The Mount Baker View NEWS OF THE MOUNT BAKER COMMUNITY CLUB ISSUE 236, AUGUST 2013 2811 Mt. Rainier Drive S. | www.mountbaker.org | 206.722.7209 TRANSIT FORUM PUTS NEIGHBORS AT THE CENTER OF MOUNT BAKER STATION DEVELOPMENT By Sue Cary, outgoing MBCC Zoning, Land Use, Planning & Transportation (ZLUPT) Committee Chair On April 8, over 100 people gathered at the Clubhouse for a com- City Council members Richard Conlin, Tom Rasmussen and Sally munity forum on the issues and opportunities surrounding new Clark were present, along with representatives from Sound Transit, development in the vicinity of the Mount Baker light rail station. King County Metro, University of Washington, South East Effective The purpose of the forum, in keeping with the mission of the Com- Development, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Office munity Club, was to inform the community regarding related pub- of Housing, Rainier Valley Community Loan Fund, Artspace and lic policy issues and provide a setting for civic discussion of the other developers and owners of nearby commercial properties. issues. This forum was the culmination of almost three years of community participation in the City’s planning process for transit- Before opening the discussion to general questions from the audi- oriented development and proposed zoning changes. ence, Andy directed a number of questions to our panelists deal- ing with development opportunities, impediments to quality new Incoming Board President Andy Reynolds moderated a panel development, traffic and access issues. A number of provocative discussion with the following panelists: points were discussed: Susan Davis, Executive Director, Rainier Chamber of Commerce • Area zoning needs to be finalized so players know the rules Nora Liu, Planner, Seattle Department of Planning and Development • Public investment in infrastructure needs to address and improve Jake McKinstry, Principal, Spectrum Development Solutions pedestrian access and streetscape, and to create opportunities for Rob Mohn, Property Owner/Developer, Columbia City more balanced right-of-way use for cars, bikes and pedestrians Dan Rosenfeld, Ownership Representative, QFC site Continued on page 10 day in the park CASTING CALL Sunday, September 22 What’s your talent? Send us a clip or idea to [email protected] and be in the show! THE HOME TOUR OF THE CENTURY! Article on page 7 1 NEWS OF THE MOUNT BAKER COMMUNITY CLUB NEWS OF THE MOUNT BAKER COMMUNITY CLUB for August, 2013 In the annual elections portion of the meeting, Zach Fleet was SECRETARY’S VIEW OF affirmed to serve the remainder of withdrawing board member President’s Corner Del Davis’ two-year term. Chris Ferree, Colin Macdonald, Dawn Counts, Lee Stanton and Sue Cary were reelected to the MBCC To begin, we have developed what we call “The Welcome Wagon.” This MBCC BUSINESS board. Ann Beeman, Ben Blakey, Jim Kleckner, Jin Lee, Justin El- is our outreach effort to find out who is new to the area, give them in- By Bill Davis, MBCC Secretary der and Mark Temmel were elected as new board members. Andy A NEW OUTLOOK FOR MBCC formation about the neighborhood and talk about ways in which they Following is a quick overview of our monthly community meet- Reynolds was elected chair; Peter Greaves re-elected vice chair; Bill By Andy Reynolds, MBCC Board Chair can become involved. Already we are reaping some benefits. We have ings. Meetings begin at 7:00 PM, preceded by a social at 6:30 PM Davis re-elected secretary; Chris Ferree re-elected treasurer; and several new board members who are recent additions to Mount Baker with snacks and beverages provided by Mioposto. Ron Suter was re-elected legal counsel. Hello, Neighbors! as residents and business people. I hope others will follow their lead. The board is energized and ready to serve. We hope to see you at the Com- April 1 community meeting June 3 community meeting As incoming president of the MBCC Board, this is the first of many op- munity Meetings. Please come join us, we’re a lot of fun! MBCC Chair Lee Stanton described our election policies then intro- Olivia Skance representing Chevron, Jared Smith of Day 31 LLC, portunities I will have to talk with you during my tenure. Before intro- duced the slate of board candidates. Parks & Open Spaces committee and Ken Coleman of Compass Construction described the site of ducing myself and what I hope to do in concert with you, I want to thank As for me: I’m a 22-year resident of Mount Baker. I have enjoyed a smor- chair, Colin Macdonald contributed a slide presentation describing a former gas station located on the northeast corner of 31st Ave. S. my immediate predecessor Lee Stanton. Lee deserves more accolades gasbord of career opportunities – journalist, entrepreneur, and cross- the open space sites in the Mount Baker neighborhood. These in- and S. Day St. It is being developed into four ground floor retail than we could ever heap upon him for the extraordinary accomplish- cultural organizational consultant. I am married with five children, six clude Horton Street stairs, Viewpoint Park, Bradner Gardens Park spaces with two floors of residential units above. They hope for ments by him and the board he led. They turned around MBCC finan- grandchildren, and one great-grandson with a second due to arrive in P-Patch, Colman Park, Mount Baker Ridge Viewpoint Park, Mount completion of the building in late summer or early fall of 2014. cially and laid the foundation for re-establishing MBCC as an opinion December, so I am not only happy to serve my community, but proud Claire Park, and the two parcels known by their shapes: “the Slice” leader in Seattle. The forum on Economic Development and Transpor- of my life and family. and “the Comma”. Board member Judith Yarrow described the pro- Kyle Brown, Seafair Director of Operations, described activities tation held this spring was a key component in that effort. gress on establishing the Charleston Street Hillclimb with details and planned for this summer’s event. The Patriot Jets performance will photos available at www.charlestonhillclimb.org. allow Seward Park to remain open to the public this year. There As you may understand, the effort that Lee and his board undertook will be no I-90 bridge closure on Thursday, with Friday, Saturday, required an inward focus and it paid off. Now, we want to turn our focus May 6 community meeting and Sunday closures similar to past years. Additionally, the F1 tun- outward. At our recent board retreat, we set some ambitious goals. The YOUR MBCC BOARD MBCC chair Lee Stanton and board candidate Jin Lee reported on nel-boats will be racing close to shore and a water slide is planned primary theme: You Are Our Neighbors. We want all who live, work Officers: PRESIDENT/BOARD CHAIR: the proposed zoning changes for the Mount Baker light rail sta- for the Mount Baker Beach area. or play in our community to understand that you are members of this Andy Reynolds, [email protected] tion area for which the Department of Planning and Development big, diverse neighborhood. As such, we want to learn more about who VICE PRESIDENT & CLUBHOUSE COMMITTEE CHAIR: expects to submit to City Council this summer. Plans for revising Peter Greaves, [email protected] you are, what you do and what you want from the community club. We the vehicle traffic pattern in the pedestrian-friendly area will be want and need this information to help us serve you better. We also TREASURER & FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR: considered at a later date. hope that some of you will become more involved in our community as Bart Wilson, [email protected] volunteers, board members and, of course, active financial contributors SECRETARY: to maintaining and growing your Clubhouse. Bill Davis, [email protected] Mark Barbieri and Jared Smith of the Downtown Seattle Association GENERAL COUNSEL: YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY provided an overview of the increasing number of people who live Ron Suter downtown. The 10-year Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) Committees: is due for renewal in 2013. Their focus is on four economic indica- COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR: GROUP HAS A NEW WEBSITE Ann Beeman, [email protected] by Bill Davis, MBCC representative and SEDC secretary tors: Live, Work, Shop, and Play in the downtown Seattle area. Full DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR: 2011-2016 DSA Strategic plan: www.downtownseattle.com. Judith Yarrow, [email protected] The SEDC launched a new website (www.southeastseattle.org) GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR: hosting pages for member organizations. The site also lists non- The May 22 meeting reviewed the various events impacting south- Lee Stanton, [email protected] community member announcements which must be approved by east Seattle this summer, including: The Shore Run / Walk, The PARKS & OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE CHAIR: an administrator. Meetings are on the fourth non-holiday Wednes- Rock n Roll Marathon & Half Marathon, the Seattle To Portland Colin Macdonald, [email protected] day of the month at 6:30 PM, except mid-summer, in the Rainier (STP) bicycle ride, the Seafair Triathlon and Seafair weekend. ZONING, LAND USE, PLANNING & TRANSPORTATION CHAIR: Community Center (4600 38th Ave. S.). Jin Lee, [email protected] At the June 26 meeting several presenters offered information on M.L. KING JR. SCHOLARSHIP FUND REPRESENTATIVE: At the April 24 meeting Brooke Dukes of KNOW Concept Design the PCC move to Columbia City. (see related article on page 8 for Doug McBroom (www.knowconceptdw.com) presented the new SEDC website. details) Board Members at Large: Ben Blakey Mark Temmel Zach Fleet Sue Cary Seattle City Council member Nick Licata described studies for Nolan Rundquist and Susan Paine described the goal of 30% can- Jim Kleckner Mike Brosius public financing of political campaigns.