Seattle Press on Line - Council stalling to create 20,000 new biotech jobs?

Council stalling to create 20,000 new biotech jobs?

‘Law requires review’

SEATTLE—Citing statistics showing job growth in the South Lake Union area of Seattle far outpaced projects—and that housing targets set for the Northgate area are falling dramatically short—several city council members are calling for special reviews of community plans in those areas.

The council members raised environmental issues that may accompany the projected job growth rate in South Lake Union and the city’s capabilities to provide the housing needs for the Northgate area.

“In South Lake Union, the issue is not to stop the growth of new jobs, but to make sure there are adequate provisions to handle the traffic, parking, noise and other community issues that arise from such steep job growth,” Councilmember Richard Conlin, chair of the council’s transportation committee, said.

“In Northgate, again, the issue is not simply that there is not enough housing in the redevelopment plans, but a re-examination of the quality of our tools and methods for arriving at these housing goals,” he added.

Conlin, together with Councilmember Nick Licata, in an April 18 letter to the Department of Design, Construction and Land Use Director Diane Sugimura, cited recent reports showing how the South Lake Union Hub Urban Village experienced job growth approximately 132 percent of its 20-year growth target in 7 years. In the 2003 report, “Monitoring Our Progress: Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan" the DCLU noted 5,947 more jobs in South Lake Union since 1995, although only 4,500 new jobs were planned though 2015.

An April 24 letter to Sugimura from Conlin, Licata and Council President Peter Steinbrueck said Northgate only achieved 6 percent of its housing target within 7 years. The DCLU report showed a 20-year target of 3,000 new housing units in the neighborhood, although only 168 have been created since 1995.

“The mayor’s plans for Northgate and South Lake Union involve significant departures from citizen Neighborhood Plan recommendations,” Licata, chair of the council’s neighborhoods committee, said. “If the council is to consider any changes, it must do so with thorough public involvement, lest it endanger public confidence in the city’s commitment to such a planning process in which citizens invested countless hours.”

At issue is a subsection of the city’s 1994 Comprehensive Plan called L52 and a subsequent council resolution passed in 2000. L52 provides for a special review procedure with affected communities once threshold criteria are realized. The review is necessary to determine the effectiveness of achieving the growth goals.

Council Resolution 30152, meantime, created the upper and lower targets for triggering the L52 special review. The resolution required a review once urban villages or centers achieve less than 10 percent of their household or employment target within a 5-year period. A review is also required if villages or centers achieve 50 percent or more of their 20-year target within a 5-year period.

The DCLU reported indicated Northgate achieved the low-end housing threshold while South Lake Union achieved the high-end employment threshold.

Seattle City Council release, April 24

Apr 29, 2003 --

SEATTLE—Flanked by business, labor and environmental advocates, Mayor Greg Nickels last week vowed to continue an effort to create 20,000 new good-paying jobs by transforming South Lake Union as a biotechnology hub, despite recent attempts to stall the plan.

"A great thing is happening in South Lake Union—the growth of an industry that cures disease and saves lives, while creating excellent jobs," Nickels said. "Yet, during the worst recession in 20 years, some members of the Seattle City Council, amazingly, seem to be saying, 'stop the recovery, we want to get off.'"

Nickels responded to a recent call by Councilmembers Richard Conlin and Nick Licata to stall development plans in South Lake Union by initiating a host of special review procedures.

Earlier, Nickels announced plans to transform South Lake Union as a biotechnology hub. The plan calls for creating new neighborhood amenities such as a new waterfront park, new affordable housing, a streetcar, traffic improvements and infrastructure to promote and support new jobs.

"It's business as usual—process over progress," Nickels, reacting to the call for special review procedures, said. "The rest of the world would love to have these biotech jobs. Our region needs these jobs—the region has seen Boeing lay off thousands of workers. We hope to get those jobs back, but we must work hard to lay the foundation for the next great industries of this city. It's just common sense."

Nickels said the redevelopment plan for South Lake Union would both revitalize the residential neighborhood and help build a world-class biotechnology and life sciences hub. Business and environmental groups praised the plan.

"South Lake Union is an excellent location for new development. We want job creation focused into Seattle's core, not in suburban sprawl," said Aaron Ostrom of 1000 Friends of Washington.

"Supported by neighborhood improvements like the South Lake Union Park and the streetcar, the community can grow jobs gracefully and help the region grow intelligently and sustainably," he added.

"South Lake Union is a perfect location for creating more good-paying jobs in the biotech and life sciences sector. It's close to the University of Washington, a major research engine in the industry, and would complement strong companies already located there such as Fred Hutchinson and Seattle Biomedical Research Institute," said Judy Runstad, board chair of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

"My goal as mayor is to create jobs," Nickels said, adding he has asked the city council to approve four job-creation plans in Northgate, the University District, Rainier Valley and South Lake Union.

"We don't need a process to see the need to put people to work. This is precisely what city government should do—promote economic opportunity for all," he said.

Nickels called on the rest of the city council to "step up and send a message: this city is putting people to work. We welcome new jobs. We're not going to let a no-growth mentality stop us from getting out of this recession."

Office of the Mayor release, April 24

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matt fox	May 01, 2003	seattle, wa
The obvious bias in your headline is disgraceful. Why not just let the Mayor write them for you and be done with it (or perhaps you did?) If there was one thing voters rejected when they defeated the Commons twice, it was spending $500 million to subsidize Paul Allen's investments in South Lake Union.


Anonymous	May 22, 2003
200 milion 5/19/03, 1999 500 million 5/21/03 9 countries mechanical bugs.


Anonymous	May 22, 2003
potential four different plots to take over Virginia Mason medical center