Wedgwood Action Group

More pollution runoff from Exxell Pacific and Woods Partners Wedgwood Apartments

2012-02-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo I took of more nasty runoff from the construction site. I discovered a milky stream of white runoff quietly streaming and pooling down the entire south side of NE 87th St.

Hard-to-control runoff from the construction site remains an ongoing problem. If you check out this DPD case regarding Exxel Pacific's last runoff violation - you can see that it took a few attempts for this problem to be fixed.

And unfortunately taking a few times to correctly get the point across and the appropriate fix applied seems to be Exxel Pacific's approach to business. We have a number of examples of where rules weren't followed (construction occruing on days and hours when they weren't supposed to, and were informed by the DPD that work was not to take place on those days), not inspecting the areas surrounding their construction site to make sure runoff like this isn't happening, and exposing their workers and other drivers to dangerous traffic conditions (e.g. forklifts working after dusk on roads without lights and workers traversing the construction site on the pedestrian-blocked side of 35th Ave NE.)

I think the lesson from this that I can point to other neighborhoods who are subjected to big construction projects is that you also need to think about the construction process itself. It's inherently messy, but the quality ones will also plan for how their project will impact the neighboring areas - they will be clear about where there teams should park, will respect the rules and guidelines given to them by the DPD, and head off issues before they become larger problems.

Hey salmon, suck on this runoff!

2011-12-30T16:27:00.000-08:00

Just where does all this construction runoff go? From where we are it's probably Lake Washington, but I wouldn't be surpised if it turned out to be Puget Sound, I'm not quite sure - and since we never received a copy of the developer's Geotech report, I can't look it up there.

From the NE corner of the construction project on NE 87th St, there's a lot of silty runoff coming from the Wedgwood apartments construction project.

This flows down the south side of NE 87th Street, and into a drainage system down by 38th Ave NE. Below is a photo of how muddy the water is during any kind of rainstorm.

Now compare that to the other side of the street, and you can see how clear that water is.

A responsible developer would prevent this by using devices such as silt curtains, straw mulching or other vegetation to prevent erosion and discharge. They would also take steps to limit this impact by not using the south side of NE 87th St for contractor parking, deliveries and forklift operations.

Anyway, the Washington State Department of Ecology has a number of storm water prevention plan regulations that should be followed. I guess we'll be following up with them.

More par for the course craftsmanship

2011-12-27T10:02:00.000-08:00

You think driving is texting increases your chances for accidents?

How about using your unlit lift to block a public road after sunset, and then not assigning anyone to direct traffic around it?

Anyway, more par for the course craftsmanship from Exxell Pacific.

(Oh yeah, that sloppy mess coming down the left hand side of the street - who knows what that is draining out of the construction project - photo from Dec 23rd)

It's Dec 26th, an observed holiday in Seattle, and our Wedgwood neighborhood continues to be disrespected by Woods Partners and Exxel Pacific

2011-12-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

Do Exxel Pacific and Woods Partners read their email from the DPD? Unbelieveable...they ignored this message from the city and were working on the city's Christmas holiday (Observered Dec 26th)!

What will the DPD do? Reward them with another variance?

-----------------------
Hi Greg and Martha,
Below is the SEPA noise condition exactly as written in the decision and the list ofthe Holidays for the City of Seattle. No work is permitted on city Holidays or Sundays, I will forward this email to the developer as well. Pleaseread it carefully, only certain activities at certain times are limited beyondthe limits of the noise ordinance. I have bolded for emphasis below.

Thanks,I hope this makes it clear now.

Thanks,
Lucas

Lucas de Herrera
Senior Land Use Planner
Applicant Services Center - Land Use Services (20th Floor)

City of Seattle - Department of Planning and Development (DPD)
700 Fifth Ave, Suite 2000
P O Box 34019
Seattle, WA 98124-4019

p: 206.615.0724
f: 206.233.7866
lucas.deherrera@seattle.gov

During Construction
The following conditions to be enforced during construction shall be posted at eachstreet abutting the site in a location on the property line that is visible andaccessible to the public and to construction personnel from the street right-of-way.The conditions shall be affixed to placards prepared by DPD. The placards willbe issued along with the building permit set of plans. The placards shall belaminated with clear plastic or other waterproofing material and shall remainposted on-site for the duration of the construction.

15.In addition to the timing restrictions of the Noise Ordinance, the followingconstruction activities shall be limited to non-holiday weekdays from7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and
Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.:
• Grading with heavy machinery.
• Concrete pouring.
• Stripping of forms.
• Jack hammering.
• Use of gas generators without the use of hay bales tobaffle noise.
Work on Sundays is not permitted. These hours may be adjusted on acase by case basis by the noise abatement team. Either of the following DPDstaff must be contacted and approval given by staff in these cases:
DavidGeorge (Noise Control Program): 206.684.7843
JeffStalter (Noise Control Program): 206.615.1760:

Holiday Date Day of Week Holiday

01/17/2011 Monday Martin Luther King Jr Birthday

02/21/2011 Monday President's Day

05/30/2011 Monday Memorial Day

07/04/2011 Monday Independence Day

09/05/2011 Monday Labor Day

11/11/2011 Friday Veteran's Day

11/24/2011 Thursday Thanksgiving Day

11/25/2011 Friday Day After Thanksgiving

12/26/2011 Monday Christmas Day

01/02/2012 Monday New Year's Day 2012

01/16/2012Monday Martin Luther King Jr Birthday

Here's how Team Exxel Pacific parks on our street during construction.

2011-12-08T12:22:00.001-08:00

C'mon. Give us a break.

This is what happens when residential streets like NE 87th receive too much construction traffic

2011-08-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Don't you need a license plate or oversize permit to drive down city streets?

2011-07-29T10:54:00.001-07:00

Y'all don't mind if we leave our trucks here, and use you're little ole street for all our heavy deliveries?

2011-06-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

So...how did NE 87th street become the delivery pipeline for this project? Shouldn't this be taking place off of NE 35th - a street that A) isn't residential, and B) is better constructed for this kind of work.

Anyway, trucks are either crawling or racing up and down our street and parking themselves wherever they want.

This one pulled up in the morning before 7:00am - blocking three different homes.

This one is lined up behind another truck - basically blocking two other homes and their driveways.

And then this guy just sat their idling his truck for a good 20 mins.

Anyway, we'll start posting videos of the speeders next. :)

Saturday hours of construction are indeed 9am-5pm

2011-06-15T13:16:00.001-07:00

You might have noticed work going on until at least 6pm this past Saturday, and might have been wondering, 'hey, what's going on here, aren't they supposed to wrap up work for the day at 5pm?'

Well, we checked, and heard this back from the DPD.

'You are correct, the approved hours on Saturdays are until 5 not 6. I am forwarding this issue to the site/building inspector and the developer to get the Saturday and watering of the site during excavations handled.'

Cars > pedestrians & pedstrians + dogs

2011-06-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

Why not build a temporary sidewalk on 35th, or at least put up a temporary crosswalk at 87th and 86th? Without those in place people are taking risks and walking in the street.

I know...stop whining. But I'm just saying...

Hours of work 7am-6pm M-F, 9am-5pm Sa

2011-06-07T18:08:00.001-07:00

Friendly reminder about hours of work.

Work can go from 7am-6pm on Monday-Friday, and 9am-5pm on Saturdays.

Per our agreement, excessively loud construction should be avoided before 10am on Saturdays.

Today's work is starting on the NE side.

2011-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Apparently it needs to be done in front of a different property owner's house.

We want retail!

2011-06-01T10:42:00.001-07:00

The new apartment building in Wedgwood was featured today on the Seattlepi.com web site.

And the question we have for Steve Orser of Woods Partners is, if as you say, "“We are thrilled that our initial project is in Wedgwood, a terrific neighborhood well-known for its excellent walkability and small-town feel,”

Why are you taking all that teriffic first floor space and not using it as retail space and instead using it as much less neighborhood sustainable work-live units?

This is an important streetfront for our neighborhood, and it is a shame that Woods Partners has not put in the commitment to Wedgwood that other property owners have.

And it's not just us that feels this way, the Wedgwood Community Council has requested that these spaces be used for retail as well.

Construction started this Monday at the southeast corner

2011-06-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

A letter from Exxel Pacific posted on doors early Friday morning.

2011-05-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a copy of a letter from Exxel Partners (they are the contractors) posted to the doors of homes nearby the upcoming apartment construction site on the corner of 86th Ave NE and NE 35th St.

So far this is the only direct communication provided to the neighbors by Wood Partners. Wood Partners has for some reason chosen to go through the Wedgwood Community Council instead (and thanks to Per for looping us in that). Anyway, consider the blog reactivated now, so stop by often as we chronicalize and monitor the developments at this location.

Wedgwood condo building featured in the Seattle PI

2008-10-20T23:25:00.001-07:00

One thing not mentiond in the article is that Murray Franklyn also gave us the okay to paint a neighborhood mural on the condo building on 35th.

You can read the article from the PI at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/384193_noparking21.html

Wedgwood neighbor's appeal to save the 1904 farmhouse.

2008-01-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

This letter was sent over to us by Linda K. from Wedgwood. Here are her thoughts in response to an earlier post about the 1904 farmhouse that is scheduled to be destroyed and turned into townhomes. Thanks Linda for sending this over!

The 1904 farmhouse on 35th should not be sold, torn down and redeveloped. Slowly, gradually, all tidbits of unique personality and flavor in our neighborhood are being taken away from us. Somebody has maintained this property carefully, at least on the outside (I don't know what the inside looks like). A close look reveals detail in the shingles on this building that one would never see on a new structure built today. The way the building is up on a hill almost implies how it is looking down and watching us all. This is a beautiful piece of Wedgwood's history that should be saved.

Wedgwood Community Council Land Use Committee.

2008-01-23T23:40:00.000-08:00

One of the painful lessons learned during this past year is that Wedgwood doesn't register on the city's radar. We largely are just an area somewhere northeast of Roosevelt where every once in awhile the citizens rally around a cause (whether it's the Red Apple or this condo project). And the reason we are largely invisible is that we really haven't defined for ourselves and the city exactly how we want to 'fit in' with the city's growth plans.

Anyway, during our 'condo fight' I learned quite a bit about the importance of deciding what our neighborhood wants, documenting these needs with the city, and then actively defending these decisions when they're challenged. Other neighborhoods such as Wallingford, Laurelhurst, Maple Leaf, Roosevelt, etc.. are all active in defining what they want, and then (with varying degrees of success) defending those positions.

And don't think development isn't coming here because the ball is rolling in Wedgwood. Things will change over the next 10 years in our neighborhood and the first stages of this development is already happening. So the question is, are we ready for it? And right now the answer is 'no'.

Here are some examples of likely things that could happen that we haven't planned for:

The Hunter Tree farm lot will not stay a tree farm forever, do we want a park or some other service there? Like a Farmer's Market? If we don't define this now and lobby the city to support what we want, this property will go condo.

Safeway at 75th and 35th. This is a very big piece of property that is anchored by a dumpy Safeway. What goes in here will be a very significant development.

The Rite-Aid at 35th and 85th is also a under-utilized space with a low-performing business. Why not build apartments/condos ontop of a smaller Rite-Aid.

And what about the space across the street from the condo building on 86th? It's city property and they know they need to do something with it.

Anyway, if you'd like to be part of coming up with suggestions and recommendations for properties like these ahead of time so that we can influence the kind of development that takes place, I encourage you to join the Wedgwood Land Use Committee that I'm heading. You can request more info by checking out our official Wedgwood Land Use web site at http://wedgwoodlanduse.spaces.live.com/.

Update - agreement made between developer and Wedgwood Action Group - Jan 2 hearing cancelled

2007-12-31T15:35:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

I wanted to let you know that on Friday WAG negotiated an agreement with the Murray Franklyn Group that will be constructing the project at 35th Ave and NE 87th St. Because of this, we have withdrawn our hearing which was set for Jan 2.

We want to give a big thanks to Shaun Watchie Perry (our lawyer, and Wedgwood neighbor, who carried us through the long home stretch - www.swp-law.com), Linda Pruitt, Wayne Wurzer of All that Dance, Jose Sama, Gina Iandola of HomeStreet Bank, Tim Anderson, Scott Osterhage, Our Lady of the Lake and Dennis Saxman (for providing us with great advice and support). Also, we'd like to say thanks to every Wedgwood neighbor who came out and supported this effort during the last year.

The opportunity to negotiate an agreement came up when Shaun Watchie Perry and I met with the hearing examiner and Murray Franklyn about a week and a half ago. Looking at our case, we felt that the best opportunity to make meaningful change would be in a negotiation setting. So...we focused our efforts on working on a compromise where we could add value to Wedgwood from a retail/traffic safety/design point of view.

We negotiated the following points:
* The developer will fund a crosswalk at the intersection of NE 87th and 35th or NE 86th and 35th. (this is pending SDOT approval)
* Building design and related sidewalks will be designed to minimize surface water run off
* No national chain which is in the same business as any locally owned non-national business located within 1/2 mile of the project will be permitted.
* Retail signage will not include any back lit plastic molded signs
* No check cashing, sun tanning or pawn shops will be allowed in the building
* Established plants/trees to be installed in the eastern green belt of the project
* Developer will conduct rodent extermination before demo
* Reimbursement to neighboring houses in the event of any damage caused by vibration from the construction
* No noisy construction activity before 10am on Saturdays
* Developer will need to comply with all monitoring recommendations made in the geotech report
* WAG and the developer will work together to bring a physical sense of Wedgwood community to the project, and vice-a-versa.
* WAG will be reimbursed for all of its legal and paperwork fees.

And in the final design, the NE setback was pushed back additional feet to accomodate a green belt, which led to the reduction of one entire unit and space on both the third and fourth floor.

Although we didn't get the building reduced as much as we hoped, I think we succeeded in improving the overall building design; at least guiding the types of retail businesses we want to see there; and bringing Wedgwood neighbors into the process of designing some of the features that will help tie the building back into the community.

Our next step is to work with the developer to make this a good building for our neighborhood, strengthen and add value to our community, and to use this relationship as an opportunity to create something that benefits both our current and future neighbors.

Thanks,

Greg

Our Wedgwood group is featured in this week's edition of the North Seattle Herald-Outlook

2007-12-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this article in this week's North Seattle Herald-Outlook, it's a great article about our efforts to bring in a better building to our neighborhood.

Here's the first part of the article, click to read more!

Group forms to amend condo-development plans for 35th N.E. and N.E. 86th

In an on-line community ranking of Seattle's hippest neighborhoods, Wedgwood was ranked 76th of 99. That's tragically un-hip, according to the Amazon.com poll, though some residents are far more concerned with other neighborhood issues.

Neighbors living in nearby single-family homes are more worried about an 85-unit condominium unit set to break ground next spring on the corner of 35th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 86th Street.

The four-story building would stand nearly 40 feet tall and feature nearly 6,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.

A group of developers from Murray Franklin began its plans in December 2006 and brought the designs to the Wedgwood Community Council in January. When community member Greg Raece - who lives just a few feet away from the property - saw the plans, he almost immediately spoke up.

"It just doesn't fit in with the scheme here," said Raece, who has lived in Wedgwood since the late 1990s. "There hasn't been much development in Wedgwood over the years, and a building like this will really set the tone for all development that's to come."

Since Raece and a number of other concerned residents saw the plans in January, they have formed the Wedgwood Action Group, a group that hopes to amend the current plans, if not halt them entirely.

"It is such a big complex, and with the downward slope of the land, it could [negatively] affect the natural landscape of the area," said Raece, who also noted that the building's proximity to existing single-family housing is a major point of concern. "It's going to be 8 feet away from our houses."

More

Are you on the same block as 35th Ave NE? Here's what your backyard view could look like.

2007-12-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Phinney Ridge is like Wedgwood, lots of single family homes that back up to higher-intensity zoning. Well, here's what the neighbors who live behind Murray Franklyn's new fini condos on Greenwood will get to see from their back windows.

Seattlest proclaims 'Wedgwood' as unhip, citing the poll results from a wholly owned Amazon.com beta web site.

2007-12-06T15:02:00.001-08:00

An insider from Seattlest clued me in to this post. It's called 'Capitol Hill, you're the top hip' and writer James points out that, "Wedgwood, our old nemesis, comes in at #76, behind places like "Blakely Alley by U-Village," Covington, and Monroe. That's a loosy-goosy definition of "neighborhood," even for Seattle."

Of course, what's the source of this report? How about a beta version of an Amazon.com social network called 'UnSpun' which also tackles such important questions as, "Best color to write with", "Favorite Sandwich", and "Favorite Male Cat Name". Wow, a really hip site that asks questions like that must be an authority on hipness.

Anyway, here's three good arguments to use when anyone challenges Wedgwood's hipness and says we have no character.

1) Because the Seattlest says we're not hip. Can you really trust the opinions of a blog like Seattlest that hilariously confused the glorified fajita shown below with an actual Philly Steak Sandwich?
2) Ciscoe lives in Wedgwood and he swings a mean hoe.
3) And my group of unhip Wedgwooders could smoke any collection of Seattlesters in a 'Trivia' challenge anywhere or anytime. (Well, as long as the challenge isn't held too late on a school night or in a scary biker bar. We are from Wedgwood you know.)

Visualize Wedgwood traffic with 576 more vehicular trips a day.

2007-11-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

So...I went down to the DPD last week and a 'Correction notice dated 5/29/07' stated that the completed condo/retail project in Wedgwood would result in 576 more vehicle trips a day.

To help you visualize what the trips will look like, here are a couple of videos of what traffic in Wedgwood looked like during our Halloween festivities. The video shows traffic along 35th Ave NE in front of the proposed condo development. In the first video you'll see the intersection of 35th Ave NE and NE 86th Street which will be the intersection that vehicles entering/leaving the building will use.

...and a hearing date has been set!

2007-11-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, that was fast. We just filed the appeal and have just heard back on our hearing date - January 2, 2008.

Here's the snippet from the Hearing Examiner's Office.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008 1/2/2008
Appeal of Wedgewood Action Group from a decision by the Director, DPD, regarding a master use permit to allow a 4 story building with 85 residential units, and 2 retail sales service spaces at 8606 35th Ave. NE. Hearing Examiner file MUP-07-034(W).
Start Time: 9:00 a.m., Room 4009, Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 Fifth Ave, Seattle

Appeal has been filed!

2007-11-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Wedgwood Action Group has filed it's appeal against the DPD's recommendation with the City of Seattle Hearing Examiner. Once I figure how to convert my word docs to pdf files, I'll post a copy of it for you.

More info to follow, but all I want to say now is 'Game on'!

Photo below - that's K-Fed throwing a 'W' sign, which I can only imagine stands for 'Wedgwood!'.