On May 27, the City Council sponsored a community forum to better understand how the mayor's legislative intent fares with the citizens who will feel the most impact from these actions. More than 200 people crammed into the Olympic View Elementary School cafeteria in Maple View to hear from, and speak their minds to, a panel of 11 North Seattle community and business association advocates. Also present for the three-hour meeting were Seattle City Councilmembers Nick Licata, Margaret Pageler, Richard Conlin, Jim Compton and Peter Steinbruek. "This is open-ended. There is no preset outcome for this meeting," said council president Steinbruek about the council members' motivations. "We want to make wise decisions for the future because they will be profound." Sharing space at the front tables with the council members were representatives from the Victory Heights, Haller Lake, Pinehurst, Maple Leaf, Thornton Creek and Licton Springs community councils. Representatives of King County, Simon Property Group (owners of the Northgate Mall), Citizens for a Liveable Northgate, Mullally Properties, Lorig Associates and the Thornton Creek Alliance also were present. Notably missing from the panel was a representative from the Northgate Chamber of Commerce. Steinbruek explained that the chamber members were "not of one mind" concerning their views on the future of development in the Northgate area, especially the mall. With this final announcement underscoring the contentious nature of the proposed legislation, Steinbruek yielded the floor to Nickels' spokeseperson Mary Jean Riley. She noted the 1993 Northgate Comprehensive Plan calls for a densely developed core area centered at the mall. However, Riley said, "hardly any development has happened" in Northgate's larger sites since 1994, while other parts of the city have rejuvenated their urban town-center cores. "It's really been a dead zone for about 10 years," Riley asserted. For a solution, Riley highlighted the mayor's three council bills. The first, No.114551, calls for a large storm-water holding pond to be constructed to the south of Northgate Mall's current complex. If built, the fenced pond will allegedly help the Thornton Creek watershed by treating runoff from the mall's extensive parking lots and building tops before releasing it into the underground pipes. Thornton Creek currently flows beneath several acres of Northgate Mall parking lot. Bill No. 114552 hopes to spur growth by eliminating the general development plan (GDP) within the Northgate Overlay District. A major dictate of the current GDP outlines how much public open space developers are required to set aside in relation to their construction projects. Nickels' bill would reduce this requirement for developers. The final bill, No. 114553, calls for a revamping of the development agreement between the city and Simon Property Group. If adopted, the bill would guide the demolition of the mall's current 100,000 square feet of retail space and the redevelopment of a proposed 144,000 square feet of retail space. Supporting the mayor's position were Ron Posthuma, assistant director of the King County Department of Transportation; Simon Property Group representative Gary Weber; and Mullally Properties representative John Mullally. All of the other panelists were vehemently against the mayor's proposals, as were an overwhelming majority of the audience members seated and standing in the cafeteria. "If the mall is allowed to deteriorate - and I think it is now - there goes Northgate," said Mullally, whose business owns the large apartment complex bordering Northeast Northgate Way on the mall's northern boundary. "Dealing in Northgate and building here is very difficult." However, Haller Lake Community Council representative Velva Maye countered by stating the GDP serves as an important link between developers and the surrounding neighborhoods to communicate on the nature and future effects of proposed construction. "The Northgate-area Comprehensive Plan embraces development," asserted Jan Brucker, of Citizens for a Liveable Northgate, who expressed concern that the mayor's legislation will seriously weaken the amount of project disclosure a developer needs to give the public on construction projects. "As a citizen, it's hard to predict what [developers] are going to build. I think the developer knows full well what they're going to rebuild," she added. "The mall is more than just a profit center. It shapes the neighborhood," added Victory Heights Community Councilmember Lisa Dekker. "Please, please, please look underneath the surface [of these bills] at what you're giving away." With less than an hour left for public comments, City Councilmember Nick Licata stood and asked the audience to help him conduct a quick opinion poll. He first asked everyone who had shopped in the Northgate Mall within the last year to raise their hands, and about 50 percent of the audience shot their palms to the sky. Licata then asked how many of them had shopped in the University Village within the last year, and approximately 70 percent of the audience raised hands. "If we got rid of the GDP," Licata then asked, "how many believe [Northgate Mall] would develop like the University Village?" Fewer than five people raised their hands, and the audience broke out into a hearty communal laugh. "That's my point," Licata said with a smile as the laughter died down. "There seems to be a gap in trust here." All public comments from the May 27 forum will be available through the Seattle City Council and City Clerk offices, where copies of the bills and resolutions mentioned also can be obtained for review. A public hearing on the mayor's proposed Northgate legislation is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, at 6 p.m. in Nathan Hale High School, 10750 30th Ave. N.E. More information may be obtained by calling the council office, at 684-8888, or via e-mail, at council@ci.seattle.wa.us. Erik Hansen can be reached via e-mail at needitor@nwlink.com [[In-content Ad]]
