Matt's blog

Thanks to the generous donations of our readers, Northwest Hub and its sponsors raised over $5000 for Seattle Youth Garden Works (SYGW) as part of its Thanksgiving Charitable Giving program. This program, which was started by Pete Buck (Chairman of Northwest Hub) over 30 years ago as a way to give back to the community during the holidays, remains incredibly successful. Thanks to all of you for your contributions!

More on SYGW can be found here.

Everyone at Northwest Hub would like to extend their sincerest condolences to the family of local real estate attorney Dennis McLean, who passed away suddenly on Sunday, November 29, 2009.

Dennis, a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine, was an exceptional attorney, routinely recognized by his peers as a leader in the field of commercial real estate. More importantly, he was a valued and trusted colleague.

A lot has happened in land use over the past year. Fortunately, the good people of the King County Bar Association’s Environmental and Land Use Section (formerly the Environmental Law Section) are prepared to get us up to speed.

Seattle's Planning, Land Use & Neighborhoods Committee (PLUNC) will be holding a special meeting tomorrow, November 18. Several significant items are on the agenda, including:

- Briefing and discussion on the proposed Children's Hospital expansion plan (note: because the City Council's decision on this matter is quasi-judicial in nature, no public comment will be taken);

As part of the SR 520 replacement project, Governor Gregoire has established the SR 520 Legislative Workgroup.  This Workgroup consists of legislators and transportation officials; it has been tasked with the development of recommendations for financing and a west side design for the SR 520 corridor.

The City of Seattle will be hosting a kick-off meeting for its 20-year Comp Plan update on Tuesday, November 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (with a presentation at 6:30) at the Miller Community Center, 330 19th Avenue East. Attendees will include former Mayor Norm Rice, Josh Brower (Chair of the Seattle Planning Commission), and Diane Sugimura (Director of the Department of Planning and Development).

Seattle’s Planning, Land Use & Neighborhoods Committee will be holding a public hearing tomorrow night (Thursday, November 12) at 5:30 p.m. on a proposed code amendment that would allow additional building height in certain portions of South Lake Union.

On the heels of last month’s announcement that the EPA would be offering $10M in grants to protect and restore Puget Sound watersheds, today the EPA announced that it would be making $3.5M in grant funds available to Puget Sound tribes involved in high priority, Puget Sound restoration projects.

The Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) released its biweekly land use information bulletin yesterday. The following list provides the highlights. For more detailed information, click here.

The DPD has issued a Determination of Non-Significance relating to certain land use code text amendments that would facilitate the use of idle properties

The Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) released its biweekly land use information bulletin yesterday. The following list provides the highlights. For more detailed information, click here.

The DPD has determined that the land use code text amendments related to the Living Building Pilot Program will have no significant adverse environmental impact