City of Seattle Neighborhood Summit
Mayor Murray is having a neighborhood summit on Saturday, April 5th from 9 am to 1 p.m at the Seattle Center's Pavilion Room.
They have a survey going on for citizen input before the event in order to help shape it.
To learn more about the Seattle Neighborhood Summit, you can email SNS2014@seattle.gov or call 206.684.8069.
This is a good opportunity to let the City know how you feel about schools and neighborhoods. It would be great to have a lot of parents asking for the City to be active partners with SPS.
They have a survey going on for citizen input before the event in order to help shape it.
To learn more about the Seattle Neighborhood Summit, you can email SNS2014@seattle.gov or call 206.684.8069.
This is a good opportunity to let the City know how you feel about schools and neighborhoods. It would be great to have a lot of parents asking for the City to be active partners with SPS.
Comments
- North-end Mom
-North-end Mom
One of the biggest reasons for the current capacity issues is the huge disconnect between urban planning at the City level and school planning. Much of the capacity issue in NE Seattle is directly connected to the urban village zoning in Lake City with zero corresponding school infrastructure.
The urban village plans are based on building affordable high density family housing. Just the exact profile for public school families but without any plans to add schools. The City really needs to hear from families about how this lack of coordination is a problem.
So glad you mentioned this. One thing that has me baffled about the push for urban densification and neighborhood planning is just this.
Don't suburban city developments require some portion of the taxes of the development to pay for schools? Why isn't there any planning for additional schools and for funding those buildings will all of the development that is going in?
Where are all these kids supposed to go to school? We can talk all we want about teacher effectiveness and survey's and technology, but we can't teach kids without buildings and rooms.
A few years ago the City was pushing to develop Fort Lawton into a mixed income housing development with something like 200 homes. The project got squashed/delayed because of the environmental review process, but a few months ago I heard that it might be revitalized.
How can the City continue to push for dense neighborhoods and housing developments, without coordinating with the school district and planning for schools? There is another one going up in Wallingford just kitty corner from Lincoln next year with some 250 units.
Yes, please, folks fill out the survey and ask that the City start considering schools in their planning process and partner with SPS to help dig out of this capacity crisis.
The City's policies are intentionally bringing more people into the City, but schools are not even being considered in the conversation.
--Random Thought
"Don't suburban city developments require some portion of the taxes of the development to pay for schools"
Never heard of that for Seattle.
I haven't heard of it in Seattle either, but please share if you hear of something.
A good example in another part of our County is that in order to build out Redmond Ridge etc on the eastside in Redmond, the DEVELOPER had to also build some schools, fire stations and other infrastructure.
"Private developers are developing the Redmond Ridge, Trilogy, and the Redmond Ridge East UPDs. However, the communities will include a number of public facilities that will be dedicated by the developer. These include:
•28-acre King County Equestrian Park
•6-acre park intended for Little League use
•10-acre King County park for baseball and soccer fields
•Fire and police station
•Two Lake Washington elementary school sites (RR and RRE)
•40-acre Youth Soccer Complex
•Public park-and-rides for transit
•Regional trail system, both soft and hard surface
•Public roads
•Public stormwater detention facilities."
found here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/property/permits/info/SpecialInterest/UPDRR.aspx
The City has been promoting urban densification and approving developments all over the city for some time, and there hasn't been any thought to the impact on the schools or to requiring developers of these huge multifamily developments to even pay one cent (I think) towards building schools to accommodate all of the school children that multifamily developments house bring.
It's like the City has no idea that with increased urban densification, they need to plan for more schools, and build in the mechanisms to pay for them.
In Redmond Ridge, the developer built 2 elementary schools for the school district.
How many new multifamily homes have been built in Seattle since the beginning of this urban densification agenda?
--Random thought
On the issue of schools, I believe there was one sentence which said, yes, there was a school in the area. It didn't state any specifics about the size of the school, the capacity of the school compared to its current enrollment, or how the proposed additional high-density FAMILY housing would impact the school. Nor was there any indication that the developer had consulted with SPS in any way.
There needs to be communication between the City and SPS on this sort of thing, as well as developer fees to help pay for increased school capacity.
- North-end Mom
Any ideas?
--Random thought