LAST CALL FOR TICKETS: Join the Montlake Elementary PTA Community Celebration this Friday, March 28, at St. Demetrios Greek Church!

Have you been waiting to grab your tickets to our Montlake Elementary Spring Auction kickoff event? Now’s the time – ticket sales close TONIGHT at 11:59pm! Get your tickets here!

Join us at our auction kickoff party as we celebrate the start of our spring auction with dinner, drinks and socializing, as well as updates on our neighborhood school. 

Want to come but don’t have a babysitter? You’re in luck! We’ve partnered with Kids Club to offer FREE childcare from 6-9PM! Get all the details and grab your tickets today!

Get your raffle tickets, too! When you buy your event tickets, you’ll also have the chance to buy raffle tickets for local restaurant gift cards! Please check these out as they are great opportunities to support our local restaurants AND support our school. Gift cards include Agua Verde Cafe, Carello’s Restaurant, Daniel’s Broiler, and PCC. Ticket sales will end at 8PM on Friday, March 28. You don’t have to be present at the kickoff party to win, but we hope you will be!

Thanks for supporting Montlake! We appreciate you, and look forward to seeing you there!

–Montlake Elementary PTA

Mark your calendars for Sunday June 1 from 11am-2pm.

The Montlake Community Club is reviving a favorite neighborhood activity. We’ll have a tour this year of Gardens and Artist studios in the neighborhood.

Interested in attending, volunteering, or showcasing your garden or artist studio? Let us know by signing up here: https://bit.ly/MontlakeGardenTour

Tickets are $10 for adults (children are free) and we will have wristband pickup the day of in the Montlake Business District. There also will be limited edition Garden and Art Tour Gear available for pre-order and limited quantities available the day of event. Pre-order via link above.

Stop by at our Montlake Community Club (MCC) table!

If you are resident of Montlake, you are automatically a member of the MCC — come and find out what events are going to happen and how you can get involved!!!

Open House on Friday, March 14 @ 5-7pm

Long-awaited reopening of Montlake Community Center is upon us. There will be an open house on Friday, March 14 @5-7pm. Check out the community center and come and see us at the table representing Montlake Community Club.

Hours of operation of Montlake Community Center: Monday-Tuesday 10am-6pm, Wednesday- Friday 1:30pm-8pm, Saturdays 9am-3:30pm

Disclaimer: We are publishing a letter from a resident. This is a letter from an individual and any opinions / thoughts expressed in this letter are not necessarily the opinion of the Montlake Community Club (MCC).

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Fellow Montlakers,

Each Montlake resident will be receiving a four-page flyer on your doorstep in the next few days. It’s full of information and pictures along with the proposed new zoning map for this complex plan.  Please watch for it!

We are one of 30 Seattle “Neighborhood Centers” proposed for significant upzoning on our “commercial center”, and the 24 blocks surrounding it, one third of our community. This is intended to increase density to accommodate growth, as forecasted by the city, and hopefully also make housing more affordable.

The remainder of Montlake will also be upzoned to satisfy WA State HB1110’s change to the old neighborhood residential (NR) zone moving it from single family homes to four-plexus!

This is the most significant change to Montlake in its 100+ year history and will significantly change the feel and function of our community forever!

PROPOSED zoning isn’t locked in yet, and it will take community action to get it changed. So, we need your feedback!

Please send all feedback to Joy.Hollingsworth@Seattle.gov AND zoning@montlake.net as soon as you can!

THANK YOU!

Janice Sears, a Montlake resident

Disclaimer: We are publishing a letter from a resident. This is a letter from an individual and any opinions / thoughts expressed in this letter are not necessarily the opinion of the Montlake Community Club (MCC).

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Happy New Year Montlakers!

Some of us thought that this would be a good time to share more information about major Seattle zoning changes being proposed by the Mayor to our City Council which will increase density to accommodate growth and hopefully make housing more affordable. This email is an attempt to clearly show the proposed changes to Montlake. 

Montlake is one of 30 “Neighborhood Centers” in Seattle proposed for significant density increases. The “Neighborhood Centers” are only a portion of the density increases – the neighborhoods themselves are also slated for significant increases.

In Montlake’s case, about 24 blocks will be zoned for Low Rise 2 (up to four stories) and Low Rise 3 (up to five stories), townhouses and apartment buildings. Nearly 400 historic Montlake homes are currently on these blocks. As we know, this is a large portion of tiny little Montlake, and this will significantly change Montlake forever if implemented as proposed!

The remainder of Montlake’s residential lots will be zoned NR which will allow for four units per lot in addition to the already allowed ADU’s. The three-block business district on 24th Ave will be rezoned to NC2-55 which allows 55’ tall mixed-use buildings. But nothing is final yet, so your feedback to City Council is extremely important.

Please click here for the proposed Montlake zoning map on page 4 – it clearly shows the plan!

Montlake Community Concerns with the Process:

1. Most everyone agrees with the goals but feels that the whole plan is moving us too fast and too far with too much at stake, and with very little outreach from the City!
2. December 20^th, the deadline for community input, was an inconvenient time for most to research and respond due to the holidays!
3. The plan seems to be developed in a “cookie cutter” approach without taking into account our unique and individual neighborhoods – what makes Seattle, Seattle!
4. It’s not clear whether this plan will actually make housing more affordable in Seattle!

Montlake Community Concerns with the Plan: 

1. Montlake is designated a Historic District by the Department of the Interior.
2. Parking is already problematic without increased density. No off-street parking will be required within a half mile of bus rapid transit stops or light rail stops. One parking spot will be required for every two dwelling units that aren’t and ADUs will be exempted from parking requirements. The plan relies on the fact that we are close to Light Rail and have a bus line. 
3. Congestion is also already problematic on our narrow little 1920’s streets and the plan does not address this. Congestion continues to increase from SR520 and the increased capacity at Montlake Elementary.
4. There just isn’t the infrastructure in our historic neighborhood to support this plan. 
5. Setbacks will be reduced so tree canopy will be lost.
6. The plan does not include any design requirements to maintain the character of the neighborhood, and blocks can be developed individually lot by lot with no coherent plan. 
7. Rezoning the site of the old Montlake Market is not included in the plan. It could be a wonderful location for at least six stories (with views) we believe. In addition, the large NOAA Fisheries site is for sale and could be beautifully re-developed into multi-family homes. It’s not included in the plan either.

Key Dates:

1.      December 20^th – public comments were originally due

2.      January 6^{th _} Initial discussion at City Council Meeting

3.      February 4^th – Madison Park Neighborhood Meeting 7-8:30 at Bathhouse

4.      February 5^th – Public City Council Meeting 5pm at City Hall

5.      May 2025- City Council votes on the plan

6.      June 2025 – One Seattle Plan submitted to Legislature to fulfill HB 1110

What can you do?

1. Share this email with your neighbors!
2. Sign the petition – https://www.change.org/p/preserve-montlake-neighborhood-while-growing
3. Contact Joy Hollingsworth, our District 3 City Council Representative and leader on this project, at Joy.Hollingsworth@Seattle.govalong with OneSeattleCompPlan@Seattle.gov with your feedback. Even though December 20^th has passed, City Council feedback is always a great option!
4. Contact Janice Sears @ JLSears0705@Outlook.com if you would like to help with a counter proposal.

    More information about the proposed changes is coming to montlake.net soon, so please check back.

Thank you!

Janice Sears @ JLSears0705@Outlook.com

Join us for a virtual tour of Montlake Elementary, tomorrow, January 22 at 8AM on Teams! 

Looking for an Elementary school for your Kindergartner to attend next year? Check out Montlake Elementary, your neighborhood school! 

Thinking about school for your child next year?  We know there are many options out there, both public and private, but we hope you’ll consider joining Montlake Elementary! Beginning in Fall of 2025, we’ll be back at our permanent home in the Montlake neighborhood in a great new building with fantastic features! Note that this tour will not be of the school building currently under remodel, but instead will be a chance to get to know the Montlake Elementary School Community!

Montlake Elementary is a small, neighborhood school known for our garden and art program, as well as Special Education Access and Resource programs. We have a team of wonderful, dedicated, enthusiastic teachers and support staff at Montlake who are the backbone of our school – many of whom have been a part of Montlake for 10+ years (and some for over 20!). Our team and programs include an academic interventionist, full-time art program, instrumental and vocal music programs, PE, “wellness Wednesday” activities (including gardening) and other programs that support students. 

We also have robust afterschool options between a thriving Enrichment program and an aftercare program: 

• Our Enrichment program, organized by the PTA, offers a wide range of afterschool activities each season (e.g., art, lego, gymnastics, mixed sports, chess, languages, drama) with classes taught by a mix of the fantastic Montlake teachers and external providers.
• Montlake has a great afterschool care program run by Launch that runs from the end of the school day until 6pm. Students are served a healthy snack, enjoy indoor and outdoor free play time, receive homework help, and try a range of fun teacher-led interactive activities that build on student interests! 

Our incredible public school is backed by the amazing Montlake community and a fantastic PTA that seeks to support our students and school staff as well as build community.  

We would love to see you at our online “tour” where parents will be able to get a sense of the Montlake Elementary community from the comfort of your own home! 

Upcoming Tours: Online:  Tuesday, January 22 (at 8am on Zoom) 

RSVP to Missy Pody, Elementary Assistant, at mapody@seattleschools.org for the link to the session.

Please consider joining us, and reach out to the Montlake PTA at info@montlakepta.org if you have any questions! If you can’t attend the tour but are interested in Montlake, please reach out and we’ll do our best to work with you! 

We can’t wait to meet you!

New for 2025, the Montlake Community Club will host a neighborhood Garden and Art tour to showcase the hidden beauty of the neighborhood and dedication of the local residents.

We’re in the process of planning and want to get your input! Do you have a garden or art that you’d like to showcase? Do you know of a great gardener or artist in the neighborhood? Do you want to volunteer?

Visit bit.ly/MontlakeGardenTour to provide input by 2/14/25.

Please share with neighbors and friends in Montlake!

Fridays from 4-6pm, join neighbors for free music at Oxbow bakery.

Pizza, Wine, and Beer will be available for purchase!