Sally's Blog

I understand that the Seattle Public Schools have a tough job when it comes to expanding, renovating or building new schools. We live in fairly built-out city. There aren't a lot of big lots waiting to have schools plunked down on them. Likewise, when it's time to renovate or expand a school we have no shortage of arm-chair architects (myself included).

Having said that, I am disappointed at the District's methods when it comes to the Ingraham High School expansion. Many in the surrounding community have objected to the expansion as designed because it would require the removal of several mature trees on the site. School district officials have been going through design and were part way through City environmental review of their Master Use Permit application when they decided they wanted to cut the trees sooner rather than later. Student safety and weather were cited as reasons, but many people suspect the District became worried the environmental review might result in tree-related mitigation or, worse, a requirement to somehow keep the trees. The latter seems unlikely to me, but that's the arm-chair permit review in me talking.

It's simply bad form to alter the site when environmental review of your proposal is happening. The goal of environmental review (a goal I thought until now was shared by all) is to rationally review a project for the impacts it could have on the environment and surrounding community. If you start deleting or changing elements of your site, you remove elements the environmental review could have said were important. Filling in wetlands is a classic example. "Wetlands? What wetlands?"

So, if you want to cut the trees sooner rather than later and your environmental review isn't yet complete, what do you do? If you're the District you pull your permit application so that there's suddenly nothing to review. Then, after you've cut the trees, you resubmit your permit application.

I actually want to see Ingraham expanded as quickly as possible. However, the District broke with the intent of environmental review. We as a community have agreed that environmental review is important to us. To have a government entity make an end run sends a horrible signal to other developers and chips away at the broad compact we all share when it comes to urban development and the environment.

After last Thursday's dinner with firefighters in Northwest Seattle I was thinking more about medic calls than fire calls. Then, Sunday I rode my bicycle to the U-District for a meeting with a constituent. I had just crossed Madison when I heard sirens getting closer. I went another couple of blocks and saw a house at the end of the block with black smoke and orange flames reaching out the back and roof. A Fire Department engine pulled up right then with firefighters and hoses jumping off the truck and toward the house all at the same time. Another engine arrived, an aid car, a battalion chief, a ladder truck, another engine, a safety chief. Firefighters lugged in more hoses, broke out the upstairs window, and cut into the roof. Neighbors watched from the sidewalk with arms crossed, hands over their mouths. Kids and adults walked from nearby homes and streets. Some knew the family who lived in the house and were relieved to hear no one was in the house.

Kudos to the firefighters who made quick work of the fire. Condolences to the family who came home to find their house devastated.

In general, firefighters are said to be great cooks. You hear about cooking competitions and great meals for the entire crew. I have to say that in my relatively short time on the job, the stereotype has rung true. Last night I had dinner with the B crew at Station 35 (north Ballard). Capt. Smalls put out a great dinner of pasta with shrimp in pesto sauce (pesto two nights in a row — good times), a great salad and steamed broccoli. While we ate, we talked about the changing and ever-growing neighborhoods in Northwest Seattle. Firefighters notice all the new condos and apartments just like the rest of us. More people means more accidents and illnesses and more calls for service. By and large, calls for help to SFD are for medical emergencies. The B crew figured they respond to 1-2 true fire calls a year (not enough excitement if you're newer in the department, too much excitement if you're a veteran). We need to be staffed and equipped to respond to those few fires and to respond smartly to the medical calls. I'm not sure how exactly we know when we need a new aid car in the north part of town, but it can't be too far off.

This has been a tough year for random and not-so-random acts of violence in our city. Too many young Black men killed with a not-so-mysterious lack of cooperative witnesses. The Rainier Beach man who was punched and later died over an argument about traffic cones. The Philadelphia Cheese Steak shop owner at 23rd and Union. The melee that broke out during the Critical Mass ride last month. There are plenty more examples. It feels like a harder year.

That's why visiting Night Out Against Crime street parties was so great Tuesday evening. The list of groups marking the annual event with a potluck in the street (and in many cases face painting, bouncy castles, bands and more) was astounding. There were literally too many to visit all in one evening. I stopped by a Roosevelt neighborhood party on Brooklyn by Cowen Park. They had chalk art for kids, chairs for everyone to relax and the best pesto deviled eggs I've tasted. After that I stopped by Hillman City's big party. They were in a parking lot on Rainier with hot dogs, sno-cones, clowns, a band and the very popular Seattle Police Department Mounted Patrol. Finally, I made it down to my own street in Brighton where we had great food, dogs, mismatched chairs and neighbors I didn't know we had.

That's the big benefit of Night Out. Everyone all over the city met neighbors they didn't know they had. That's not an immediate solution to gang violence or road rage, but it does make it easier for us to recognize each other and look out for each other.