I live in Ballard and have seen rampant development and increasing density without corresponding infrastructure and transportation options resulting in increasing commuting time. I am concerned that there has not been adequate oversight of development.
K
Karen Walag
12 years ago
Over crowding decreases quality of life for everyone. And the delusion that everyone will take public transit is just that, a delusion. Where will people park, how crowded and unpleasant will just getting around on foot or bike or car become?
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
Seattle is making itself UNLIVABLE!!
G
George Ray
12 years ago
Absolutely no planning going into this development. End this now.
B
Beverly Wagner
12 years ago
Featured
My block in Ballard is being overwhelmed with tall building that take up most of the square feet of the lot. These ugly buildings are not in keeping with a feeling of neighborhoods. It does not create a friendly landscape. There is no process for neighborhood input. Notices are sent out after the building is completed. Where is the input process?
Thank you for listening.
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
The previous city council(s) gave everything over to their developer sponsors -- and now the city (especially my neighborhood of Ballard) is being gutted. San Francisco's model of square foot ratios is the only sane way to save city neighborhood's character and community. Seattle has got to stop the madness!
R
Rochelle Detert
12 years ago
stop
J
Janet Calkins
12 years ago
I have lost my Ballard -a place I call home.
Please STOP the building and tearing down our history!!!
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
This is a wonderful city and we need to take very seriously what we do to preserve the nature of it AND to provide for ALL income levels!
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
As a homeowner and resident of the urban hub in Ballard, I'm alarmed by the runaway train of developer-led density in the area. It's not that I'm opposed to every form of increasing density. I simply believe that significant density increases should be carefully considered, planned, and enacted with the best interests of the community (not the interests of absentee developers who don't even live here!) in mind. The breakneck speed with which high-density development projects are proliferating in Ballard takes no such care. Overwhelming existing infrastructure is sure to occur as, for example: the massive sewer outlets exiting large apartment complexes and microhousing meet with narrower 100 y/o sewer mains; already crumbling streets will, with grossly increased traffic, reach their repare threshold faster (the point at which surface repare is insufficient and more profound repairs are needed) and require more costly reconstruction; Ballard's police force, which is not increasing in proportion to the population, will have a drastically increased workload (including rising noise complaints in areas where high-density apartments border single family occupancy and apartments' rooftop decks create noise pollution). In short, this is not a carefully planned and executed density initiative that benefits the public but a land grab, a virtual gold rush for developers seeking to maximize profit through loopholes in the law. Those same developers have cleverly greenwashed their plan as "good for the environment" when, in fact, permeable, rain-absorbing greenspaces are being entirely replaced by concrete, contributing to water-contaminating sewage overflows. These same profit-hungry developers have conned Seattle's progressive population into believing that this type of density will create "much needed low income housing" when, in fact, properties adjacent to Apodments have seen their rents skyrocket as their landlords learn of the price per square foot the microhousing brings
A
Anonymous
13 years ago
Promoters paint a picture of young techies and hipsters embracing a new-age apodment lifestyle.
Within ten years, these micro-units will become dumping grounds for veterans and the elderly - isolating warehouses under the guise of "independant living" for agencies that want to cut costs for support services.
How long will the techies stay when Veteran's Affairs and DHS starts giving housing vouchers (so affordable!) to clients while they cut back on treatment and services?
Sitting alone and hungry in a 10x16 foot room or squeezing your family into 250 sq ft is a poor definition of independance.
I favor transitional housing for homeless families and subsidized senior / veteran's communities with viable independant living options.
Apodments are not a sustainable housing solution. They are an admission of our failure to support living wages and mobility from struggling in poverty workers to middle class families.
E
erik strand
13 years ago
Our city council members need to incorporate the views of the community first, over that of developers!
W
Wendy Hanna
13 years ago
The city of Seattle has not adequately provided the infrastructure necessary to accomodate continued, aggressive high-density housing growth.
I live in Ballard and have seen rampant development and increasing density without corresponding infrastructure and transportation options resulting in increasing commuting time. I am concerned that there has not been adequate oversight of development.
Over crowding decreases quality of life for everyone. And the delusion that everyone will take public transit is just that, a delusion. Where will people park, how crowded and unpleasant will just getting around on foot or bike or car become?
Seattle is making itself UNLIVABLE!!
Absolutely no planning going into this development. End this now.
My block in Ballard is being overwhelmed with tall building that take up most of the square feet of the lot. These ugly buildings are not in keeping with a feeling of neighborhoods. It does not create a friendly landscape. There is no process for neighborhood input. Notices are sent out after the building is completed. Where is the input process? Thank you for listening.
The previous city council(s) gave everything over to their developer sponsors -- and now the city (especially my neighborhood of Ballard) is being gutted. San Francisco's model of square foot ratios is the only sane way to save city neighborhood's character and community. Seattle has got to stop the madness!
stop
I have lost my Ballard -a place I call home. Please STOP the building and tearing down our history!!!
This is a wonderful city and we need to take very seriously what we do to preserve the nature of it AND to provide for ALL income levels!
As a homeowner and resident of the urban hub in Ballard, I'm alarmed by the runaway train of developer-led density in the area. It's not that I'm opposed to every form of increasing density. I simply believe that significant density increases should be carefully considered, planned, and enacted with the best interests of the community (not the interests of absentee developers who don't even live here!) in mind. The breakneck speed with which high-density development projects are proliferating in Ballard takes no such care. Overwhelming existing infrastructure is sure to occur as, for example: the massive sewer outlets exiting large apartment complexes and microhousing meet with narrower 100 y/o sewer mains; already crumbling streets will, with grossly increased traffic, reach their repare threshold faster (the point at which surface repare is insufficient and more profound repairs are needed) and require more costly reconstruction; Ballard's police force, which is not increasing in proportion to the population, will have a drastically increased workload (including rising noise complaints in areas where high-density apartments border single family occupancy and apartments' rooftop decks create noise pollution). In short, this is not a carefully planned and executed density initiative that benefits the public but a land grab, a virtual gold rush for developers seeking to maximize profit through loopholes in the law. Those same developers have cleverly greenwashed their plan as "good for the environment" when, in fact, permeable, rain-absorbing greenspaces are being entirely replaced by concrete, contributing to water-contaminating sewage overflows. These same profit-hungry developers have conned Seattle's progressive population into believing that this type of density will create "much needed low income housing" when, in fact, properties adjacent to Apodments have seen their rents skyrocket as their landlords learn of the price per square foot the microhousing brings
Promoters paint a picture of young techies and hipsters embracing a new-age apodment lifestyle. Within ten years, these micro-units will become dumping grounds for veterans and the elderly - isolating warehouses under the guise of "independant living" for agencies that want to cut costs for support services. How long will the techies stay when Veteran's Affairs and DHS starts giving housing vouchers (so affordable!) to clients while they cut back on treatment and services? Sitting alone and hungry in a 10x16 foot room or squeezing your family into 250 sq ft is a poor definition of independance. I favor transitional housing for homeless families and subsidized senior / veteran's communities with viable independant living options. Apodments are not a sustainable housing solution. They are an admission of our failure to support living wages and mobility from struggling in poverty workers to middle class families.
Our city council members need to incorporate the views of the community first, over that of developers!
The city of Seattle has not adequately provided the infrastructure necessary to accomodate continued, aggressive high-density housing growth.