Lower Wallingford is going through quite a change. As we reported in April, the new transfer station is slated to open some time in 2016. In fact, Wallyhood has been reporting on this since 2009. You can trace the development of this project just by looking at those old posts.
Now that I can actually see the space in person rather than on a map or drawing, I’m really impressed. It’s far beyond what I expected.
I think this new transfer station is an example of how the neighborhood community can both advocate for its preservation while also being a proponent for the change that is inevitable in a growing city. My belief is that change is coming and along with that is greater density. What we can do as neighbors is to advocate for smart change. More density means the need for more open space, not less, as we try to serve the needs of all the additional people joining the neighborhood.
I would like to commend the Wallingford Community Council for a job well done on this project. If there is anyone else who deserves credit, please let me know in the comments and I will update the post. Given that Mayor Murray has officially cut ties with all Seattle Neighborhood Councils, it makes you wonder what these photos would look like without the neighborhood input.
Additional pictures below include the new Tableau World Headquarters at N 34th Street and Woodlawn, a picture of the kids playground and more.
If any one is interested in the contract negotiated between the Wallingford Community Council and SPU, and approved by the city council, it can be found on the WCC website at
http://www.wallingfordcc.org/category/land-use/page/2/ at the bottom of the page.
Thanks for the update! It’s looking really good — I’m looking forward to wandering around there when it opens.
My understanding, from the transfer station’s web page, is that it will be opening sometime this autumn.
WCC’s settlement with SPU is a good piece of work. It came toward the end of a fairly difficult (“contentious”) process. There is a report at http://www.seattle.gov/util/cs/groups/public/@spu/@garbage/documents/webcontent/01_014284.pdf that includes discussion of the stakeholder group process that preceded the WCC agreement. The names of the participants and the groups they represented are listed at page 7.
The contentiousness over the transfer station redevelop concerned its siting in Lower Wallingford just east of Fremont. This paragraph in the cover letter that I got the stakeholder group to agree to over SPU’s objections summarizes the historical reason:
“The siting of a replacement for the aging North Transfer Station has been considered by SPU since at least 1998. In that year, a Solid Waste Plan was adopted by the Seattle City Council. The 1998 plan did not address North Transfer Station siting issues. Notwithstanding dispute over the adequacy of the process leading to selection of the current site, we have come to consensus on how best to replace the current facility using the existing site.”
So, while SPU was very gracious about providing mitigation and the project will have a minimum of adverse impacts on surrounding neighborhoods as a result of years of discussions, I think it is important to remember mistakes that were made so they can be avoided in the future. The City of Seattle continues to be bad about not engaging well with communities of interest early in major decision making processes.
Eternal vigilance is the price of adequate project planning and mitigation. Fully open and transparent engagement by City agencies with communities earlier in project planning would be even better.
We live in lower Wallingford and we’re very pleased with how it is turning out. Glad that ugly parking lot is becoming a park.
I hadn’t heard that dictator Murray had cut city ties with the neighborhood councils! I had heard that his process for input for city growth had rejected applicants who were homeowners. All he’s getting is his echo chamber. See, for example, the city’s HALA website — only links to articles that support the plans and none that raise questions. While he says his executive order to cut ties is to expand inclusion in the process to people of color and young renters, the neighborhood councils have never turned anyone away and have begged for greater participation. From my experience, young people and renters generally take less part in communities (I was a renter until I was almost 40 and this was my experience in the many places I lived over 22 years). I don’t know why people of color are not taking part, but I can say that my husband, who is a person of color, is just too busy. That won’t change with a different process. Unless the city comes up with an alternative that still allows residents to organize, all dictator Murray has managed to do is to divide and conquer and to follow the will of for-profit developers, who I understand contributed greatly to his election campaign and who have a strong interest in keeping ALL residents very unorganized. I truly hope I’m wrong about what the city will devise, but so far, nothing Murray and his administration have done give me optimism.
for-profit developers, who I understand contributed greatly to his election campaign
I looked up the list of contributions to Murray in the 2013 election; he had many $700 contributions (the maximum allowed) and while Vulcan and others are on the list, it is not as heavily weighted toward “developers” as you might think. There are many contributors from various liberal and progressive communities.
I think McGinn screwed up so badly (not a good diplomat for starters) that people were ready for change not knowing how much worse a manager Murray would turn out to be.
Murray appears to operate from a zero-sum orientation of political power; no matter the issue, if you want to empower some constituency, you must disempower others to do so.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/chamber-pac-may-be-fined-for-not-disclosing-vulcan-donation/
Above is an article regarding a campaign contribution from Vulcan, if you’re interested. Also, Vulcan is listed as a supporter on the webpage of Seattle for Everyone, which has a pro-HALA agenda.
Thanks to everyone who volunteered their time to the Transfer Station negotiations. A few additional nice points about the site: There is now more room for cars to line up inside of the transfer station so that cars are not expected to back up traffic on the main road. Also, there will be an educational center that is open to the public (just drop in) where you can watch how the transfer station works. I’m sure my boys and I will be checking it out once it’s open. There will also be a hotline number you can call if the center has too much “odor,” if anyone has that number it would be great to share it here.
I’m going to toot my and some of my neighbors’ horns and say that a number of us volunteered to be on and advisory team and review the landscape/open space design around the station. We pushed for programming, natural play space, view corridors and tree retention. It was a great opportunity to feel connected to the public process and I feel privileged to be a part of it. I’m excited to see how it all turns out in the end.
It’s a beautiful building — you should be proud of your efforts on behalf of our community. THANK YOU!
Ditto! Good work, and thank you!