Blogs

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.)

Are extensive public battles over viaducts contagious? Vancouver, B.C., residents might soon find out. As Seattle trudges along on it meandering journey toward a replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a debate has broken out between Vancouver political leaders on the future of the city’s Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts.

Sound Transit is now one step closer to constructing its planned University Link light rail route, and this step came in under budget.

Sound Transit's Board of Directors approved a contract Thursday to construct the twin-bored tunnels that will take light rail trains from downtown to the planned Capitol Hill station. The contract is worth $153.5 million, approximately 12 percent below Sound Transit's original cost estimate for the project.

(Pete Buck, chairman of the nonprofit board of Northwest Hub, will be contributing serendipitous observations from time to time. He has a tiny camera in the glove box of his car and an eye and ear for what is good in the world. Anyone with ideas for positive happenings, programs, things, etc., should contact him at pete@northwesthub.org.)

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

City Issues Approval for Mixed-Use Development in Lake City

After tackling fast food restaurants—by banning the establishment of more eateries—South Los Angeles has now turned its attention to convenience stores. A new study published in the policy journal Health Affairs found that fast food restaurants may not be the real culprit behind the region's rising obesity rates.