Contact State Reps Before Tomorrow's Meeting To Require City To Give Public Notice For Small, Skinny Home New Construction

 



House at 4812 NE 40th Street built on small side yard oringially part of home next door

 

"It could happen to you with no warning" was one Laurelhurst resident's comment when a tall, skinny home was built in 2012 on the 4800 block of NE 40th Street.

The house, southeast of Laurelhurst Park, sits on a piece of property only 30 feet wide, which was segmented out of a larger one only 80 feet wide leaving only three feet in between the houses.

Nick,  a Laurelhurst resident, who lives near a tall, skinny house, wrote a Blog post about his experience with the new construction home right across from him, titled, There Goes The Neighborhood — And Yours May Be Next.

Dan Duffus, a developer, is well-known around the city for building these tall skinny houses on very small lots, of which the houses are  modern in style, towering over the established homes beneath them and don't fit in with the character of the neighborhood.

Tomorrow at 1:30pm in Olympia, State Representatives Pollet, Tarleton, Ryu, Santos and Gregerson will be introducing the legislation (HB 1084) at the state level, trying to force the City of Seattle to provide the surrounding neighbors with official notice when the Seattle Department of Planning and Development is considering allowing a developer to build a new, full-size home in the backyard or side yard of an existing home.

A number of Laurelhurst residents have joined a multi-neighborhood Seattle wide movement called One Home Per Lot, to fight small, skinny homes.

The group sent out this information about tomorrow's meeting:

Tomorrow is a very important meeting. We will be sending a representative to speak and encourage others to attend and testify. If you can't attend, please take a minute, before Thursday, to send an email (and / or call) in support of the legislation. Email or call each of the members of the House Local Government Committee (and copy Representative Gerry Pollet). Emails are found below.

"Small-lot housing" still has neighborhoods all across the city fired up. And the notification issue is an especially contentious element. 

As you may recall, in May of last year, the Seattle city council passed a new set of building codes for small-lot homes that included a notification requirement. However, it only applies to the smallest of undersized lots (those under 3,200 square feet) and does not include lot boundary adjustments (another way developers build on undersized lots). 

In that same piece of legislation, the city council also promised, in writing, to study the notification issue further. It's been eight months since that promise, and still no results.   

When Representatives Pollet and Tarleton proposed similar legislation last year, professional lobbyists for the building / development industry were the only people to speak -- and they were obviously very critical of the idea of notifying the neighborhood (developers love to work in secret). 

Here's an easy-to-understand summary of the building codes the city passed last year  and here's a complete summary of all that has transpired on this issue.

 

Here is information from Representative Pollett:

Neighborhood Community Council Members and Stakeholders,

This legislative session, I plan to introduce a bill to ensure that land use decisions affecting neighborhoods are made with notice to neighbors.  

This would end a massive loophole. Currently, neighbors have 21 days to challenge a land use decision, but it is not required that they are given notice of this decision. It is important for community members in a neighborhood to be able to have this be a transparent process. The Seattle Times covered the issue this past September.  

I would greatly welcome your input and or support for this proposal. Please contact me with any questions or suggestions. Please let me know if there are other community members you would like to be added to this list. For both, please CC my Legislative Assistant, Angie Weiss at angie.weiss@leg.wa.gov.

Bill Draft Summary:

·         Declares that the Legislature finds that due process requires notice to be given to adjacent landowners and residents within 300 feet of specified land use decisions, and declares the Legislature’s intent that the Land Use Petition Act’s (LUPA) statute of limitations does not run until notice is provided in accordance with statute.

·         Adds to LUPA a new date of issuance – i.e., the date that notice of certain land use decisions is effective – that must be considered in determining when LUPA’s 21-day statute of limitations begins to run.

·         Requires cities with a population of 500,000 or more to provide notice to adjacent landowners and residents of the following: applications for approval and approval of boundary line adjustments, and applications for approval and approval of preliminary short plats of short subdivisions. Applies only to Seattle, where this is a serious problem.

·         Defines the term “adjacent landowners and residents” to mean owners, residents, and persons who are both owners and residents of real property located within 300 feet of property subject to approval of a proposed preliminary short plat of a short subdivision or boundary line adjustment. 

 

 

Here is a letter the Laurelhurst Community Club wrote to Representative Pollett:

 

Dear Representative Pollet:

 

                The Laurelhurst Community Club strongly supports House Bill 1084 which would require notice to adjacent property owners of small single-family lot development.  Without a change in law, neighborhoods have 21 days to challenge a land use decision—but they have no notice of the decision. This is not due process. With the pressure for increased density, property lots continue to be subdivided far below the lot size specified in Seattle’s Land Use Code, as there are exceptions that allow this with no notice to affected neighbors.  These new developments more often than not exceed height and lot coverage restrictions and setback requirements.  Neighbors should have an opportunity to comment before the bulldozers show up.

 

Zoning loopholes, exploited by some developers, have resulted in building inconsistent with the height, bulk and scale of surrounding homes on lots as small as 1,050 square feet in Single Family 5,000 zones.  The Seattle City Council has addressed some of the issues with this small-lot development, but nonetheless, notice remains a major problem.  This infill development is destroying the character of neighborhoods with major adverse valuation and aesthetic impacts upon surrounding homes.  Below is an egregious example in Laurelhurst.

 

 

 

4845 NE 40^th Street, Laurelhurst

Three-story house wedged into side yard

               

Zoning regulations and their consistent enforcement is the backbone of fair and diverse development within our city. Predictable plat sizes for adjacent buildings assure home owners that their investment in 30 years of payments will provide some equity for them in the future.

 

These small lot sized multi-story homes block the sunlight to adjacent yards, and eliminates the ability for the backyard neighbor to nurture a family garden for lack of sunshine.  In addition, existing privacy evaporates with the new intrusive views, and window placements.

 

At minimum, the Laurelhurst Community Club requests that adjacent neighbors and the community provided notice with this substandard development. 

 

The Laurelhurst Community Club supports the bill's specific requirement to give notice and an opportunity to comment:  Because of the impacts to surrounding properties, affected neighbors and community councils should have notice of proposed development on these undersized lots, an opportunity to comment and the right to appeal to the Hearing Examiner.  Currently, this exception is considered a Type 1 decision with no notice, opportunity to comment or appeal to the Hearing Examiner.  Because of lack of notice, impacted neighbors are most often not aware that a building permit has been issued until bulldozers arrive.  This means that the 21-day period to file a Land Use Petition Act appeal to Superior Court is unworkable.  With no notice of the permit and the possible delay between the granting of the permit and the commencement of work, the 21-day time period likely would have lapsed with no opportunity to engage legal counsel or to pursue legal right.

 

Nearby neighbors should not have to lose value in homes they’ve likely owned and worked on for decades due to the antiquated provisions in our local code.  Neighbors’ homes represent an investment they have counted on for their futures.  A standard, such as that listed in SMC 23.46.006, should be a part of any future proposed Code change.  That section states, “The use shall be determined not to be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property in the zone or vicinity in which the property is located.”  A similar provision exists in SMT 23.40.020C3.

 

House Bill 1084 offers protection at least from the state when local municipalities fail to provide notice to affected homeowners. 

 

Thank you for your sponsorship of HB 1084 and considering the comments of the Laurelhurst Community Club.  We urge you to do all you can to encourage other legislators to support this important measure.

 

 

Contact information for Representatives courtesy of One Home Per Lot:

 

- Representative Dean Takko (D), Committee Chair

(360) 786-7806

Dean.Takko@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Mia Gregerson (D), Committee Vice Chair

(360) 786-7868

Mia.Gregerson@leg.wa.gov

- Representative David Taylor (R), Committee Ranking Minority Member

(360) 786-7874

David.Taylor@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Dan Griffey (R), Committee Assistant Ranking Minority Member

(360) 786-7966

Dan.Griffey@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D)

(360) 786-7952

Joe.Fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Joan McBride (D)

(360) 786-7848

Joan.McBride@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Bob McCaslin (R)

(360) 786-7820

Bob.McCaslin@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Strom Peterson (D)

(360) 786-7950

Strom.Peterson@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Liz Pike (R)

(360) 786-7812

Liz.Pike@leg.wa.gov

- Representative Gerry Pollet (D), the sponsor of this bill

(360) 786-7886

Gerry.Pollet@leg.wa.gov

City Hall Open House on Saturday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open House last year

 

 

 

Mayor Mike McGinn, City Council and City Attorney Pete Holmes will holding a City Hall Open House on Saturday from 10-2pm at Seattle City Hall (601 5th Avenue).

 

The information says:

Every City Department will be staffing a table and this is a great opportunity for residents to meet and connect with city staff and elected officials in a more casual environment. 

The Open House will have tours of city hall offices, entertainment, food and the opportunity to adopt some lovable dogs and critters!

 

Here are the featured activities:

 

11:00 Acrobatic performance by SANCA

12:00 Food Trucks

1:00 Massive Monkees Dance Crew

For more information go here.

(photo courtesy of seattlegov website)

 

 

City's Taking Input On Bike Master Plan

 
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is taking input through a survey on the Bicycle Master Plan Update.

Here are some of the questions from the survey for Phase 2 of the Master Plan Process, which ends tonight:

·Draft citywide bicycle network map -are there streets missing a bike facility? Are there streets where a bike facility should be removed or relocated?

·Draft bicycle facility designation criteria-does it make sense?

·Proposed policy framework-do you have comments on the goals, or other recommended changes?

·Potential programs-which programs do you think will help us achieve the plan goals?
 

For more information and to to see the interactive online map go here.

City Yard Waste Christmas Tree Pick-Up Through Sunday

 

 

Seattle food and yard waste subscribers can leave Christmas trees and greens curbside to be picked up through Sunday. The trees will be turned into wood chips or compost.
 

The trees need to be cut into sections of six feet or shorter with branches trimmed to less than four feet to be able to fit into the collection trucks.
 

Each section should be bundled with sisal string or twine, not plastic
 

Decorated, flocked and plastic trees are not recyclable, and will be charged as extra garbage. 
 

Trees not higher than eight feet long and free of decorations, can also be taken to the North Recycling and Disposal Station (1350 North 34th Street). The station is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Bicycle Master Plan Public Meeting Tonight

Tonight from 5:30-7:30pm, the City of Seattle is holding a Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Public Meeting where a citywide map of proposed bicycle facilities will be on display.
 

There will also be a discussion of tradeoffs of adding more bike improvements in the city and specific neighborhoods. The public will also be able to help prioritize programs and actions to encourage more biking and safe bike riding. 
 

The meeting will be held at the University of Washington, Gould Hall, NE 40^th Street between University Way NE and 15^th Avenue NE.
 

A survey is also available. For more information, go here.

Free Compost Campaign Running Through October 15th

The City of Seattle, King County and Cedar Grove Composting are starting a new effort to get more compost in the hands of gardeners this fall with their Compost Quarterback Campaign, by offering coupons for free compost to anyone who signs up online through October 15th.

The campaign hopes to educate more consumers about what can and can’t go into food and yard waste bins, as well as encourage more use of compost in the fall, which is a great  time for building up soil nutrients.

To participate in the campaign, go to the  Cedar Grove Composting website, and  take an online quiz to test compost and food scrap recycling knowledge and then receive a coupon for a free bag of compost.

 

Participants can also enter to win weekly Husky Game tickets, offerings from Ace Hardware, Fred Meyer, McLendon Hardware, QFC and Zeeks Pizza. And one lucky winner will receive get the grand prize, which is an Apple Cup Prize package which includes two tickets, a gas card to get there and a QFC gift card.

 

Find our more here, on Facebook and Twitter.  UW Huskies game on Sept. 15.

Reminder About Neighborhood Parking And Oversized Vehicles

A Blog reader sent us this email complaining about inconsiderate neighbors not following City parking rules:

Many neighbors are noticing......What's happened to rules and just plain old neighborly consideration? The boat trailer (pictured above) has been parked without a vehicle for nearly a week, on East Laurelhurst Drive, making it difficult for neighbors to park.  

Others are parking where it is posted "NO PARKING ANYTIME. What part of that don't they understand?!  More neighbors need to park on the streets, especially now, because of Seattle's Utilities improvement project.

 Here are the corresponding City of Seattle Parking regulations:

No person shall park  a vehicle on any street or alley, except in a Manufacturing or Industrial Zone as defined in the Zoning Code of Seattle (Ordinance 86300 as amended) between the hours of midnight and six (6) a.m. if the vehicle is a truck and/or trailer or other conveyance which is over eighty (80) inches wide. (Ord. 108200 Section 2( 11.72.070), 1979.) 

If the boat/trailer is smaller than 80” wide, it can be parked on the street providing the trailer is hitched to a vehicle.   

The 72-hour rule applies – meaning that the boat and vehicle must be moved every 72-hours. 

To report abandoned vehicles, or a car that has been parked for more than 72 hours, go here.

Find History Of Trees On Your Street And Throughout The City

SDOT recently released a new web based tool for looking up what kinds of trees are planted on your street and who is responsible for maintaing them, including the many trees in Laurelhurst.

SDOT started the tree inventory process in 1992 and has continued until currently where the inventory stands at  approximately 40,000 city maintained trees of the over 130,000 in the city.

The website lists each Seattle neighborhood, including Laurelhurst,  with a street map containing the inventoried tree's common and scientific name, the inventory identification number, diameter, street address, party responsible for maintenance, the date the tree was planted or inventoried, and the date that the tree was last checked by clicking on an individual tree.

Users can submit current size information for an existing tree  here or submit information for an unlisted tree here.

Help Shape Seattle Waterfront At Upcoming Series Of Meetings

The City of Seattle’s Waterfront Seattle project is conducting several community informal discussions to gather input on some of some of the key questions shaping the future of the Seattle waterfront.

Each discussion, held at Town Hall from 5:30-7pm,  will explore a different issue, from how to make the waterfront attractive in all seasons to how to balance many transportation needs. To attend send email here: rsvp@waterfrontseattle.org.

Here is the schedule:

Tuesday, January 31st:  Climate and Context
How can we make the waterfront an attractive place for all seasons?

Wednesday, February 8th: Mobility and Access
The waterfront is a crossroads. How do we balance the many transportation needs?

Monday, February 27th:  Environment and Ecology
How can the waterfront help to restore the natural ecology of Elliott Bay and showcase sustainable design?

Monday, March 5th: Setting the Stage
How do we create vibrant spaces for arts, culture and entertainment?

Wednesday, March 14: Uniquely Seattle
Seattle’s waterfront has a rich context and history. How can we design it to reflect the uniqueness of the place and speak to our past, present and future?

Safety Tips During This Winter Storm

Laurelhurst Park on Monday

The Mayor's Office sent out some helpful information earlier this week with some recommendations for residents during this winter storm:

• Consider options now for travel, staying off the roads if possible. 
• Move cars off streets, if possible, to aid with snow removal.
• Check on neighbors, especially the vulnerable.
• Wrap pipes and outdoor faucets to prevent ruptured pipes and flooding inside homes.
• Turn faucets to a slow drip to prevent pipes from freezing.
• Be careful when choosing how to heat or light homes. Open flames and unattended candles are dangerous. Do not bring open stoves or gas grills inside as the fumes can be poisonous and deadly. 
• Find and clear street storm drains. Snow followed by rain can clog drains and cause flooding.
• Have coats, hats, gloves and blankets at hand to stay warm during possible power outages.
• Bring pets indoors
• Only call 911 in a life-threatening emergency.
• Businesses and residents are reminded to keep their sidewalks clear to help pedestrians walk safely. Pedestrians should be cautious on snow or ice covered surfaces.

And some helpful websites:

• Seattle Department of Transportation's interactive map to help track which streets have been plowed and de-iced  recently. 
• For up-to-date information on SDOT’s response activities and roadway conditions go here. 
• Check current traffic conditions and roadway webcams and pictures on SDOT’s Traveler’s Map.

Large Protest Scheduled For 4pm Today, Could Impact Commute, Neighboring Hospitals and Bridges

A large Occupy Seattle unpermitted protest is scheduled to start at 3:30pm today, according to the flier, with the protest at 4pm and the march and attempt to move onto the University Brige and possible SR520 at 4:30pm.

 A reader forwarded this information to us from the UW:

The University of Washington Police Department is expecting a large Occupy Seattle protest today beginning at about 3:30pm at Montlake Blvd NE and NE Pacific Street.  The protesters will have speakers at this rally presenting on how the economy has impacted them. 

They are then planning to move from the sidewalks to the street and march onto Montlake Bridge at 4:30pm, blocking bridge access until forced off by police.

This could potentially have severe impacts on patient/visitor access to the UW Hospital, ambulance, Metro and commuter traffic.  Law enforcement are actively planning to mitigate the impact of this event and maintain traffic access.

Alternative commuter routes to the North and West are not expected to be affected, including access to I-5 via 45th Street.  Metro and DOT have been notified, as well as Seattle Children's other potentially affected entities.

And here is information from the City of Seattle:

An Occupy Seattle rally and march today has the potential for creating major delays on all arterials leading to and from Ship Canal bridges during the afternoon commute.   The rally is scheduled to take place between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on the University of Washington campus and then is expected to march west on NE Pacific Street to the University Bridge at roughly 4:30 p.m.

The demonstrators plan to block the bridge during the afternoon rush hour so their presence will likely cause traffic delays throughout the afternoon commute – until after 6:30 or 7 p.m.

Demonstrators may also block the Montlake Bridge during that timeframe.     Seattle Police Officers will be on hand to minimize traffic congestion but the blockage of any one bridge could impact other nearby Ship Canal bridges.

Commuters should allow additional time for detouring to another route. Motorists who must get to the University or Children’s hospitals should plan for extra time to reach their destination.   

The protests could be very disruptive to transit service this afternoon. For information or questions about transit service, please call Metro Transit customer service at 206-553-3000, and sign up to receive Transit Alerts at www.kingcounty.gov/metro/alerts .

Information About Making Anonymous Tips To Help Solve Crimes

A reader forwarded this important information to us he received from Karen Ko with the City of Seattle:

Making Anonymous Tips to Help Solve Crimes

Some people are extremely reluctant to report crimes for fear of retaliation from the suspect.  You can safely make tips through Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound without exposing your identity.

Please be assured that their system is 100% anonymous.  You NEVER have to give your name.  You can call, send a tip via the internet or text message a tip (texting is currently only available in King, Kitsap, Snohomish & Island Counties).  All major North American cell phone carriers are part of the program. 

To phone in a tip via the SPD Tip Line, call 206.233.5000 or 911.  To phone in a tip via Crime Stoppers call 206.343.2020 or 800.222.TIPS or 800.CRIME.13.  Someone is available to take tips 24-hours a day.

Crime Stoppers website is:  http://216.168.63.197/ 
To send a text message use the short code of 274637 (CRIMES).  Begin your message with the keyword Tip486 (not case sensitive) in the body of the message.

Your initial submission will trigger an auto response from the secure transaction server.  You will receive a unique code number.  YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS CODE NUMBER AS IT CANNOT BE RETRIEVED LATER.  You may then engage in a two-way secured and encrypted text dialog with the Crime Stoppers coordinator. 

You can text STOP to the short code 27637 (CRIMES) at any time to reset the system.  Crime Stoppers will no longer be able to reply to you.  If you want to continue your conversation with Crime Stoppers or if you forgot your code number, you must start the process over by using short code 274637 and keyword Tip486. Standard text rates may apply.

When you call in a tip no Caller ID is used.

When you send a tip via the internet no email address or IP address is traced.

When you send a text message tip, secure and anonymous technology is utilized so your identity is never revealed.  For more information go to http://smscrimetips.com/

Remember, if you see a crime in progress or need to report an emergency, please call 911 immediately

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