The First Hill Improvement Association

AUGUST 2011 MEETING NOTES

MAY 2011 MEETING NOTES

The Marlborough House on Boren is once again accepting residents as an apartment complex.
Leasing rates are running $2.00-$2.50 per square foot for one and two bedroom units.
There are many studio units available also. The management is allowing tenants to keep up
to two, 50 lb. dogs in each unit.

Joan Carufel reported on a $9,000 matching grant given to the Freeway Park Neighborhood
Group to develop a brochure and map of Freeway Park, and also develop a docent program.
It is hoped that the new Freeway Park program director will come and speak at our June meeting.

The Polyclinic's design review meeting for it's 7th Avenue Garage structure was held on
April 20th, and it went very well. Only minor changes are anticipating to be required at this point.

Martha Barkman reports that she has "unofficially" heard that the Seattle Parks Department
has pulled together enough funding to acquire, design, and build the new First Hill Park on
8th Avenue. The existing budget for the project is approximately $5 million.

Betsy Braun reports that Virginia Mason is now holding a weekly farmers market on Friday
afternoons between Noon and 4pm. The market will be located on Seneca Street between
9th Avenue and Terry Avenue.

Therapeutic Health Services gave Virginia Mason officials a tour this week, which included
a stop at the Plaza Select Food Store on Madison, just west of Boren. It turns out that the store,
which leases it's space from Virginia Mason, is selling empty THS methadone bottles under
the counter. VM plans to stop this activity immediately. THS clients must bring empty
bottle back to the clinic in order to get addtional doses of methadone, and these empty
bottles are of use if a client has sold their last dose to someone on the street.

Betsy Braun also reminded everyone that Virginia Mason's master plan process is
now in full swing. The next meeting will be held May 25th at 6:30pm.

Our first speakers were Tom Parsons of Holland Development, and Steve Ness,
Senior Construction Project Manager for Holland. They discussed the groundbreaking
and construction of the 1200 Madison Street project.
 
Some key points:

- The project will be a 17 story, 237 unit apartment building. 80% of the units
will be studios and one bedrooms, with the remaining 20% being two bedrooms.
 - 6600 square feet of retail space will front Madison Street.
 - Two floors of underground parking with 108 parking stalls.
 - The tower crane for the project will go up by the end of May.
 - The project will top out in March 2012.
 - First units will be available for rental in August 2012.
 - Three townhouse units will face Minor Avenue, as will the entrance to the residential tower.
 - Construction hours will be Mon-Fri 7:30am to 6:00pm, and Sat 9:30am to 6:00pm.
    No work on Sundays.
 - Complete up to date information can be found at: www.1200madisonprogress.com
.

Our second speaker was Mr Kent Koth from Seattle University, to speak about the
Seattle University Youth Initiative. The overall goal of this program is to increase
the high school graduation rate in the neighborhood, by having Seattle University
students and others mentoring and working with young people in the area.

Key Points:

 - Over 200 Seattle University courses have a mandatory community service component.
 - The coverage area for the project is the attendance area for Bailey-Gatzert
Elementary School. The school is located at 13th Avenue at Yesler.
 - Many of the targeted students of the project live at Yesler Terrace.
 - The initial focus has been on elementary school age children, by providing
tutors at Bailey-Gatzert.
 - There will be a transitional program held on the Seattle University campus this
summer for 5th grade students, to help them transition from the elementary school
to the middle school environment. 
 - Seattle University welcomes support for this project from the community and the
other major institutions in the area.
 - For more information, contact Mr. Koth at kothk@seattleu.edu.  

__________________________________________________________________________________________

DECEMBER 2010 MEETING NOTES

Our Guest Speaker was Ms. Allison Schwartz, from the Seattle Department of Transportation. Ms. Schwartz was on hand to give us a final follow up on the First Hill Parking Study. General feedback from the members in attendance was…

·         More parking spaces generally seem available

·         Residents do not like the concept of having to pay till 8pm

·         There is excessive graffiti on parking pay stations   

·         Things are getting thrown/placed on top of the pay station solar panels

·         One block was missed from parking regulations – Columbia Street between Terry and Boren

Handicapped placard issue – The study found that 30-40% of the cars parked in the study area had disabled placards/plates. Of these, 10% belonged to dead persons or were expired. The plan was to establish a 4 hour limit for disabled parking. State law prohibits charging fees to those with disabled placards.  SDOT is waiting to hear back from the City of Seattle’s Disabled Parking Task Force to see if they agree with the 4 hour limit plan. Their approval is not required, however. There is currently a $500 fine for misuse of someone else’s placard.

For 2011, the City Council has approved:

-          Pay Parking till 8pm in Downtown, Capitol Hill, Pike/Pine, U District, Belltown, Pioneer Square, and Lower Queen Anne

-          Placing immobilizer boots on vehicles will start in July 2011. This will be done to cars parked LEGALLY or ILLEGALLY, that have at least FOUR outstanding parking tickets.

-          NO Sunday pay parking

-          RPZ permits are going to $65 for 2 years

-          The price of guest permits will be going up also.

Land Use Issues

Martha Barkman reported that:

-          The Marlborough House will begin leasing out its units as rentals beginning in Mid-January 2011.

-          The 802 Seneca Project is trying to obtain HUD funds to get the project started

-          The new appraisal on the property on 8^th Avenue between Marion and Columbia, which may be sought for a new park, has dropped in value. Its purchase is being negotiated at this time.

-          Polyclinic is still negotiating a lease for the vacant building at 7^th and Madison. The need for additional parking is the biggest challenge. The plan would have the clinic moving in during the spring of 2012. The 1145 Broadway building that the Polyclinic currently uses would remain open.

Jim Erickson reported that he attended a meeting on Capitol Hill to discuss measures to prevent METRO from curtailing bus service  on First Hill/Capitol Hill once the First Hill Streetcar becomes operational.

The Virginia Mason Citizens Advisory Committee for its Master Planning process has begun meeting. Four members from the FHIA are members of the committee, including Jim Erickson, Jim Fitzpatrick, Ted Klainer, and Evyan Abookire.

The City of Seattle will be closing the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Service Center at the end of December.

Virginia Mason Medical Center was named “Leapfrog’s Top Hospital of the Decade” in a recent announcement.

The Frye Art Museum recently won a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. This grant goes to support the premiere of a projected art work by Stan Douglas (b. 1960) with an accompanying catalogue designed by the artist. Using historical reconstructions of buildings and locations from the period, the film will be projected on two screens, simultaneously depicting parallel moments in a single day in 1948. The work will go on display at the Frye in 2012.

NOVEMBER 2010 MEETING NOTES

- Jim Erickson reported that the OPUS building at 7th and Madison had been sold at auction to Holland America properties. Polyclinic is considering leasing the space for administrative purposes.

- We are still waiting to hear if our Kiosk proposal for the NE corner of 7th and Madison will be approved for a Cleanscapes grant. Jeff Schulz, co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church, the owner of the property, met with Martha Barkman from FHIA to discuss the site. The corner is currently a "hang-out" spot, and there is hope that the kiosk, along with the increased pedestrian traffic it could bring, would alter that.

- Our guest speaker for the evening was Greg Lundgren, co-owner of Vito's Restaurant on Madison Street. Mr. Lundgren gave us a brief history of the restaurant, which dates back to 1953, and is a First Hill institution. The new owners purchased the business in April 2010, and have an 18-year lease for the space. The primary goal of the new owners is to bring Vito's back to its pre-1993 reputation as one of the cities' premier Italian restaurants. Some of the "old guard" clientele has already returned, and a major restoration has been done to recreate the 1950's feel of the original establishment. Among the improvements that have been made:

All floors re-done
Bathrooms all re-tiled
Major Kitchen Remodel
Dance Floor removed
Regular nightly entertainment line-up
The infamous back room, now known as the Cougar Room, is available for private bookings
New 35' mural in the lounge area
Michael Bruno, former executive chef at Tango, now heads up the kitchen
Dining Room open nightly till 10pm; Extensive Lounge menu available till 12 midnight


 - Jim Erickson reported that he attended the Seattle Streetcar station design workshop. Most of the discussion was focused on the Broadway and Marion station. Swedish Hospital would like the station, which sits at its doorstep, to serve as a "gateway" to both Swedish Medical Center and Seattle University. It is also hoped that we can have informational kiosks, such as the one proposed at 7th and Madison, located at all First Hill streetcar stations.

- Mayor Mike McGinn is doing a kick-off launch of a major energy efficiency grant program at Harborview Medical Center on November 10th.

- The Seattle Housing Authority is about ready to submit a grant application to HUD for $31 million. This grant would be used to develop the very first phase of the "new" Yesler Terrace, consisting of some replacement housing located just east of Boren Avenue.

- A new restaurant, "Primo", is open in the former Geneva Restaurant space at the Lowell-Emerson Apartments. The focus is on pizzas and light Italian fare.

- Joan Carufel reported that Horizon House is starting a renovation project which will include a new main entrance, along with other interior upgrades. Joan also mentioned that the Freeway Park Association was awarded a $9,000 matching grant from the City of Seattle to develop a Freeway Park brochure.

____________________________________________________________________________________

OCTOBER 2010 MEETING NOTES

Our first guest was Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker, Director of the Frye Art Museum. She noted that the museum is changing from the tradition of being funded by a single source, and is doing much more collaboration.  This includes work with Mindful Meditation, a Swedish Medical Center program, and with the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The Frye would like to be much more actively involved and connected with the First Hill community than it has in the past. They would like to reach out to those coming to First Hill medical facilities and invite them to spend time at the Frye while visiting patients, waiting for appointments, etc. The Frye would like to be viewed as a place for renewal and respite, not just a place to come and look at art.  As always, admission will remain free.  For more information on the Frye, visit www.fryemuseum.org.

Our next speaker was Mr. Gary Owens, from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Neighborhood Matching Fund Program. The program, which was implemented in 1988, began with the City Council appropriating $100,000 for small-scale community-supported projects that would be funded by ½ community funds and ½ city funds. As of this year, more than 4,000 projects have been funded with the city contributing over $47 million.  The very first Matching Fund project was the now-famous Fremont Troll, under the Aurora Bridge. The amount the City can contribute to the fund varies from year to year, but overall, the program has been a great success. During 2009, 215 community projects were awarded $2.5 million in matching funds.

The Mayor has proposed cutting approximately $700,000 from the $2.5 million in funds designated for the program in the coming year, and the matter is currently under discussion with the City Council. Mr. Owens noted that matching funds cannot be given to groups that charge membership to join, but that groups can create a “friends of” group that is not membership funded, in order to apply for matching grants.

Our final speaker was Michael Hatchett, Public Affairs Coordinator from the Polyclinic. He mentioned that his organization would be happy to work with FHIA on a matching fund grant for proposed pedestrian seating at the Harvard/Union/Seneca intersection.

It was noted during the meeting that our proposal for an informational kiosk near the area of 7^th Avenue and Madison Streets was tentatively approved by Cleanscapes. The kiosk proposal was submitted to Cleanscapes as part of their Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards Competition. We should know on/about October 31^st whether the kiosk plan will be selected for approval.

SEPTEMBER 2010 MEETING NOTES

Our guest speaker was Mr. Joshua Kohl, from the Degenerate Art Ensemble. Mr. Kohl’s organization is planning a major performing arts festival on First Hill in the Spring of 2011.

Meeting notes are not available for this meeting.

Our first guest was Ms. Allison Schwartz, from the Seattle Department of Transportation. Ms. Schwartz gave the group an overview of the recommendations and the implementation of changes resulting from the First Hill Parking Study.

Ÿ         Each household was sent a mailing with a overview of the changes.

Ÿ         More pay stations are being installed, which will create more residential parking access.

Ÿ         Residential Parking Zone 21 (RPZ 21), located north of Madison Street, will allow vehicles with RPZ 21 stickers to be exempt from paying in their zone.

Ÿ         This same policy will also be implemented for those in the RPZ 7 area.

The parking changes will start going into effect during the month of July, and will be rolled out to the entire area by the end of the summer.

There is still much debate about how to deal with those parking on First Hill with disabled plates and placards. The SDOT is getting a lot of push back from from ‘outside sources’. The state is going to be giving an opinion as to whether those with plates should have more flexibility than those with placards. No decisions have been made at this time.

Our second guest was Candy Castellanos, representing Clean Scapes, our neighborhood waste management company. Clean Scapes has roughly 50% of Seattle’s waste hauling business, and is based locally in Georgetown. One of their most notable programs is the “Clean Alleys” program, whereby dumpsters are removed from inner city alleys, and replaced by the daily pick-up of bagged waste.

Clean Scapes “Neighborhood Waste Reduction Program” is a competition established between the 7 geographic areas in the City of Seattle served by the company. The area containing First Hill and Capitol Hill won the competition for 2010. A $50,000 cash prize will be awarded to First Hill/Capitol Hill to be used for a neighborhood improvement project. Individuals can submit ideas on how the contest proceeds should be used by July 31, 2010. The winning idea(s) will be chosen by November.  The primary stipulations are that the projects be accessible to the general public, and be a physical improvement, such as a kiosk, park improvements, etc. Representatives from the various neighborhood community councils on First Hill and Capitol Hill will be on the panel who will decide on the winning projects. The goal is to have all projects completed by April 2011. Specific information can be obtained from Ms. Castellanos at education outreach@cleanscapes.com.

Chair Reports:

Martha Barkman/Land Use:

95 applications were received for the “Opportunity Grant” funds from the City of Seattle Parks Department, and the Madison Street Overpass improvement plan, being sponsored in part by the FHIA, came in ranked at #17 out of 95 in the initial review.  A commitment was received from the Seattle Dept. of Transportation to pour curbs and to water plants on the overpass, which should make the project more palatable to the Parks Department. Martha is currently putting together a presentation for the review panel. Final recommendations are expected in August, with a final decision on which projects will receive funding by September.

Jim Erickson/Government:

Jim reviewed discussions he had with Donald Harris with Seattle Parks regarding the use of Pro-Parks funding on First Hill. He attended a Freeway Park neighborhood group meeting and spoke with Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw regarding making 8^th Avenue a “Green Street”. She asked us to get back to her with what our priorities are for the 8^th Avenue corridor.

Jim also followed up on last months discussions regarding Metro Bus Service, and wrote to Larry Phillips of the King County Council with our ideas for extending Route 60 bus service.

Tony Fuoco:

Tony has contacted service managers at King County/METRO and they will be in attendance at our July 2010 meeting to hear our ideas.

Tonight was the last meeting for long-time board member Fred Savaglio from Virginia Mason. Fred is retiring this month after many years of service at VM and on the FHIA Board. A certificate of appreciation was presented to Fred by FHIA President, Tony Fuoco. We wish Fred all the best!

DECEMBER 2009 MEETING NOTES

Martha Barkman reported on the December 1^st meeting held by the Seattle Parks Department, regarding the search for a First Hill park location.

·         This will be last, big effort to try to secure a large (10,000 SF+) location for a park on First Hill. Many years have been spent on this effort, without success. This however, is probably the best time in years to purchase, considering market values and the halt in commercial property development.

·         The Parks Department heard loud and clear that if the site between 8^th and 9^th Avenues and Columbia and Marion Streets is considered for purchase, the public does NOT want a staircase. The site should be developed into terraced plazas or something similar.

·         If no large location is found for a park, the acquisition focus will shift to smaller parcels, such as dead-end streets, vacating alleys, blocking off streets, etc.

·         There is currently $3.0 million dedicated to developing a First Hill Park from the Pro Parks 1&2 levies. There could be as much as $5.5 million available if additional funding sources, such as King County, are added in.

·         Donald Harris from the Seattle Parks Department will come back to meet with us in January 2010 to give us an update.

Martha also provided us with a land use update:

·         The 802 Seneca Apartment Tower project is still trying to secure funding.

·         The new First Hill high-rise code will allow building heights of up to 300 feet, and should be approved by the City Council tomorrow.

·         The bank that owns the Marlborough House property on Boren Avenue received 30 offers for the property. We should have news on who may have acquired it shortly.

Jim Erickson reports:

·         It was announced at the November East District Neighborhood Council meeting that Jose Cervantes will be retiring. Jose has served as Director of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Service Center for many years. A new director is being recruited at this time.

·         It appears as though the next two neighborhoods to have their neighborhood plans revised in 2010 will be Capitol Hill and Belltown. Starting in 2010, the Department of Planning and Development will have tighter control over the plans, as they will hire the consultants and not look for as much neighborhood input. It is hoped that incoming Mayor McGinn will reverse this, and the neighborhoods can once again have more input in 2011.

Michael Kerns from Seattle University reported that a nuisance property, located at 726 Broadway, is now under 24/7 guard, and the developer has applied for a demolition permit for the property. In recent weeks, substantial drug activity and an apparent suicide have taken place on the property.

The January General Meeting will feature Kaley Garrett from AMR Ambulance, who will speak about silent ambulance approaches on First Hill.

Ethan Melone from Seattle Department of Transportation will be attending our January, February, and March 2010 meetings to keep us updated as work on the routing of the First Hill Streetcar continues.  The FHIA will be drafting a community letter to go to SDOT with our preferred routing options.

Our first speaker was Mr. Michael Malone, owner of the Sorrento Hotel. The Sorrento is celebrating its 100^th year on First Hill, and remains one of the premier luxury hotels in the City.

·         Mr. Malone stated that it is a challenging time for hotels. The Sorrento is doing more outreach to the First Hill community, letting residents know about their food and beverage offerings, as well as entertainment.

·         Alarms and sirens from AMR ambulances delivering patients to neighboring emergency rooms have been a nuisance to the hotel, and the community at large. Mr. Malone asked about working with the community to create a “quiet zone”. FHIA will contact AMR ambulance to ask them to use greater discretion when using sirens.

·         The Sorrento has made significant progress in working towards acquiring Historic Landmark status with the City of Seattle.

·         FHIA members raised the issue of the Sorrento Garage needing some maintenance. Mr. Malone mentioned that it was painted about 18 months ago, but he will look into what other issues need to be addressed.

Our next guest was Sergeant Paul Gracy, of the Seattle Police Department, to review a number of noise-related incidents that have recently occurred in the neighborhood.

·         One recent weekend at Summit and Madison, a large vacuum truck was removing gravel from early in the morning till late at night. Gainsborough Condo residents were very upset at the very loud noise going on for hours. Calls to 911 were not responded to, and City offices were closed.

·         A late evening outdoor concert at the Sorrento Hotel

·         An event at the Stimson-Green Mansion, that spilled out onto the sidewalk at 1:40am. One FHIA member called police, who did respond, but replied that there was nothing they could do.

Sergeant Grady urged member to call the Police non-emergency number, (206) 625-5011, to report the following type of issues:

o   Wanting to inform police about a matter of concern

o   Want to report noise complaints or other nuisances

o   Want to report parking violations

o   To report a crime, but the suspect is gone, and you are not in any danger.

There are specific noise ordinances relating to residential, commercial, and industrial zones. The City code is 25080-500. Police can request noise to stop, if it is in violation of the code. They are able to issue $500.00 citations for non-compliance.

Other news:

·         There will be an upcoming public meeting sponsored by the Seattle Parks Department to discuss another push to obtain property for a new First Hill Park.

·         The City of Seattle has approved the memorandum of agreement transferring responsibility for the construction of the First Hill Streetcar from Sound Transit to the City of Seattle.

·         There is a Brown Bag Luncheon scheduled for Thursday, November 12^th, sponsored by GreatCity.org, regarding the First Hill Streetcar. Tony Fuoco, FHIA President, will be there to speak on our behalf.

·         We were introduced to Ms. Sherry Williams, the new community-affairs director for Swedish Medical Center. Ms. Williams role will be to act as Swedish’s face to the community, and keep the neighborhood informed about what is going on at Swedish. She hopes to attend FHIA meetings on a regular basis.

·         The new Seattle University Alumni Center has opened.

·         Virginia Mason’s new east wing addition was topped out this week.

OCTOBER 2009 MEETING NOTES

Our first speaker was Allison Schwartz, from the Seattle Department of Transportation. Allison reported the final results of the parking study that took place on First Hill earlier this year.

• Overall, parking utilization in the 3 study areas was 80%
• It was found that 45% of all parkers were not complying with posted time limits or restrictions.
• The Harborview vicinity study area was over 100% utilized
• The Swedish vicinity study area was at 80% utilization
• The Virginia Mason vicinity study area was at 70% utilization
• 40% of the vehicles parked around Swedish and VM had disabled permits

SDOT has several proposals for improving the availability of parking, including:

·        Changing unrestricted parking spaces to restricted (RPZ) spaces, with 2-hour paid parking

·        Adding RPZ signs to some existing paid parking blocks (residents with valid RPZ permits would be exempt from paying for parking, however)

·        Changing 1 and 2 hour time limit, free spaces to 2-hour limit paid spaces

·        Changing unrestricted spaces to 10 hour paid parking spaces

·        4 hour time limit for disabled permit holders in high demand areas.

SDOT will be sending out these proposals to the neighborhood, and there will be a four week comment period.  It is hoped that those parking changes that are chosen to be implemented will occur in the first half of 2010.

Chair Reports

Jim Erickson:  Jim reported that the City Council approved by a 9-0 vote to sign the interlocal agreement transferring $125 million from Sound Transit to the City of Seattle to design, build, and operate the First Hill Streetcar.

Donald Harrris from the Seattle Parks Department is planning to hold an open house to garner public input on ideas/locations for a future First Hill Park. They are still considering acquiring the western (lower) half of the original “Spanish Steps” project below St. James Cathedral.

Joanne Coombs:  Joanne reported that an event recently held at Stimson-Green Mansion had over 200 guests and lasted until 1:30am, with guest spilling out onto the sidewalk. Police were called to get the crowd to disperse and quiet down.

Skyline at First Hill reports that they have received their certificate of occupancy, and that residents are just starting to move in.

Michael Kerns from Seattle University reports that the ribbon-cutting for their new Admissions and Alumni (A&A) Building, will be held on Saturday, October 17^th. The University is starting a new community newsletter, “Community Connections”, which can be found at www.seattleu.edu/connections.

SEPTEMBER 2009 MEETING NOTES

Our first speaker was Shane DeWald, Senior Landscape Architect with the City of Seattle Department of Transportation. Ms DeWald came to speak to us about the landscaping to be installed along the newly improved sections of 8^th Avenue north of James Street.

SDOT is planning to landscape the planting strips and tree pits along the stretches of 8th Avenue which recently received street lighting improvements. We have 3 basic options as to what this landscaping will consist of:

1) Plant grass in the planting strips.  PROS:  Will be maintained by SDOT contractor till established. CONS: Will go dormant every summer unless irrigated

2) Plant a single species of ground cover.  PROS: After 2 years will be established and not need watering. CONS: Needs regular weeding indefinitely, and irrigation from May-September for first two years.

3) Plants a mixture of plants. PROS: Looks best, if cared for. CONS:  Needs weeding, and may need irrigation indefinitely, depending upon species selected.

Controlling Dog Waste will be an issue with all 3 options.

Wood chip mulch will be used in all the tree pits.

A survey will be sent out to FHIA members who work/live in the vicinity to determine preferences for the work to be done. We’ll get the comments back to Ms. DeWald by early October for implementation.

Our next speakers were Dan Baldner, Pat Park, and Shelley Dooley from Catholic Community Services. They came to inform us about a new project they are planning at the site of a former day care center at 13^th and E. Spring Street. The 16 unit project will be for US Armed Forces veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who are suffering from trauma and other mental health issues. The residents, who would primarily be referred from the Veterans Administration, would have supervision and would sign leases, as this would be permanent housing, not a halfway house. Construction is expected to begin in mid 2010.

Jim Erickson reviewed the Landmarks Nomination Hearings for buildings owned by Harborview and Virginia Mason:

The Landmarks Board agreed to nominate the center wing of Harborview Hospital for Landmark status, but was split on whether to nominate Harborview Hall.  The Board will visit the site, and then vote again on September 16^th.

At a subsequent meeting, the Board voted to nominate the Baroness Apartment Hotel and the Inn at Virginia Mason for Landmark status. The Board voted NOT to nominate the Chasselton Apartments. The Landmark status for the Baroness covers only the site and the exterior of the building. The Landmark status for the Inn at Virginia Mason covers the site, the exterior, and the main lobby area.

Michael Kerns from Seattle University updated us on activities on the Seattle U Campus:

·         A new library is being built at the center of the campus

·         A new 5-story residence hall is being built at 12^th and Cherry. It will have ground floor retail and 4 levels of housing above. An environmental clean-up of the site must first be performed. Construction is slated to start in March 2010, with completion in 2012.

Fred Savaglio from Virginia Mason noted that they are currently installing a new connector bridge from the south end of the existing sky bridge that will tie into the new hospital tower being built on Boren Avenue.

AUGUST 2009 MEETING NOTES

Our first guest speaker was Mr. Randal Brand, from the Polyclinic. Mr. Brand reported that the adoption of the Pike-Pine Overlay Amendment clears the way for the possible development of two Polyclinic-owned properties for medical uses. The Board of Directors and the Physicians are currently working on a plan for clinic expansion, which they hope to have completed by the end of the year.

• The Polyclinic currently has 11 different properties, and they are looking to consolidate the services provided at those various locations into the Broadway clinic.
• It is projected that the clinic needs an additional 70,000 to 120,000 sq. ft. of space.
• It is hoped that a new facility could be opened by 2013, on the block between Harvard and Boylston and Spring and Seneca.
• An architect has not yet been selected.

Our next speaker was Mr. Donald Harris from the Seattle Parks Department, to update us on the search for property for a new First Hill Park.

• Parks is looking at the “Spanish Steps” property once again, located between 8^th and 9^th Avenues, between Columbia and Marion Streets.
• They are taking suggestions for new “concepts” and alternative public spaces
• Although the focus has been on finding a site south of Madison Street, they may once again start looking north of Madison Street.
• Suggested ideas include “mini-parks”, street improvements, such as benches, greenery, etc.

The FHIA will pull together a list of suggested locations/concepts, and forward them to Mr. Harris.

Chair Reports:

Jim Erickson: Jim gave a recap of the letters the FHIA sent to the Landmarks Board on behalf of Virginia Mason and Harborview.

Martha Barkman: Martha reports Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark is starting to address zoning changes for High-rise zones, which could impact First Hill.

Fred Savaglio: Virginia Mason will be presenting to the Seattle Landmarks Commission on August 16^th, proposing to nominate the Inn at Virginia Mason and the Baroness Apartments for Landmark status.

Martha, Fred, and Cher TenHoeve took a tour of the new VM hospital tower last week. More tours will be forthcoming.

The Major Institutions Employee Transportation Group meets on August 12^th.  Jim Erickson will be attending. Ethan Malone from the Seattle Transportation Department will be on hand to discuss streetcar alignments.

Joanne Coombs:  Joanne reported that a respite-care operation has moved into the 7^th floor of Jefferson Terrace. It appears to be running smoothly thus far.

JULY 2009 MEETING NOTES

Our first speaker was Mr. Ethan Melone, from the Seattle Department of Transportation. Mr. Melone updated us on the status of the First Hill Streetcar Project.

• The inter-local agreement, transferring the responsibility for designing, building, and operating the streetcar, has not yet been completed between Sound Transit and the City of Seattle.  It is taking longer than anticipated to complete, due to the complexity surrounding the acceleration of the project timetable. The original target date for completion was mid-2016. It is known at this point that the project can be accelerated; it is not known by how much, however. Hopefully, the inter-local agreement will be completed by fall 2009.
• The proposed alignments for the streetcar are in “concept-design” phase at this time. Finalizing the routing will be about a 4 month process once it gets underway.
• Once routing is determined, the preliminary engineering phase will begin, and formal reviews will commence.
• Conceptual Design phase follows, and will take approximately 6 months.
• Final Design phase is next, and takes approximately 9-12 months.
• Once the Design is completed and approved, actual construction is estimated to take about 20 months.

Some other considerations have surfaced that will need to be looked at:

• The Cedar River water pipeline runs under the northbound lanes of 12^th Avenue, thus precluding any streetcar construction over those lanes. Any streetcar routing on 12^th would have to go in the southbound lanes, or have a dedicated lane in the middle of the street.
• The City will look at the FHIA’s desired routing of following Boren Avenue north to Madison Street, then eastbound on Madison to Broadway. If the right turn from Boren to Madison proves to be too tight, then Boren to Seneca will be considered.

Our next speaker was Ms. Allison Schwartz, to discuss the findings from the First Hill Parking Study. Three main areas were studied: East of Virginia Mason Hospital; West of Swedish Hospital; and the vicinity of Harborview Hospital. Key findings of the study included:

• 40% of all cars parked around Virginia Mason and Swedish had handicapped hang-tags. Of these vehicles, at least 40% had been parked more than 4 hours. It was found that 7% of all the hang-tags were expired or belonged to deceased individuals.
• The average utilization of unrestricted parking spaces is 106%. This means people are squeezing in more vehicles than the parking spaces are designed to hold.
• Parking spaces with 2 hour time limits are currently at 87% utilization, but many parkers are not complying with the posted time limits.

The full findings of the study can be found at: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/cp_firsthill.htm

It was noted that Virginia Mason and Swedish are going to do a study of all major medical facilities on First Hill to determine how their employees get to and from work. This data should be available by September 2009.

Our final speakers were Joan Caruful and Mike Evans, representing the Freeway Park Neighborhood Association. Among the many activities taking place in the park:

• A book cart is set up from Noon to 2pm Daily
• Street Musicians perform from Noon to 2pm Daily
• The “Dancing till Dusk” program will be held every Thursday from 6-9pm from July 23^rd through August 20^th.

There has been a considerable amount of tree removal in the park, due to the fact the trees had gotten too big, and were ill-suited to the surroundings. Removal and replacement is being done in 3 phases, with the 3^rd phase just beginning now.

Towering, thick, heavy greenery has been thinned or removed. It is being replaced with shorter trees that let more light into the park. Plantings and trees are now scheduled to be changed out every 5 years. New pedestrian lighting will be installed throughout the park by the end of the summer.

Other items of notes from the meeting:

-          The 8^th Avenue Pedestrian Lighting improvements are in!

-          Skyline at First Hill is nearing completion. Occupancy is set for November.

-          The Sorrento Hotel is hosting neighborhood block parties on Fridays from 3-8pm.

JUNE 2009 MEETING NOTES

Our first guest was Barbara Gray, Associate Transportation Planner with the Seattle Department of Transportation. She updated the group on a proposed Pedestrian Master Plan for First Hill.

·         There are over 450 vehicle/pedestrian crashes per year in Seattle.

·         In 2007, SDOT was directed to make a Pedestrian Master Plan in association with a resident advisory group. Also working closely with Seattle Police on pedestrian safety issues.

·         On July 21^st, there will be meetings with the City Council on a draft of the plan. See www.seattle.gov/mostwalkablecity.htm for details.

Goals of the plan include:

·         SAFETY – Driver and Pedestrian attentiveness, keeping vehicle speeds in check, and insuring pedestrian visibility at intersections.

·         EQUITY – Create walkability according to neighborhood needs.

·         VIBRANCY – Help support local businesses.

·         HEALTH – Encourage everyone to walk for health reasons.

In 2007, an inventory and quality assessment was done of all sidewalks in the City of Seattle.

Plan is to include improved walkability on all sidewalks. An area of at least 6’ wide by 8’ high should be clear on on sidewalks. Also, goal is to strictly enforce parking minimums of 30’ from nearest corner, to improve visibility.  Also want to create vibrant public spaces.  Trying to come up with incentives on how to do this.

Where the focus of the plan will be:

·         Identifying types of land uses that create demand for pedestrian walkways.

·         Identifying areas with populations of the low-income/elderly/disabled, who are less physically active

·         Identifying areas where residents/workers need to walk to access public transit

·         Identifying the ease and comfort of crossing particular roadways, and how to improve it.

Many areas were identified on First Hill needing improvement. They can be seen on the map at the website noted above.

A  pedestrian safety campaign is also planned within the next couple of years.

We also had a presentation from Kate Stineback of the Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Association (CHHIP).  Her organization, along with several other groups in the 12^th Avenue Neighborhood Plan Stewardship Committee, have expressed a desire for a more easterly- path for the planned First Hill Streetcar.  Their members  are proposing a north/south routing via 12^thAvenue, or 12^th Avenue in conjunction with Broadway.   FHIA members present reiterated our groups support for a Boren Avenue to  Madison Street to Broadway routing. This would most closely replicate the quality and level of service to First Hill residents and workers that was taken away when the First Hill light rail station was eliminated.

MAY 2009 MEETING NOTES

Fred Savaglio from Virginia Mason gave a presentation on Virginia Mason’s preliminary planning toward a new Master Plan.

·         The Master Plan development process takes 2-4 years.

·         The new Master Plan will shape campus expansion and upgrades for the next 15-20 years

·         VM recently purchased the bulk of the block bounded by Madison, Spring, Boren, and Terry. This property is being earmarked for redevelopment.  The adjacent area contains 3 historic buildings, The Chasselton Apartments, the Baroness Apartments, and the Inn at Virginia Mason.

·         VM is supporting Landmark designations for the Baroness and the Inn at Virginia Mason.

·         Further planning for the site will be conducted after it is determined which buildings need to be preserved as historic landmarks.

Elise Chayet from Harborview Medical Center also gave an update on development activities on their campus.

·         The 244,000 sq. ft.  Norm Maleng Building, at 410 Ninth Avenue, opened in Summer 2008, and is fully operational.

·         The 9^th and Jefferson Building is just being completed, and will be fully occupied by the end of 2009.

·         Wider sidewalks and pedestrian-level lighting has been installed throughout the area.

·         There will be street-front retail at 9^th and James.

·         It is their hope to demolish the East Clinic and Harborview Hall buildings, as they are both seismically unsound. The desire is to replace Harborview Hall with open space and make it the “heart” of the Harborview campus. An application has been filed with the Landmarks Board to get approval to remove Harborview Hall.

·         The projects noted above will complete everything noted in their Master Plan through 2010. Work will then start on a new 15-20 year Master Plan.

Board Member Updates:

Jim Erickson – It was noted at the Streetcar Alliance Meeting that 3 contractors had been selected for the First Hill Streetcar project. The $125 million in funding is currently being transferred from Sound Transit to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Martha Barkman –

·         The Sky Garden project on Seneca has been repossessed by the bank.

·         The Marlborough House Condo project on Boren has been repossessed by the bank.

·         The 802 Seneca project is still looking for financing.

Patricia Edmond-Quinn – Has been doing outreach to businesses on Madison Street, encouraging their participation in FHIA.

 Joanne Coombs – reported that Barbara Gray is currently working on pedestrian improvements in the area.

Natalie Quick – Reported that most of the focus of Neighborhood Planning is on SE Seattle and neighborhoods with new light-rail stations.

Judith Kilgore, from the Seattle Housing Authority, gave the members present an update on Jefferson Terrace. At this point in time, the SHA will continue to operate Jefferson Terrace, and all proposals to work jointly with a homeless services provider have been eliminated. There is hope that some Federal Economic Stimulus Funding will be obtained to do some badly needed upgrades to the facility.

Ms Kilgore then went on to discuss the planned redevelopment of Yesler Terrace . She has been project manager for this project for 3 years, and works closely with the 24-member Citizens Review Committee, who is overseeing the project. Jim Erickson, of the FHIA, is a member of this committee.

Some key facts about the planned redevelopment…

·         Three different site concepts are being developed

·         All concepts contain 3,000-5,000 units of housing, 1.2 million square feet of office space, 100,000 square feet of retail, 6-8 acres of open space.

·         Currently there are 561 Low-Income Units

·         Financial modeling is based on 4,000 units; 2,200 would be market-rate, 950 would be for those with 50-80% of median income, 250 units for those with 30-50% of median income, and 600 units to replace the units of the current residents.

·         Earliest construction start would be late 2011, but more likely 2012 or 2013.

·         All residents who currently live at Yesler Terrace will be guaranteed a residence there if they wish to return.

·         Office space will be high-rise, 16-24 stories, clustered around Harborview Hospital

·         NO federal funding is anticipated. All private-sector funding. Building will be done piecemeal, block by block. Current residents will be relocated else on-site, or to nearby neighborhoods.

·         Replacement of the 561 low-income units will cost approximately $140 million, infrastructure will cost $60-90 million, and community programs will cost $5-10 million. Funding for these items will come from selling land to developers to privately redevelop, with guidelines and covenants to fit within the master plan.

·         SHA will build the low-income units and the infrastructure. Private developers will build the office, retail, and market-rate housing.

·         Most housing will be in 30-160’ buildings, with some townhomes. Sizes will range from 1 bedroom to 4 bedrooms. No studio units.

Rick Hooper, Director of Program Development for the Seattle Office of Housing, then spoke to the group about proposed changed to the multi-family zoning codes.

·         Seattle has 5 multi-family zone types, and all will be impacted by new legislation.

·         New legislation was primarily driven by the huge growth of “ugly townhouses” that filled lots from property line to property line with big square box-like structures.

·         First Hill is mostly zoned for high-rise, with major-institution overlays.

·         First Hill is the only neighborhood in the City, besides Downtown, where high-rise residential housing is allowed.

·         Currently, builders may build to 160’ (16 stories), or 240’ (24 stories) if bonuses are provided to the neighborhood.

·         New zoning guidelines will be simplified, with a new bonus system.

·         The new system will give bonuses for providing workforce housing, providing open-space as part of the project, or transferring development rights with historic structures on First Hill.

Land Use Update from Martha Barkman:

·         Marlborough House building is being auctioned in May

·         802 Seneca high-rise project is on indefinite hold due to current financing freeze.

·         First Presbyterian Church is trying to pull a Request for Proposal together for their property, but will be difficult in current economic environment

·         Barclays NW  “Skygarden” project on Seneca is most likely going into receivership

·         1200 Madison project, the former US Bank site on Madison, is also on hold due to lack of available financing.

One bit of good news… Seattle Department of Transportation is planning to start the pedestrian street lighting improvements along 8^th Avenue by the end of March.

Financial Update from Michael Gray:

21 of 36 members have paid 2009 dues as of today. Will send reminder notices out to those who have not paid at the beginning of April. First Hill mailbox rental, website fees, and other expenses have been paid up into 2010. Net revenue for 2009 to date approximately $3,000.

Jim Erickson noted that there has been a rash of commercial break-ins in the neighborhood.

Fred Savaglio mentioned that the Virginia Mason East Hospital Tower is now built up to street level. Construction continues through all of 2009.

Thanks to Martha Barkman for hosting our meeting this month at the new Landes Apartments at 8^th and Marion, and for giving the group a tour of one of the new units.