May 17th, 2013
The City Council approved a rezone of the South Lake neighborhood on Monday, May 6 by a 9-0 vote. The rezone increases maximum building heights to 400 feet adjacent to Denny, and 240 feet in much of SLU to Mercer, aside from the Cascade neighborhood. Previous zoning was 65 to 85 feet in most of [...]
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March 29th, 2013
After you read this Urban Politics, consider sending a message to the Councilmembers asking them to dramatically increase the City’s plans for providing for more affordable housing in South Lake Union.
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December 9th, 2008
We’ve all heard how making legislation is like making sausage; you don’t want to see it being made. The Council’s Full Council streetcar vote on Monday was a day at the sausage factory. For those intrigued by how legislation gets made, read on, for those who just as soon not know, stop here and enjoy the rest of your day.
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Posted: December 9th, 2008 under
Transportation,
UP.
Tags:
South Lake Union,
streetcar,
UP
May 27th, 2008
I have received emails from constituents saying that when they have contacted City Hall protesting the high cost and ineffectiveness of the Mercer Project, they have been told that it is a done deal. If so, how did that happen? There has never been a public hearing in the Council Chambers on the $200 million Mercer Project. Why not? The Council did devote 5 minutes for a public hearing on the $2 million EIS for the Mercer project back in 2004, but since then nothing.
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June 26th, 2007
This Monday (6/25/07) the Full Council voted 7-1 (Steinbrueck excused absence) in favor of Council Bill 115917 which provides a financing plan for the operation of the South Lake Union streetcar, and approves an agreement with King County Metro to operate the streetcar. I cast the “no” vote.
I had written in great detail about this legislation in the last UP #236. What follows is a much briefer description of how I see this particular project fitting into the larger picture of providing good transportation services in Seattle.
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Posted: June 26th, 2007 under
Transportation,
UP.
Tags:
SLU,
South Lake Union,
streetcar,
UP
June 18th, 2007
On June 12, the Council’s Transportation Committee voted 4-1 (Drago, Godden, Rasmussen, Steinbrueck, v. Licata) in favor of Council Bill 115917, which provides a financing plan for the operation of the South Lake Union (SLU) streetcar, and approves an agreement with King County Metro to operate the streetcar. I cast the ‘no’ vote. The Council will likely vote on this bill at our June 25th Full Council meeting.
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December 14th, 2004
The Council’s Viaduct Committee of the Whole met on Monday to consider four resolutions on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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October 27th, 2004
The short answer to the above question is probably because neglect is easier to handle than rejection: i.e. it is easier to ignore the bland maintenance of our transportation infrastructure than reject a sexy new mega-transportation project.
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October 14th, 2004
The traffic congestion on Mercer Street and on Valley Street just south of Lake Union has been a problem that the City has been wrestling with for over 40 years. This week the Council approved the Mayor’s proposed solution as the main focus of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS), thereby almost assuring that the City will be plunging headlong into a major transportation project that our own Council staff has found to be fatally flawed.
This action is reminiscent of what the City Council did back in November 1970, when it
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October 10th, 2003
Vulcan Inc. announced last week the purchase of a significant piece of property in the South Lake Union neighborhood. The owner of the William O. McKay Ford-Lincoln Building at 601-609 Westlake North has sold his property, which has been in his family since 1922, to Vulcan Inc. The tenant of the building is the Seattle Auto Center, selling Jaguar and Land Rover and Seattle Nissan.
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