Harbor once had plans to build up to 400 apartments on the entire 4-acre St. Gobain property, but backed off when the economy tanked. "We decided that if we wanted to get one good, bite-sized chunk going, this was it," Onslow said.

The Department of Neighborhoods administers committees that review new development in various historic districts around the City. It's a different process than Design Review, but it gets at many of the same sort of guidelines.

But in this case, there's no landmark district review.

http://seattletransitblog.com/2009/11/25/columbia-city-site-purchased-by-developer/

Is that parcel really in the landmarks district? Anyone got a map of what's covered by historic district?

Or frankly, can anyone explain the whole historic district/ landmark buildings/ etc. thing to me? (I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds it confusing).

November 18, 2009. 6:30-8:30
Rainier Community Center

Meeting called to order
Introductions
Review and Approval of October Meeting Minutes
Report from the representative to the NPAC
Report of the Membership and Outreach Committee
• New Member Recommendation
• Vote on Admittance of New Member- Genesee Park Neighbors
Discussion with SDOT on the King County Metro Electric Trolley Bus System and other transit issues
• Presentation
• Q&A
Discussion on 2010 SEDC meetings
Nomination of 2010 SEDC Executive Committee positions
Briefing from the Bridging the Gap Large Transportation Committee- Christie C (30
Announcements
Adjourn

Last-minute voter? That's OK. You've got until 8pm tonight to drop your ballot at any of King County's drop box locations. Our closest one is at the Southeast Neighborhood Service Center, 3815 S Othello St, about a block to the west of the light rail station.

“This meeting is an opportunity for you to get involved,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett, who represents the Central District, Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill on the County Council. “We need to hear from you about how these changes impact your lives.”

Gosestt said he hosted the Town Hall to hear from residents concerned about recent service changes made by Metro in order to coordinate with new light rail service. He said many of the neighborhoods he represents are urban communities for whom public transit is their primary source of transportation.

The meeting gave residents direct access to the officials at Sound Transit and Metro Transit responsible for the service changes that have occurred in the Rainier Valley.

Ron Tober, Deputy CEO of Sound Transit spoke to the audience about the agency’s effort to mesh Link light rail, the train running through the heart of the Rainier Valley, with the transit service that also travels along Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S. In response to concerns raised about the noise of the trains as they run, Tober said Sound Transit has begun using a new lubricant to reduce the noise of the wheels on the track around the Mt Baker rail stop.

With the arrival of light rail there was also a shift in transit service along the rail corridor. Victor Obeso, Metro Transit’s Manager for Service Development, stressed that with the start of Link, Metro’s focus was to “complement, not duplicate” light rail service. He said the changes were made in conjunction with a community outreach program in which Metro contacted more than 50,000 households in the area.

Obeso acknowledged that trip patterns would change for some bus riders as a result of service changes, but he said Metro remains committed to providing reliable bus service along MLK Way. He said many of the passengers served by the old Route 42 still have service available through the expansion of Metro Routes 8 and 107 into their neighborhoods.

Obeso also told the audience Metro will be adding more bus service along the MLK corridor in February, after Sound Transit starts connecting directly to SeaTac Airport. Obeso said that Metro expects to add 35,000 additional hours of transit service to Southeast King County when the light rail transition is complete.

Gossett said that while the County Executive’s budget proposal calls for a 9 percent reduction of bus service countywide over the next two years, he feels reducing service should be Metro’s last resort and made it clear that he wants Metro officials to look at all options before coming to the council with service cuts.

The Council has just started its deliberations on the 2010 county budget. There will be four public hearings on the budget proposal, which the Council traditionally adopts the Monday before Thanksgiving. For more information on the meeting and the 2010 King County Budget, go to the Council’s Budget Web site at: www.kingcounty.gov/council/budget.

In particular, I think we could really, really use crosswalks with lights (and maybe some form of curb-bulbing — if that's a word — or other sidewalk changes) at:

39th and Rainier
S. Angeline and Rainier
Oregon and Rainier

Bring your shovels, clippers, gloves, and gardening tools. We'll be having the first Best Darned Chili in Hillman City Cook-Off during the work party so make sure to bring your best chili to share and bring your appetite! Judging of the fabulous chilis will be at noon.

Have fun and get to know your neighbors! Help clean up the future Juneau Street Park! Eat lots of chili!

Save the dates for the next three work parties: Sept. 26th, Oct. 10th, and Oct. 24th (always from 10 am - 2 pm).

Visit www.juneaustreetcommunity.net for more information. Thank you to Adopt-A-Street for providing some tools and hauling. Hosted by the Friends of Juneau Street Park.

The evening town-hall style meeting will be held at Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club located at 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. It begins at 6:30 p.m. and is slated to end at 8:30 p.m. C.R. Douglas, host of Seattle Channel’s City Inside/Out and Ask the Mayor will moderate the event.

Attendees will have the option of writing their questions down when they arrive if they prefer not to speak at the microphone. Also, for those unable to attend, questions may be submitted in advance to vog.elttaes|llahnwotlicnuoC#vog.elttaes|llahnwotlicnuoC.

For information or questions, call 206-684-8805. Accommodations for a disability or translation services can be made in advance by calling Nancy Roberts at 206-684-8146.

Who: Q & A With Council

What: Seattle City Councilmembers invite the public for an informative of evening questions and answers

When: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Where: Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club, 4520 MLK Jr. Way S.

Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21 and Webcast live on the City Council’s website at www.seattle.gov/council. Copies of legislation, archives of previous meetings, and news releases are available on www.seattle.gov/council. Follow the City Council on Twitter at Twitter.com/SeattleCouncil.

Now if only we can get a pedestrian stoplight and curb bulb at Angeline and Rainier to allow crossing on that long block… maybe they can pay for that as a community amenity? ;)

It is above and beyond the most dangerous location in the neighborhood. I think the community needs to get organized about coming up with a solution. Hopefully Angie's will get involved before people start trying to shut them down.

Info/comments from The Stranger:

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/08/21/shooting-in-columbia-city

A Citizen snapped these images of the design packet to be presented tomorrow (Fri) at the Columbia City Review Committee's 4pm meeting.

The updated massing is now five stories where it meets Edmunds and Rainier. The fifth story steps back, making these facades read more like four stories when viewed from sidewalk level.

Anita Lehman's sketches give a sense of what that sidewalk view might be like.

(above) View from Edmunds looking east, standing between the church and the school.

(above) View from Edmunds & Rainier looking west, standing at the corner of the Toby building.

(above) View from Edmunds & Rainier looking north.

Apologies for the poor image quality. These are screenshots — of a PDF — of a Citizen's digital camera images — of the paper packet. (Now wouldn't it be so much easier if the design team would simply provide copies of their work to the public?)

If you have the bandwidth or the patience, you can download the whole 19-page packet (7 megabytes).