Tomorrow Montlake Market Public Meeting

A neighbor would like to share that tomorrow at 5:45pm, WSDOT is holding a public meeting to share information about the status of their acquisition of the property where the Montlake Boulevard Market and 76 gas station are located. The meeting will be held at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church (2100 Boyer Avenue E.). 

The Laurelhurst Community Club told the Laurelhurst Blog:

This is the first public meeting, and may be the only one, on eliminating the Montlake Market at the SR 520 off ramp. Services on the south side of the Cut, helps Montlake Boulevard traffic for all as well.  Our neighbors in Montlake are facing demolition of their corner market which offers many services to folks who live south of the Ship Canal and do not want to trek to U Village for grocery items. The removal of this market was not vetted in the original EIS for the SR520 Bridge, but was added later with no opportunity for the public to comment.

WSDOT will provide an opportunity for public feedback and discuss these topics:
* Overview of the upcoming Montlake Project elements and schedule
* Factors driving the project’s need for the property

* How WSDOT is working to address a 2018 legislative directive, which states in part: “The department [WSDOT] shall work with its design-build contractor to ensure to the maximum extent practicable that the building housing any grocery store or market currently located on parcel number 1-23190 will be preserved."

The Montlake Community Council website, has been very active in its effort to save it from WSDOT’s decision to pursue acquisition of the market and adjoining gas station through eminent domain.

In October last year the MCC posted that they had received $29,000 in donations to cover legal fees to help save the Montlake Boulevard Market. A month before, a King County Superior Court judge ruled against the MCC and the property owners and granted WSDOT approval to move forward with the condemnation of the market and gas station. The MCC and their attorney argued that WSDOT did not consider the environmental impacts associated with closing the Montlake Market. By intervening in the case, the MCC hoped to strengthen the argument for saving the market and force WSDOT to consider alternatives. 

MCC said that WSDOT claims they need the properties for a variety of reasons that include re-routing traffic and staging for the upcoming phase of the SR 520 project, followed by “Rest of the West” portion. 

At tomorrow's meeting they have requested that Representatives Jamie Pederson, Frank Chopp, and Nicole Macri advocate for the market.

The MCC invites the community to fill out their quick survey here saying: It’s crunch-time to save the Montlake Market and our community once again needs your help! Now that WSDOT has named their design-builder for the SR 520 Montlake Project, they’ll be hosting a technical workshop with Graham Construction and the Seattle of Seattle to make a final decision about saving the market or condemning the property and tearing it down.  In a surprise to no one, WSDOT has determined that neither our community nor the general public will be able to participate in this process. With the community once again sidelined, it appears that our only hope is to get our State elected leaders to step in and play an active role on behalf of our community during this process.   Click through the prompts to write to Senator Jamie Pedersen, Representative Frank Chopp, and Representative Nicole Macri. Tell them the community simply doesn’t trust WSDOT to save Montlake Market!   We will never be part of the process if we sit quietly.

For more information, go to the Montlake Market Facebook page and WSDOT website.  The Seattle Times also published an article.