Tim Burgess' City View

Compare Your Neighborhood; Get FREE Trees

Here's a great visual image of the city's tree canopy: Download 2007 Tree Canopy Map

Download the PDF image and see how your neighborhood stacks up against the rest of the city.  The City's goal is to rebuild our tree canopy to at least 30%. 

You can also get FREE trees for your neighborhood, plus a FREE fruit tree for your own yard through a new City program.  Check it out here, but beware of the pending deadline of August 21.  

Council Town Hall Meeting Thursday Night

The Council will hold a Town Hall meeting Thursday (June 25) to discuss youth violence, public education, and the city's tree canopy in West Seattle.  Dr. Gary Slutkin is our special guest.  Slutkin is head the the Chicago Ceasefire project which has had a remarkable track record in reducing gun violence, and youth violence in particular.  Join us if you can.

Date/Time:  Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Location:  The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Avenue SW (Map)

QA Farmer's Market Open for Business

I participated in the opening of the Queen Anne Farmer's Market this afternoon.  It was a wonderful event!  In the above photo, I'm recognizing Julie Whitehorn, the community leader who was the catalyst and passionate advocate for the market and almost single-handedly rescued it from oblivion.  Mayor Nickels was there, as was Council President Richard Conlin (partially hidden behind me).

There are 14 farmer's markets in Seattle.  Last year they did $10 million in business.  That's right, these neighborhood market's sold $10 million worth of fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, and specialty products.  Amazing! 

A new farmer's market will open on City's Hall's 4th Avenue plaza next week.  It will be operated by Pike Place Market. 

Farmer's markets encourage locally-owned businesses, bring fresh foods to our neighborhoods, support farmers, and encourage community-building.  They are a great example of sustainable communities.

The Mayor announced at today's Queen Anne event that he will soon send the Council legislation amending city rules related to farmer's markets that are designed to make them easier and less expensive to operate.  One aspect of the Mayor's proposal will reduce street use permit fees from as high as $8,200 per year to less than $300 per year. 

Snow Response: Evaluation Round One Complete

After two days of meetings and briefings on the city's response to the December snow storms, plus my own personal observations made while moving around the city during the storms, including walking throughout downtown and my own neighborhood, I'm beginning to understand some of the core problems that led to the less than adequate mobilization of city resources.

I posted some initial thoughts yesterday, including a list of some of the successes that were achieved during the storms.  It's important to keep these successes in mind as we continue to dissect what went wrong. 

Our review of exactly what happened in city government is very important because it will help us be better prepared for the next emergency, whether nature-caused or man-made.  And we have a lot to learn from these December storms.

Now, I also acknowledge that it's very easy to play Monday morning quarterback, that hindsight is invaluable and always more obvious.  But we shouldn't be deterred from asking the hard questions. 

I've drawn some very preliminary conclusions that still must be tested against the facts and refined, but, at this stage of the process, they help me focus my work—

1. I don't believe city officials properly assessed the big picture or strategic scope and impact of the storms.  This failure led to inadequate mobilization of resources.  Most of the testimony

Snow Response: Briefings Continue

Today is Day 2 of the Council's review of the city's snow response.  Here are the key facts and conclusions I gleaned from yesterday's briefing:

1. The Mayor's decision to allow some use of salt, along with de-icing solutions and sand, is a good one and represents the kind of balanced approach necessary to enhance mobility of vehicles around town.  Scientists told us yesterday that the occasional use of salt to melt snow and ice is not a significant negative factor with regard to fish populations.  Far more damaging is the debris from vehicle brakes, dripping oil, and other vehicle pollutants that flow into the storm water drainage system and eventually into Puget Sound, lakes and streams.
2. The director of SDOT reported that city crews plow to the roadway surface and do not plow to leave a compact layer of snow/ice.  This is contrary to what has been reported by the news media, personal observation, and anecdotal reports from citizens throughout the city.  We need to get to the bottom of this issue, so to speak. 
3. It is not clear whether Metro's primary snow routes for buses are all included in the city's

City Snow Response & Public Comments

Council President Conlin released this statement earlier today.  Note the special meetings and public hearing scheduled next week.

The City must learn from this experience, review policies, procedures, and equipment, and identify improvements immediately.  The Council cannot undue the difficulties the last few weeks have brought, but we can make a genuine effort at learning from this situation and finding constructive ways to do better.

We will review the City's performance in this storm, with the goal of identifying lessons learned and determining what specific steps can be taken to improve the response.  The council intends to create a work plan that will implement those recommendations as soon as possible (the storm season is far from over).

The City Council does not directly manage the departments and a number of the policies and procedures for response to these kinds of situations are administrative.  We do have a responsibility to the public to improve government response, provide the budget for training, new equipment, if needed, and other improvements.

The Council’s review will begin on Monday, January 5, at our regular Monday morning

Alaskan Way Corridor Perspective

In the next few weeks, our region will make critically important decisions about transportation along Seattle's waterfront.  The decisions we make will have huge impact on our economic viability, our quality of life, and our environment.  These are 100-year decisions and require razor sharp objectivity, creativity, and leadership. 

I have four personal criteria that I will use to evaluate the decisions to be made; all four are important and I've listed them here in no particular order.  Will the final decisions . . .

• Enhance, stimulate, and grow our economic diversity—maritime, manufacturing, freight, tourism, and downtown retail and service industries.
• Enhance mobility of people through and in and around our central city—buses, streetcars, vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles.
• Enhance and create new public places—more open space and parks, better sight lines/views, better connections to the waterfront.
• Enhance public safety—create an environment where people are and feel safe 24/7 throughout the downtown district and waterfront.

There are three decision makers:  Governor Gregoire, County Executive Sims, and Mayor Nickels.  At the end of the day, the Governor is the key player here.  She will in fact make the final decision, in my opinion. 

Based on what I've read and heard so far, I favor

Exchange of Values: Incentive Zoning and Growth

This afternoon, the Council will vote on important legislation related to urban growth, density, and affordable housing.  The Council bill is the result of multiple committee meetings, public hearings, workshops, and dozens of conversations over the past year. 

The legislation we vote on today provides robust incentives to builders in exchange for affordable housing.  The legislation advances sound public policy—clustering of density with diversity of housing.  And, the legislation reflects what our city desires—growth that is limited to select areas, contributes to our diversity, and is socially just. 

I’ve put more time into this issue than any other.  I’ve read countless articles, studies, books, and letters.  I’ve listened to speakers tell me that this legislation is an excellent step and will spur the construction of much needed affordable housing. Others have said that this legislation will stifle development and put up insurmountable barriers to new construction.  Still others believe the legislation is a give-away to developers. 

Street Cars and Seattle's Future

(UPDATE @ 6:05 p.m.) The Council voted 6-3 this afternoon to continue planning related to a possible streetcar network.  Our vote did not authorize any new expenditures or give the go-ahead for a streetcar network.  Councilmember Licata offered two amendments to the resolution that passed, then voted with the majority of council members.  It's a good compromise that allows for continued planning and feasibility work.

(Earlier Post)  A reactive mindset creeps into our local discourse from time to time that stifles imaginative thinking and threatens to halt projects that push the edge or require bold steps.  I call it “status quo thinking” that seeks to keep things just the way they are. 

I’m certainly glad our city leaders didn’t do that at the turn of the twentieth century because we would be paying nearly $340 million more in annual electric utility bills if they had.

In 1902—Seattle’s population was about 81,000—J. D. Ross and some other early pioneers pushed the edge by dreaming up a series of dams in the North Cascades to supply Seattle with electricity.  Many people thought they were nuts and complained bitterly about the project’s costs since electricity only cost 20 cents per kilowatt hour. 

Vancouver's Core Density

Vancouver, Canada—This is a great city.  The downtown core is alive, beautiful, global and growing. 

The photo above shows a pedestrian walkway at Burrard Inlet adjacent to downtown.  Towers like those in the photo dot the edges of downtown; tall, skinny, angled, and set back these towers are designed to let sunlight flow around them and keep view corridors open. 

Construction cranes dot the skyline here in Vancouver.  They are everywhere.  Decisions about urban growth have been made in favor of clustering density—at least in the downtown core—in these towers.  Open space, pocket parks, and pedestrian walkways are key features linking the tower clusters. 

Back home in Seattle we face similar decisions over the next few months.  How best to allow for urban growth while protecting the character of our neighborhoods, creating affordable workforce housing, remaining sensitive to environmental stewardship concerns, and making sure the city remains a wonderful place to live. The City Council will make decisions over the next year that could result in Vancouver-like density towers in South Lake Union, Northgate, SoDo, and perhaps even at light rail and transit stations, although probably much shorter at these latter locations.

A key factor when reaching decisions about density is how best to create public places.  A great organization with excellent resources, guides, and ideas is the Project for Public Places.