Northeast Seattle Trails map is out

The Northeast Seattle Trails map is now published. The mapped area extends from about NE 145th St south to NE 50th St, east of I-5. The Wedgwood/ Meadowbrook area is right in the center.

Maps are available at HomeStreet Bank (82nd & 35th NE), the Community Council news box outside Rite-Aid (85th & 35th NE), and soon to be at the Northeast Library, Meadowbrook Community Center, and other locations throughout Wedgwood and NE Seattle.

The map was put together by Feet First with input from area residents and guidance from a steering committee of volunteers. Pick up a map and plan an interesting route to Northgate, Magnuson Park, Ravenna Park, or just find a secret pedestrian-only cut-through you didn't know existed.

35th Ave NE zoning classifications in Wedgwood

Want to see exactly where the Neighborhood Commercial 40' zoning ends and the Lowrise 3 zoning begins? We've stitched together a few excerpts from zoning maps on the City's website so you can see Wedgwood's 35th Ave NE zoning all at once. There's a legend at the top left.

For more on what the classifications mean, see:

• residential zoning definitions PDF

• commercial zoning definitions PDF

See the earlier post on multi-family building code changes in the works... some aspects of the lowrise codes may be changing soon.

Safeway at 35th & 75th - planning in the works for demolition and reconstruction

Seattle's Department of Land Use and Development website shows several project files related to a planned demolition and reconstruction of the Wedgwood Safeway at 7340 35th Ave NE. Wedgwood Vision Project participants had discussed the Safeway site and potential opportunities when the site was eventually redeveloped. Looks like it's not so eventual!

To see the project files, visit DPD's Permit Status and Complaint pages and search by address or by project numbers 3007731, 3009877, 6203804, 6147344, and 6237436.

CORA NW study on new, proposed multi-family building codes

Changes to Seattle's multi-family building codes will affect how new, multi-family housing in Wedgwood will look and function.

CORA NW is the Congress on Residential Architecture, NW chapter. Architect David Neiman is a member and has kept us in the loop on their feedback to the city on proposed changes to multi-family housing codes.

Their September 2009 of how the proposed codes may be expressed is online:
White Hat / Black Hat: An Analysis of the Multi-Family Update (13 MB PDF document)

Timeline: David reports that we can expect hearings as early as March 2010 on the proposed changes. Then the Department of Planning and Development will incorporate changes and do a SEPA review, with a final vote expected sometime in June. Something to keep up on!

See also the CORA NW blog.

Skatespot at Dahl is open

The skatespot at Dahl playfield is now open -- and getting lots of use!

A few years back, the Wedgwood Community Council helped facilitate dialogue between skatespot proponents and others who were concerned/opposed.

Today there were about 20 skaters with about a 25-year age range enjoying the new facility.

Great turnout for Vision Project meeting!

Wow! Thanks to the approximately 60 community members who turned out tonight to participate in the Wedgwood visioning process! The first photo below shows the "dot exercise" where each person had 4 dots to put on neighborhood characteristics of most importance to him or her. The second photo shows a small group exercise where we stuck notes and photos on maps to illustrate specific features, problems, and discussion points. More soon!

Flyer for January 14 meeting available

Click the flyer image to open a printable PDF of the flyer for the upcoming Wedgwood Vision Project meeting on January 14. Hope to see you there!