|
Dear Neighbor,
We’re already into the second week of March and my office has been working hard on projects in D6. As usual, I’ve been out and about in D6 this week, meeting with community members and listening to folks’ concerns.
I wanted to send out a couple of updates about what I’ve been working on, which includes building tiny homes with former city councilmember Sally Bagshaw, as well as taking a tour of the proposed ST3 Expansion and how to get involved in the comment process. There are also some updates to SDOT’s “Don’t Block the Box” campaign that folks should be aware of when driving in the city. I attended a pop-up at the old Ballard Blossom building and the Ballard FC Soccer tryouts and I’m really looking forward to the first season. I was excited to join Mayor Harrell as he signed a bill to further extend café streets permits at La Carta De Oaxaca in Ballard. Lastly, I wanted to include an update about proposals to strengthen tree protections.
I’d like to invite you to my virtual town hall event Thursday, March 31st. The town hall is all about hearing from you and answering your questions, so I hope you RSVP to attend.
Meeting with constituents is one of my favorite parts of being your city councilmember so in addition to the town hall I’m continuing my weekly D6 office hours. If you would like to meet with me directly, please sign up here.
--Dan
|
|
WA State Budget and Increased Housing Dollars
|
|
|
Every year Senator Frockt makes important investments for Seattleites and Washingtonians alike as the Capital Budget author in the State Senate. This year he has focused funding to address housing, homelessness, and behavioral health and said, “More than one third of this 1.5 billion dollar budget goes toward building facilities to address the homelessness and mental health and substance abuse crises affecting us in Seattle and around the state. Over the two-year budget cycle, we will have invested more than a billion dollars in these areas, which has to be a record. These are the tools that the City of Seattle and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority need to show our constituents progress on the homelessness crisis, and they should work with partners to apply for and take advantage of these grants.” Specific investments include:
-
$300 Million for Rapid Capital Housing Acquisition which is used to create emergency shelter, permanent and supportive housing, youth housing, and more with the goal to prioritize those living in unsanctioned encampments and help them into permanent housing.
-
$114.5 Million dollars in the Housing Trust Fund which is a grant program that funds affordable housing and prioritizes low-income or special needs families.
-
Additional investments are being made in homeless youth facilities, crisis care for those experiencing homelessness and behavioral health services projects.
For detailed information on Seattle-area specific investments, click here.
March 10th was the last day of the 2022 Legislative Session and Senator Frockt’s last Sine Die (for now). Senator Frockt has passed important legislation from banning toxic coal tar sealants, to authoring the Extreme Risk Protection Order, to reforming Model Toxics Control Act, passage Washington’s landmark 100% Clean Electricity Standard, and authoring our Capital Budget every year. Thank you for the investments you have made and your service, Senator Frockt. Always a public servant, I look forward to your next leadership role.
|
|
|
Meeting with constituents is one of my favorite parts of being your D6 Councilmember. I’m hosting a virtual town hall Thursday, March 31st. and I would love to answer your questions about our district and city. Please RSVP here to join online and submit your questions, I am looking forward to answering your questions on the 31st.
|
|
|
Last week’s newsletter included descriptions of four approaches that are currently proposed to strengthen protections for trees in Seattle. To clarify: Councilmember Pedersen and I are sponsoring one of the four strategies which will bring stronger tree protections to our city while the other three proposals have been generated by department staff. I look forward to reviewing the three proposals that have been drafted by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) but are not sponsored by any Councilmember and have not been introduced at this time.
The four proposals for strengthening tree protections are:
- Council Bill 120207 – Tree Service Provider Registry
- Requires tree service providers to register with the City
- Prohibit tree service providers who significantly violate tree protections from working in Seattle
- Require public notice for tree removals
- Stronger Tree Protection Ordinance
- Limit property owners tree removals to trees under 12” in diameter and establish property owner self-reporting
- Define significant trees as 6” diameter or greater
- Require replacement of significant trees 12” diameter or greater removed through development
- Increase illegal tree removal penalties by 50%
- Expanded Exceptional Tree Definition
- Establish species-by-species size thresholds for Exceptional Trees (starting at 6” diameter), which cannot be removed in many circumstances
- Expand overall Exceptional Tree threshold to 24” in diameter from 30” and add tree groves and heritage trees
- Payment for Tree Removal
- Charge $436 for removal of significant trees larger than 12” in diameter
- Charge $17.87/square inch of trunk for removal of exceptional trees
- Payments calibrated to allow City replanting to replace lost tree canopy
This week we received an appeal under the State Environmental Policy Act challenging the three SDCI-driven proposals. The Hearing Examiner will take up this appeal, and the City Council cannot consider these three proposals until that appeal is resolved.
I plan to hold a vote on the tree service provider registry legislation in my Land Use Committee on Wednesday, March 23rd, with a vote by the City Council expected before the end of the month. I look forward to continuing to work with Councilmember Pedersen to advance this important policy.
|
|
|
On Tuesday, March 8th I joined Mayor Harrell as he signed legislation to extend café street and outdoor dining permits through January 31st, 2023, while the city works with SDOT to create pathways to permanence. This bill gives small businesses the certainty and predictability they need to continue to operate as we begin to recover from the pandemic. This extension is our pathway to making outdooring dining permanent.
This step in the pathway to permanence for outdoor dining gives small businesses the predictably they need to invest in outdoor dining and add vibrancy to our city. Mayor Harrell and I agree on the need for permanent regulations and this bill gives SDOT time to create guidelines that are right sized for our city while giving our business community consistent regulations they can rely on. We know Seattleites love dining outdoors whether it is 37 degrees or 73 degrees – I am proud to be making outdoor dining a permanent reality for our community.
You can read more about it here.
|
|
|
I joined former Seattle Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and Sound Foundations NW to build a tiny home. These tiny homes are sturdy and built to last, using jigs and templates so that every home is safe and secure. It’s easy to do and no construction experience is necessary, as they have an assembly line set up so that anyone can join. Once a home is finished, it is sent to a staging area where it is stored until the rest of the houses are built. Eventually they're all moved to a new tiny home village.
If you’re interested in volunteering, you can sign up at https://www.soundfoundationsnw.org.
|
|
|
This past Sunday, I took a bike tour of the potential ST3 Light Rail alignments and stations with our City Designated Representative to Sound Transit. I was able to look at the possible station placement at the proposed intersections, 14th, 15th, 17th, 20th or 22nd to get a better feel for what would best serve Ballard and the rest of our community. I know that a lot of people have strong opinions on this, so now is the time to weigh in. The West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (WSBLE) project is now in the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and this will last until April 28th, 2022.
Please take a moment to submit comments to sound transit using this link: https://wsblink.participate.online/
|
|
|
SDOT has now turned on new traffic enforcement cameras to issue warnings and tickets to drivers who block intersections or enter transit-only lanes. Two years ago, I testified at the state legislature in support of legislation that allowed for this enforcement in Seattle, because clear intersections and transit lanes are important to keeping the flow of traffic, people, and goods moving. It is also critical to ensuring safety for pedestrians and people in wheelchairs, as is demonstrated in this video by Rooted in Rights.
First-time violators will be mailed a warning, followed by a $75 ticket for each violation after that. You can read more here.
Ensuring that drivers are not using bus lanes was much more necessary pre-pandemic, and as we move forward these automated enforcement cameras will help keep buses running on time. In 2019, with increased traffic downtown we saw people taking to the streets to clear bus lanes downtown, and while we need bus lanes clear, these tools are better and much safer for drivers and pedestrians.
While none of the affected intersections are located in District 6, the city of Seattle has turned on traffic cameras at specific locations that will take pictures of cars that are blocking pedestrian crossings and/or intersections, or cars that are illegally driving in bus lanes. This is part of the “Don’t Block-the-Box" campaign, and these cameras will be turned on gradually to give the public time to adjust. Here are the affected intersections:
- Aurora Ave N and Galer St
- Westlake Ave N and Valley/ Roy Street
- 4th Ave and Battery St
- 5th Ave and Olive Way
- 3rd Ave and Stewart St
- 1st Ave and Columbia St
- 3rd Ave and James St
- 4th Ave and Jackson St
|
|
Ballard Blossom Building Blooming on Market Street
|
|
|
Professor Daniel Sedlacek has added vibrancy to our community by activating the Ballard Blossom building which would otherwise be a vacant building as it waits for development permits. Last weekend his students held a pop up market selling products they had created in their entrepreneurship class. I was impressed by all the students from the University of Washington and Green River College. Some of my favorite products were were a card game, dog treats, and a calendar to help you remember to water your plants. Thank you to everyone who is making the Ballard Blossom building bloom!
|
|
|
I stopped by Ballard FC open tryouts last weekend and caught up with founders, Lamar Neagle, Sam Zisette and Chris Kaimmer. Open tryouts were an opportunity for many talented soccer players in Seattle to showcase themselves to the coaching staff in hopes of earning a spot on the roster for the inaugural 2022 season. I’m looking forward to attending a match later this summer. Their home opener has already sold out, but tickets are available for later games if you’d like to cheer on the Ballard Football Club this season.
|
|
Subscribe to My Newsletter
|
|
|
If this email was forwarded to you by a friend, I encourage you to sign-up for my newsletter! I send out a regular newsletter about the happenings in our district, updates from City Hall, and progress reports on the work we are doing to make life better for all of us in Seattle.
To stay up to date, sign up for my newsletter here!
|
|
|
Every time we have Council Briefing, I update my colleagues on issues in District 6 and the work my office is doing that week. These updates are a helpful way to follow along with my work. I also post these videos weekly on my website and social media. You can view the latest updates and past videos on my website here.
|
|
|
If you need assistance, please reach out to my office:
|
|
|
|
