Apr

5

Can Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Programs Work in Washington State? : Northwest Land Matters : Seattle Lawyers & Attorneys for Land Use, Real Estate, Environmental & Water Law : GordonDerr LLP

Filed Under Development, Zoning | Leave a Comment

From the law blog of GordonDerr:

The City of Issaquah recently announced a complex agreement involving a transfer of development rights (TDR) transaction that will preserve more than 140 acres of forested land in and around the City, including the entire Park Pointe area at the base of Tiger Mountain. Several years ago, a developer had proposed to build hundreds of homes at Park Pointe. The TDR agreement shifts new development away from Park Pointe and into the area around the Issaquah Highlands master-planned community.

This project, like many other TDR success stories in Washington State, was the result of fairly unique and fortuitous circumstances. Land conservation efforts always require vision and dedication, and in this case, local officials, planners, and other partners worked for years to preserve Park Pointe. However, as reported in the Issaquah Press, a key factor in the ultimate success of the project was the recession: between early 2009 and late 2010, the property’s value dropped from $18.9 million to around $6 million.

TDR is an intriguing concept that has been studied and debated at length. It has been used in a variety of one-off, opportunistic projects in Washington (ranging from historic preservation and affordable housing to conservation of working forests and farms). But it remains to be seen whether TDR can be used on a broader scale for more strategic and proactive conservation.

…more: via Can Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Programs Work in Washington State? : Northwest Land Matters : Seattle Lawyers & Attorneys for Land Use, Real Estate, Environmental & Water Law : GordonDerr LLP.

Mar

10

If the most fertile land in the country produces cars and chemicals, what do we eat?

Filed Under Cities, Food System, Land Use, Zoning | Leave a Comment

Out of India, where government investment can result in the conversion of agricultural land into office parks, comes a fundamental question relevant to the global smart-growth movement:

If the most fertile land in the country produces cars and chemicals, what do we eat?

via Don’t just develop land, develop future – India – DNA.

Nov

16

What’s wrong with this picture, part II

Filed Under Sustainability, Transportation, What's Wrong With This Picture?, Zoning | Leave a Comment

The Conservative Planner takes exception with the urban design of a Salt Lake City Airport play area’s simulated-town mat. Part II in an ongoing series where we pull from the latest commentary about our built environment, real, envisioned and imagined.

Here’s an excerpt:

B: Safe Routes to Schools: The lack of sidewalks, combined with the railroad crossing, create an unsafe situation for children whose parents would like to have them walk to school.

C: Abandoned Train Station: The town recently lost out on the eighth round of stimulus grants geared toward funding new High Speed Rail investments.

D. Random Park Bench: This is the tell-tale sign that a landscape architect was involved with this beautification project in the early 2000s to help bring life back to the west side of downtown. The project stalled when overruns by the Public Works Department left the project without its water feature.

Now, please excuse us while we go draft our open letter to the pile of felt-cutout townsfolk characters we’re calling the “local planning board.”

The Conservative Planner’s full critique here.

Part one here.

Nov

5

Fix public housing by reconnecting it to the street grid

Filed Under Zoning | Leave a Comment

Grist, the important online magazine about environmental issues with a global reach, is just one of many influential outfits we’re lucky to have right here in our backyard.  And in this post, they take a look at the biggest urban development on Seattle’s horizon; Yesler Terrace.  Spoiler alert: its all about connectivity.

The Road to Success is Paved

Rather than freaking out over poll returns Tuesday evening, I figured I’d go learn something (and then freak out later). So I joined a walking tour of Yesler Terrace, a Seattle public housing project that’s slated for an interesting redevelopment. It’s a useful counter-example to UniverCity, the pretty urbanism-in-suburbia neighborhood outside of Vancouver that’s pretty much unaffordable for anyone who can’t make $1,200 rent.

Yesler Ave

Photo: Seattle Housing Authority

Yesler Terrace, by contrast, has rents from around $300, sits in the heart of a city, and hopes to rehab an existing neighborhood — a far more common task than building whole developments from the ground up. It’s a neighborhood of 561 squat, aging duplex-style units built in 1939 as the city’s first public housing project. It’s positioned on a hillside with sweeping views just eight blocks from downtown, adjacent to the city’s First Hill medical hub, and a block or two from the Little Saigon commercial district.

It also feels like its own insular neighborhood, since few of its internal streets connect to the surrounding grid. It was intended to be a self-contained garden community — a model that was praised at the time. The two-story structures with small yards have provided a landscape more humane than, say, the failed high-rise projects of Chicago. (Electricity for the whole area inexplicably went out while I was there. Kids outside warned each other about walking alone in the dark, but didn’t sound truly scared.) …More

Jun

3

Open Letter to Seattle City Council

Filed Under Food System, walking, Zoning | 3 Comments

Dear Seattle City Councilmembers,

Great City firmly believes that active, pedestrian-friendly streets are essential to a safe and vital city. To that end, we are excited about the opportunities mobile food vending can bring to Seattle.

We see a multitude of benefits offered by mobile food vending, including:

Enhanced street life: Mobile food vending offers opportunities for people to use streets and sidewalks as public space, not merely as transportation corridors. Activity is created by the draw of economical and nutritious food and the potential for human exchange and interaction. In addition, mobile street vending has the possibility to extend the “normal” hours and season of street use, thereby increasing the sense of safety and comfort of all street users.

Economic opportunities: The economic opportunities provided by mobile food vending are two-fold – not only do they offer a relatively inexpensive entrée to business, particularly for immigrants, but the foot traffic they can bring to a street can increase the economic vitality of the areas and bring opportunity and value to all levels to commerce.

We support the proposed modifications to the existing ordinance which would diversify the types of food that can be sold, expand the permissible locations for food vending, facilitate a streamlined street use permitting process, improve public noticing requirements, and eliminate the 200’ park setback. Aside from theses administrative aspects/issues, we encourage adequate consideration to the logistical issues that will affect the day-to-day operation and functionality of the carts, especially where they are to be placed in more constricted public rights-of-way.

We strongly encourage your support of the proposed ordinance allowing mobile food vending in Seattle, and we look forward to seeing our streets grow more activated and dynamic.

Sincerely,

Joshua Curtis

Executive Director, Great City

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