You’re invited to join us for our February 2025 board meeting on Tuesday, February 11th at 7PM via Zoom. Our agenda may change a bit, but it’s going to focus on the Wedgwood Center redevelopment and how you can share your public comments with the City.
- Welcome and Introductions
- Public comments
- Discuss past meeting minutes
- Social equity check-in
- Emergency Prepardness
- Land use review
- Wedgwood Center Redevelopment
- Birds Connect Seattle
- Wedgwood Public
- Social media presence
Wedgwood Community Council is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85904891606?pwd=TzRyVUF6VCtsTHVhQjdYYjA0bnJZdz09
Meeting ID: 859 0489 1606
Passcode: WCC
Is there an in person option? Where and When? How does one join?
I’ve developed concerns about this project. The concerns are these: (1) the proposed development falls short of addressing the community’s need to provide affordable housing for parents with school-age children; (2) the traffic impact analysis is flawed; and (3) the development does not provide public amenities.
Affordable housing for parents with school-age children: It appears that two bedroom units comprise only 20% of the planned development; the rest of the development is comprised of one bedroom units or studios. Although earlier concepts showed the project including townhouses, there don’t appear to be any townhouses in the plans that were recently filed with the City. In my view, this neighborhood has a pressing need to provide affordable housing for parents with school-age children. This is particularly important in this neighborhood because we have three public schools within a half-mile radius of the proposed development and the Seattle public school system is actively considering closing schools because of declining enrollment. I’m not sure two bedroom units provide sufficient housing for parents with school-age children, but I am sure studios and one bedroom units are not. This neighborhood is a good place to raise children with ready access to public education. This development does not appear to provide housing options that serve that purpose.
Traffic impact analysis: I am not an urban planner; I am not a traffic analyst. However, the traffic impact analysis filed in support of this project appears to be based on faulty premises. In the first place, the analysis is based on traffic volumes at N.E. 85th on 35th Avenue N.E. from 2021 – 2023. QFC was closed throughout that time, and traffic volumes were reduced because of the pandemic. I question an analysis that fails to take into account increased traffic volume has people return to work and increased activity due to grocery shopping. In the second place, the analysis does not address the City’s design standards for intersections.
Design standards take into account the size of vehicles that will be turning at an intersection. A number of different strategies may be required to minimize the impact of larger vehicles turning on to N.E. 85th from 35th Avenue N.E. to deliver goods to a grocery store. Will the trucks used to stock the grocery store in the proposed development be larger than the trucks used to stock QFC? I don’t know. Will they be larger than the standard design vehicle used for intersection analysis? I don’t know. What I do know is that the traffic impact analysis filed in support of the proposed development does not address the issue. That’s a significant omission for a project that appears to be premised on the viability of a grocery business that appears to be larger than its predecessor.
Public amenities: It seems to me that development of the parcel between N.E. 82nd and N.E. 85th presents an opportunity to develop public amenities. I’m at an age when I’m sensitive to the need for public restrooms, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect public restrooms be included when a large-scale multi-use development is built in a community. What about a meeting or gathering place? A dog run? A kiosk? Public art? I understand that developers have no incentive to provide public amenities when there’s no return in it for their clients, but the community does not have to worry about that. The community is entitled to look out for itself. I have been surprised that the only apparent interest that has been expressed on behalf of the community has been the existence of curb cuts along 35th.