South Lake Union – What the People Said

People had a LOT to say at a March 28th meeting sponsored by the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development.  Held at Unity Church in South Lake Union, around 200 attendees learned about, and provided, inital feedback on SLU’s future– as currently outlined on 659 pages.

South Lake Union was first designated as an Urban Center in 2004, and since then the City has been working on a 25-year plan to fully utilize the area’s potential. Its Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the South Lake Union Height Alternatives addresses plans to:

• Develop a more diverse and attractive community with a mix of housing types and land uses, plus defined building types and heights.
• Use height and density increases to meet other goals such as increased affordable housing and open space, plus public benefits through incentive zoning.
• Enhance street-level pedestrian quality with public view corridors and retail activities.
• Provide a full transportation system including street networks, transit and non-motorized travel. 
• Maintain utility systems (electrical, water, sewer and storm drains).
• Ensure adequate zoned development capacity for long-term growth.

Display boards highlighted the four Alternatives, or plans, as outlined in the Draft EIS. Attendees discussed the Alternatives with DOPD staff members and consultants.   A presentation by the City followed, explaining how the Draft EIS will work as a tool for the City and its residents to assess the pros and cons of each Alternative.  You can find the plan on this link.  We stayed for the first 35 minutes of commentary (two minutes per person).  Most of those speakers seemed to have read the Draft EIS from cover to cover.

The first stated that 50% of new city populations develop in Urban Centers, and South Lake Union is the most expandable (Seattle) area to accommodate that.

A rep from the construction sector was very enthusiastic about the possibilities of South Lake Union development.  He commented that it’s very flat, very buildable– a real opportunity to build for the future, with a focus on its growing industries such as UofW Research, Fred Hutchinson, and amazon.com.  A restaurant owner later stated that strong residential growth keeps small businesses thriving, too.

Another speaker was dismayed to detect negativity in the Draft EIS, which she felt didn’t expand on the qualities that South Lake Union has and could have. She was also adamant that she and her Gen Y peers would not live in “a city full of Pete Seeger’s Little Boxes on the Hillside” (actually written by Malvina Reynolds).

Most of the speakers, including a surprising number of residents, supported Alternative 1, which carries the greatest height and density levels.  They were tempered by concerns that the Draft EIS made little or no mention of public transportation and services other than police and fire (worries about those, too).  They said it didn’t seem to address families with children, and there was no mention of plans for schools.

Although Alternative 1 was a clear choice among those we heard, others wanted to ensure the City would strive to retain a strong cross-section of residents. We paraphrase one speaker who said she’d “rather have a good mix of 27,000 instead of an 18,000 mix of millionaires.”

Since Alternative 1 was so popular, we’ll provide more details on it in a few days.  To comment on the Draft EIS, send an email to jim.holmes@seattle.gov by Monday, April 11th, the last day for public input. After that, they’ll begin work on a Final EIS for summer release.  We’ll let you know when.