Seattle Press on Line - South Wallingford Gets a Neighborhood Plan

Wallingford

South Wallingford Gets a Neighborhood Plan

By Adam Richter

Jan 17, 2002 -- South Wallingford may finally be getting some respect.

Not long ago this section of Wallingford, which stretches from North 40th Street to Lake Union and from Stone Way North to I-5, commanded so little attention that the planning committee that spent three years developing Wallingford's Neighborhood Plan left South Wallingford out of its final draft. But now the Wallingford Community Council wants to create a new plan for once-neglected South Wallingford--jokingly called "SoFo" (South of Fortieth) by a former resident. When real estate developers looked at the area with interest, members of the neighborhood decided that right now seems the perfect time to adopt a plan.

A developer's dream: a new building under construction at the food of Wallingford Avenue. Sara Longley photo

"It kind of slipped off the radar screen," admitted Karen Buschow, a board member on the Wallingford Community Council, of the council's initial omission of South Wallingford from its plan. Now Buschow says that the area, like many other Seattle neighborhoods, is experiencing much more growth. Unlike places such as Ballard or Lake City, South Wallingford has no plan to accommodate growth.

Now the council realizes it needs one. Last fall, architects representing Northlake Shipyard presented to the Community Council their plans to put in a three-story, 120-room hotel at the shipyard's site, next to Gasworks Park. According to Buschow, that's when the council realized it needed to figure out what to do with South Wallingford.

In October, the Wallingford Community Council held its first public meeting to draft a neighborhood plan for South Wallingford. The next meeting is scheduled for January 19. At that next meeting, Community Councilmember Tom Veith says he hopes to get lots of public input to figure out what direction South Wallingford's development should take.

"My job is to make sure that we hear as many views as possible and we accommodate as many views as possible," he says.

The goal in creating a neighborhood plan is the same as for any other area that's gone through this process: maintain the character of the neighborhood. It's a familiar enough refrain, but one rarely heard about an area that's not even an official neighborhood. Why should South Wallingford get its own plan? What unique "character" warrants this process?

Barbara Reine has lived in South Wallingford for over a decade and serves on the Wallingford Community Council. She says her neighborhood has two features that a number of residents want to preserve: an industrial waterfront, and a killer view of downtown. If development goes unchecked, South Wallingford residents could lose both of these.

Some people may find industrial businesses on the waterfront to be unattractive; not Reine, however.

"The diversity of the waterfront has always been very compelling to me," she said. "To lose that working waterfront with all that diversity would be a loss to the quality of life."

Those industrial sites sit on some attractive real estate, however--waterfront property with a view. Veith says that because industrial-zoned land has a lower value, some property owners interested in making money could have incentive to try to get the la (eh?)

Veith, like Reine, hopes that doesn't happen.

"The problem is, if you take that industry and turn it into land or hotels and restaurants, it's not going to go back," he said. "I think that would be a pity, but that's not my call."

Ultimately, he says, it's the call of the neighborhood residents. Veith says he wants to hear as many opinions as possible. Some may want to see more mixed-use and less industry on Lake Union.

Then there's the view. Many residents of South Wallingford enjoy a view of the downtown skyline that few in the city have. Too many new, tall buildings could take away that view, which Veith says is a very big deal.

"There are people who enjoy rather spectacular views of the water right now and they'd like to continue enjoying those views" he said.

Reine has no illusions that South Wallingford is going to stay the same old place for long. Like every other neighborhood in Seattle, it's bound to feel the effects of continued growth as more people make this city their home, either by birth or by moving.

"I don't think we're imagining we're going to stop it from changing," she said. The idea of the neighborhood plan is to help guide that change.

Buschow, also a Wallingford resident, describes her neighborhood as "a small town in a big city."

"And that's the feel we want," she said.

The next neighborhood planning meeting for South Wallingford will take place Saturday, January 19th at Wallingford Bible Fellowship on 3701 Burke Avenue North. For more information visit www.wallingford.org or call (206) 632-0461.

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