Tag Archives: Seattle City Council

Urgent Update -Help Needed to Save the Trees at Ingraham High School –

Posted on August 11th, 2008 | Comments Off on Urgent Update -Help Needed to Save the Trees at Ingraham High School –

Threatened NW Tree Grove at Ingraham High School

It’s been a hectic couple of day here in Seattle battling to save the old trees at Ingraham High School! A somewhat ordinary environmental review process has turned into a battle to stop the chain saws as the Seattle School District has resorted to dirty developer tactics and an all out attempt to bully their way over the public by just cutting down the trees. On Thursday they withdrew their building permit applications with the City of Seattle, claiming that without the pending land use applications they could just cut down the trees. Neighbors and Seattle be damned they said! The School District said they plan to cut down the trees on August 15th and 16th .

Once the trees are cut down the Seattle School District plans to resubmit its plans to again add the building addition where the trees once were. Oh and don’t despair. They said you’ll be able to comment on their proposal again at that time. But this time there won’t be any trees in the way for angry neighbors and tree lovers and park lovers to complain about losing.

We urgently need the help of the public to stop them. This blatant evasion of the normal planning process is outrageous and a callous attempt to avoid environmental protection and land use laws. One might expect such arrogant bullying from a private developer but the Seattle Public Schools are owned by the taxpayers. Its our money and our schools. Please help now to save the trees at Ingraham.

Please note: It’s not a question of trees versus school renovation. It never has been. Save the Trees supports replacing the decaying portables with new classrooms. We support putting the new addition on the North side of the school on an open lawn area where no large trees have to be cut down. The Seattle School District, without seeking public input from neighbors and the community, chose to build the addition in a grove of 75 year old 100 foot tall Douglas fir, Pacific madrone and western red cedar trees. Some 68 trees would be unnecessarily cut down. They have long been are a neighborhood park. They also constitute a rare plant community in King County under the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program.

You can read our press release here on MajorityRulesBlog: http://www.majorityrules.org/blog/2008/08/seattle-school-district-seeks-to-avoid.html

There has been major coverage in both the print and broadcast media.

In the Seattle Times by Susan Gilmore http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008101880_ingraham09m.html

And a post by Lisa Stiffler. http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/environment/archives/145622.asp

A link to the KOMO site http://www.komonews.com/news/26442089.html

A link to the King 5 news story is here: http://www.king5.com/education/stories/NW_080808WAB_seattle_school_tree_controversy_TP.2a35ef0b.html#

Great Blog Post – http://smarterneighbors.com/2008/08/09/seattle-school-districts-bad-faith-decision-to-fell-trees-at-ingraham-high-angering-neighbors-and-mayor-nickels/

Also you can find a series of blog posts on the Ingraham battle as it has evolved over the last several months at www.MajorityRules.org/blog

We need people to email or call Seattle City Council members, the Mayor’s office and Seattle School Board and the Seattle School’s Superintendent expressing outrage at the Seattle School District’s decision to evade environmental scrutiny by a developer’s loophole.

Urge the School District and Superintendent to continue the environmental review process in the Courts or just move the proposed addition to the North side of Ingraham High School where they could build without cutting down any large trees. Urge specifically they not cut down the trees.

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/index.dxml

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/sup/index.dxml

Urge the Seattle City Council and Mayor to pass now a strong tree preservation ordinance to close this and other loopholes and give protection to saving and expanding tree cover in the city! Urge action now, not next year. If you are outraged by this slimy trick to evade environmental review tell the city council and mayor to end these developer loopholes.

http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/mayor/contact.html

http://www.seattle.gov/council/councilcontact.html

Send a contribution made out to Save the Trees! to help pay legal expenses. Initial costs are several thousand dollars. More costs are anticipated if the School District digs in further. Send as generous a check as you can to “Save the Trees!” c/o Steve Zemke, 2131 N 132nd St, Seattle, WA 98133 206-366-0811

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Seattle City Council to Act on Saving Tree Groves

Posted on June 23rd, 2008 | 2 comments

Threatened NW Tree Grove at Ingraham High School

 

This Tuesday afternoon at 2 PM, the Seattle City Council ‘s Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities will be discussing and considering passing a resolution on clarifying the existing rules on protecting trees in Seattle “to include groves or groups of trees or other vegetation that are determined to have substantial ecological, educational or economic value”

Resolution 31065 is sponsored by Council President Richard Conlin and Sally Clark. You can read their press release here. They expect the Committee to vote on the issue June 24 and the full council to vote on June 30, 2008.

It does not appear that the public will get much chance to comment on the resolution because the Committee is only allowing 10 minutes of public comment for a jam packed meeting that also includes discussion of a 20 cent per bag green fee on disposable shopping bags and another discussion on prohibiting polystyrene containers for food and shifting to compostable and recyclable alternatives.

The best bet for those that want to help protect existing groves of trees from being destroyed in Seattle is to call or e-mail Seattle City Council members urging their support for added strengthening tree protection. Certainly come to the meeting to show your support as well. The Seattle City Council members can be contacted by going to the Seattle City Council website.

The two current battles over threatened destruction of trees includes a grove of 130 old Douglas fir and western red cedar and madrone trees at Ingraham High School in north Seattle and another grove of mostly Douglas fir in the Maple Leaf area in Seattle called the Waldo Woods.

Recent articles on the proposed tree ordinance:

“Seattle council members want groves of trees protected” Seattle Times 3/29/2008

“Call to Protect grove of trees is sent to Nickels” Seattle PI 3/29/2008

“Seattle Treescape: A bigger canopy” Seattle PI editorial 6/11, 2008

“Neighbors Urge Seattle School Board to Redesign Ingraham HS Project”, MajorityRulesBlog 4/15/2008

A growing contradiction at Ingraham high, Seattle PI 3/28/2008

“Maple Leaf appeals decision on letting developer cut down trees” Seattle Times 5/28/2008

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Speak Up for Parks and Green Spaces in Seattle!

Posted on May 14th, 2008 | Comments Off on Speak Up for Parks and Green Spaces in Seattle!

The Seattle City Council is soliciting public input into a new Parks and Green Spaces Levy for this November’s Ballot. The first of three public “open house” meetings was held Monday at City Hall. Another one will be held tonight, May 14, 200 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM at the Northgate Community Center at 105010 5th Ave NE.

A third open house will be held Thursday, May 15, 2008 from 6 to 10 PM at the Rainier Community Center – Multi-Purpose Room at 4600 38th Ave So.

As the Seattle Great City Initiative notes:

The Seattle City Council has empaneled a Parks and Green Spaces Committee to assemble a levy package for this November’s ballot, which will continue to fund investments in Seattle’s green infrastructure. Critical to the success of this effort will be significant public turnout and input into the shape of the levy at the three public open houses that are listed below.

Whether it is shorelines or streambeds, tree canopy or playgrounds, please join us at one or all of these events to show that there is broad public support for this kind of continued investment in the ecological, community and economic benefits that green space funding brings to our Emerald City. If you would like to send comments email parksandgreenspaceslevy@seattle.gov

The Seattle Times printed a commentary yesterday entitled “Satisfying Seattle’s Passion for Parks”. It was written by Tom Rasmussen, who Chairs the Seattle City Council’s Parks and Seattle Center Committee and Richard Conlin who is the Seattle City Council President. They note that:

After eight years, the current Pro Parks Levy will expire in December. The levy has been a great success: It enabled the city to acquire 42 acres of open space, including 15 new neighborhood parks, and funded 70 park-development projects, including habitat restoration, athletic-field improvements and city trails. …

On April 21, we established the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Citizens’ Advisory Committee to develop a list of potential park, recreation and open-space projects to be funded by a continuation of the levy.

As the City Council considers a new parks levy, quality of life will also be at the forefront of our minds. By design, Seattle is working for more housing within the city limits in order to protect Puget Sound’s forests, farms and wildlife. In return, we must offer residents more green space and better facilities for recreation, contemplation and getting outdoors.

Rasmussen and Conlin note that a recent poll the Seattle City Council commissioned showed strong public support for continuing the ProParks , with 65% of the polled respondents saying they would support an extension of the levy to “fund improvements to existing parks and the acquisition of new neighborhood parks, green spaces, play fields and trails.”

Angela Galloway of the Seattle PI last month posted the poll questions and detailed responses on the PI’s Strange Bedfellows blog.

The continued fight over trying to save some 80 large Douglas fir, western red cedar and madrone trees at Ingraham High School in North Seattle this week found 8 of the 9 Seattle City Council members, including Rasmussen and Conlin urging the Seattle School District to pursue an alternative design for their classroom addition that would save the 50 year old evergreen trees from being destroyed.

Obviously if funds were available one alternative would be for the City of Seattle to buy the development rights to the west grove of trees and preserve it as a green area for the school and neighborhood. There is also an east grove of trees at the school that has been seriously looked to be cut down for additional unneeded parking and possibly as a building site. This area also needs to be looked at for either purchasing development rights or out right purchase.

It is obvious that the Seattle School District and Seattle School Board is giving preserving green space on its school campuses a very low priority. Most in city schools across the country would love to have the green in city forested area that is present on the Ingraham High School campus. It seems the school district here is still following in the footsteps of those past school board members who in the past saw some value in paving over school playground space with asphalt, which many schools in Seattle still have an over abundance of while having a deficit of grass and shrubs and trees.

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Eight Seattle City Council Members Sign Letter Urging Seattle School Board to Look at Alternative Design for Ingraham High School

Posted on May 13th, 2008 | Comments Off on Eight Seattle City Council Members Sign Letter Urging Seattle School Board to Look at Alternative Design for Ingraham High School

Threatened NW Tree Grove at Ingraham High School

 

Eight of the Nine Seattle City Council Members yesterday signed a letter urging the Seattle School Board to look at alternative designs to cutting down over 80 trees on the west side of Ingraham High School. Ingraham High School is currently considering adding an addition to the west side of the high school to replace a number of old portables that will be taken down.

One alternative site is on the north side of the high school and would not require that any large trees be cut down. It is currently listed as a possible site for a future addition to the high school as part of the school’s long range plans – so it is certainly a viable alternative.

Below is the e-mail sent out by the eight Seattle City Council members as well as some links to previous coverage of this issue and a link to the Seattle Public Schools website link on the Ingraham High School Construction Project. Last Friday the Seattle Public School’s issued a Revised Checklist and (another) Determination of Nonsignificance for the Project.

While the Seattle School District added some more mitigation in the form of planting more trees on the campus, they still do not do a biomass or CO2 fixation analysis that determines how many small trees are needed to compensate for even one large 50 year old, 100 foot tall Douglas fir tree.

With 50 plus years of growth the majority of the Douglas fir and western red cedar trees proposed to be cut down are well on their way to being trees of significance in Seattle. Somewhere the continued cutting down of large trees in Seattle has to stop. The tree cover in Seattle in 1972 was listed as 40%. Last year it was 18%.

 

From: Richard Conlin
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 3:36 PM

To: cheryl.chow@seattleschools.org
; harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org
; mary.bass@seattleschools.org
; michael.debell@seattleschools.org
; peter.maier@seattleschools.org
; sherry.carr@seattleschools.org
; steve.sungquist@seattleschools.org

Subject: Ingraham H.S. Plans for Expansion

May 12, 2008

Seattle Public Schools
School Board
PO Box 34165, MS 11-010
Seattle WA 98124-1165

Dear Board Members,

As members of the City Council, we are writing to request that the School Board take a closer look at plans to expand Ingraham High School. We recognize that the authority to determine a design rests with the School District and School Board, but we have concerns about the proposed plan. We therefore want to communicate those concerns and ask that you consider them as you move forward with this important project.

Our primary uneasiness rests with the loss of most, if not all, of the sixty plus Douglas Firs and some twenty-two Madrona trees that we understand will be cut down under the proposed design. We would like to encourage you to consider alternative designs that might preserve these important assets.

It is important that we maintain and increase our tree canopy, not only to honor the esthetic that our residents know and love, but in order to carry out our responsibility to prevent global warming and to maintain a healthy environment. Stands of mature trees are the lungs of our ecosystem; they provide important benefits to our drainage systems and creeks. In 2007 the City launched an Urban Forest Management Policy to preserve and maintain our tree canopy. Unfortunately, we are rapidly running out of available green space; and, despite our commitment to maintaining the urban forest, trees like those on your property too often are cut.

The loss of mature Madrona and Douglas firs cannot adequately be compensated for by planting young trees. As a City that recognizes its responsibility to future generations, and as a city that has made urban density a goal, we must not lose the opportunities we have to keep existing natural areas.

The City Council has received a significant number of emails and calls opposing the removal of these trees. We believe that it is quite possible that an alternative exists which would give the School District what it needs without losing a valued feature of the community and a precious environmental resource to the City.

We offer any assistance that we could give to work with you to find the right answer for the School District and the community. We sincerely hope that you will take our concerns into consideration.

Sincerely,

Council President Richard Conlin
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Jan Drago
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Council President Richard Conlin
Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 2
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

(206) 684-8805

Additional information by Majority Rules Blog for this post::

Ingraham High School Renovation, Demolition and New Construction Project – Seattle Public Schools

http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=234572 – King TV Video

Neighbors near Ingraham High School Fight to Save Evergreens – Seattle Times

A Growing Contradiction at Ingraham High – Seattle PI

Correcting the Public Record on Ingraham High School – Majority Rules Blog

Seattle School Board Wins Grinch Award – Majority Rules Blog

Neighbors Urge Seattle School Board to Redesign Ingraham High School Project – Majority Rules Blog

King Co Executive Ron Sims, Senators Ed Murray and Ken Jacobsen Sign Petition to Save the Trees – Majority Rules Blog

Seattle School District Says Cutting Down 62 Evergreen Trees in City is Not Significant – Majority Rules Blog

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Seven Seattle City Council Candidates Join the $100,000 Club

Posted on August 15th, 2007 | Comments Off on Seven Seattle City Council Candidates Join the $100,000 Club

Here are the latest fundraising figures from the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of August 13, 2007 for the Seattle City Council races on the August 21, 2007 ballot. Seven candidates have raised over $100,000.

Three incumbents are far ahead in cash. Incumbent Jean Godden, with $179,191 has out raised her closest opponent by 4 to 1. Thomas M Rasmussen is unopposed, but still has raised the most of any candidate, with $193,993. Because he is unopposed his name will not appear on the August 21, 2007 primary ballot. Sally Clark has raised $137,398 without serious challengers.

The most hotly contested races are for Positions 3 and 7.

Position 3 is the seat being vacated by Peter Steinbrueck. The two strongest contenders are Bruce Harrell who has raised $156,073 and Venus Velazquez who has raised $124,595.

David Della currently holds Position No. 7. He has raised $170,143. He is facing a strong challenge from Timothy L Burgess who has raised $154,528. Because there are only two candidates in this race it does not appear on the August 21, 2007 ballot but will be decided in the November general election..

You can read more about all the candidates running for Seattle City Council by clicking on the official Seattle Voters Guide for the August 21, 2007 primary election. In addition MajorityRulesBlog has collected as many endorsement sites as we could find and have posted them at “Washington State- August 21, 2007 Primary Endorsements.”

Seattle City Council Position No 1
JEAN H GODDEN raised $179,190.72 spent $136,905.14
SONDHEIM ROBERT C raised $2,867 spent $1,548.03
SZWAJA JOSEPH B raised $43,497.03 spent $42,390.49

Seattle City Council Position No 3
FELDMAN SCOTT M raised $1,524.68 spent $1,074.68
HARRELL BRUCE A raised $156,072.76 spent $90,084.97
MANNING JOHN E raised $3,573.18 spent $3,034.08 (as of 5/07)
NOBLES JAMES L raised $1,635.00 spent $69.00 (as of 5/07)
RUNTE ALFRED raised $6,069.73 spent $5,684.73
VELAZQUEZ VENUS raised $124,595.32 spent $86,227.83

Seattle City Council Position No 5 (on Nov 6 ballot only)
RASMUSSEN THOMAS M raised $193,993.40 spent $72,283.53

Seattle City Council Position No 7 (on Nov 6 ballot only)
BURGESS TIMOTHY L raised $154,528.57 spent $77,765.59
DELLA DAVID J raised $170,140.13 spent $89,871.71

Seattle City Council Position No 9
CLARK SALLY J raised $137,397.82 spent $48,875.35
FENTON JUDITH L raised $355.00 spent $0.00
LIPPMANN STANLEY I raised $0.00

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