Montlake e-Flyer: April, 2000
When: Wednesday, April 12, 2000
7:30 p.m.
Where: Montlake Community Center
1618 Calhoun Street
7:30: Introductory remarks, approval of
minutes, and old business.
7:45 Welcome Neighbor meeting; Introduction
to the Club; Summary of MCC Activities & Interests; Concerns &
interests of New Neighbors; What do you like best about Montlake; How can the
Club enhance your neighborhood?
8:30 Elections.
8:45 Urban Village law suit (Roger Leed).
9:05 Treasurer's Report.
9:15 New Business.
9:30 Adjournment.
Upcoming Meeting
By
Bruce Balick
It always gives the
Club and the Community great pleasure to welcome new residents of Montlake.
This "reception" for new neighbors is the central theme of our April
meeting. We'd like to meet our newest neighbors, to introduce them to the Club
and its members, to acquaint them with our issues and activities, and to find
out from them how the Club can help to represent their interests at a time of
fresh, enthusiastic new leadership.
By the way, new
residents, you are automatically full members of the Montlake Community Club as
soon as you take up residency. There are no dues (but we will ask you for
contributions this autumn). See the "Members & Meetings" link on
the Club's home page.
Website Update
By
Bruce Balick
If you can't make this meeting, but would
like to see a quick summary of the Club, what we do, and where we're going, you
can find this on our new web site, www.scn.org/neighbors/montlake. Below is a
table of contents for our "Activities & Issues" web page. When
you go to this page (the first link from the home page) you can click on the
name of an issue and see a short description:
·
Montlake Arterial
Traffic Congestion
·
Montlake Branch
Library
·
SR-520 and its Local
Impacts Montlake School
·
Arboretum Master Plan
·
Montlake Playfield
& Community Center
·
University of
Washington Master Plan
·
U. Village Expansion
·
Seahawks Use of Husky
Stadium
·
University Urban
Village
·
City Studies of
Arterial Congestion
·
Neighborhood
Beautification
Speaking of the
web site, be sure to take a look. Eugene Smith's authoritative history of
Montlake has just been added, and we're hoping that Audrey Weitcamp's history
will reach the site by the time that this newsletter reaches you. Also, we're
busy adding past newsletters into Montlake's www archives at the moment. With
some luck, our recalcitrant site search engine will start to work.
This
is the last month of my term as Community Club President. I'd like to thank the
Board of Trustees and the other officers for their patience and perseverance
with a demanding President. The Board, Officers, and I appreciate the unselfish
help of many fine people in Montlake who contribute meaningfully to the Club's
activities, most of whom I've thanked in earlier newsletters. But there are two
special thanks that simply must appear here. One is to my wife Della, who has
put up with many lost hours of my time without complaint. Thanks, sweetie! Now
I'm yours again!
The
other is reserved for Peter Staten, always available for consultation, always
ready with carefully researched and lavishly articulated positions, always
prepared with advice that shows how many complex issues relate to one another,
and generally upbeat and cantankerous (and knows it). Peter and I can't say
that we agreed or even found common ground on every issue. But I will say with
deep gratitude that I always appreciated his insightful and intelligent
communications. He didn't make my job any easier, but he surely made it more
effective. Thank you, Peter!
Springing forward: Established residents need no reminding
of how lovely Montlake becomes each spring. Carefully tended gardens, abetted
by enterprising worms, produce an eruption of color.
If
you're new to Montlake, don't miss the spectacular cherry trees that stand as
sentinels at the entrance to the playfield on Calhoun each March. Stroll along
the Cut and the residential street that adorn it and into the bird sanctuary
behind the U.W. athletic facilities. To top it off, April's blossoms on the
azaleas in the Arboretum make a visit obligatory. What fun right here at home!
Bruce
Balick
Board Meeting Minutes
March
1, 2000
President
Bruce Balick called the meeting, at the Balick home, to order at 7:45 PM.
The
first order of business was the proposed ferry from Kirkland to UW. MCC was not
notified of a meeting until the last minute. Doug Woods was sent to the
meeting. The largest impact will be on recreational use in and around the cut.
The impact on the water could be significant. The proposal appears to be a
piece of the transportation action that is planned for the area, unless the
feasibility study shows other wise. Sound Transit has agreed to hire a
consultant to conduct a study and attempt to have service by September. Size
and speed of boat will obviously affect the impact. The advisory council is
made up mostly of Eastside representation. It is important for us to notify
rowing clubs, sailing clubs and others who use Union Bay, Portage Bay and the
Cut. Doug is not aware of any specific site for the docks. There seemed to be
no mention of an environmental impact statement prior to getting underway.
Library—No new updates. This
will be the central focus of next week’s board meeting.
Airplane Noise—Debra Adler has
continued to keep Bruce updated.
MCC Lawsuit—The hearing on the MCC
Suit against the city’s planning process is scheduled for March 24. The suits
holds that the City of Seattle developed the University urban center plan
without proper transportation mitigation and analysis.
April Meeting—Invite
new members of the community to the Montlake Community Club meeting.
MCC Web Page—The
board raised the following issues to be considered as appropriate at future
meetings: Do we need to alter our by-laws to address the new issues raised by
maintaining a web page? Do we use the same rules that govern the Flyer? Do we want to appoint a small
committee to think through this issue? The meeting adjourned at 9:00.
General Meeting Minutes
March 8, 2000 The meeting was called to order at 7:30 and the minutes
approved.
Announcements
Montlake
Community Center meeting was announced for Tuesday, March
14 at 7:00 pm.
UW Master Plan
web page depicts how the plan is developing and provides opportunity to
comment. Go to the UW home page and use the search function.
Parks
Department comprehensive plan is in review stage, with a
workshop scheduled for March 21 at Miller Community center. This will be a
discussion of the citywide plan.
General Business
New library building will be 5,000 square feet, with $2.573
million reserved for site acquisition and construction. The Library and
Community Liaison Committee conducted an exercise to identify potential sites,
develop information about particular sites, and committed to educate community
members so
they can lobby effectively, whichever view they may hold. Extensive
conversation ensued regarding potential sites, what the community would look
for in a site, and other pressing issues, including accessibility,
compatibility with the environment, potential opposition, and cost. Further
information will be printed in the flyer as it becomes available.
Friends of
Interlaken Park representatives, Cynthia Putnam and Suzanne Wittmann,
presented the plan for improving the park. The park is used by many different
neighborhoods in the area. The organization is applying for a City of Seattle
matching grant to restore vegetation, tree canopy and provide public awareness
about the park. The committee has settled on two sites to work on: One close
to Montlake and the other close to Capital Hill. The representatives requested
a letter of support from the Community Club. A proposed letter was read to the
membership. Motion was made to instruct the President to draft and send a
letter in support of the grant application. The motion was seconded and carried
unanimously.
Nominations of Club Officers
The nominating
committee presented the names of candidates for club offices and board
members. Vacating board positions are Connie Bain, Ron Walken and Doug Forbes.
Nominated as
Officers:
Clarissa
Easton—President
Paul
Gibson—Vice President
Scott
Burgett—Treasurer
Lee Kolb—Secretary
Nominated for open positions
were Marty Lindemann, John Hutchinson and Shane Doran.
Nominated for one-year positions
were Jean Leed and Diane Thompson.
There were no
additional nominations from the floor.
Montlake Community Club
Website
The MCC website,
hosted by Seattle Community Network (SCN) is now online at www.snc.org/neighbors/montlake. Motion to make a $100 donation to
SCN was seconded and passed unanimously. There was no new business. The meeting
adjourned at 9:25.
Statements of
Candidates for MCC Board and Offices
Office of
President
Clarissa Easton: Clarissa is an architect who works for King County
government. She lived in Montlake from 1980 through 1990 and served as
president of MCC from 1986 to 1989. After living on Capitol Hill for ten years,
she and her two children are thrilled to again reside in Montlake. Respecting
the privilege of an address in this fair neighborhood, she is delighted to have
been nominated to serve as MCC president in 2000. She believes key issues are
transportation, environmental stewardship, and civic collaboration. Clarissa
will be grateful for your support of the community club in 2000.
Office of Vice
President
Paul Gibson:
My wife, Beth, and I came to live in Montlake July 1, 1969, because it was the
only place in town we could afford to live. Well, that’s not really true, but
it was cheap. Work as a graduate student teaching assistant, provided one of
the high salaries on the block. At the time we didn’t intend to stay around
quite this long, but as Beth says, “The principle moving force in our lives is
inertia,” and here we still are. Since I served as vice president this past
year, the inertia principle dictates that I make myself available to do it
again, and so I do. I also hope to continue to represent Montlake at the Northeast
District Council and to represent the Northeast District at the City
Neighborhood Council. My particular narrow interest at home in Montlake is the
new master plan for the Arboretum, which should be finalized in some form this
year—probably by the end of summer.
Office of
Treasurer
Scott Burgett:
I moved to Seattle in 1978 from Omaha, Nebraska, and have
been a resident of Montlake for the last 13 years. My wife and I have three
daughters—one a recent graduate of the UW, one graduating this spring from a
California college, and one in her first year at Brown. When not busy with the
challenge of parenting, I can be found enjoying biking, tennis, skiing, and
cooking. Professionally, I am an Information Systems project manager with GE
Financial Assurance in downtown Seattle. I’ve been an MCC trustee for two
years, the Treasurer for this past year, and am seeking one additional year as
the club’s Treasurer. Montlake is recognized as a community whose residents are
actively involved in the vital issues which affect its quality of life and
well-being. I feel it is important to be active in efforts to maintain and
extend these values. I look forward to the opportunity to continue contributing
in this capacity within the Montlake community.
Office of
Secretary
Lee Kolb: Since Seattle has no formal political
structure at the district or community level, I have always considered it
important to have viable, representative neighborhood organizations. That is
the main reason I became involved in the activities of the Community Club when
I moved into Montlake in 1982, and have continued my involvement since. My wife
and I live in Montlake because of its proximity to the University of
Washington, and still feel the advantages far outweigh the liabilities. I've
served twice previously as secretary of the club, am familiar with the duties,
and am enthusiastic about getting to know and work with the present board.
Board Members
Shane Doran:
My wife and I moved to Montlake from the Bryant neighborhood four years ago.
Today we could not be happier with the quality of life that we now enjoy because
of the supportive, community-oriented nature of our Montlake neighbors. We now
have a young daughter and a new little one staging a debut in early May. My
desire is for Montlake to remain a great place to live and not be reduced to
being just a convenient thoroughfare for Eastside commuters (among others) as they
exit off 520 and make their way downtown.
John
Hutchinson:
I have lived in several different areas of Montlake since
moving here almost thirty years ago. I have twin children in college. While I
work as a lung doctor at northwest hospital, I spend as much of my free time as
possible out of doors, hiking, cycling, and gardening. Thus, I have a great
interest in preserving the natural
features of this region. Montlake is a great community, with excellent access
to the city, while remaining connected to the lake, its parks, and the
arboretum. We need to work together as a community to protect these resources
and our neighborhood, especially in the face of increasing congestion and
traffic on the two major roads that intersect our community.
Marty Lindemann:
Marty and his wife Katie moved to 2314 22nd Ave East in
Montlake in July 1998, moving from a 1906 Capitol Hill home which they
renovated during 1992-95. Prior to 1990, both Marty and Katie were active in
public affairs in San Carlos, California. Marty was a Board Member of the San
Carlos Chamber of Commerce and the Senior Citizen’s Center, Chairman for three
years of the City’s Advisory Council for Redevelopment and served on several
teams for transit, zoning, parking, downtown streetscapes and coordination/integration
of city and schools facilities. Together with his wife, they led in the
preservation of historic buildings and the city’s train station, and in the
development of a downtown mini-park. Marty is a business executive coach and
Katie is an executive for a local coffee company.
Board Members, 1-year term
Jean Leed: Jean has lived in Montlake and been active in
MCC since 1994. During 1998-99 she represented us as one of four Seattle
neighborhood representatives on the Trans-Lake Washington Study Committee to
examine ways to improve cross-lake travel while minimizing neighborhood
impacts. Jean also convened a book club here in 1995, and is generally
interested in supporting the well-being and friendliness of this special
neighborhood.
Diane Thompson: I was appointed to the board last fall
to fill a vacant trustee position. My goals as a trustee are to: broaden
community participation in MCC meetings, committees and activities; work to
manage change in a constructive fashion; and establish closer ties between the
MCC and the Montlake Recreational Advisory Council (MAC). My husband and I
have lived in Montlake since 1972. Our 3 children went to Montlake Elementary
school and graduated from Garfield High School. Over the past 28 years I have
been active in various PTAs, Capitol Hill Soccer and served as an officer and
member of the MAC. I work at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research
Center as an injury epidemiologist. Montlake is a great community—I look
forward to serving as your trustee.
Announcements
Montlake Community Center
and Playfield
The community center
had a very successful and busy basketball season with 562 youth (ages 6-18)
playing on 44 teams. Four or five of these teams will advance to our version of
“March Madness,” the Seattle city-wide tournament. Spring Quarter registration
begins March 20. Program information is available in the gym. Registration for
summer day camps and sports camps begins April 3.
Pro Parks 2000
Citizen Committee is holding six public workshops to review
the draft recommendations and solicit public comment. Workshop in our neighborhood
is Saturday, April 15, at Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave. E.
from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Information is available at Parks and Recreation
website: www.ci.seattle.wa
.us/parks/communitynotices/PROPARKS.htm.
MCC Library Committee
As most of you know,
the Montlake Library is slated to be replaced with a new, expanded library in
several years. After our background introduction by an enthusiastic Deborah
Jacobs (Seattle head librarian), Rae Charlton (Montlake head librarian) and
others at the February general meeting, and an animated discussion led by Lee
Kolb at the March general meeting, MCC’s Library Committee has begun meeting on
a regular basis. The purpose of the MCC Library Committee is to serve as a
voice for Montlake during the course of the creation of the new Montlake
Library. Our primary concern at this stage is that of site selection. We are
soliciting ideas for potential sites (various were suggested at the February
general meeting) and criteria by which to assess them (outlined in the notes of
the March general meeting). At this point we are trying to be as inclusive as
possible and to “think outside the box.” There may be opportunities for sharing
a building with other users, ownership/rental options and possible reuse of an
existing building, rather than new construction. If you have any ideas to
contribute—however practical or far-flung—or if you would like to participate
in the committee, please contact Ellen Judson (phone 322-7641 or email
emjudson@aol.com).
Montlake
Garden Tour
By Lee Jacobson
Spring is here. Our
seventh annual neighborhood garden tour is being planned now. We
are aiming for Sunday, July 9 from 12:30 to 5:00. Mark your calendar. The previous
tours were held in June, but by waiting until early July, we minimize risk of
rain and can admire summer annuals and vegetables in their established glory.
As always, several Montlakers are volunteering to coordinate the tour. We are
open to and desirous of assistance. We also welcome feedback on our proposed
policies, which are as follows:
·
A tour committee of at least three volunteers
does the work and drafts policies. From year to year, members will vary and
policies can be adjusted.
·
Tour advertising will be in The Montlake Flyer only.
·
Charging fees, selling plants or such commercial
activity is not acceptable.
·
The hours currently are 12:30 to 5:00.
·
To allow leisurely enjoyment of the tour, only 9
to 12 gardens are needed each year. Past attempts to showcase close to 20
gardens proved unwieldy.
·
Gardens should not be on the tour two years in a
row, to give other people a chance to host.
·
Garden descriptions for The Montlake Flyer
should be 50 to 75 words. Tell tour goers enough—not too much—about each
garden.
·
Post-garden parties open to tour hosts and
attendees may be at different locations each year. This year we are being
graciously invited by the Olsons, at 1911 Eaton Place.
Care to share your
garden this July? Or to nominate a neighbor you know? Contact one of the
volunteers listed below for this or for any other related reason. Watch the May
Flyer for an update.
Washington Park Arboretum
51st Annual Arboretum
Spring Plant Sale
Fifty
plant vendors will offer a spectacular assortment of plants at the Arboretum
Foundation’s 51st annual Spring Plant Sale. The two-day sale (Saturday, April
29, from 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, April 30, from 10 am to 3 pm) will take up
more than half an acre of covered space in a hangar at the former Sand Point Naval
Air Station, 7400 Sand Point Way, in Seattle. Offerings will appeal to all
levels of gardening skill. Arboretum volunteers will be on hand to answer
gardening questions. Featured plants will include natives, hardy and tender
perennials, shrubs, vines, conifers, herbs, grasses, hardy fuchsias, geraniums,
vegetables and annuals. Plants propagated from the Washington Park Arboretum’s
Pat Calvert Greenhouse will be available for purchase, as well as gifts and
books from the Arboretum Foundation gift shop. Parking is free. All proceeds
benefit the Washington Park Arboretum. For
more information, call 206-726-1954.
“Early Bloomers” Kicks Off
Saturday Sales
Plants that bloom
early in the Northwest will kick off the Arboretum Foundation’s Saturday sale
season on April 8, from 10 am to 2 pm at the Graham Visitors Center. All sale
plants are donated, divided and potted by volunteer members and friends of the
Arboretum Foundation. Early bloomers include healthy pots of Primulas, Anemone nemorsa, Arabis, Epimedium, Doronicum, Pulmonaria, Synthyris,
Sanguinaria, Erythronium, and many, many more. The Plant Donation
Department is open 10 am to 2 pm every Wednesday from March through October and
on the second Saturday of each month, through September. For more information call 206-325-4510 or email
gvc@arboretumfoundation.org.
The Museum of History
& Industry will present a new exhibit called It’s in the P-I: Photographs from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
opening April 29, 2000. The Seattle area grew in leaps and bounds from the
1920s to the 1970s, and news photographers from the Post-Intelligencer were there to take pictures, more than 300,000
of which were donated to MOHAI by the Hearst Corporation in the 1980s. The collection
contains a remarkable variety of images, from major to minor, from mundane to
horrific. Whether it’s Governor Rosellini posing with Elvis Presley at the 1962
World’s Fair, or homeless men scavenging garbage during the Great Depression,
the images range from the recognizably iconic to the seldom seen. Museum hours are daily, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
For more information, call 206-324-1126 or visit www.seattlehistory.org.
NEDC Meeting Report
By Paul Gibson
At its February meeting the Northeast District Council
heard a presentation on a new initiative sponsored by the folks who brought us
I-695. Initiative 711 would require that 90 percent of all transportation funds
would be spent on road construction and maintenance and it would eliminate car
pool lanes. We also learned of the rather short and early schedule for public
comment on the recently-revised Park Department Comprehensive Plan. The NEDC
determined to write a letter to request an extended time frame. All scheduled
public comment events will be passed by the date of this newsletter. Questions? Call 323-1851.
MCC
Suit Against City Urban Center Plan
By Roger Leed
The Montlake Community
Club is challenging, the process employed by the City of Seattle in devising
and adopting the University Community Urban Center Plan (UCUCP), and the
decision by the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board to approve
that process. The UCUCP is a neighborhood (sub-area) plan, adopted pursuant to
Seattle's 1994 Comprehensive Plan, both of which are governed by the Growth
Management Act. The UCUCP was developed by the University District Urban
Center Planning Committee, an ad hoc
body composed of persons living or working in the affected planning area. The
Committee was self-selected by those attending a community meeting in 1995 and
is not an official City body. There is no City ordinance prescribing the
composition of the Committee or regulating its proceedings.
The City failed to
project and analyze the impacts of additional traffic which will be generated
by the expansion of the University of Washington and University Village, and
the increased residential and commercial density called for in the UCUCP. It
also excluded the Montlake Community from effective participation. After the
development of the UCUCP, MCC requested the City to analyze the effects of the
increased traffic generated by the UCUCP upon intersections and roadways in
Montlake in order to determine whether changes or alternatives should be
considered. MCC also requested the City to prepare an environmental impact
statement which would contain this information, and show alternatives and
mitigating measures that should be considered in order to deal with probable
traffic impacts. The City instead issued a Declaration of Nonsignificance.
The Neighborhood
Growth, Planning and Civic Engagement Committee of the City Council (NGPCE)
held several hearings on the proposed plan. MCC presented testimony in both
oral and written form, renewing the Community's request that the City analyze
traffic impacts on the specific intersections affecting Montlake and analyze
alternatives and mitigating measures, as required by the State Environmental
Policy Act, and the City's Comprehensive Plan. The City Council's response was
that the City lacked the time and resources to conduct a traffic study. The
City Council then proceeded to adopt, with certain minor changes, the UCUCP.