All of this political, commercial and community process will be on the table Monday as the City Council holds a public hearing on Capitol Hill Station’s “proposed Development Agreement and Site Specific Design Guidelines” at Miller Community Center. The Community Council-Chamber of Commerce joint venture Capitol Hill Champion group is calling for public support at Monday’s meeting:
Capitol Hill Light Rail Station Public Hearing
5:30 – 7:30 PM — Miller Community Center — 330 19th Ave E
Tell our city council members that you support the proposed Development Agreement and Site Specific Design Guidelines implementing our neighborhood vision for the sites that has been crafted over the past decade. Attend and show your support for affordable housing, the Broadway Farmer’s Market, vibrant public space, a community center, sustainable design and more.Links to proposed Development Agreement, Site Specific Guidelines, Urban Design Framework, Legislation and other documents can be found on DPD’s website: http://www.seattle.gov/
dpd/cityplanning/ completeprojectslist/ capitolhill/documents/ default.htm Written comments can be sent before noon on July 15th to: Councilmember Richard Conlin, Legislative Dept, 600 Fourth Avenue Floor 2, P.O. Box 34025, Seattle WA 98124. email: [email protected]
CHS has been covering the multi-year process from the earliest days of brainstorming and design gatherings up through these last steps of formalizing the requirements Sound Transit will use in shaping its call for bidders on the properties surrounding the agency’s light rail station on Broadway between John and Denny. If approved, the agreement will put in place a framework requiring affordable housing and public amenities like a market square as part of the design guidelines.
The pic with a toddler on a megaphone asking what people want seems a perfect image for the gimme crowd. May I humbly suggest a little more adult thinking, perhaps about economics and reality, rather than compiling more hobby-horse wishlists.
Good luck with this, stop by the Beacon Hill Light Rail station (open 4 years now) and see what you can expect in terms of ‘transit oriented development’. Apparently lots fenced off with chain link fences is what passes as ‘transit oriented development’. (I exaggerate for effect, just this month, after 4 years, one lot on the block that the station is on IS being developed, but most of it is still fenced off with no hope in sight of any productive community development.
I agree with Wes below — Cap Hill is totally different than Beacon Hill. My understanding is that reasons for Beacon Hill TOD not happening include:
1. It’s not Capitol Hill (i.e., not a “hot” real estate market).
2. Neighborhood NIMBYs fought upzoning that would’ve made TOD more appealing to developers.
3. Owners of developable lots near the station are long-time owners who have had the property in the family for generations and are of the mindset to simply hold onto the property rather than sell to a developer.
Completely different economics on Capitol Hill than south seattle. Capitol Hill is already developing like crazy. If the light rail had never been built there would be no development at all on beacon hill. Columbia city has been doing well though, and now it’s spreading to my baker and beacon hill. Roosevelt, u-district and northgate started building tod already and light rail is still years away.
[…] ensure affordable housing, and build a community center. Those were the overarching themes at Monday night’s public comment session on the plans for developing the properties around the future Capitol Hill […]