[Yes, I marked this post as "politics" and "violence"]

Sign posted by Fenix Tattoo owner in Pioneer Square

From the SDOT Parking Group:

Parking. Whether it’s on the street or in a garage, it’s something that many people do on a regular basis. While people certainly don’t drive for the sole purpose of parking, the act of finding a spot is inevitable. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) wants to hear about your experiences.

SDOT manages the on-street parking network – all those pay stations, meters, and related signs. Right now, they’re working on a project that outlines different strategies to make paid street parking in downtown and neighborhood business districts more available. The technical term is performance-based parking pricing. Other cities like San
Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. are testing out new strategies too.

SDOT would like to get a better sense for business owner needs, understand the customer parking experience, and look for ways to make it better. Take a survey! You can find the survey here – it should take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Thanks!

But seriously — take the time to voice your opinions on this one. With the help of a few city council members, we were able to stop the hours from going to 8pm — let’s see if we can be heard on other issues.

Sally Clark and her legislative assistant David Yeaworth have been paying a lot of attention to Pioneer Square lately, including frequent walks in the neighborhood with Alliance for Pioneer Square staff, and supporting reduced parking hours, adding extra police patrols, and other initiatives listed here She also highlighted Pioneer Square in her monthly newsletter:

When Elliott Bay Books announced two years ago it was decamping for Capitol Hill, an alarm bell sounded for many of us. Many Pioneer Square residents and business people had heard the ringing long before, but it took a major loss to get the attention of others. Since then neighbors, business people and city staffers have been working hard to shine up the neighborhood’s image and deliver real progress on a list of community goals. There’s good news to report on many fronts:

• • If you’ve been down recently you’ve seen the “yarn bomb” art project in Occidental Park. I was down a couple of weekends ago for the annual Fire Festival and I’ve come across great music and performances at lunchtime on weekdays.
  • Mayor Mike McGinn announced in May that the City is laying conduit under First Ave. and issuing a request for proposals from companies who want to provide high-capacity fiber to the neighborhood through that conduit. This is great because Pioneer Square has become a hub for gaming companies. In order for the neighborhood to keep and grow these companies, they’ll need more bandwidth.
  • A new streetcar line will soon run up Jackson from Occidental, making stops in the ID, First Hill and Capitol Hill on Broadway. That’s actually great news for all of those neighborhoods. Construction starts early next year. Take a look at visualizations on the Seattle Streetcar site.
  • Construction will begin later this summer on 717 units of new housing, as well as shops and offices, on the parking lot north of the football stadium. Pioneer Square has long needed more residents to love it.
  • The Saturday Market in Occidental for arts and crafts that worked so well last year is moving to Thursday evenings. Combined with the beloved First Thursday Art Walk, this means Thursday throughout the summer becomes a full day of action in Pioneer Square.

There’s more to say about great performances, art and other events in Nord Alley and a possible new tenant for the Globe Building, but there are also challenges. Recently Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Tim Burgess and I met with a large pack of Pioneer Square business owners about on-street parking rates (they think they’re too high) and on-street drug dealing (there’s still too much).

One big challenge still on the list is the slated re-routing of Metro buses through parts of Pioneer Square after the Viaduct comes down. Metro plans to move 550 buses through Pioneer Square daily. Granted Pioneer Square is a gateway into downtown, but there are other routes that Metro could use to bring vehicles in from the south and southwest, like Fourth Avenue. That’s part of the reason why the state built the Edgar Martinez overpass and the Fourth Avenue South off-ramp from the Spokane St. Viaduct. I don’t believe Main and Washington Streets are going to be appropriate main routes for Metro in life post-Viaduct. We need a better answer that protects Seattle’s first historic neighborhood.

Near the end of April this year, URS completed a study looking at what it would take to reactivate the Waterfront Streetcar (including technical and political issues).

I didn’t actually read the entire 89-page report, but here is a summary of recommended reactivation strategies:

• While no major impediments to reactivating the streetcar, one immediate stumbling block is the need for a viable maintenance and storage facility (which was lost with Olympic Sculpture Park and was supposed to go in a new development next to Occidental Sq Park, which never happened)
  • Opportunities exist to collaborate with the 1st Hill Streetcar to share a facility
• Biggest obstacles are political and institutional elements
  • This is due to a variety of complex, interrelated construction projects planned on the Central Waterfront area (seawall, alaskan way viaduct, waterfront, etc)
• It would cost approximately $10 – $13 million to reactivate
• If it shares a facility with 1st Hill Streetcar, the Waterfront Streetcar could reopen October 2013
  • the report says it could also provide an additional option for travelers to get around the waterfront area during construction
• The total capital costs range for reactivation range from $10.3 million to $12.7 million depending on alternative

A few weeks ago, Seattle Weekly also wrote an article on this topic, titled “The Waterfront Streetcar’s Second Run:”

While the streetcar has its devotees, there has been little to no public outcry concerning its state of limbo. Seattleites, the city learned, despise the waterfront’s current bent toward touristy kitsch, an environment which the jolly old trolley only served to enhance.

You’d think these factors would finally clarify the streetcar’s future, with the “suspended” label mercifully changed to “extinguished.” But that’s simply not what’s happening: The city’s waterfront-redesign team, led by James Corner of High Line (NYC) fame, notes in an FAQ that “the future of the waterfront streetcar will be determined during the design process”—a process that won’t be completed until sometime in 2012.

At a recent Light Rail/Streetcar Network Meeting, Councilmember Richard Conlin reviewed this report (along with representatives from local businesses and city departments), and commented that the Waterfront Streetcar was not off the table, but that it needed to have a place in the waterfront design if it was ever going to move forward. When asked what people could do to show their support for the streetcar, he said that the city needed to hear that people actually wanted it.

However, if it comes down to the Waterfront Streetcar versus the 1st Ave Streetcar (connecting the SLUT with the First Hill Streetcar), I vote for the 1st Ave Streetcar connection. It does something that the WS can’t do: connect SLU with Downtown with Pioneer Square/CID with First Hill with Capitol Hill.

In a perfect world, however, I will gladly take both.

What do you think?

Last week, Council Members Burgess, Rasmussen and Clark met at Delicatus to listen to over 40 Pioneer Square residents and business owners talk about our many concerns for the neighborhood and how we feel the city should be helping.

On Tuesday, Sally Clark, Tim Burgess, Tom Rasmussen, and Richard Conlin sent a letter to McGinn outlining action items that they feel should be looked at, with some being “implemented immediately.” You can read the letter in its entirety here, but if you’re not in the mood to read the 3-page letter of support for our neighborhood, here are some excerpts that highlight the important parts:

These neighbors want to partner with the City’s government to protect and revitalize Pioneer Square at a time of significant disruption and uncertainty. Their concerns have become more acute because of the work underway related to the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project and the soon-to-begin construction of the new Pioneer Square-Capitol Hill streetcar line and the Qwest Field North Lot residential-retail-business complex.

They agree that due to all of these impacts, steps should be taken to protect our unique, historic district. Some should be “implemented immediately,” while others “may require further feasibility analysis.”

1. Adjust as necessary and as quickly as possible the boundaries of the neighborhood parking area to accurately reflect the boundaries of the PSq neighborhood.

2. Work with King County Metro to move on-street transit layover parking and work with the Fire Dept and other city Depts to find parking in alternative locations in order to free up more parking spaces in the District.

3. Maintain the current on-street parking hour end time of 6pm and adopt Sunday management policies that will create a higher turnover rate.

4. Waive Business + Occupation taxes on “Retail Trade” businesses located within the PSq Historic District through 2015.

5. Add extra police foot patrols in the District during afternoon and evening hours with special attention given to weekends and to noise enforcement between midnight and 3am. Focus police resources to provide concentrated deterrence in designated hot spots, especially areas that serve as open air drug markets.

6. Provide wayfinding to public toilets, explore re-opening the restrooms at Fire Station 10 for managed use by the public and explore the merits of developing other public restroom options in the District, including the possibility of requiring special event operators to provide adequate portable toilets throughout Pioneer Square.

7. Evaluate street cleanup services, street light maintenance and sidewalk and street repair, including street median maintenance, to make certain service levels are adequate.

8. Waive special event permitting fees to promote street and park activities and increase coordination with other downtown and Int’l District events to reduce competition and to create synergy that will attract more visitors to the District.

I think this is a big step for these City Council members to push for these changes in our neighborhood. While I’m disappointed that the rates are only capped and not going down from the $3.50 level, we have a big win by keeping our hours at 6pm.

Up next: I live-tweeted the Mayor’s press conference yesterday, and will post more info soon on what the Mayor’s office has to say about our neighborhood and the steps they’re willing to take after receiving the suggestions from City Council.

Please join Mayor Mike McGinn, members of the Pioneer Square community and Comcast for a press briefing tomorrow at Seattle City Hall for the release of Mayor McGinn’s Pioneer Square Recovery Strategy and Report to the Community highlighting the City’s progress to date and next steps in the following areas:

o   Support for Pioneer Square’s Historic Buildings
o   Creating a Positive Development Environment
o   Providing Economic Development Support and Investments
o   Providing Supportive Utility, Parking and Transportation Infrastructure
o   Ensuring an Environment of Public Safety and Civility

When: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., Wednesday June 15, 2011
Where: Norman B. Rice Room, Seattle City Hall, 7th Floor

(reading between the lines — it looks like the Mayor + City Council are going to take some steps towards helping Pioneer Square. Look for some good news tomorrow — I will post an update, and probably live tweet the event @thenewp2)

Meet the City Council Candidates on June 15 and Ask the Questions YOU Want Answered!

Join the Downtown Seattle Association on Wednesday, June 15 at Showbox at the Market to meet your City Council candidates in a fun “speed dating” style format.

Five current city councilmembers are up for re-election and all have drawn at least one challenger. Here’s your chance to meet them all face-to-face and ask the questions you want answered. Hot button topics for this year’s election include:

Viaduct replacement and bored tunnel project
Transportation, including public transit, light rail, bike lanes and potholes
Neighborhood density
Additional police on the streets
Street food vendor legislation
Mandatory sick leave

[note: or other things -- like what they plan to do about parking in Pioneer Square, and how they will help small businesses thrive during viaduct construction, or how they plan to help us provide public restrooms in our neighborhood, or if they will please bring back the waterfront streetcar, etc.]

Instead of an impersonal on-stage panel, you’ll get to lead the conversation as part of a small group with each candidate working their way around the room. Start thinking about your questions now!

The event is open to DSA members and non-members. Details and registration information below:

WHERE: Showbox at the Market
1426 1st Avenue, near the corner of 1st and Pike

WHEN: Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Event begins at 5pm:
5 – 5:15pm Cash bar, snacks and mingling
5:15 – 7pm Speed candidate-ing

COST: $15 DSA members; $20 non-members

REGISTER: Click here to register today!

Council Should Adopt Height Increases to Strengthen Pioneer Square (PubliCola)
Op Ed by Anne Fennessy and myself: We believe preservationists and residents want the same outcome: protected, quality historic buildings, fewer vacant lots and deteriorating structures, and more people in the Square. The City Council should embrace the lessons from the Paearl District and adopt the modest height increases for Pioneer Square that are currently before them. More market rate housing in Pioneer Square will strengthen the neighborhood and preserve its historic character.

Don’t Cave to Pressure for Extra Height in Pioneer Square (PubliCola)
Cary Moon’s response to the above OpEd: The city council should stick with the new height limits for Pioneer Square, as originally proposed in the Livable South Downtown Plan, and not cave to last-minute lobbying from the business community for extra height. Here’s why: Because building scale, light and views, and urban design really do matter in Pioneer Square.

Pioneer Square Zoning Changes: Citywide TDR for historic buildings would help (Seattle Land Use Code)
I think I’ve made up my mind on this: more height is better and we need citywide Transfer of Development Rights for historic buildings.

Marrying new and old in historic districts (Crosscut)
The debate showed a lot about power in the city. The International District has more of it and is better organized, while in Pioneer Square the forces of preservation, led by Councilmember Nick Licata and the city’s historic preservation czar, Karen Gordon, beat back those trying to revive the Square by getting more residents in a troubled neighborhood.

City allows taller buildings for south-downtown areas (Seattle Times)
The Seattle City Council on Monday approved sweeping zoning changes for south downtown designed to balance preservation of several of the city’s most distinctive ethnic and historic neighborhoods while adding taller residential buildings meant to attract more in-city residents.

SoDense: Council Extends Building Heights in South Seattle (Seattlest)
Density isn’t going to solve all of the area’s problems, but it does provide a solid framework to improve upon them. Seattle residents generally tend to agree – it’s worth noting that the debate surrounding this legislation was not about whether to increase the building limits, but by how much.

Developers digest new Seattle zoning (PSBJ)
Despite the high level of interest, the new guidelines aren’t likely to have an immediate impact on development because the few projects in the pipeline have already won approval of their zoning changes, for the most part.

What Trumps Density? (Seattle Transit Blog)
Maximizing density is either a priority or it isn’t. I’m disappointed that vague aesthetic considerations won out over absolutely critical imperatives.

Is ‘Highest and Best Use’ Always Right? (Seattle Transit Blog)
Maximizing an upzone in Pioneer Square might mean more jobs and homes, but it also likely translates into more minorities packing their bags and heading out to not so transit-friendly suburbs.

Action Alert from DSA today:

This coming Monday — April 18 — the City Council will make an important decision impacting the future of Pioneer Square, Chinatown and the International District. After four years of work — including 17 City Council meetings and dozens of public hearings — the City Council will vote on new height limits for neighborhoods in South Downtown.

For nearly 20 years, the Pioneer Square and Chinatown/ID neighborhoods have prioritized creation of more market rate and workforce housing. However, current zoning has not resulted in new housing or significant investment in rehabbing and preserving existing historic buildings.

In a domino effect, the lack of available housing is also affecting retail in the neighborhoods. The current retail vacancy rate in Pioneer Square is nearly 20 percent — twice that of Downtown. By making it possible for more people to live in South Downtown, there will be more people to support existing retailers, new small business will be attracted to the neighborhood and there will be more eyes on the street helping to keep parks and open spaces safe and vibrant.

What is before the Council is a 20- to 30-year decision — a decision likely not to be revisited for some time and one that will impact these neighborhoods for generations. Increased high limits for the area are necessary to encourage more investment in housing and attract more residents. If approved, the legislation will help encourage development of existing vacant lots while preserving protections for historic buildings important to the neighborhoods.

South Downtown residents, business and stakeholders agree: the best way to preserve and enhance the vibrancy of Pioneer Square, Chinatown and the International District is to turn empty lots into places for people to live.

More information:
Crosscut.com – To gain housing, Pioneer Square needs a boost
The Seattle Times – Elliott Bay Book Co. moving to Capitol Hill
CityTank.org – Don’t Tax What You Want More Of
Letter from Pioneer Square and Chinatown/ID neighborhood leaders (pdf)

Action Requested:

Urge councilmembers to prioritize new housing for South Downtown!

Email your Seattle City Councilmembers TODAY and express your support for the South Downtown legislation as passed out of committee. Tell the Council this legislation is their opportunity to help South Downtown achieve its goals of attracting more residents, while preserving the historic character and assets of the neighborhoods. Let them know the best way to preserve and enhance the vibrancy of Pioneer Square, Chinatown and the International District is to increase heights and turn vacant lots into places for people to live.

Click here to send an email to all Seattle City Councilmembers today and express your support the rezoning of South Downtown. Please BCC: Katherinem@downtownseattle.org to help us track the response to Councilmembers.

Thank you for your support.

(alternate title: why I love Burgess and Bagshaw)

City Council’s committee on the Built Environment met yesterday to talk about a proposal to increase heights in Pioneer Square. Katie Zemsteff (DJC – subscription only) provided a good write-up from the meeting:

Height limits in Pioneer Square are the most controversial issue…At a March committee meeting, council members passed an amendment that increased height limits in some areas to 130 or 140 feet. The 140-foot limits are on the east side of the district, where there is a transition to heights up to 240 feet proposed for east of Fourth Avenue South.

While many Pioneer Square stakeholders support the compromise between DPD’s original proposal and what developers want (180 feet), Councilmember Clark felt that their compromise was only adding 10 – 15 feet — still not enough to make it worth it for developers to want to build in Pioneer Square.

In addition to another Pioneer Square resident (and business owner), and two developers, I got up to testify about why I think our neighborhood needs greater heights. I also presented a letter, signed by over forty small businesses, community leaders, residents, retailers, and property owners in South Downtown, supporting maximum heights and densities in Pioneer Square:

Additional height and density in Pioneer Square will result in more market-rate and workforce housing, which means more residents supporting local retailers, activating parks and providing eyes on the street. Today, hundreds of new employees are making their way to Pioneer Square, but they have limited housing options if they desire to live in the neighborhood where they work. We urge you to adopt the maximum height and density limits studied in the EIS for Pioneer Square.

After much discussion, Clark and O’Brien voted to go with the original DPD proposal, while it was great to see Councilmembers Burgess and Bagshaw stand up for the neighborhood and support what they had originally agreed to.

Here is the map showing current zoning vs. what passed today: http://www.seattle.gov/council/clark/attachments/2011_03sdn_cb117140.pdf

With everything that’s been happening in the neighborhood (see Parking post), we need to see active support from City Council and the Mayor that shows that they’re listening to our neighborhood.

NEXT STEPS: this will go to Full Council on Monday, where it must receive 5 of 9 votes to pass. The next effort in regards to this legislation will be to support Councilmembers in passing the legislation as is concerning Pioneer Square, which will get us the higher heights/stairstep heights that could bring about the most incentive for economic development/market rate housing.

Jon Scholes, VP of Advocacy + Economic Dev’t for the Downtown Seattle Association, asked this very question yesterday on citytank:

In Pioneer Square, familiar arguments are being made against new density in the neighborhood, for fear it would erode the historic integrity of the neighborhood (even though today the neighborhood has a retail vacancy rate twice that of Downtown). In South Lake Union, similar concerns regarding height have been raised, but for different reasons – the need to protect views of the Space Needle and preserve view corridors to the Lake are some of the reasons people have argued against significant new height.

Perhaps everyone’s interests would be better served if the two neighborhoods switched places and just maybe we’d wind up with better urban neighborhoods and come closer to meeting our local and regional goals for transit oriented development and density.

Click here to read the rest of the post (and the comments)