2018 Annual WASLA Conference

Motif Seattle, March 16, 2018

 

 

3:00 - 4:00 pm
The Impact of Street Vacations on Seattle’s Public Realm

Description:

The Seattle City Council first adopted street vacation policies in 1985. A “street vacation” is a process in which a property owner whose property is adjacent to a public right-of-way (street or alley) can petition the City Council to acquire that right-of-way for private use, so long as it is in the public interest to do so. There has been much debate about the recent series of street and alley vacations and their effectiveness of producing meaningful public benefits. In early 2017, Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Chair of the Council Transportation Committee, assembled a Street Vacation Stakeholder Workgroup to advise the Council before it began considering revisions to the City’s street vacation legislation. The workgroup was tasked with identifying areas of consensus around potential process improvements for street vacations, surfacing differences of opinion, and to help crystallize the policy questions the Council will ultimately decide upon to revise the street vacation policies. This session will focus on the outcomes of the workgroup findings including:
• The type of public benefits that will be supported
• Expectations for community engagement
• Opportunities to engage with the City Council to during the process
• Look for opportunities to make the street vacation process easier to understand and more transparent.

Lead Speaker:

Mark Brands, ASLA

Speaker Bios:

Mark Brands, ASLA, Managing Principal, Site Workshop
Mark Brands is a landscape architect with Site Workshop, a Seattle based landscape architecture firm focused on the artful transformation of the public realm. As a co-founder of Site Workshop and the managing principal, Mark has been a guiding force in its growth, culture and transition into its second decade of operations.

Michael Jenkins, Executive Director, Seattle Design Commission
Michael Jenkins is the Director of the Seattle Design Commission (SDC), a 10 member commission comprised of experts in the areas of Urban Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and Transportation Planning. The SDC provides advice to the Mayor and City Council on capital facilities or projects that impact the public realm. Michael has worked in the field of Urban Design and Planning for over 20 years, including positions with the Cities of SeaTac, Tukwila and, since 2000, City of Seattle. Michael's professional experience includes permitting for a variety of commercial and residential developments, permitting for large scale public and private developments, and policy analysis for elected officials on land use, transportation, and regulatory affairs. Michael has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University

Alex Hudson, Executive Director, First Hill Improvement Association
Alex Hudson is an advocate for people-centered planning and urban design who works at the neighborhood scale to build communities centered in equity, vibrancy, innovation, and place attachment. Alex is the Executive Director of the First Hill Improvement Association and sits on the board of the Freeway Park Association and the Community Involvement Commission. Alex is the spokesperson for the Community Package Coalition, a group of community organizations working together to advocate for fair public investments resulting from the Washington State Convention Center Addition. She lives in First Hill with her cat, houseplants, and overflowing library of books about urbanism.

Learning Objectives:
  • Introduce the Street Vacation process and understand its impact to Seattle’s public realm
  • Summarize outcomes of the 2017 stakeholder workgroup findings
  • Understand what makes for a successful street vacation project
  • Enhance skills related to community engagement, equitable design, and city planning and design review processes