.S.-owned stocks and bonds, and earn 24 percent of total income. The top 1 percent earns more than the bottom 40 percent of the population (and the richest 20 percent get more income than everyone else combined). In the aftermath of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, this tiny slice of the U.S. population controls more of its country’s money than it has since the 1920s.

As a result, our national and local economies have been stifled as we have seen huge cuts in programs designed to maintain infrastructure, provide basic health and safety services, and sustain local economies. These regressive policies do not happen by accident. They are reinforced by the growing influence of money in politics, through groups that work in a coordinated way to weaken health and safety regulations, roll back civil rights, lower taxes on moneyed interests, and demonize, privatize, and eliminate public programs and services.

These conditions will not change overnight, but fortunately, in many cities and towns across the country, progressives are working toward more broadly shared prosperity, smart and strong public services, equal justice under the law, sustainable and livable cities, and good government that serves the public interest effectively. Municipalities are a great place to advance these goals. To paraphrase what candidate Barak Obama said when he was running for President his first time, cities are the experimental labs of this country. They often break new ground in providing services.

Local Progress will allow councilmembers, like me, to share legislation that makes government more efficient in providing services and more responsive to all citizens regardless of the community they live in or their ethnicity. A cornucopia of legislation reflecting these values is in place across the country.

Living-wage laws ensure that public dollars don’t pay for poverty jobs, but instead advance opportunity. Cities are leading the effort to make sure that all workers can take paid sick days, instead of choosing between their jobs and their health. Inclusionary housing policies create affordable housing in diverse neighborhoods. Responsible banking acts make sure that banks use the people’s money to meet community needs. Local governments have rejected a supporting role enforcing cruel and ineffective enforcement-only immigration policy. Human rights ordinances help fulfill the promise of the civil rights movement. Municipal campaign finance reforms return government to the people.

I look forward to learning more from councilmembers in other cities, evaluating their best ideas and practices, and then introducing those that could most benefit Seattle.

After a number of very difficult budget years requiring extensive cuts, there has been a measure of economic recovery. However, growth in tax revenue remains well below pre-recession levels, highlighting the need for continued sound fiscal management. This budget represents a balanced and fiscally sustainable City package.

I serve as chair of the Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee, and I worked to ensure we created a human services package to enhance care for our community’s most vulnerable members.

In addition, the budget adopted by the Council supports funds to hire additional police officers, enhancements for more reliable bus service, and more road repairs.

On the following pages you will find a list of highlights of additions the City Council made to the Mayor’s proposed 2013-4 budget.

Human Services and Housing

Below is a summary of the Council’s successful work to amend the Mayor’s proposed budget to add an additional $1,660,000 in 2013 and $2,230,000 in 2014 for direct human services funding.

I’m pleased that the Council created a human services package to enhance care for our community’s most vulnerable members.  In particular, it’s critical that – as part of that package – we’ll increase shelter capacity for the nearly 2,000 people sleeping outside without access to basic shelter as well as increasing day services for people spending the night in shelters that are closed during the day. Shelter and day services programs not only address critical survival needs, but they also serve as outreach centers for those needing healthcare, case management and a connection back to a supportive community.

Many thanks go out to the Seattle Human Services Coalition, the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Meals Partnership Coalition. The advocacy of these effective coalitions plays a critical role in convincing the Council to shape public policy in a way that addresses basic human needs.

Here’s the Human Services Budget Package breakdown:

For homeless women, men, and families:

• Rapid Rehousing for homeless people ($200,000 in 2013/2014)
• Funding for additional shelter services ($100,000 in 2013/2014)
• Funding for additional women’s shelter ($50,000 in 2013/2014)
• Funding for homeless day-center services including hygiene in downtown neighborhoods ($200,000 in 2013/2014)

For domestic violence and sexual assault survivors:

• Additional legal assistance for domestic violence survivors ($50,000 in 2013/2014)
• Another advocate for immigrant domestic violence survivors ($45,000 in 2013/2014)
• Bilingual services for domestic violence survivors ($60,000 in 2013/2014)
• Medical advocacy for sexual assault survivors ($75,000 in 2013/2014)

For individuals and families needing food security:

• Increased bulk food purchasing for food banks ($150,000 in 2013/2014)
• Bulk food purchasing for the meal provider system ($50,000 in 2013/2014)

For seniors:

• Increased funding for outreach to home-bound seniors ($150,000 in 2013/2014)

For first-time moms living in poverty:

• Adding funding to the Nurse Family Partnership to increase child’s readiness for school, and reduce crime. ($530,000 in 2013, $1,100,000 in 2014).

Full evaluation of the Youth Violence Prevention Program ($300,000, 2013)

Public Safety

• Added funding for emphasis patrols ($1 million in 2013)
• Increased funding to hire new officers ($1.57 million in 2014)
• Accelerated replacement of the SPD North Precinct from 2019 to 2016

Streets:

• Added $2 million for street maintenance and repairs (2014)

Transit: 

• Reprioritized 2013 funding  for high priority bus corridors in 2013
• Approved funding for Ballard corridor planning; most of funding for planning comes from agreement with Sound Transit
• Approved funding for Madison Rapid Bus Study
• Passed a statement of legislative intent requesting SDOT to work with King County Metro to pursue federal and state grants to accelerate development of the Madison Street priority bus corridor, and expand the City’s electric trolley bus network
• Delayed Eastlake corridor planning to 2014, which would be in time for any Sound Transit ballot measure
• Funded a transit reliability study for SR 520 ($60,000, 2013)
• Dedicated funding for studying a central connector; federal funds are already obtained

Bicycle/Pedestrian:

• Directed funding to Ballard Greenway ($1.27 million 2013),
• Delridge Greenway ($625,000, 2013), to a
• Downtown Cycle Track ($1 million total, split 2013/4), and to
• the West Seattle Lower Bridge Trail
• Funded for bike and pedestrian access study for 520 project ($160,000, 2013)

Sustainability, Land Use

• Added $500,000 for Green Seattle Partnership for 2013 and 2014
• Funded Disaster Recovery planning, $200,000 for 2013 and 2014
• Added funding for Design Commission and Historical Preservation

Economic, Neighborhoods

• Funded Career Bridge program, $50,000 for 2013 and 2014
• Added $406,000 funding for taxi inspectors
• Funded Little Saigon site study

Arts

• Added a part-time arts and cultural development liaison in the City’s arts office.
• Added capital funding for cultural and arts facilities.

Parks

• Provided $50,000 to maintain Chinatown/ID Community Center hours in 2013; requested Parks Dpt. adjust spending within Magnolia sector to continue current hours at Magnolia Community Center; and asked Parks Dpt. to report to Council next year on usage at all community centers.
• Restored, but left unfunded, the gardener position cut by the Mayor at Volunteer Park Conservatory. If revenues raised by the Conservatory are sufficient, the position could be reinstated late 2013.

Technology

• Added $95,000 to Technology Matching Fund to maintain this year’s level of $320,000 in 2013 and 2014. The fund supports digital literacy, access and civic engagement projects in underserved communities.

Councilmember Licata selected to advance progressive vision for America's cities and towns
New coalition of municipal leaders is founded to create a more fair and just society

SEATTLE – Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata was selected as the Chair of a new organization, Local Progress: a national municipal policy network, formed over the weekend in Washington D.C. Local Progress will be dedicated to advancing innovative legislative strategies in America's cities and towns.

Councilmember Licata was joined by 41 other officials from 32 towns and large cities, including three other Washington State municipal officials: Greg Taylor from Renton, Ryan Mello from Tacoma and De'Sean Quinn from Tukwila.

"Local Progress will allow, for the first time, a real network to exist between municipal officials who wish to adopt legislation passed in other communities that have addressed the needs of average working people, like establishing paid sick leave legislation," said Councilmember Licata, in response to being selected to head Local Progress.

The elected officials discussed ways in which cities can make government services more accessible for immigrants, create green jobs and vibrant livable neighborhoods, empower community residents to participate in city budgeting decisions, and support parents by strengthening schools and making work rules more flexible.

Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union, kicked off the weekend meeting Friday night saying that SEIU is committed to improving the lives of working families.

Jay Williams, the former Mayor of Youngstown, Ohio  and now White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Relations spoke to the group on Saturday and emphasized how President Obama's next term will be addressing many of the issues that municipalities are concerned with.

Participants began the gathering by discussing ways to rejuvenate the economy through the creation of good, middle class jobs. "We kicked it off with lively presentations about how cities can foster smart economic growth," said Wilson Goode Jr., the Philadelphia City Councilman who led the conversation.  "Everyone agreed that we have to build an economy where workers are paid a living wage with adequate benefits."

The legislators spoke optimistically about their vision for the coming decades. "A broad coalition of voters sent a powerful message on election day," said Faith Winter, Mayor Pro Tem of Westminster, CO.

The attendees said they planned to continue sharing best practices online and in person over the coming months and years. "We're building a movement for a more fair and just society," said Licata, "And we're off to an amazing start."

The Founding Board of Local Progress includes:
Nick Licata, Seattle (WA) City Council - CHAIR
Wilson Goode Jr., Philadelphia (PA) City Council
Brad Lander, New York (NY) City Council
Chuck Lesnick, Yonkers (NY) City Council
Joe Moore, Chicago (IL) City Council
Julia Ross, St. Louis Park (MN) City Council
Faith Winter, Westminster (CO) City Council

The board also includes two core partner non-profit advocacy organizations: the Public Leadership Institute and the Center for Popular Democracy.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

The Gardener

The Volunteer Park Conservatory, named in honor of volunteers who served in the Spanish American War, offers 6,800 square feet of display space and has an annual budget of about $420,000. Due to the Conservatory’s unique structure and plant collections, it has no direct competitors in the conservatory market.

The Mayor proposed cutting one full-time gardener position at the Conservatory as a cost cutting measure benefitting the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR). Although DPR’s budget does have to accommodate reductions, I consider this particular cut to be premature.

DPR hired a consultant – EMD Consulting Group, LLC – to study and recommend options for increasing earned revenues and making the Conservatory more self sufficient. Implementing a $4 entry fee and cutting one of the 4.5 gardener positions are among their recommendations.

It strikes me as risky to cut the gardener just when the Conservatory will be gearing up for their East Wing & Greenhouse capital campaign and replacing their suggested $3 donation with a $4 entry fee. Even the consultant noted this cut risks displays suffering, attendance dropping, and that DPR might need to consider re-staffing the position. And I agree.

Drawing new visitors with exemplary displays would seem more challenging without their current gardening staff. If the Conservatory’s now-splendid displays were to suffer from fewer hands tending them, which could result in resentment over their new required entry fee, visits will surely drop.

Unfortunately, I was not able to convince my colleagues to retain funding for this position. I was able to preserve the position, though unfunded, until we can assess next year whether display quality has been compromised and whether new revenues generated by the Conservatory can restore the gardener in late 2013.

The Arts Liaison

The other staffing issue I was finally able to garner support for is the arts & cultural development liaison position in the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (OACA). Back in 2009 a group I and Councilmember Clark assembled, called the Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee (CODAC), recommended establishing this position. Council resolution 31155 accepts all of CODAC’s recommendations.

The purpose of the position is to advise City departments, community organizations, other government & cultural agencies, and developers on matters of the arts in general and on developing space for cultural organizations and creative workers in particular. The development of cultural and arts space supports a non-profit arts & culture industry in Seattle that generated in 2010 over $447,000,000 in economic activity and over $38,000,000 in local and state government revenues.

Nevertheless, the past few years of declining revenues and budget cuts have provided little motivation for my colleagues to act on this CODAC recommendation. This year’s budget was the first since 2009 offering enough revenue to add new positions. Although this is only a half-time position for 2013 and 2014, establishing it allows OACA’s director to expand it if demand for services proves great enough. By the way, OACA’s director once served as co-chair for CODAC.

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As the post notes, under I-502, as of December 6 it will no longer be a violation of state law for adults 21 or over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. In addition, the initiative established a one-year period for the state to develop licensing for marijuana production and sale.

The blog post explains the current legal situation in Washington state, how the Seattle Police Department plans to adapt to the passage of I-502, and federal law, under which marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance.

I’m pleased that the Council created a human services package to enhance care for our community’s most vulnerable members.  In particular, it’s critical that – as part of that package – we’ll increase shelter capacity for the nearly 2,000 people sleeping outside without access to basic shelter as well as increasing day services for people spending the night in shelters that are closed during the day. Shelter and day services programs not only address critical survival needs, but they also serve as outreach centers for those needing healthcare, case management and a connection back to a supportive community.

See here for what members of the community say about the Council’s 2013-2014 budget.  Many thanks go out to the Seattle Human Services Coalition, the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness, King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Meals Partnership Coalition. The advocacy of these effective coalitions plays a critical role in convincing the Council to shape public policy in a way that addresses basic human needs.

Here’s the Human Services Budget Package breakdown:

For homeless women, men, and families:

• Rapid Rehousing for homeless people ($200,000 in 2013/2014)
• Funding for additional shelter services ($100,000 in 2013/2014)
• Funding for additional women’s shelter ($50,000 in 2013/2014)
• Funding for homeless day-center services including hygiene in downtown neighborhoods ($200,000 in 2013/2014)

For domestic violence and sexual assault survivors:

• Additional legal assistance for domestic violence survivors ($50,000 in 2013/2014)
• Another advocate for immigrant domestic violence survivors ($45,000 in 2013/2014)
• Bilingual services for domestic violence survivors ($60,000 in 2013/2014)
• Medical advocacy for sexual assault survivors ($75,000 in 2013/2014)

For individuals and families needing food security:

• Increased bulk food purchasing for food banks ($150,000 in 2013/2014)
• Bulk food purchasing for the meal provider system ($50,000 in 2013/2014)

For seniors:

• Increased funding for outreach to home-bound seniors ($150,000 in 2013/2014)

For first-time moms living in poverty:

• Adding funding to the Nurse Family Partnership to increase child’s readiness for school, and reduce crime. ($530,000 in 2013, $1,100,000 in 2014).

When the Mayor proposed transferring the operations of LHPAC from the parks department to the arts office, some expressed concern it might stray from its long-time mission of serving African American and African Diaspora communities. But, that concern is unwarranted, as the City Council and the Mayor have pledged to see LHPAC continue its mission.

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center

While programming and day-to-day management will transfer to the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (OACA) next year, the building would still be maintained by the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR). Most of LHPAC’s DPR staff would be transferred over to OACA, as well.

A concern I have is that LHPAC costs the City over $700,000 annually to run, while it earns only about $70,000 per year. Other City-owned properties conducting arts operations are leased to independent arts organizations that run their own programs.

So, I sponsored a budget request asking OACA to work with the Seattle Arts Commission (SAC) to develop a plan that addresses LHPAC’s long-term sustainability and report back to my Council committee in September of next year with a preliminary plan and again in June of 2014 with final recommendations. The Mayor’s proposed 2015-2016 budget would be expected to include costs for implementing the recommended plan.

The plan would focus on maintaining LHPAC’s existing programming for the African American and African Diaspora communities while establishing a mechanism for long-term financial support and stability for LHPAC. The plan will recommend whether LHPAC should:

1.      continue to be operated by the City;

2.      be leased or transferred to a group or organization to carry forward LHPAC programming;

3.      be managed by a third-party organization for the City; or

4.      or pursue some other approach.

In the mean time, check out this ArtZone video featuring a story on the City’s recent upgrades to the building housing LHPAC.

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Councilmembers to revisit Communities United Rainier Beach decision

Seattle – Four members of the City Council said this afternoon they would revisit their decision to defund the Communities United Rainier Beach (CURB) crime prevention program when final budget legislation comes before the Council on November 19.

"At today's meeting of the City Council's Budget Committee, I heard poignant personal testimony expressing concerns about a proposed funding cut to the Communities United Rainier Beach (CURB) program," said Councilmember Tim Burgess, chair of the Committee. "This budget action arose late in the Council's budget process, which meant that the public had little time to provide feedback to Council members. As Committee Chair, I am responsible for managing the process and acknowledge that this proposed action did not go through our normal schedule of review. I will ask my colleagues to postpone action on the CURB program so that the City's Human Services Department can report in the first quarter of next year on CURB's performance to the Council's Committee on Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture."

Councilmember Nick Licata added, "In 2005, I worked with the Council to design a new program to link law enforcement and human services for those involved in street level illegal activity. The goal was to improve the lives of young people as well as improve the public safety in Rainier Valley. In 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 I led the Council in restoring funding when then Mayor Nickels proposed cutting it as well as providing funding for an evaluation of this program. I'm glad that we are restoring CURB funding with the agreement from HSD to evaluate the program outcomes upon both the lives of program participants and upon the public safety of the Rainier Valley community."

"The Council added more than $2.5 million to hire new police officers and funding to focus on proactive policing emphasis patrols," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee. "A key component of an effective proactive policing ecosystem are programs like the CURB program. The program's core mission is to divert young people in the Rainier Valley away from the criminal justice system. Seattle has made a unique investment with CURB. After listening to today's testimony about the lives that have been positively impacted, I support the Council's decision to restore funding to CURB. It is critical, however, for Council to examine all crime prevention programs and their effectiveness in preventing crime, poverty and inequity in Seattle."

"I believe programs aimed at preventing people from entering or re-entering the criminal justice system are important to public safety and economic stability for many families in our city, so I am grateful to my Council colleagues for slowing down this decision and giving CURB a chance to fully participate in the budget review process," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien. "Today, we are buying a little time to better understand if CURB is helping to meet our goals and see if there are other diversion and crime prevention programs around the country that should be brought to Seattle."

More information about the Council's budget actions is available here.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

As host Josephine Cheng and I as travel in a gondola, we talk about my growing up in Cleveland, working in the insurance field, the Seattle Center, rental housing inspection, paid sick leave, poetry, and being a legislator.

It was a sunny day to boot, so the view is good.

City Council Budget Committee refocuses 2013 budget on urgent, immediate needs
Budget actions invest limited resources to deliver results

Seattle – The Seattle City Council's Budget Committee today voted unanimously on a balanced 2013 budget for city operations and endorsed a spending plan for 2014.

The Council's revisions to Mayor Michael McGinn's September 24 budget proposal add funding for more police officers; focus more work on street repairs and transit speeds; care for Seattle's most vulnerable residents by adding nurse visits for low-income mothers, day shelter space, and support for food banks; build sustainable communities by maintaining investment in community centers and youth violence prevention; and step up the city's ability to measure results of tax payer investment.

"This year we asked the question – how do you deliver the right mix of services while still living out the end of a recession?" said Council President Sally J. Clark. "Mayor McGinn presented a good starting place. We dug into the numbers and the needs. I'm confident this final budget for 2013 manages urgent needs and invests for our future growth."

"The Council worked collaboratively to make changes that effectively address the urgent issues Seattle residents face today," said Councilmember Tim Burgess, Budget Committee Chair. "Listening to the community's priorities, we have developed a budget that invests our limited resources wisely and delivers results."

The following documents contain more information about the Council's changes:

• Summary of major Council changes
• Detailed list of Council actions and associated dollar amounts
• What community leaders say about the Council's budget

Proactive public safety

Continuing its emphasis on keeping Seattle's neighborhoods safe, the Council added more than $2.5 million to hire new police officers and fund police emphasis patrols to proactively prevent violent crime.

"The Council prioritized and focused on adding more police officers in neighborhoods," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee. "We increased funding to add 21 police officers and $1 million for proactive policing emphasis patrol. The Council listened and acted to enhance public safety for all neighborhoods."

Enhance transportation mobility

Taking a balanced approach to transportation issues, the Council stressed the needs of today's transit riders while also advancing long-range planning for high-capacity transit already underway. The final budget package reprioritizes more than $2 million in transit funding to improve transit speed and reliability for bus corridors identified in City's Transit Master Plan.

Councilmembers also recognized the importance and need of basic road maintenance, preserving safety, mobility and the efficient movement of goods and allocating $2 million street maintenance, repairs and maintenance along Seattle's major transit corridors.

"The public is asking for better bus service now and with the additional funds SDOT will be able to make near-term road and signal improvements to help Metro provide better service and reliability," said Transportation Committee Chair Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. "We are also funding long-range planning for High Capacity Transit. The Madison corridor planning will begin in 2013 and the Eastlake corridor planning begin in 2014."

Caring for our most vulnerable residents

Councilmembers added $1.7 million in direct human services funding for a variety of vulnerable populations including victims of domestic violence, seniors, first-time moms living in poverty, individuals and families needing food security and homeless women, men and families.

"I'm pleased that the Council joined together to create human services package to enhance care for the most vulnerable members of our community," said Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee Chair Councilmember Nick Licata. "In particular, it's critical that as part of that package we'll increase shelter capacity for the nearly 2,000 people sleeping outside as well as increasing day services for people spending the night in shelters that are closed during the day. Shelter and day services programs not only address critical survival needs but they also serve as outreach centers for those needing healthcare, case management and a connection back to a supportive community."

"We made great strides towards strengthening human services – adding an average of $2 million over the next two years on top of what the Mayor proposed – including funding for bilingual domestic violence advocacy," said Councilmember Jean Godden. "We also prioritized neighborhoods, making new investments in community center facilities and forest restoration to realize the Seattle we all envision."

Building a sustainable community

To encourage the growth of a more sustainable community and to support Seattle's continued economic recovery, the Council added funding for Green Jobs initiatives, growth-oriented land-use planning initiatives, efforts to reclaim public green space and restaurant permit streamlining.

"The Council is taking actions to create a better future for Seattle," stated Councilmember Richard Conlin, Chair of the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee. "We are investing in bus and streetcar systems that will increase transportation choices. We are increasing funding for the Green Seattle Partnership, which mobilizes volunteers to maintain the health of our urban forest. We are continuing our emergency preparedness efforts by funding work on unreinforced masonry buildings and creating a resiliency strategy. And we are adding new resources that will strengthen housing, community centers, and human services in our neighborhoods and urban centers."

Following policy developed last year, the Council preserved the tiered structure for community centers, keeping operating hours for centers intact from baseline 2012 levels. The Council also added $500,000 to make capital improvements for the Lake City Community Center.

"Even with our economy showing signs of recovery, we need to be strategic with our resources and spending. We can't continue to fund every desire; we must target results and effectiveness. We have chosen to keep all of our community centers open while directing our money towards proven, intentional programming," said Parks and Neighborhoods Committee Chair Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. "We are meeting both needs and wants across the city and being purposeful with our priorities."

"Lake City is a growing and changing community. It's got a great group of active neighbors and residents. Now we are looking into the right programming for teens and seniors and creating an accessible, open, and welcoming community center," added Council President Clark.

Delivering results

To make sure the City's new investments actually improve lives and communities, the Council set aside $400,000 for the City Auditor to conduct evaluations of programs targeted for significant expansion (the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative and the Career Bridge employment assistance program) and has provided additional staff at the Auditor's Office to support this work.

The Council also requested additional clarity from the Executive regarding the specific outcome targets for other new or expanded programs, including the Center City Initiative and entrepreneurial support offered by the Office of Economic Development.

"I want to say thank you to all of the people who turned out to testify at public hearings, emailed, called and met with Council throughout this budget process," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien. "I was impressed with the engagement we saw from so many in the community and I think the input we received helped guide our thinking and decisions in this budget."

Final adoption of the 2013-2014 biennial budget will occur Monday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

Seattle City Council statement on likely passage of Seawall proposition

SEATTLE – Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, chair of the Council's Transportation Committee, released the following statement on the likely passage of Proposition No. 1 for General Obligation Bonds for the Alaskan Way Seawall:

"On behalf of the Seattle City Council, I applaud and thank Seattle voters for understanding the need to replace this most basic piece of Seattle's commercial and transportation infrastructure by approving Proposition No. 1. Rebuilding the seawall is critical to protecting the lives and property of our neighbors in downtown Seattle and along Alaskan Way and in the water."

The aging seawall has been considered vulnerable to an earthquake ever since the Nisqually Earthquake in 2011. Its collapse would have grave effects upon the businesses, utilities and roads along the waterfront and into downtown.

The measure was designed to fund the public safety need for a new seawall. The replacement project is also the critical first step in a larger vision to revitalize the downtown waterfront.

A strong and secure seawall will serve as the foundation and an important step in moving that revitalization forward. To meet the safety concerns caused by the seawall's vulnerability, the City has an accelerated schedule planned for replacing the seawall. By approving this necessary funding now, the project will be able to take advantage of today's favorable construction and bidding environment to begin this important project in 2013.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

Washington Hall, 1914

In response to requests from Velocity Dance Center, Taproot Theatre, Coyote Central, Casa Latina Latino Community Arts Center, the Neptune Theatre, and Washington Hall, I added $300K to the arts office budget for capital funding in 2011 and another $150K in 2012 – a downward trend I am determined to reverse by increasing the Mayor’s proposed $150K to $250K for next year.

For those who might consider $250K too much, keep in mind that in 2010, Seattle’s non-profit arts and culture industry generated $447M in spending and $38M in local and state government revenues (Arts & Economic Prosperity IV 2012 report, Americans for the Arts, Washington DC).

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The proposed rezone would increase maximum building heights for commercial and residential buildings, and allow additional height for residential buildings through incentives.

The largest change would increase allowable heights from 40 to 240 feet near the south end of Lake Union for residential development, with incentives. The maps below show current zoning on the left, and proposed zoning on the right (click for a larger picture).

Additional details are available at the DPD website, which contains links to a summary of the proposal, a longer presentation, and the Director’s Report.

An earlier hearing was held on July 24.

Proposed South Lake Union Zoning

Current South Lake Union Zoning

The United States is unique among industrialized nations: 135 other countries already have laws in place mandating paid sick days for the workforce of their entire country.

The Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce brought together a broad coalition of supporters, including several Seattle businesses.  Without this kind of community-wide consensus building it may not have been as likely Seattle would have become the third city in the United States to require paid sick and safe time for its workers.

At the celebration we heard personal stories that made the case for why standards for paid leave is so important.   It was a welcome opportunity to celebrate everyone’s hard work.  To find out more about Paid Sick and Safe Leave, see here.

 ABOUT THE AWARD

The Jeanette Williams Award was created as part of the 2003 Seattle Women’s Summit to honor an individual who demonstrates significant leadership and service in advancing the cause of women in Seattle. Jeanette Williams served on the Seattle City Council from 1969 to 1989. In 1971 she was instrumental in establishing the nation’s first Seattle Women’s Commission and Office of Women’s Rights with paid staff. Prior to serving on Seattle City Council, Williams overcame gender stereotypes to become the first woman elected as County Chairperson for the King County Democratic Central Committee. A tireless advocate for women’s issues, Jeanette Williams helped establish the first shelter for battered and abused women in Seattle, helped create the City’s Division on Aging, developed policies to address early childhood education, and sponsored critical legislation that for the first time prohibited discrimination in housing and employment in the City of Seattle

In honor of the Space Needle’s 50th Anniversary, Berger will refer to his most recent book, “Space Needle: Spirit of Seattle,” in describing how a crude napkin sketch evolved into Seattle’s most iconic structure. Berger is a columnist for Crosscut.com, writing under the name “Mossback;” is Editor-at-Large and a columnist for Seattle Magazine; author of Pugetopolis; and former longtime editor of the Seattle Weekly.

Space Needle, 1962

The Space Needle is actually not owned by the City. It’s a private corporation that owns the land upon which it sits. It serves as a tremendous asset to our city and to the entire world as one of its most iconic modern structures.

It was the 1962 World’s Fair, drawing some 10 million visitors, that introduced the world to the futuristic Monorail and Space Needle. As exciting, shiny and new the Center was then, 20 years later it was deemed in serious need of attention. In 1988, Disneyland’s “Imagineers” pitched a plan to breathe new life into the Center. In order to solve the Center’s persistent budget problems, the plan would have required commercializing most of the Center’s grounds. It was rejected. An alternative plan inspired taxpayers to support a $25.8 million upgrade in 1991 and another $36 million worth of improvements in 1999.

Today, Seattle Center hosts a number of festivals, such as Bumbershoot and Festal, as well as non-profit tenants, such as Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Repertory Theatre. It also hosts the popular Seattle Storm WNBA basketball team at the former Key Arena. If a new men’s NBA basketball team comes to play in a yet-to-be-built arena in Seattle, Key Arena’s future may not be so bright.

The Center now has yet another plan in hand to revitalize itself: the Century 21 Master Plan. Though, it’s a plan that for now sits on the backburner.

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The City Council voted 6-2 to approve the arena agreement with arena proponent Chris Hansen on September 24 (I voted no). Because Seattle and King County approved separate versions, a subsequent vote in mid- October was needed to harmonize the versions.

The Council amended the original agreement proposed by the Mayor and County Executive to include analysis of a Seattle Center site in the EIS, as noted in the DPD notice. The agreement anticipated an EIS, and this notice marks the next step in the process.

Two public meetings are scheduled about environmental impacts, for members of the public to provide their perspective on which issues should be addressed in the EIS.

The public meetings are scheduled for November 8 at 6 p.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes Room in Seattle City Hall at 600 4^th Avenue (enter on 5^th Avenue), and on November 14 at 6 p.m. in the Fidalgo Room  at the Northwest Rooms, at Seattle Center.

I got to know Randy when I appointed him to the Council’s Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee (CODAC), which was charged with providing the Mayor and the Council recommendations on how to best address Seattle’s decline in affordable space for working artists, arts organizations and cultural activities. He and his co-chair Fidelma McGinn delivered the Committee’s recommendations in 2009.

One of CODAC’s recommendations was for more City support in developing arts facilities and cultural spaces throughout Seattle. Under the previous OACA director, a new capital funding program was established this year in response to Council direction. For 2011 and 2012, I sponsored budget legislation providing construction and capital acquisition funds for arts & cultural facilities. King County awards approximately $2M annually to fund arts and cultural capital projects. This year, the City of Seattle has a total of $150,000 to award. In a recent meeting with Randy, I was pleased to hear he supports the continuation of this modest yet critical new program.

Benaroya Hall Construction,1998

Our arts office works closely with its advisory body, the Seattle Arts Commission (SAC). SAC provides its budget priorities to the Council both before and after the Mayor has crafted his annual budget. Understanding the Commission’s budget priorities helps the Council and Mayor better reflect the greater arts community as we build the City budget. The Commission’s stated priorities for the 2013-14 budget include the transfer of Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center from the Parks Department to OACA as well as support for OACA’s new cultural facilities capital funding program.

Speaking of SAC, it recently welcomed two new Commissioners. Terri Hiroshima has worked in Seattle’s non-profit sector for more than 18 years. She is currently Director of Marketing & External Relations at Crosscut Public Media, a civics-based online news outlet that focuses on in-depth coverage of Northwest issues. Her background in the arts includes marketing and communications roles at Seattle Theatre Group, Empty Space Theatre and One Reel.

Philmon Haile is the Commission’s “Get Engaged” member. Get Engaged is a partnership between the City of Seattle and the YMCA to place emerging leaders on public boards and commissions. Mr. Haile is a junior in college and was born in Sudan. His parents were both soldiers in the Eritrean War of Independence and sought refuge in the United States, where they moved when Haile was three. He started his undergraduate studies at Swarthmore College and recently transferred to the University of Washington where he is studying International Studies and Anthropology with a concentration in China studies. Haile is interested in exploring the intersection between art and social justice and the role of art in social movements.  

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Seattle City Council requests City Attorney present SPD monitor candidate to court

Seattle – The Seattle City Council passed Resolution 31414 this afternoon, continuing the City's progress in meeting the terms of the consent decree agreed to in August with the United States Department of Justice. The resolution (adopted 8-1) provides guidance to City Attorney Pete Holmes in filing the City's recommendation for a consent decree monitor, a condition required to be met by Fri., Oct. 26.

The resolution identifies police monitoring expert Merrick Bobb, a veteran of police reform efforts in King County, Los Angeles, Oakland, Milwaukee, Albuquerque and elsewhere, as the City of Seattle's preferred monitor. Bobb founded the Police Assessment Resource Center and led the development of National Guidelines for Police Monitors.

Bobb was one of 23 applicants for the monitor position in Seattle. A staff team forwarded five names for interviews. The Mayor, City Attorney, police chief and command staff, city policy and budget staff and a sub-group of City Councilmembers interviewed four candidates after the fifth removed himself from consideration.

"Mr. Bobb is a leading expert in this field and is the most qualified to be the Monitor," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the City Council's Public Safety Committee. "I am confident Mr. Bobb will build an unprecedented and long-lasting relationship between the community and the police department."

"I believe Merrick Bobb will prove to be a strong and balanced monitor," Council President Sally J. Clark said. "Our officers and our community deserve an expert monitor who will be present, who will listen and who will help Seattle make the gains in effectiveness and accountability I know we all want."

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

First of all, on October 15, I voted to pass an ordinance to limit the fundraising time period for candidates, and to prohibit rollover of funds between campaigns. Councilmember O’Brien drafted and introduced the legislation, which I co-sponsored. The legislation passed 7-2 (with Clark and Rasmussen voting no); the post-vote statement has more details.

Secondly, Councilmember Clark and I issued a statement  in support of exploring public financing of election campaigns in Seattle, and noting that a proposal to place a measure before the voters could be done as early as 2013.

The statement is copied below:

Seattle – Seattle City Council President Sally J. Clark and Councilmember Nick Licata issued the following statement in support of public financing of campaigns in Seattle:

“As we tackle the issue of making our local government more responsive to our citizens and making the opportunity to serve in elective office truly accessible, a number of strategies have been proposed and considered. The burden of fundraising should not be the deciding factor for people considering elective office in Seattle. The surest and most direct way to address this hurdle is through public financing of campaigns.

“Seattle had partial public financing of campaigns in effect from 1979-91. A state-level initiative prohibited such public financing in 1992. Sixteen years later the State legislature revisited this issue and passed a 2008 law allowing publicly financed campaigns at the local level if approved by a public vote.

“We were two of the co-sponsors of Council Resolution 31337 which said, ‘The Council will analyze how city election campaigns are currently financed and explore alternatives.’ We believe that with the economy improving and the cost of campaign escalating, it is time for the Council to consider putting such a proposal before the voters. A public financing task force met in 2009 and 2010 to vet this idea. Much work has already been done and a proposal could be put before voters as early as 2013.”

The Council created the Campaign Public Financing Advisory Committee in the Resolution 31061; here’s a link to the committee’s Report.

Legislation passed by Council

The ordinance passed by the Council limits fundraising for Seattle elected office to a period from January 1 of the year before an election to April 30 the year following the election. Seattle elected offices have terms of four years, so in practice for the first two years of a term, candidates will be prohibited from fundraising; there is currently no time limit. The second portion of the ordinance prohibits rollover of funds from one campaign to another campaign.

Joint statement by City Councilmembers Sally J. Clark, Bruce Harrell, Tim Burgess and Nick Licata with City Attorney Pete Holmes on selection process of the Seattle Police Department Monitor

City Attorney Pete Holmes, City Council President Sally J. Clark, and Councilmembers Bruce Harrell, Nick Licata and Tim Burgess issued the following statement on the selection process of the Seattle Police Department Monitor:

“Earlier today, Mayor McGinn chose to publicly question the qualifications and integrity of one of the candidates to be appointed the monitor of the Seattle Police Department. The Mayor’s statements undermine the candidate selection process and are factually wrong.

“It has been 10 months since the Department of Justice issued its report calling for reform of our Police Department. We have been patient throughout this process, hoping that the necessary reforms could begin quickly. Unfortunately, the Mayor’s statements today reveal a continuation of the obstruction and stall tactics we have seen from the beginning. We can no longer remain silent.

“Merrick Bobb is one of our country’s preeminent police reform experts. His reputation is unblemished. His experience with police practices, accountability and rebuilding public trust and confidence in the police is extensive and highly appropriate for Seattle.

“All five of us interviewed the finalists for the monitor position. All five of us—independently and contrary to the Mayor’s conclusion—ranked Mr. Bobb as our first choice for this very important position. We intend to advance our recommendation favoring Mr. Bobb’s appointment.

“While the opinions of our Chief of Police and his top commanders deserve our attention and consideration, we do not agree that the leadership of the Police Department should have veto authority over this selection. The monitor’s selection is central to the success of the overall effort to improve SPD’s use of force policies and reduce biased policing. Above all, the people of Seattle must be confident that the selection of the monitor is objective, free from inappropriate interference, and focused on the long-term reform of policing in Seattle.

“Unfortunately, the Mayor’s statements today contribute confusion, doubt and mistrust, especially among our rank and file police officers who we believe are fully ready to embrace high-quality and professional improvements of the Police Department.

“We are at a crucial time in this process that began 10 months ago. What is required is strong, decisive leadership focused at advancing the reforms we believe are necessary.”
           

Though there were supporters present, there is still much opposition.  The major concerns I heard on Monday night were:

• Many people believe that new low income housing for families will result in an inevitable increase in nuisance behavior such as public inebriation and urination, aggressive panhandling, drug dealing, shoplifting, etc.
• Many people believe that there is already a much too high concentration of low income housing in Lake City.
• Some people were worried that development now would interfere with an opportunity for another commercial/residential development that could contribute to Lake City’s growth and economic health.
• A few speakers said that low income people wouldn’t be able to support local businesses to help those businesses succeed.  In other words, they would be a dependent population not a contributing one.
• Some people thought that the Fire Station Levy Fund account would suffer, because the city would be use funds from the sale proceeds to support the project, instead of replenishing the Fire Station Levy Fund.
• Nearly everyone included in their testimony that the City should make more investments in infrastructure, particularly the community center.
• Many people said that they believe that the city is not listening to the community’s concerns

I believe that many of the concerns voiced on Monday night can be addressed. However, a strong perspective that I heard was that Lake City residents feel betrayed by the City; facts alone may not alter those kinds of perceptions.

A little bit of background on the proposal is important to understand how we got to where we are today.  On any given night in Seattle, there are more than 6,000 people in need of shelter. Most find their way into an emergency shelter or transitional housing, but there are still over 1,700 people in the Seattle area sleeping outdoors without shelter.  In the Spring of 2011, the Council passed legislation that created a work plan and timeline for analyzing alternatives and recommending actions to provide services in securing housing and to help meet the immediate survival and safety needs of individuals in our community who do not have access to safe shelter.  The City Council’s review was to include possible renovation of Fire Station 39 as a long term location for a new shelter or housing facility.

Then, about this time last year, the community convinced the Council to not support the proposal for a shelter at this location and instead look at possibly selling the property to someone who would develop permanent housing for this site and partner with the City to use the $950,000 earmarked for this site for some sort of a public community space.  And with that, the Seattle City Council changed course and voted for a Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI), requesting the Executive instead develop a proposal for the future redevelopment at the site of the old Fire Station 39 to include long-term housing for low-income or formerly homeless families.  The  Executive was requested by the Council to also involve community stakeholders in the development of that particular kind of proposal.  The Executive has not yet made a final recommendation to the Council and the Council will still have to – after a recommendation has been made – vote to support, reject, or amend that proposal.

So, in short – the Council heard the community a year ago when Lake City residents emailed and met with Councilmembers to say that Fire Station 39 should not be used as a shelter.  How do you know that the Council heard Lake City residents?  Because, Council voted to tell the Mayor to change the shelter proposal.  And the community will have still yet another opportunity to influence the Council, after the Mayor makes a final proposal and before the Council votes on the disposition of the Fire Station.

Back in June, after the City made a preliminary recommendation, there was a briefing on that recommendation and the next steps in my Housing, Human Services, Health, and Culture Committee.  If you are interested in the details of the preliminary recommendations, an assessment of the needs of Lake City residents, or information about the concentration of low income housing in different City neighborhoods, you may want to review the documents at this link, under agenda item #2. In December, the Executive will be making a final recommendation to the City Council.  My committee will hear that recommendation.  If you want to track the Council’s discussion in December about these issue, you may want to sign up to receive my committee agendas here.

I was struck by data presented during the workshop illustrating the significant imbalance   between arts education resources available for Seattle’s north end schools and those available for its south end schools. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the major influencing factor is income status.

Olympic View Elementary students at Seattle City Hall, 2003.

Arts education has been documented to increase student academic performance across the board. The lack of arts education resources for students who most need it has been a concern of mine for some time. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the state legislature considered a bill I proposed that would have established a state-wide arts education funding program.

The idea was to transform the Washington State sports lottery, which was to expire upon paying off Safeco Field bonds in 2011, into an arts education lottery that would fund arts education programs equitably throughout the state, on a grant application basis. In 2007, it was estimated to generate annually beginning this year about $2.5 million for King County and $3 million for the rest of the state. Although the bill gained over 20 sponsors during each of those 3 legislative sessions, it never reached the floor for a vote.

Today, hope in addressing the persistent inequity in arts education access can be found in the work our Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and Seattle Public Schools are undertaking. Their K-12 Arts Learning Collaborativebrings together the Seattle School District, the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and community arts organizations in crafting a comprehensive arts plan intended to increase access to quality arts education for all K-12 students in Seattle.

In the summer of last year, The Wallace Foundation awarded the Collaborative a $1 million planning grant to figure out how to deliver meaningful arts education to all students in the Seattle school district, emphasizing those with the least access to arts.  Presently, the Collaborative is applying for an implementation grant to finish this work.

My fingers are crossed.

In the mean time, check out these reports on the Collaborative’s work to date.

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Councilmembers Clark and Licata statement in support of public financing of campaigns in Seattle

Seattle – Seattle City Council President Sally J. Clark and Councilmember Nick Licata issued the following statement in support of public financing of campaigns in Seattle:

"As we tackle the issue of making our local government more responsive to our citizens and making the opportunity to serve in elective office truly accessible, a number of strategies have been proposed and considered. The burden of fundraising should not be the deciding factor for people considering elective office in Seattle. The surest and most direct way to address this hurdle is through public financing of campaigns.

"Seattle had partial public financing of campaigns in effect from 1979-91. A state-level initiative prohibited such public financing in 1992. Sixteen years later the State legislature revisited this issue and passed a 2008 law allowing publicly financed campaigns at the local level if approved by a public vote.

"We were two of the co-sponsors of Council Resolution 31337 which said, ‘The Council will analyze how city election campaigns are currently financed and explore alternatives.' We believe that with the economy improving and the cost of campaign escalating, it is time for the Council to consider putting such a proposal before the voters. A public financing task force met in 2009 and 2010 to vet this idea. Much work has already been done and a proposal could be put before voters as early as 2013."

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

Council takes steps to strengthen trust and participation in local democracy
New campaign finance laws ban rollovers and implement fundraising window

Seattle – Today the Seattle City Council moved to strengthen Seattle's local democracy and increase civic trust and participation by reforming Seattle's campaign finance laws. Council Bill 117548 (approved with a 7-2 vote) imposes two new rules for candidates running for local office by prohibiting candidates from rolling over surplus campaign funds from one campaign to the next, and by creating a fundraising window for all candidates seeking local office.

"These changes are about demonstrating to the people of Seattle that City elected leaders are focused on representing them, not working for re-election," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien, primary sponsor of the bill. "I hope our actions today help ensure that every person in this city feels like their voice can be heard, no matter how much money they have."

"The public's frustration with the influence of money in politics grows with every election, especially at the federal level. Cities can lead the way toward a healthier and more accountable political system," said Councilmember Tim Burgess, co-sponsor and Chair of the Government Performance and Finance Committee that initially heard the legislation. "This legislation moves strongly in that direction and reinforces Seattle's support for fair and transparent local elections."

"This legislation emphasizes that our city government represents people not dollars; it will encourage more people to get out and vote, because the value of each vote will not be diminished by money driven campaigns," said Councilmember Nick Licata, co-sponsor of the bill.

The fundraising window creates a specific period of time that candidates seeking local office can solicit or accept campaign contributions. The new fundraising window would run from January 1 of the year before an election to April 30 of the year following the election (candidates currently have several months after an election to retire debt and close up their books). The window will limit the actual or perceived influence of campaign contributions on elected officials by reducing the amount of time that elected officials are fundraising and making policy at the same time.

The State of Washington, along with 16 other states, currently prohibits State elected officials from fundraising during the legislative session. Cities around the country such as Houston, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose and Los Angeles also have similar fundraising windows in place for local races.

The second provision prohibits the rollover of surplus funds for future races. The law requires candidates to dispose of all surplus funds at the end of the fundraising window (April 30 of the year following their election) by returning contributions to donors or donating the funds to the City or a non-profit. This provision ensures that donor intent behind contributions is being honored (i.e., "this candidate, this race, these issues") and reduces the perception of corruption by minimizing fundraising in uncompetitive races.

Council Bill 117548 responds to Resolution 31337, passed in November of 2011 during the height of the Occupy Seattle movement. Section 2.6 called on the City to analyze how city election campaigns are currently financed and explore alternatives. The proposal was drafted after reviewing campaign finance data collected by the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission for all candidates in local races over the past 12 years.

The proposal has been endorsed by the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission and numerous organizations, including League of Women Voters, Washington Public Campaigns, One America, Statewide Poverty Action Network, as well as labor, environmental and other member-based organizations.

Seattle has long been a national leader in promoting clean, ethical, transparent local elections. Seattle first established the Board of Ethics and Fair Campaign Practices in 1971 and was the first municipality in the nation to adopt public financing of campaigns back in 1979. In 1991 Seattle established the current Ethics and Elections Commission and, more recently, the City Council chartered the Commission on Public Financing in 2008 to explore viable models for bringing back publicly supported campaigns.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

The creation of the Commission was included as part of the City’s settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reform policing in Seattle.

Applications are being taken to serve on the commission. The deadline to apply is November 1. Information on applying, and selection criteria, can be found here. You can view the meeting on the Seattle Channel website.

The commission will make recommendations to the City on implementation of the agreement, community engagement, accountability, investigatory stops and data collection, and other issues. The commission can make budgetary proposals and recommendations to the Council.

The legislation currently calls for 11 members, including one member from the Seattle Police Officers Guild and one from the Seattle Police Management Association, and nine members representative of Seattle’s diverse populations. The members are appointed by the Mayor, and confirmed by the Council. During the next week or Councilmembers will be continuing discussions about the best number of members for the committee.

The agreement with the DOJ stated, “ongoing community input into the development of reforms, the establishment of police priorities, and mechanisms to promote community confidence in SPD will strengthen SPD and facilitate police/community relationships necessary to promote public safety,” while noting that Police officers participation is an important element of this.

I want this committee to be successful, and meaningful. For that reason I prioritized including language in the legislation that can allow the Community Police Commission to have a role in enforcing the agreement, if the federal judge determines the Commission has standing, and meets federal requirements for such. This would allow the Commission to have a role in enforcement. Ultimately, it would rest on the federal judge’s decision, but including this is vital to maximizing public confidence in the process. I was successful in inserting language in the ordinance.

I also was able to include selection criteria for members to include experience in mental health issues, public health and harm reduction models, and program evaluation and outcomes measurement. In addition, I moved to amend the legislation in committee, to include posting the meeting minutes on the web, for ease of public access.

The Mayor earlier issued an Executive Order creating the Commission in line with the Agreement with the federal government, and began the application process.

Both leading up to and following the passage of the legislation, I received a number of comments expressing both concern and support for the program.  Most  comments  raise questions about how the new program will be implemented.  Although some important aspects, including the cost of registration fees and inspections are still to be worked out, here are DPD’s answers to several of the questions we have heard.  Here is additional information specifically developed for the tenant perspective.

I’d like to say a bit now about next steps.  DPD will be working with stakeholders in developing the framework, inspection standards,  fee structure, and information and outreach elements for the program. Key issues will include how notice of inspections will be provided, what are tenant rights for refusing entry, and what issues or standards will the inspections cover.  This work is scheduled for 2013.  The first registration requirements will not take effect until 2014.  Inspections will not begin until January 2015.  If you’d like to participate in development of these program elements, or at least be notified as they are developed, please feel free to contact Faith Lumsden, Director of the Code Compliance Division at DPD, faith.lumsden@seattle.gov, 206-615-0097.

I have great hopes that this program will improve the conditions of renters living in substandard housing as well as encourage stronger maintenance practices so that fewer properties fall into irreversible disrepair and are less vulnerable to redevelopment so that we can be successful in preserving the existing rental housing stock.

All of the Symposium’s events take place in the Northwest Rooms or the Playhouse/Intiman Theatre at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street in Seattle.

Artists paint to advocate preserving the Pike Place Market, 1975.

If you doubt art can affect social change, I suggest you familiarize yourself with Arts Corps. It is a great example of a Seattle arts organization that works to improve society through its mission of arts education. It cites research that repeatedly demonstrates the importance of arts learning to human development (see my related blog, here). Arts education can foster creative thinking, engage diverse learners and establish and strengthen connections between people and ideas.

Arts Corps takes this a step further by placing professional teaching artists at  residential treatment centers and low income housing developments, in addition to schools. It brings to these young people the equitable arts learning opportunities they otherwise would not receive.

And Arts Corps is improving itself, as well.

Founded and managed by educated white adults, Arts Corps acknowledges that white dominant culture limits the voice and influence people of color might otherwise contribute to decision-making by organizations and institutions that affect their lives. Arts Corps realizes that beyond diversifying their faculty, staff and board, they need to understand their actions and utilize racial justice tools that will allow them to more effectively work with a variety of cultures.

Another Seattle arts organization that works to improve society is Urban Artworks. It employs, trains and mentors groups of at-risk and adjudicated youth ages 14-18 through the creation of public art murals. They also volunteer youth and adults in the creation of public art. Through pre-employment training and subsidized employment, their programs foster self-esteem, self-motivation and self-sufficiency while gaining real-world skills that prepare them for the future. Urban Artworks has served over 5,000 youth since 1995.

There are two other Symposium events that look inviting. Friday’s Grantmaking from a Social Justice Framework: Cultural Equity Funding, on emerging issues of how to develop priorities, guidelines and grantmaking to meet the needs of a changing cultural landscape, takes place 3:30 to 5 PM. Presenters include Reuben Roqueñi (Native Arts & Cultures Foundation), Shirley Sneve (Native American Public Telecommunications) and Jessica Case (The Seattle Foundation). And Saturday’s lunchtime community dialogue will address major challenges and issues that arose during the Symposium’s plenary sessions and workshops. It will be moderated by Steve Sneed, with Seattle Center Productions, and Mayumi Tsutakawa, with the Washington State Arts Commission.

I hope to see you Friday at the Symposium.

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The bus provides free service for low or no-income people to access health and human services in the Downtown area. It runs Monday through Friday for nine hours, every 30 minutes.

The circulator is designed to replace the service formerly provided by the Free Ride Area, which King County Metro discontinued on September 29. Background on this is available at by blog post last April.

In April, I wrote a letter to County Councilmember Larry Phillips, chair of the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee, noting how the elimination of the Ride Free Area would affect those with few resources, and could place an additional burden on human services providers. I encouraged support for a free shuttle service in the Downtown core with stops near important local service areas, including Harborview Medical Center, to allow those with few resources to access services.  I’m glad to see this has been realized, with City negotiations handled by the Mayor and Councilmember Rasmussen.

Information about the circulator can be found at the Solid Ground website, which includes a route map, the location the seven bus stops and what services are available nearby, and contact information if you would like additional information.

The service is funded by the City of Seattle, and contracted through King County Metro. It costs $400,000 per year, and is funded through the end of 2013. Seattle paid $400,000 annually for the Ride Free Area (the actual cost was over $2 million), and is dedicating the $400,000 formerly provided for the Ride Free Area for this service.

Under the old approach, people could be administratively excluded for a violation of minor park rules and then arrested if they return – even if they return and break no rules .  With the exception of immediate public safety threats, now folks must be told what the rules are at the start and that these rules can be forced against them in the future.  If people commit an infraction one day but are using a park appropriately the next, there should be no issue with their presence in the park the next time.  Under this new approach, folks are given a trespass warning and then if they return and continue to violate rules they can be arrested for trespass.  They will not be banned unless they are found guilty of violating the park rules – not just for coming back to the park, as under the old approach.

As background, the Parks Exclusion Ordinance, Ordinance 118607 (see link) was passed in 1997. The Seattle Human Rights Coalition recently wrote to the Mayor to ask that the City stop banning individuals summarily from Seattle parks without providing due process, saying that that: “Exclusions in Seattle parks have been issued disproportionately against people of color.  The share of parks exclusions notices issued to black people (38.4 %) is nearly five times the black share of the Seattle population (8.4 %).  The share of parks exclusion notices issued to Native Americans (8.2%) is over ten times the share of the Seattle population that is Native American (0.8%).”

The year I took office, in 1998, I tried to amend the law with Council Bill 112320.  My amendments would have limited the reasons for summary exclusions without due process to only those violations that pose a public safety threat including felony drug activity, weapons or assault charges.  For more minor violations, the City would still be able to issue tickets.    My legislation in 1998 had the support of  Councilmembers McIver and Steinbrueck, but didn’t pass. I’m glad that the community members I worked with in 1998 have continued to monitor the issue and have found a way to negotiate a better approach while also not compromising on public safety and fair access to our parks for all.

Here’s the language for the new policy:

1.0       Purpose
This Rule augments and supersedes Department Policy & Procedure Number 060-P 7.15 regarding the issuance of Parks Exclusion Notices under SMC 18.12.278.
2.0       Authorization to Issue Trespass Warning
Seattle Park Rangers and any other designated department employee or Seattle Police department employee authorized by the Superintendent may issue a Trespass Warning to anyone within a City Park who violates:
•    Any provision of the Parks Code (Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 18.12);
•    Any Parks Administrative Rule of Conduct;
•    Any other applicable laws under the Seattle Municipal Code or Revised Code of Washington, including but not limited to the following: No Camping; No Alcohol or Drug Possession; No Graffiti or
Vandalism; No Fighting/Assault; No Urinating/Defecating; No entering or remaining in an area that is not open to the public.
3.0       If the conduct that results in a Trespass Warning being issued threatens public safety, then the person may be removed and excluded from the park for the remainder of the day.
4.0       Trespass Warnings apply to all Parks properties.
5.0       Trespass Warnings do not expire.
6.0       If a person who has received a Trespass Warning remains on or returns to any Parks property and violates any of the applicable rules or laws, the person’s permission to be on the property is immediately revoked and the person may be arrested for the crime of Criminal Trespass.
7.0       If a felony crime or weapons violation occurs on Parks property, a one-year Parks Exclusion Notice shall be issued. SMC 18.12.278. For all other violations a Trespass Warning shall be issued.
8.0       The Trespass Warning is a pilot program and will be in effect until further notice.

“A Spring Play” at the Greenlake Field House, 1925, now known as the Bathhouse Theatre.

TPS has since built on that modest program to establish Arts Crush, a month-long event featuring family-friendly performances and happenings centered on creativity and community. They’re even giving away free stuff.

One of their featured events is Cornish College of the Arts’ new annual program called “Our Creative Society.” Cornish is one of the reasons Seattle has its reputation as an arts city. Cornish is recognized around the world as a premiere educator of artists and thinkers who have gone on to influence society. Northwest School artists Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Guy Anderson and William Cumming taught at Cornish. Martha Graham did, too. Merce Cunningham and Chet Huntley were Cornish students.  Composer John Cage worked at Cornish. He invented something called the prepared piano there in 1938. Heart’s Ann Wilson, actor Brendan Fraser and award-winning composer Wendell Yuponce all studied at Cornish.

Nellie Cornish, 1922, founder of Cornish College of the Arts.

This year’s inaugural Our Creative Society event opens on the theme of Beyond Art – Creative Thinking in Contemporary Culture. It kicks off with three events: a Happy Hour, Smoosh and a Day of Ideas.

The Happy Hour Open House takes place this Friday, October 5^th, from 5:30 to 7 pm in their Main Campus Center, 1000 Lenora St., 1st Floor. It’s free and open to the public.

Smoosh, their opening night reception, follows right after, from 7 to 10 pm in their New Visual Arts Complex, 1000 Virginia St. It will include a performance installation by Kate Wallich, live music by Pollens, a rising band comprised of Cornish Music Department alumni, some DJ spinning, a catered food truck and complimentary cocktails. It’s a 21+ event and tickets will set you back $25 ($20 for students and Cornish alumni).

Finally, Cornish’s Day of Ideas happens on Saturday, October 6, from 9 am to 4 pm and is free and open to the public. It also takes place in their Main Campus Center, 1000 Lenora St. Consisting of a full day of moderated discussions revolving around art, education and society, it will feature a keynote conversation with New York Times bestselling essayist and author David Shields (Reality Hunger: A Manifesto) and Brangien Davis (Arts & Culture Editor at Seattle Magazine).

Check out Arts Crush’s schedule here and Our Creative Society’s full line up here.

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Seattle City Council approves rental housing inspection legislation

Seattle – The Seattle City Council voted today (5-0) to approve rental housing inspection legislation, improving living conditions for Seattle's more than approximately 269,000 renters occupying 147,000 rental units. Council Bill 117569 provides a multi-faceted approach to addressing Seattle's sub-standard housing through a registration and inspection program.

"I have great hopes that this program will improve the conditions of renters living in substandard housing.  A similar program in Los Angeles has resulted in a $1.3 billion re-investment in the City's rental housing stock while costing tenants in LA less than $13 year," said Councilmember Nick Licata, Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee Chair.

"This law protects senior citizens and thousands of other residents throughout Seattle by ensuring that their rental homes are safe," added Councilmember Tim Burgess. "We listened carefully to both the tenant groups and the apartment owners, and the resulting law proves that collaboration can accomplish great things for our city."

"Tenants deserve safe and livable housing and landlords need clear and reasonable inspection regulations," said Council President Sally J. Clark. "This legislation makes both of those things happen and has a realistic roll out plan."

"This legislation is the result of years worth of conversation and making sure we remained focused on protecting the health of renters," added Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. "This was a successful collaboration of many stakeholders, all concerned about quality of life."

"This legislation reinforces the simple notion that tenants are entitled to basic standards of health and safety," said Councilmember Jean Godden.

In June 2010, the Seattle City Council adopted Ordinance 123311, creating a rental housing registration and inspection program. At the same time, the Council also adopted Resolution 31221, requesting that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) convene a stakeholder group and report back with recommendations for implementing the rental housing registration and inspection  program.

The Stakeholder Group met 14 times between December, 2010 and January, 2012, resulting in a series of recommendations on the scope of a rental housing program.  The current legislation passed out of the City Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee after eight committee meetings on September 26, 2012 with a vote 4-0.

For a summary of elements of the program, clilck here.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

In June 2010, the Council passed  Ordinance 123311, creating a rental housing registration and inspection program. At the same time, the Council also adopted Resolution 31221, requesting that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) convene a stakeholder group and report back with recommendations for implementing the rental housing registration and inspection  program.  The Stakeholder Group met 14 times between December, 2010 and January, 2012, resulting in a series of recommendations on the scope of a rental housing program.  The current legislation passed out of the City Council’s Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee on September 26, 2012 with a vote 4-0 after eight committee meetings in 2012 alone.

In their last assessment of housing quality in Seattle, a survey showed that about 10 percent of rental units in Seattle have severe to moderate problems.  The Department of Planning and Development gets about 500 complaints a year about rental housing conditions.  If there are about 147,000 rental units and 10%, or 14,700 have problems, then that means only about 3.5% of the folks living in the worst housing are using DPD’s complaint-based code enforcement system.  For this reason, I’m pleased that the Council was able to agree to knit together an approach of making safe the housing that we know now is not safe and inspecting – over the next 10 years – the rest of the city’s rental housing. In this way we will significantly improve the condition of unsafe rental housing.

For a summary of elements of the program, visit http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Compliance/RentalHousing/Overview/default.asp.  For more resources for tenants see the Tenants Union.

Seattle City Council to vote on rental housing inspection legislation

Seattle – On Monday, October 1, the Seattle City Council will cast the final vote on Council Bill 117569, rental housing registration and inspection legislation, a program that has been discussed since early 2010.

WHAT:
Final vote on rental housing inspection legislation

WHEN:
Monday, October 1, 2 p.m.

WHERE:
Seattle City Hall, Council Chambers, Second Floor
600 Fourth Ave, Seattle 98104

WHO:
Members of the Seattle City Council

For a summary of elements of the program, visit http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Compliance/RentalHousing/Overview/default.asp.

Councilmember Licata said about Monday’s vote, “I’m glad that the Council has agreed to knit together an approach of making safe the housing that we know now is not safe and inspecting – over the next 10 years – the rest of the city’s rental housing. In this we can significantly improve the condition of unsafe rental housing.”

Legislation background

In June 2010, the Seattle City Council adopted Ordinance 123311, creating a rental housing registration and inspection program. At the same time, the Council also adopted Resolution 31221, requesting that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) convene a stakeholder group and report back with recommendations for implementing the rental housing registration and inspection  program.

The Stakeholder Group met 14 times between December, 2010 and January, 2012, resulting in a series of recommendations on the scope of a rental housing program.  The current legislation passed out of the City Council’s Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee after eight committee meetings on September 26, 2012 with a vote 4-0.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

Magnuson Park, circa 1999

The transfer came with a hitch. As a result of deactivation in 1970, the Station’s buildings were neglected and fell into disrepair. The City has so far invested about $42 million and completed 40 capital improvement projects at Magnuson; third-parties who lease space there have invested $33 million; and Solid Ground and the University of Washington, which own additional land in the park, have invested more than $54 million to transform seriously unsafe buildings into safe, active public recreational facilities.

However, many buildings remain in dire need of repair today.

Two such buildings that for years I and Sand Point Arts & Cultural Exchange (S.P.A.C.E.) have been advocating to restore for arts and cultural uses are buildings 18 and 30.

Building 30 hosted hundreds of events each year until being declared unsafe for full occupancy, resulting in only a handful of events being allowed annually and negatively impacting past users such as Friends of the Library, Rat City Rollergirls, Seattle Tilth and Cascade Bicycle Club.

Building 18 has long been identified by S.P.A.C.E. an ideal location and size for artist work studios. Recently, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has pledged to create 25 new artist studios in Building 30, which will come online next year. It seems more likely now that the Cascade Bicycle Club will lease the building once it’s fully rehabilitated in the next few years.

After two years of pressing the director of DPR to include Building 30’s rehabilitation in the Mayor’s budget, DPR has decided to advance rehabilitation from 2015 to next year. I’m also pleased to see DPR include $2m in its 2013 proposed budget for stabilizing Building 18 rather than demolishing it.

What makes Magnuson so attractive to me is its mixed use appeal. It has pretty much every recreational activity one could wish for in one location. Although arts and cultural activities have waned in comparison – due to more dilapidated buildings being closed or due to the eviction of artists from leased buildings – the restoration of Building 30 next year and the possible renovation of Building 18 in the near future represent two long-overdue arts & cultural space milestones for Magnuson Park that will be reached.

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The City Council voted 6-2 yesterday (Conlin and Licata voting no; Rasmussen absent) in favor of a revised Memorandum of Understanding for a basketball and hockey arena in SODO.  Below are the remarks I made explaining my vote.

THANK YOU TO COUNCILMEMBERS

I’d like to begin by thanking the leadership of Councilmember Burgess in markedly improving the proposal that was originally presented to us, and thank Council President Clark and Councilmember O’Brien for their involvement in negotiations.

SIGNIFICANT CONCESSIONS

The Council received a number of significant concessions from investor Chris Hansen, three of the most important being:

1. A full SEPA review will be completed before any Transaction Documents are signed. That means the City will take into consideration alternative sites, traffic congestion, and freight mobility.

2. A Personal Financial Guarantee in case of the corporation not meeting its financial obligations on time.

3. Financially contributing to the creation of a SODO Transportation Infrastructure Fund, should tax revenues not generate adequate funds.

In addition, it is important to note that separate from the city’s negotiations, the labor unions that will be serving at the arena are very pleased with the 30 year agreement they have reached with Hansen.

HOW DOES IT MEASURE UP TO OTHER DEALS?

So how does this proposal measure up to other deals?

Academic studies reveal that of the 17 new or updated arenas built since 1999, 7 have received a 100% public subsidy, while five received 30% or less.  With two professional sport teams secured, we are seeing a proposal at about 41% public funding, which is better than most, although not the top one. If it’s just a basketball franchise the public percentage drops to 24%, but the risk of financial failure also increases.

PUBLIC VOTE

I talked to one of other co-founders of Citizens for More Important Things, who believes this is a decent proposal. Another one believes if it is so good; put it to a public vote. That suggestion was raised by King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, and was rejected by the King County Council, and arena supporters, although the generally pro-business Seattle Times did support a public vote.

However, a public vote would not be a certain victory for either side. Usually the pro side significantly outspends the naysayers, so a vote would not assure public funding.  Some proposals have passed based on a 100% of public funding, such as in Oklahoma City.

SUBSIDIZING OTHER CULTURAL FACILITIES

Supporters of this proposal say the city has subsidized the construction of other cultural venues, why not this one? They have a point.

The top three cultural facilities, the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), Benaroya Hall and McCaw Hall, have a total annual attendance that is about 90% of what the new Arena’s attendance is projected to be with both basketball and hockey. However, if the new arena has only basketball these 3 institutions’ attendance would be 170% greater than the new arena’s. The total City financial assistance for these three came to $84 million, with SAM receiving no cash support. And some of this assistance is being repaid.

The new arena, on the other hand, will be getting anywhere from 40% to a 140% more city financial assistance, depending on whether one or two professional teams locate there. The arena’s tax revenue is expected to pay it off. And if not, then the investors promise to make up the difference. The complexity of this MOU, and the transaction agreements to follow, limit the city’s financial risk if the unthinkable happens—and the Titanic sinks.

PRIVATE INVESTMENT MODEL

However, I believe the most significant difference between these other cultural facilities and any professional sports facility, is that the financial model for professional sport franchises make cities compete with each other for hosting one, hiking up the value of professional teams as cities have rushed to pick up large portions of their capital and operating costs. Unfortunately, teams have become commodities to be bought and sold, with their fans treated as shabbily as panhandlers.  It’s a system that is unthinkable for symphonies, operas, ballets or any other major cultural provider in an urban setting. Do they threaten to leave for a new city that offers them better accommodations? They are local institutions that have real roots in the community.

The real difference between these other cultural institutions and the new arena is their corporate status – non-profit vs. for-profit. The administration and operation of those other institutions is open to public scrutiny, with the city having representation on their boards. The new arena will be controlled by a private corporation whose existence aside from providing sports entertainment is predicated on making a profit for their owners, and as we have seen  selling the team when their profits sink.

The problem is that privately owned or controlled professional sport facilities need huge public subsidies without providing clearly measurable economic benefits. This of course ignores the enjoyment that many local citizens derive from having a home team.

WHAT SOME CITIZENS SEE

What some citizens see is that those who have a lot of money are using public resources to make even more money. They see someone purchase private land and in a couple of years get the city to buy it from him for double the price he purchased it for.  It strikes them as wrong.

When they see the city abandoning a major public facility, e.g. the Key Arena, without a plan on how to recoup its financial contribution to the Seattle Center, they see that as a mistake. Keep in mind that the Key Arena, despite the existence of the Qwest Exhibition Hall that some said would put it out of business, made $300,000 last year and provides an additional $1 million in parking revenue generated by the 110 events it hosts every year. It is difficult to see the current proposal as anything other than a blow to the welfare of the Seattle Center and a death knell to the Key Arena, which we have plowed $100 million in tax dollars into. I predict there will be a public vote for a revitalized Seattle Center.

They see siting the new arena adjacent to our largest industrial zone and our maritime industry, as risking our city’s overall economic growth. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been invested in keeping Seattle one of the leading ports on the West Coast. Some have argued that the land in SODO might be better used for higher profit enterprises, like the arena. Nevertheless, I believe that is a short-term strategy, based on a year-end book evaluation by investors, not by city planners who must look out at least a decade or two down the road. A perceived quick economic boost is not the same as long-term strategy for sustaining living wage jobs in manufacturing and the maritime industry.

WHAT THIS VOTE IS ABOUT

This vote is not about liking or not liking sports; it should be about what is best for the public welfare in the long term. Many good people care about the future of this city and believe that this city is big enough to host another professional sports team.

They hear from those who truly miss the Sonics and the joy that they brought to their lives. Seattle should be a place that people can enjoy in many different ways. I hear them as well, and I am satisfied that the majority of the Council has heard them.

But I also hear those citizens who want the City to concentrate its resources on protecting what we currently have in place, the Key Arena and the Seattle Center, the maritime and manufacturing industries. They want public funds used for closing the gap that has grown between the 1% and the rest of us, not for subsidizing private companies even if they provide a great cultural experience. Instead, the marketplace should determine, by the number and wealth of their supporters, a company’s financial success.

In summary, I believe this proposal is a good one; it meets a high bar for public accountability. It is a rather solid tree in a forest of not such sturdy timber. However, I concur with those who focus on the unhealthy state of the forest and not on any particular tree. Their voice says enough of this; please address our other needs first and foremost. I hear them, and I will be casting a no vote.

The legislation, originally sent to the Council by Mayor McGinn, would place a limit of $183 per hour for the first hour of an impound tow off private property, and $130 for any additional time. It also limits storage rates to $15.50 for up to 12 hours.

This legislation protects consumers by setting a fair maximum rate for impounds off private property. It is reasonable to charge for illegal parking on private property, however, people shouldn’t have to pay exorbitant fees to recover their vehicle. The Mayor and Council collaborated in crafting and passing this legislation.

Currently, there are no legal limits on what towing companies can charge for tows off private property. Impounds off City streets are negotiated with the Seattle Police Department.

Implementation is planned for January, 2013. A Full Council vote is anticipated for Monday, September 24.

I first wrote about this issue late last year, and gave an update in May.

Chow, battling brain cancer, is a long time advocate for youth and the Seattle community, having served as a Seattle City Councilmember (1990 – 1997) and a School Board member.  She has also been a volunteer for the Seattle Chinese Community Club Girl’s Drill team and youth basketball leagues.

Photos from this event can be seen in this Flicker Gallery.

Video of the September 17 special recognition event, Seattle Channel

Video tribute to Cheryl Chow, Seattle Channel

tion (MFTE) Program

Last year, I requested an Audit on MFTE Rental Program activity.  My primary objective for requesting the audit was to determine whether the rental portion of the MFTE program, when used by private developers, was successful in implementing the program’s goals.  Today the Audit was released including 19 recommendations to improve the program.  Recommendations range from creating new performance measures for program goals to improving program compliance, administration and oversight.

In 1998 the City Council created the MFTE Program to incentivize development and rehabilitation of rental properties and home ownership projects.  The MFTE program grants to the property owner a property tax exemption on the part of the property that is used for housing.  The taxes aren’t lost, instead that exemption is then redistributed to other residential property tax payers in Washington State.  In exchange, the owners are required to maintain the affordability of some of the housing for the length of the period of the tax exemption.   Since 1998, I have been skeptical of using property tax dollars to provide what is essentially market rate housing, believing that, given limited funding, providing housing for those least able to afford housing should be our highest priority.  The 1998 – 2002 program resulted in 6 projects receiving a $5,240,395 tax exemption over a 10 year period.  (*76 of 298 total units are required to be “affordable.”)

Over the years, the program requirements have changed.  The goals and objectives have changed as well.  In 2004, changes expanded the program to 8 new areas, bringing the total to 17 areas.  The 2004 changes also required lower rents than were required in the original 1998 program.  Under the 2004 program, 20% of the units were required to be affordable to people making 65% of median income OR 30% of the units be available to households making 70% median income in order for developers to get the subsidy.  The 2004-2008 program resulted in 9 projects receiving a $14,300,831 exemption over a 10 year period.  (*242 of 1036 total units are required to be “affordable.”)

In 2008, the Council decided to allow a total of 39 neighborhoods to be included in the rental MFTE program and allowed higher rents again (80-90% of median income, depending on unit size), and changed the length of both the exemption and the required affordability from 10 to 12 years.  The 2008-2010 program resulted in 37 projects receiving a $113,325,447 tax exemption over a 12 year period.  (*1171 of 5780 total units are required to be “affordable.”)

Finally, in February 2011 there were additional changes to the program including: a. lowering the affordability requirements that had been increased in 2008, b. increasing the frequency of and expanding the requirements of reporting, and c. eliminating the requirement that each application come to the Council for review (since the Council doesn’t approve the applications, the Director of the Office of Housing does).  Further, the program was reauthorized until 2015.  As of January this year, the 2011 program has resulted in 20 projects receiving a $37,317,677 over a 12 year period (403 of 1813 total units are required to be “affordable”).

An important reference to understand the issue of affordability is what rent is affordable (see this chart for affordable rent rates) to those making 70%, 80%, and 90% median income.  The Housing Needs Assessment of the 2008-2012 Consolidated Plan tells us a lot about where the real need for affordable housing lies.  More than half of the City’s renters have incomes that are less than 80% of median income.  About 1 in 5 renters spend more than half of their income on rent and more than half of this group have incomes less than 30% median income.  On the other hand, of the renter households paying more than half of their income of rent, only 6% are making more than 80% median income housing.

* The total number of actual affordable units exceeds the number required to be affordable by the MFTE program because some projects either have a deed restriction or another source of public funding requiring additional affordability.

Council Committee advances towing cap legislation

SEATTLE – The City Council’s Government Performance and Finance Committee today voted 3-0 to cap fees for impound tows off private property.

The legislation, sponsored by Councilmember Licata, and originally sent to the Council by Mayor McGinn, would place a limit of $183 per hour for the first hour of an impound tow off private property, and $130 for any additional time. It also limits storage rates to $15.50 for up to 12 hours.

Councilmember Licata said, “This legislation protects consumers by setting a fair maximum rate for impounds off private property. It is reasonable to charge for illegal parking on private property, however, people shouldn’t have to pay exorbitant fees to recover their vehicle. The Mayor and Council collaborated in crafting and passing this legislation.”

“I want to thank Councilmember Nick Licata and the entire City Council for working to protect Seattle residents and visitors from predatory business practices,” said Mayor McGinn. “We look forward to the implementation and enforcement of these new rules in January 2013.”

“Setting this cap represents basic consumer protection,” said Councilmember Clark. “We should all be so lucky as to never be towed, but, if we do get towed, it should be a fair rate that represents fair compensation for the tow truck operator and not punitive or predatory.”

Currently, there are no legal limits on what towing companies can charge for tows off private property. Impounds off City streets are negotiated with the Seattle Police Department.

Implementation is planned for January, 2013. A Full Council vote is anticipated for Monday, September 24.

State Representative Pollet, who sponsored legislation passed by the state House of Representatives to set maximum rates, said “This is a major step forward for protecting Seattle residents. It’s encouraging that the towing industry recognizes that there are some companies whose charges were abusive, and I look forward to working with the industry and Seattle to expand this protection statewide.”

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

Fast forward to this year, September 21st through October 21st, when Jon Ramer will present The Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest.

Big Help Day event, October 21, 2000

In response to reports that many residents don’t feel connected in their communities or engaged with their neighbors, the Compassion Games are intended to help re-connect people with one another and their communities. Check out the related briefing Jon and others provided Councilmembers on September 10th.

The games evolved from discussions on how Seattle should respond to Louisville, Kentucky, which claims to be the most compassionate city in the nation. They’ve challenged Seattle to match them. Although over 80 cities are members of the Compassionate Action Network International, which is sponsoring the Seattle event, the Compassion Games are a Seattle invention that, if successful, can serve as a model for other cities.

The games include a scavenger hunt, a series of planned action projects, random acts of compassion and storytelling.

I encourage you to spread the word and play the games.

‘Compassion is the radicalism of our time,’ said the Dali Lama.

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Aside from my philosophical belief that government should generally avoid the use of public resources to augment private investments, my practical concerns with this proposal, as with other similar proposals in the past, has been to minimize the risk of a financial loss to Seattle’s budget, which could affect our ability to provide other services to our citizens.

THIS CAN HAPPEN IN 3 WAYS

First, if the public debt incurred to finance this project is not covered by the Arena’s revenue stream; this could be triggered either by bankruptcy or the team moving.

Second, if the general business climate is negatively impacted, and thus less revenue to the city as a whole. This would be most evident if the Port, manufacturing and freight mobility are constrained in doing business and providing jobs.

Third, if the city is burdened with additional costs for maintaining the Seattle Center due to the elimination of operation of Key Arena as a profitable venue.

Let me go further in describing how each has been addressed in the MOU.

THE FIRST WAY – REVENUE FALTERS

With regards to the possibility of bankruptcy, the personal financial guarantee of Chris Hansen is groundbreaking and perhaps unique. In checking with Neil DeMause of the Field of Schemes website, and economist Roger Noll of Stanford University, both of whom are experts in stadium funding, neither have heard of any owner providing such a guarantee.

We need to make sure that financial guarantees cover both the basketball and hockey teams. In the last 40 years no NBA team has gone bankrupt; however, over half of all professional sport team bankruptcies have involved hockey teams. I want to make sure we are covered for that possibility as well and it appears that the final version of the MOU took that possibility into account by rolling it into the obligation of the Parent Company that will have responsibility over the entire operation.

We have to prepare for all events. We cannot count on the past as fixed guide to the future. There is always a first time; for instance, our own Seattle Pilots in 1970 were the first major league team to file for bankruptcy.

With regards to the team moving, I believe we have strong guarantees in place with a requirement for a 30-year non-relocation agreement, which past lease agreements with the Sonics did not include. The duration of the agreement coincides with the length of bond payments; a 5-year discrepancy between the duration of bond payments and the lease for the Sonics at Key Arena was problematic. The Mariners have a similar requirement, though it is not strictly non-relocation; they are required to play games at Safeco Field. The arena MOU includes this requirement as well.

THE SECOND WAY – OTHER BUSINESSES ARE HURT

This issue comes down to location. In essence, will our manufacturing, maritime and warehouse businesses be restrained from growing and providing jobs for our citizens and income to our public treasury? The creation of the SODO Transportation Fund is an innovative and hopefully an effective tool in addressing this concern. It will allow—and to be most effective will need—other governments to contribute, including  state and regional funds, King County, and hopefully the Port of Seattle—although the Port notes it doesn’t have uncommitted transportation funds, given its planned $300 million contribution for the viaduct replacement.

The $40 million Transportation Fund must be used as an effective tool in sustaining SODO as a manufacturing and maritime zone, if Seattle is to remain a profitable and vibrant port for world trade. Currently the Port of Seattle is in negotiations with the Korean shipping company Hanjin, which accounts for 1/3 of the Port’s maritime operations. From my reading of the MOU, even with the Transportation Fund, there is still a need for strong assurances that the new arena will not hinder the Port’s ability to do business, and that our truck routes through SODO will not become more congested. I will be talking to those representing working and operating manufacturing businesses in SODO to seek out what options could be pursued.

And we should note that we must also consider the impact to the Mariners operations. The public has invested over $300 million in their facility; we do not want our investment endangered.

THE THIRD WAY – KEY ARENA BECOMES A BURDEN TO THE CITY

I struggle with how we can justify making public investments in one private facility while appearing to be prepared to abandon another public one. No one has come up with a proposal that will save the Key Arena as a facility for either sports or entertainment. And while including it in the SEPA process is admirable, is there anyone that believes it will be chosen as the best location for a new arena? And if it was, who would renovate or build a new one there? Chris Hansen, who is the only player in town, will not do so. Even the MOU recognizes this when it opens the door for the City and County to pursue Hansen’s project if there are no other bidders for building an arena elsewhere.

This is the city’s most immediate problem. By steering five million of the seven million in the Key Arena fund away from the Key Arena to the new arena, to accommodate the women’s professional basketball team, the Storm, we have essentially sentenced Key Arena to be demolished. The city, using public funding, must decide what will replace it. Something must be in that location that can provide more pedestrian activity in the Seattle Center than what has been provided in the past by the Key Arena, and something that can support itself financially and hopefully contribute to the Seattle Center’s financial bottom line.

Of the three ways that Seattle has a negative financial exposure, this one appears to be the one least addressed in the MOU. It is difficult to see how the Seattle Center will gain from this new basketball arena; it is much easier to see how it will suffer. And, that could negatively impact our general budget. Seattle Center’s welfare must be taken into account in a manner that goes beyond this MOU.

SUMMARY

Aside from my concern with how the new arena may negatively impact our general fund, I believe that the public deserved more time to assess its strengths and weaknesses. And I too wished to dig deeper into this document that was only completed 48 hours before the Committee vote. For that reason, I abstained on the vote and had asked our Council President Sally Clark to delay the final council vote until Monday Sept. 24^th, which she did with the concurrence of the Committee Chair Tim Burgess.

The SEPA appeal period ends Monday, October 1.   Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on these proposed regulations when the Council discusses this ordinance this December, in my Housing, Human Services, Health, and Culture Committee.  Councilmember Sally Clark and I will be visiting Neighborhood Council meetings through December to gather feedback on the proposal.  Additional information on these meetings will be available as they are scheduled.

The  purpose of this proposed ordinance is to limit the off-site impact of larger-scale cannabis-related activity in zones where they may have increased impacts on neighborhood character or security, specifically those zones with a predominately residential or historic character:

• Single family and multifamily residential zones
• Neighborhood Commercial 1 zones
• Pioneer Square Mixed, International District Mixed and Residential, Pike Place Mixed, Harborfront neighborhoods

In these zones, the growing, processing, or dispensing of cannabis would be limited to:

• 45 cannabis plants;
• 72 ounces of useable cannabis; and
• An amount of cannabis product that could reasonably be produced with 72 ounces of useable cannabis.

We want to create standards now so that we don’t repeat what is happening in Los Angeles, where law enforcement raids shut down operations of good and bad businesses alike and eventually City Council banned dispensaries altogether because there were few standards in LA to hold operators accountable.  For this reason, I hope access point operators and neighborhood residents will agree that they each can benefit from the consistency and accountability that these regulations will provide.

More information can be found in the Department of Planning and Development’s Land Use Information Bulletin.

On September 4, the City Council approved four pieces of legislation giving the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) the green light to move ahead with its 30 acre, $300 million redevelopment of Yesler Terrace.  Of the $30 million in City funds that SHA will request, approximately $11 million are committed with this agreement.

BACKGROUND

SHA has been working with the City and the Yesler Terrace Citizen’s Review Committee since 2006.  The establishment of the Review Committee was the result of a 2002 settlement secured by the Seattle Displacement Coalition in their fight against the redevelopment of Rainier Vista.  The City Council review of Yesler Terrace began this year in February and the Council’s Special Committee on Yesler Terrace Council began meeting on May 21, 2012 and, after 12 meetings and two public hearings, finished its deliberations on August 16th.  I would have preferred more time to address several issues that I believe would have benefited from additional discussion.  I proposed a one week delay on the passage of the Cooperative Agreement, in particular to address the request of the Little Saigon community that we add language committing SHA to work with them. Councilmembers declined out of concern that additional delay could lessen the likelihood of receiving up to $20 million in Federal funds for the project.

The Displacement Coalition sent the Council a letter, signed by nearly 30 individuals and organizations, notifying the Council of their disappointment in the direction of the redevelopment.  I understand their sentiment; in some areas, I share it.  But I believe that one Yesler Terrace resident leader said it best when she testified that the plan approved by the Council is the least bad option when we consider that the 70 year old units do need repair and there is no federal funding available for a renovation option.

Yesler Terrace is one of the most diverse as well as the most economically challenged communities in Seattle. The average, Yesler Terrace household earns about $14,000 a year. It is the oldest publicly subsidized housing in Seattle.  Its 561 housing units, according to SHA, have water, sewer and other key systems that are failing.  The Council’s role in supporting a redevelopment like this should be to preserve the existing community as much as possible.  Of course some families may decide not to return to Yesler Terrace but if we do not have as a goal sustaining a community, then all we are doing is building buildings.

TWO POLICIES TO PURSUE

The primary two community preservation policies that still need to be strengthened are:

1.  More Family Units

The difficulty producing larger family-sized units is not unique to SHA.   Recently I spoke with a group of immigrant youth, not living in SHA housing, who told me that they were members of 6 person families living in 2 bedroom homes.  Still, there should be more guarantees that Yesler Terrace will remain a child-friendly environment.  Although the legislation passed by the Council requires the redevelopment to provide more affordable units for low and moderate families with children than exist now, I still want a commitment from SHA that they will limit the time away for today’s Yesler Terrace families to not more than a single school year, particulaly if the children will have to change schools.  We did receive a commitment that of the 281 replacement housing units that will be available at all times to returning Yesler Terrace residents during the redevelopment project, 94 of them will be 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units.  Hopefully this will increase the number of families that will be able to return sooner.

2.  Provide Staffing for Assisting the Low Income Community

Though I am pleased that SHA has dedicated staff to work with the resident community, I wish they had included staff focused on advocating specifically for the unique needs of a low-income tenant community in what is planned to be a dense mixed-use neighborhood including office buildings and retail spaces, with a population expected to be 5,000 families, over half of whom will be living in more costly market-rate housing.

AMENDMENTS TO THE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

I am, however, glad that I succeeded in having the Council adopt a number of amendments to SHA’s Cooperative Agreement with the City (I sponsored 12 of the 16 amendments.) So, what new commitments did we get?

• Many asked that we reevaluate the plan’s intention to sell 40% of the public land, as necessary to fund the project.  The legislation requires SHA to explore the benefits as well as the negative impacts of leasing rather than sale and requires SHA to provide a report to the Council prior to the sale of any property.  This report will start the conversation about sale of land, not end it. I personally prefer the land be kept in the public domain, even if it is leased out for a many years to come. I hope that this report will show how that can be accomplished without hindering SHA’s ability to provide a quality redevelopment of YT.

• SHA must use all proceeds from the sale, lease, or other disposition of property in the Yesler Terrace Redevelopment Area only for Yesler Terrace redevelopment activities. It came to my attention that the draft Cooperative Agreement made no mention of how the proceeds from the sale or lease of land, had to be applied to the Yesler Terrace project.  Consequently, I added language saying that if there are excess revenues, SHA is required to submit a proposal to the City Council for approval before expending them.  In the legislation, if capital and operating funding is available after SHA and development partners have completed all the Replacement Housing, SHA shall produce up to 100 units of extremely low income housing with a minimum term of affordability of 50 years.

• The Cooperative Agreement now increases the number of trees to be planted by 10% and requires maintenance of the trees that are planted.  Urban planners agree that landscaping with trees demonstrably contributes to more cohesive social communities. It was unfortunate that more mature trees could have been retained but extensive road work required their removal. With this new commitment, we should see a greater canopy in this neighborhood in the future.

• The legislation requires that the City and SHA work with the Friends of Little Saigon and other community members to explore the feasibility of developing a mixed-use project in Little Saigon that may include low-income housing, affordable commercial space, and a Vietnamese cultural center.

• The legislation requires new limits on screening policies and an appeal process for Yesler Terrace residents seeking to return after redevelopment.  Returning residents will not be denied their right to return unless they are ineligible for federally subsidized housing.

• I would have preferred legislation limiting the use of levy funds for the redevelopment of Terrace to the already $7.2 million in levy funds already committed. Instead, the legislation requires that if SHA requests future Housing Levy dollars for Yesler Terrace, they must compete for those funds through the regular, competitive Housing Levy process.

• Each year of the redevelopment SHA will provide an annual report to the Council that will include the status of all housing production by affordability and bedroom count as well as the number of public units still on site, taken out of service, and brought back into service through replacement housing production.  The report will also include an update on properties leased or sold, including purchase price.

• SHA must work with community organizations that assist women- and minority-owned businesses and economically disadvantaged individuals to obtain employment through Section 3 hiring, apprenticeship programs and equal opportunity programs.

GUARANTEEING THE RIGHT TO RETURN

Some feared that there would not be a guarantee of 100% replacement of the very low-income units on or offsite.  The legislation not only requires that all 561 current units will be replaced within the immediate neighborhood but it also controls the location and timing of replacement.  Of the 561 units being replaced, only 118 of those units are planned on property that is adjacent to Yesler Terrace, property that was actually once included within the Yesler Terrace boundaries.  Some critics were concerned that residents would not be granted a right to return to Yesler Terrace; however every Yesler Terrace resident has been given a certificate of return.  It’s true that it may take time for residents to be able to exercise that right because the construction of all 561 replacement units will happen over many years, but the legislation has granted residents that right should they choose to use it.  The focus has rightly been on the replacement of very low income units, but the plan is to build another 290 units of housing for low income residents earning up to 60% AMI and 950 units of 80% AMI housing.

SUMMARY

The scope and size of this project is unprecedented among other Federal Choice Neighborhood projects that the Federal government is currently funding.  Some have used the word “scary” to describe the project.  I don’t believe that I could have just voted “no” and let fear hold me back from working with other Councilmembers in seeking commitments from SHA to assure that this legislation promotes the principles of a culturally and economically diverse community while continuing to prioritize the provision of housing and services for those most in need. It is the Council’s duty to watchdog this legislation as it is implemented and to work with SHA and the community to assure that every requirement that is in this legislation is met.  In moving forward we cannot be slack in our diligence.

City leaders propose new cannabis regulations

Seattle – Today an intergovernmental team consisting of City staff and representatives from the Mayor's office, City Councilmembers and the City Attorney set in motion the process to begin deliberations on proposed legislation to establish zoning regulations for growing, processing, and dispensing of cannabis in Seattle. The intent is to help protect city businesses and neighborhoods. 

"Medical marijuana providers operate in a grey area between city, state and federal law," said Mayor McGinn. "This proposal is an attempt to better define appropriate operations for dispensaries. We look forward to hearing from the public on this approach."

"I support safe and responsibly run access points for medical cannabis in Seattle; it's important that these access points be subject to zoning laws and other city regulations just like any other business or land use," said City Attorney Pete Holmes.

The purpose of this proposed ordinance is to limit the off-site impact of larger-scale cannabis-related activity in zones where they may have increased impacts on neighborhood character or security, specifically those zones with a predominately residential or historic character: 

• Single family and multifamily residential zones
• Neighborhood Commercial 1 zones
• Pioneer Square Mixed, International District Mixed and Residential, Pike Place Mixed, Harborfront neighborhoods

In these zones, the growing, processing, or dispensing of cannabis would be limited to:

• 45 cannabis plants;
• 72 ounces of useable cannabis; and
• An amount of cannabis product that could reasonably be produced with 72 ounces of useable cannabis.

"My goal is for zoning regulations that minimize possible neighborhood impacts while providing reasonable access for patients," added Council President Sally J. Clark.

This proposed ordinance would create additional limitations on growing, processing, and dispensing of cannabis to existing State or federal laws and is an exercise of the City's authority to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

More information can be found in the Department of Planning and Development's Land Use Information Bulletin.

The SEPA appeal period ends Monday, October 1. Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on these proposed regulations when the Council discusses this ordinance this December, in Councilmember Licata's Housing, Human Services, Health, and Culture Committee. 

"We want to create standards now so that we don't repeat what is happening in Los Angeles, where law enforcement raids shut down operations of good and bad businesses alike and eventually City Council banned dispensaries altogether because there were few standards in LA to hold operators accountable," said Councilmember Nick Licata. "For this reason, I hope access point operators and neighborhood residents will agree that they each can benefit from the consistency and accountability that these regulations will provide."

City Councilmembers Nick Licata and Sally Clark will be visiting Neighborhood Council meetings through December to gather feedback on the proposal.  Additional information on these meetings will be available as they are scheduled.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

The legislation would place a cap on what towing companies can charge for impounds from private property. Currently, there is no limit on what towing companies can charge for impound tows from private property and accompanying vehicle storage and after-hours release fees. I’ve been working with the Mayor and Council colleagues to put limits in place. Rates for tows from city streets are set by contract with the Seattle Police Department.

We viewed a presentation summarizing the legislation; you can view the discussion here.  I’m looking to have a vote later this month, and begin protecting consumers, and ensuring fairness.

EVENT DATE:

Sept. 6, 2012, 2 p.m.

City Council committee to begin discussing proposed towing industry regulations

Legislation to place a cap the fees towing companies can charge for impounds from private property will be presented before the Government Performance and Finance Committee tomorrow:  

WHAT:           Council discussion on towing fee legislation

WHEN:          Thursday, Sept. 6, 2 p.m.

WHERE:        Council Chambers, Seattle City Hall
                        600 Fourth Ave, second floor

Currently there are no limits on what towing companies can charge for private property impounds.

The legislation, Council Bill 117568, would also place a cap on charges for vehicle storage.

The bill will be presented at the September 6 meeting. View the agenda here. The Committee will not vote in tomorrow’s meeting, but will begin discussions on this topic.
 

Seattle City Council approves Yesler Terrace redevelopment legislation
Comprehensive legislation lays the groundwork to improve neighborhood for low-income residents

SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council voted unanimously today to approve legislation allowing the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to redevelop the 22-acre Yesler Terrace public housing neighborhood.

The legislative package requires SHA to replace 561 existing units of very low-income housing for current residents, build more than 1,200 new income-restricted units at a variety of affordability levels, and allows for as many as 4,500 total housing units.

Council President Sally J. Clark said, "The Council took this opportunity to ensure the Yesler Terrace redevelopment plan will respect the needs of people who live in Yesler now and to make sure that Yesler evolves into a greater urban neighborhood for more residents."

Terms of the planned action ordinance, cooperative agreement and street vacation call for SHA to construct community gardens, pedestrian pathways and pocket parks open to the public, and re-landscape the neighborhood with more trees than are currently present.

"The Yesler Terrace redevelopment will increase low income housing, create a vibrant neighborhood next to downtown, and take a major step towards meeting our growth management goals. New Holly, High Point, and Rainier Vista demonstrate Seattle Housing Authority's ability to develop extraordinary communities," stated Councilmember Richard Conlin, co-vice chair of the Yesler Terrace Special Committee. "The Yesler Terrace Redevelopment project will be added to this list as a careful, thoughtful, and prudent project that will make a big difference in many people's lives."

The Housing Authority may build up to 900,000 square feet of office, medical service space and lodging, as well as 150,000 square feet of retail and services.

SHA will provide comparable housing for all current Yesler Terrace residents during construction. Every resident will also receive a certificate guaranteeing their right to return to the neighborhood once new housing is completed. SHA estimates replacement construction will begin in 2013.

Councilmember Nick Licata, co-vice chair of the Special Committee said, "The Council made this development better by providing stronger assurances that excess revenues must provide additional very low income housing and any future use of Housing Levy funds at Yesler Terrace must be awarded according to a competitive process.  In addition, renters' rights to return to Yesler are much strengthened by limiting SHA's criteria for screening returning tenants."

The Council modified the Mayor's proposed cooperative agreement between SHA and the City to improve the project and provide further safeguards for residents of Yesler Terrace. Of the 20 amendments to the cooperative agreement the Council passed, several were imposed to further protect Yesler Terrace tenants, improve the quality of the neighborhood and to increase the amount of low-income housing created:

• SHA is required to use all proceeds from the sale of land for infrastructure and low-income housing in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood. 

• If SHA gets more than it needs to pay for the infrastructure and low-income housing, additional funding will pay for up to 100 more units for very-low income residents (households that make no more than 30% of area median income).

• Housing built east of Boren in the early stages of the project must include units for low-income residents.

• If a tenant has a dispute, SHA is required to work with the Yesler Terrace Community Council and the Citizens Review Council to resolve the matter.

• If future Housing Levy dollars are requested for Yesler Terrace, any funds will be awarded through the regular Housing Levy Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) process.

• SHA must work with community organizations that assist women- and minority-owned businesses and economically disadvantaged individuals to obtain employment through Section 3 hiring, apprenticeship programs and equal opportunity programs.

"Our vision for Yesler Terrace is to improve the quality of life for all who choose to live, work, and play there," said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. "This new community will foster understanding for generations among our children, seniors, those who speak English and those who don't. It will provide access to jobs, schools, transportation, medical care and more. It's a vision that has been years in the making. I am proud today to say Yes to Yesler."

"Since its inception, Yesler Terrace has fostered a unique community, allowing thousands of Seattleites to create a home and raise children near the heart of downtown.  I'm thrilled to see residents get the improvements they deserve in order to continue to thrive," said Councilmember Jean Godden. "Additionally, I am committed to ensuring that the voices of communities impacted by the change continue to guide the redevelopment process."

"Today's vote is an important step towards creating more healthy, affordable housing in Seattle. I am committed to continuing to work with SHA and Friends of Little Saigon to ensure that this is a project that benefits not just Yesler Terrace residents but the surrounding communities as well," added Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

"As Civil Rights chair, I believe we must work inclusively with this diverse community and reassure the 1,200 residents who include families with children, people with disabilities, seniors, and immigrants who speak other languages, a right to return to their home and community," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell. "I am confident that this cooperative agreement will assure, at a minimum, a 1-for-1 replacement of low-income units at Yesler Terrace."

"Remaking Yesler Terrace will create a strong neighborhood full of opportunity and hope in the heart of Seattle," said Councilmember Tim Burgess. "It's a project that creates jobs, contributes to economic growth, protects affordable housing and lines up perfectly with our desire for fairness and opportunity for all. It's a project that is rooted in our progressive values."

"This exciting project will rebuild badly needed low-income housing for current residents and generations to come," said Andrew J. Lofton, Executive Director of Seattle Housing Authority.  "We've enjoyed collaborating with the City Council, Mayor and many others to develop this plan, and we're excited to move forward."

For more information on the proposed Yesler Terrace redevelopment plans, visit http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/yesler_terrace.htm.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

(image courtesy HistoryLink.org)

This Saturday, September 8th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., will be the centerpiece of their celebrations: The Next 50 Birthday Bash. It will be a family-friendly community-wide daytime party, featuring live local entertainment, art, fresh local foods by the region’s top mobile food vendors, and lots of children and family activities.

Throughout the Center grounds, there’ll be four music stages, four hours of arts performances on stage, free Monorail admission for kids under 12, a vintage clothing booth, an outdoor ballroom, a grand birthday cake ceremony, Puget Sound Business Journal VIP photo ops, a skate boarding clinic & demos, SIFF’s red carpet screening of “It Happened at the World’s Fair,” free Experience Music Project admission for ages 16 and under, and a wall built out of Jello bricks. Visit Seattle Center’s website for details.

I find it interesting that a Seattle City Councilmember sparked the ’62 World’s Fair. HistoryLink.org reports that Councilmember Al Rochester (1895-1989) was so impressed by the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition he witnessed as a teenager that after joining the City Council he began promoting the idea of a second World’s Fair. The Council asked the state legislature to support a second world’s fair for Seattle. Olympia responded by providing $5,000 to form a World’s Fair Commission. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Councilmember Licata applauds new Cultural Facilities Program

Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata issued the following statement thanking Mayor McGinn for debuting the new Cultural Facilities Program: 

“Arts are a passion of mine as they are for many members of the City Council and residents of Seattle. For years the Council has been approached for capital funds by a variety of arts and cultural organizations. Last year, the Council created a capital grant program and a competitive vetting process in the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs to address these requests.

“I appreciate that the Executive has implemented this program and although only one-time funding, this will provide these organizations with the extra help they need to make necessary improvements to their facilities.”

Funding for this program was created through adoption of the 2012 budget. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/R50AEF .

For more information on the program or to apply for grant funding, visit http://www.seattle.gov/arts/funding/cultural_facilities.asp .

Photo: Robert Wade Photography

Those larger organizations comprise less than 2% of all arts and cultural nonprofits, receive more than half of the sector’s total revenue, focus primarily on Western European art forms and their programs serve audiences that are predominantly white and upper income.

Meanwhile, artists and cultural groups are increasingly employing the arts in diverse ways to engage and build communities, address persistent economic, educational and environmental societal problems as well as inequities in human and civil rights.

Addressing this and other social justice issues related to arts and culture is the Arts & Social Change Symposium: An Open Dialogue scheduled for October 12th & 13th at Seattle Center.

Geared toward arts administrators, artists, social service professionals, government representatives, and social justice leaders from around the Pacific Northwest, the gathering will address the role diverse arts play in creating awareness, inspiring understanding and developing policies that address cultural equity and social change.

The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, The Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Seattle Center, 4Culture, The Washington State Arts Commission and The Association of American Cultures have come together in hopes of engaging arts and social change communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest to learn how to become transformative change agents using the arts.

Symposium Goals

• Inspiration – to inspire action and activism; to motivate for change;
• Participation – have dialogue; make recommendations for systemic and social change;
• Learning – to gain new awareness; to listen, participate, communicate, share, and engage;
• Community Building – to meet, connect, and build relationships with other networks beyond the symposium.

Session Objectives

• Offer insight in how to engage and work with diverse communities, promote “cultural listening;”
• Provide an opportunity for local arts agencies from urban and suburban cities to share tools for working with new populations in cultural programming;
• Provide a forum for arts organizations to meet with social justice leaders and for community groups to meet with arts leaders;
• Develop policies for change as part of the national advocacy agenda for The Association of American Cultures.

The Symposium currently has an open call to artists for 2-D visual artwork to be exhibited during the symposium. The deadline for applying is this Friday, August 24, 2012, by 5 p.m. Art addressing social change is especially encouraged. Click here for information on how to apply.

The Arts & Social Change Symposium

Click here to register for the symposium. It costs $75 until 8/31; $100 before 10/5; and $125 at the door, if space allows.

Friday, October 12

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Evening Program 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday, October 13 

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

At Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington, in the Northwest Rooms and the Playhouse/Intiman Theatre.

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Yesler Terrace redevelopment legislation passes out of Seattle City Council
Special Committee
Full Council will cast final vote on September 4

SEATTLE – allowing the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to redevelop the 22-acre Yesler Terrace public housing neighborhood.

Council President Sally J. Clark, chair of the Yesler Terrace Special Committee, said, "The Council took this opportunity to ensure the Yesler Terrace redevelopment plan will respect the needs of people who live in Yesler now and to ensure that Yesler becomes a great urban neighborhood again. The new development of great parks and gardens, better streets and a true housing mix means we ensure low-income people have a great Yesler home far into the future."

The legislative package requires SHA to replace 561 existing units of very low-income housing for current residents, build more than 1,200 new income-restricted units at a variety of affordability levels, and allows for as many as 4,500 total housing units.

Councilmember Nick Licata, co-vice chair of the Special Committee said, "The Council made this development better by providing stronger assurances that excess revenues must provide additional very low income housing and any future use of Housing Levy funds at Yesler Terrace must be awarded according to a competitive process.  In addition, renters' rights to return to Yesler are much strengthened by limiting SHA's criteria for screening returning tenants."

"The Yesler Terrace redevelopment will increase low income housing, create a vibrant neighborhood next to downtown, and take a major step towards meeting our growth management goals. New Holly, High Point, and Rainier Vista demonstrate Seattle Housing Authority's ability to develop extraordinary communities," stated Councilmember Richard Conlin, co-vice chair of the Yesler Terrace Special Committee. "The Yesler Terrace new development will be added to this list as a careful, thoughtful, and prudent project that will make a big difference in many people's lives."

Terms of the planned action ordinance, cooperative agreement and street vacation call for SHA to construct community gardens, pedestrian pathways and pocket parks open to the public, and re-landscape the neighborhood with more trees than are currently present.

"Remaking Yesler Terrace will create a strong neighborhood full of opportunity and hope in the heart of Seattle," said Councilmember Tim Burgess. "It's a project that creates jobs, contributes to economic growth, protects affordable housing and lines up perfectly with our desire for fairness and opportunity for all. It's a project that is rooted in our progressive values."

"I'm pleased that SHA has been working with members of the community to maintain the vitality of Little Saigon," said Councilmember Jean Godden.

The Housing Authority may build up to 900,000 square feet of office, medical service space and lodging, as well as 150,000 square feet of retail and services.

SHA will provide comparable housing for all current Yesler Terrace residents during construction. Every resident will also receive a certificate guaranteeing their right to return to the neighborhood once new housing is completed. SHA estimates replacement construction will begin in 2013.

"As Civil Rights chair, we must work inclusively with this diverse community and reassure the 1,200 residents who are families with children, people with disabilities, seniors, and immigrants who speak other languages, a right to return to their home and community," said Councilmember Bruce Harrell. "I am confident that this cooperative agreement will assure, at a minimum, a 1-for-1 replacement of low-income units at Yesler Terrace."

For more information on the proposed Yesler Terrace redevelopment plans, visit our web pages.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

City Councilmember Tim Burgess noted on his blog that the Government Performance and Finance Committee he chairs will next consider the proposed Memorandum of Understanding in September.

Hansen released a statement on discussions as well.

Eight Councilmembers sent a letter to Hansen in late July, stating their perspective on the proposed agreements.

Are you a filmmaker in search of funding? Have you considered applying to Washington Filmworks – they manage the State’s economic development spending on film production – only to learn your budget was too small?

Well, this may be your chance. Washington Filmworks has initiated a new program aimed at funding films too small to qualify for their standard funding program.

I’m getting the word out on this program because I’ve always had a love for film. In 2003 I wanted to encourage the production of smaller films in Seattle, so I added a provision allowing so-called “low-impact productions” filming in Seattle to pay a flat $25 permit fee for up to 14 days of filming rather than the usual fee of up to $300 per day.

Washington Filmworks’ new program is called Filmworks Innovation Lab. They are committing up to $350,000 annually to fund up to 30% of the budget for motion picture productions that:

• Are narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, or a series pilot, feature-length or shorts.
• Spend $50,000-$499,999 on qualified in-state expenditures upon award of Filmworks Innovation Lab funding. Their standard funding program requires a minimum of between $150,000 and $500,000 in expenditures.
• Have 85% of their workforce reside in Washington State.
• Utilize Washington residents in at least two of three positions: Writer, Director, and Cinematographer.
• Utilize at least one Producer residing in Washington State.
• Utilize at least one Lead Actor residing in Washington resident.

Washington Filmworks awards funding through the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program (MPCP). The MPCP was created by the Washington State Legislature to “revitalizing the state’s economic, cultural, and educational standing in the market of motion picture production, and assisting and providing services for attracting the film industry” to do business in Washington. In March of this year, legislation passed that renewed the MPCP.  This new legislation allows Washington Filmworks to commit up to 10% of its annual funding allocation to provide financial support for local filmmakers and film projects using new forms of production.

Preliminary applications are due August 31^st. From among those, Washington Filmworks will invite eligible applicants to submit more detailed information by September 30^th.

For more information click here, on their Factsheet and Guidelines publications.

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The Office of Housing has recently provided $1,200,000 in funding for a new program as an innovative response to the current foreclosure crisis. The program is Homestead Community Land Trust’s new Acquisition and Rehab program and it is called Homestead Rebuilding Communities.  The new program is funded in part by the 2009 Housing Levy.  Housing Levy Homeownership funds through the Office of Housing will also be available for buyers when Homestead sells the homes to eligible low- and moderate-income buyers. Homestead homes, because the property is held in a long term housing trust, secure long-term affordability.

As required by this resolution, later this year, with the help of the Office of Housing, the Council will examine the number of home foreclosures in Seattle, the geographic neighborhoods in which the foreclosures are occurring, and lender information on homes involved in the foreclosure process. They’ll also look at circumstances and causes of foreclosures and foreclosure methods and practices of lenders, including reviewing apparent inequities many people in Seattle face when lender foreclosure proceedings occur.  The Council has also asked the Office of Housing to make recommendations, as appropriate, for changes to the City’s Foreclosure Prevention Program, which provides stabilization loans to low‐income homeowners facing default.

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City Councilmembers participate in “Night Out Against Crime”
Neighborhood activities focus on crime prevention and block watch efforts

Seattle– Seattle City Councilmembers will travel throughout Seattle on Tuesday night, spending time with neighbors across the City in an effort to heighten crime prevention/awareness and neighborhood safety. “Night Out” is a national Crime Prevention event and will take place this year on August 7, 2012. Last year, 1,327 events were registered with the Seattle Police Department. If you have never participated in “Night Out”, Councilmembers encourage you to get involved this year. The theme this year is “Together – Safer Neighborhoods.”

Night Out is an excellent opportunity to organize your block and work together as a community.  

• Join or start a Block Watch
• Communities are the catalyst in preventing crime. Make a commitment to reduce crime and violence in your community and learn what you can do.

Find a Night Out event in your Neighborhood by viewing this map.

Councilmembers will participate in numerous neighborhood festivities including, but not limited to, the following:
Council President Sally J. Clark: Madrona, Rainier Valley, and Seward Park neighborhoods
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw: Ravenna and Downtown neighborhoods
Councilmember Tim Burgess: Downtown, West Seattle and South Seattle neighborhoods
Councilmember Richard Conlin: Ravenna neighborhood
Councilmember Bruce Harrell: Downtown, Ravenna, and Seward Park neighborhoods
Councilmember Nick Licata: Belltown neighborhood
Councilmember Mike O’Brien: Fremont neighborhood

Seattle Police North Precinct
Cedar Park/Meadowbrook Neighborhood
Bartlett Night Out
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m.
3000 Bartlett Ave NE

Broadview/Bitter Lake Neighborhood
11700 Fremont Ave N Block Party
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m.
11700 Fremont Ave N

Broadview/Bitter Lake Neighborhood
Bitter Lake Neighborhood Night Out
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m.
Where Intersection of N. 133rd and Bitter Lane

Wedgwood/View Ridge Neighborhood
Top Pot Doughnuts' Night Out Against Crime
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 5 – 8 p.m.    
Wedgwood Top Pot Café 6855 35th Ave NE

Seattle Police West Precinct
Queen Anne Neighborhood
9th Ave Block Party
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 5 – 10 p.m.
2700 block of 9th Ave W

Belltown Neighborhood
Block Party / Neighborhood Night Out
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 p.m.
3rd Avenue and Vine St.

Seattle Police East Precinct
Capitol Hill Neighborhood
11th and Denny Block Party                                
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 10 p.m. 
100 block of 11th Ave. East and Denny Way

Madrona/Leschi Neighborhood
31st Ave Neighborhood Night Out!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 10 p.m.  
400 block of 31st Ave / 31st between E Jefferson and E Terrace

Mt. Baker/North Rainier
Leschi/Mt. Baker night out
August 7, 2012, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
31st Ave S between Norman and Judkins

Seattle Police Southwest Precinct

Alki/Admiral Neighborhood
3200 44th Ave SW Night Out   
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m.
3200 44th Ave SW between Hanford and Hines

West Seattle Neighborhood
Morgan Junction Block Watch
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 5 – 10 p.m.
6000 42nd Ave SW

Seattle Police South Precinct

Beacon Hill Neighborhood
3300 Block Night Out
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m. 
3300 block of 17th Ave South

Rainier Beach/Othello Neighborhood
Angel Morgan Night Out
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 10 p.m. 
P-Patch at S. Morgan and 42nd Ave. S.

Rainier Beach Neighborhood
59th Avenue S. Block Party
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 6 – 10 p.m. 
10628 59th Avenue S. (59th Ave S - South of Bangor)

Columbia City Neighborhood
2012 National Night Out Against Crime with CURB
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 5 – 9 p.m.
4437 Rainier Avenue South

The City of Seattle contributes, too, by supporting local music through its City of Music initiative, dedicated to advancing Seattle’s music culture and recognizing its leaders such as Paul Allen, Gerard Schwarz, Brandie Carlile, Clarence Acox, Quincy Jones, the Fleet Foxes and the radio station KEXP.

Among Seattle’s musicians are many who don’t receive the attention they might deserve. So, several years ago I created Seattle Composer, a web page intended to showcase music one might not otherwise have the opportunity to hear. Currently, seven composers are posted on the site. Check ‘em out and let me know what you think.

The most recent Seattle Composer is John Teske, whose music explores new sound-colors, ethereal and other-worldly, some very influenced by the new sounds being created in electronic music. While he says he derives influence from contemporary electronic music, his focus lies in acoustic music and live concert experiences.

Another one of the Seattle Composer website musicians, Tom Baker, will be performing next spring at Cornish College. Check out the school’s performance calendar for more information on Tom’s performance as well as many others.

If you know composers who might be interested in being represented on Seattle Composer, please let my legislative aide Frank Video know by emailing him at frank.video@seattle.gov.

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Currently, there are no laws limiting how much towing companies can charge for impounds off private property.  The proposal would set a cap of $156.75 per hour for impounds on private property, and $15.50 for storage for up to 12 hours.

I believe it’s perfectly reasonable to charge people who park on private property when they aren’t authorized to do so. However, they shouldn’t have to pay whatever the towing company decides, no matter how high the rate. We need a fair rate.

The proposal would require a City license for towing companies and drivers, set operating and conduct standards, and require personnel to be available to release an impounded vehicle within 90 minutes 24 hours a day.

The proposal will be presented in the Government Performance and Finance Committee next month. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Council to pass consumer protection legislation that eliminates price gouging, and is fair to towing companies that operate responsibly.

Mayor Mike McGinn and Councilmember Nick Licata today announced plans to cap fees for involuntary tows from private property. The proposed legislation, which goes to the City Council tomorrow, protects consumers while balancing tow companies’ business interests and private property owners' ability to seek relief from unauthorized parking. Standard impounds will be capped at $156.75, and storage rates are limited to $15.50 for up to 12 hours. Sales tax and an impound fee, yet to be determined, will also be applied.

"This proposal protects Seattle visitors and residents from predatory towing fee policies," said McGinn. "After performing extensive outreach to all stakeholders, we believe it is fair to all parties, including towing operators. I thank Councilmember Licata for his work on this proposal and look forward to Council action to make this proposal the law."

Predatory towing practices include:

• charging unwarranted or excessive fees, particularly in connection with impounding vehicles from private parking lots that may not display warnings to the vehicle owners;
• overcharging consumers for involuntary tows; and
• holding a vehicle owner’s personal belongings until all tow fees have been paid.

Councilmember Nick Licata worked with staff from the Mayor's Office and the Department of Finance and Administrative Services to develop the proposal.

"It's perfectly reasonable to charge people who park on private property when they aren’t authorized to do so," Licata said. "However, they shouldn't have to pay whatever the towing company decides, no matter how high the rate. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the City Council to create this new regulatory program."

Seattle joins the ranks of other cities, such as Minneapolis, Portland and Indianapolis, which cap private towing rates. The proposed legislation creates a regulatory framework for all tow companies and drivers, including:

• background checks for truck operators;
• operating and conduct standards, such as prohibitions against operating without a license or driving a truck when unfit;
• personnel who are available to the public 24x7 to release an impounded vehicle;
• posting appropriate signage regarding fees and redemption procedures; and
• complaint investigation procedures.

It also allows consumers to remove or retrieve personal property or possessions from a vehicle, either at the scene of a tow or at a vehicle storage facility prior to payment. Under the proposal, tow companies and tow truck cannot charge a fee for or refuse to allow this retrieval.

The program is expected to begin in January 2013.

A detailed description of the proposal can be found here.

Seattle City Council to host forum on caregiver support programs

SEATTLE —Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata, the Seattle Human Services Department and the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services invites downtown employees and other members of the public to a special forum on caregiver stress and support services on Tuesday, July 31, at noon.

"The forum offers an opportunity for caregivers to learn that they are not alone, help is available, and they need to maintain their own health and quality of life in order to provide quality care for a loved one," said Councilmember Licata, who provides care for his adult stepson who has permanent disabilities. "We hope that city and county employees and others who work downtown will come to the forum, or watch it later on online."

In 2007, King County was home to an estimated 210,000 unpaid family caregivers—more than 14 percent of the adult population—according to a CDC/ Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. One in four spent 40 hours or more per week as a caregiver.

"Given the aging baby boom, the number and percentage is likely to be much higher today," said Councilmember Licata. "Other studies have found that stress is their #1 concern. Caregiving—as rewarding as it can be—can also be the most stressful experience a person ever faces."

Fortunately, help is available. The Seattle Human Services Department contracts with 10 agencies to provide caregiver support services like information, referrals, coaching, counseling, support groups, training, and respite care. Most services are free to the caregiver. Respite care is provided on a fee basis.

"Unpaid caregivers are really the backbone of our long-term care system," said Councilmember Licata. "Without their support, many more of our family members, friends, and neighbors would live in costly institutions. With support, they can live relatively independently in their homes and in their communities of choice."

For more information on caregiver support programs, visit www.kccaregiver.org. Details of the July 31 forum follow:

WHO:
Councilmember Nick Licata
Seattle Human Services Department and Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services representative
Several caregiver support program clients

WHAT:
A brown bag forum on caregiver stress and support services

WHEN:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012, noon – 1:30 p.m.

WHERE:
City Council Chambers, Second Floor
Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Avenue, Downtown Seattle

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.