ashley's blog

The Transportation Research Board (TRB), a division of the National Research Council, recently released its Fall 2009 “Intercity Rail Passenger Systems Update." The update contains a collection of news briefs submitted by industry specialists. The highlights are provided below.

Back in September, Northwest Hub posted a short piece on Redmond's efforts to rewrite its Community Development Guide (RCDG) through use of a Code Rewrite Commission (CRC).  The City of Redmond recently gave notice that the ongoing CRC meetings will be televised live and made available online at www.redmond.gov.

The Master Builders Association’s government affairs team has been busy lobbying for local legislative reforms to ease the strains caused by the ongoing economic downturn. Their approach has been twofold: first, persuade local leaders to do no further harm by resisting new fees, taxes, or regulations; and second, seek out local legislative fixes that could help developers weather the economic storm. It appears that their efforts are beginning to pay off.

The King County Council adopted amendments to Flood Protection Ordinance 10870 on Oct. 26.

The revisions were required by the Federal Emergency Management Association. If the changes were not implemented, King County residents would not be eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program. (For more information on the changes, check out this earlier Northwest Hub post.)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced yesterday that it is accepting project proposals for $10 million in grants targeted specifically to protect and restore Puget Sound watersheds.

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.

Downtown Development Scheduled for Design Review

At yesterday's full council meeting, Seattle City Council unanimously approved a contract rezone to accommodate Safeway grocery store's redevelopment proposal in Lake City. The application, filed by Craig Thompson and Safeway Inc., rezones 24,300 square feet of land located at 12318 15th Ave. N.E. from Single Family 7200 (SF 7200) to Neighborhood Commercial 3 with a 40-foot height limit (NC3 40).

It’s 8:30 p.m. on a peaceful Seattle summer evening—cars drive along the Alaskan Way Viaduct underneath a sky that is colored pink and orange from the setting sun. Just minutes later the viaduct lies in pieces, smoke from burning fires fills the air and half of the city is without power or communications.

Governor Christine Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels signed a memorandum of agreement on Oct. 24 that outlines the responsibilities of the state and city for construction and funding of the proposed deep-bore tunnel as a replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. (The Seattle City Council approved an ordinance on Oct. 19 that endorsed the tunnel and authorized execution of the agreement—you can find Northwest Hub’s coverage here.)