With the arrival of Sound Transit's light-rail station in the bustling hub of Roosevelt's retail district looming, a large contingent of residents - many of whom have worked to plan and maintain the area's small-scale, urban-village appeal - are feeling anxious about the future of development in this North Seattle neighborhood.
Specifically, many people are nervous about widespread rumors of a 10-story or higher building going up on a central chunk of property owned by landlord Hugh Sisley, a highly controversial neighborhood figure who has been accused of shoddy management of several Roosevelt-area rental properties and who many believe wants to sidestep current zoning to build properties high into the sky.
At an Oct. 23 public meeting hosted by the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association (RNA), upwards of 200 residents packed into the Roosevelt High School commons for a presentation of several scenarios addressing the alternatives for urban-development plans in the area.
According to Jim O'Halloran, president of RNA and chairperson of the land-use committee, nothing short of the future look of the neighborhood was at stake. "This is about land use," O'Halloran told the crowd. "That's a bit of a wonky term. We're talking about the future of the Roosevelt neighborhood. That's what this is about."
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
O'Halloran, who has been instrumental in hammering out Roosevelt's neighborhood plan in recent years, urged residents to step up and involve themselves in deciding how the area will look in the next 20 years.
"We don't get to decide if we grow," he said, "but we do get to decide how we grow. I urge you to believe in the value of community input. It really does make a difference. This is an informed process."
One of the major concerns, O'Halloran said, is the issue of zoning; it's important, he argued, to get something on the books by the time the light-rail station goes in at 12th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 65th Street.
The concept he's proposing is to have a 65-foot maximum height at the site of the station itself, and to have building heights decreasing outward from there, creating a sort of pyramid or stairstep effect. O'Halloran calls this the idea of "uppermost zoning."
"That's how we think the neighborhood should evolve," he said.
RNA member Barbara Warren, who worked with O'Halloran on the Roosevelt Neighborhood Plan update, said there are conflicts between existing zoning and the updated plan, and that her group has been working closely with residents, developers and business owners to come up with a strong set of zoning change proposals.
"We're not professionals here, but we did the best we could," Warren said.
Of major concern to the neighborhood, O'Halloran said, is the full block of properties bordered north and south by Northeast 65th and 66th streets, and to the east and west by 14th and 15th avenues Northeast; the properties, owned by Sisley, has been leased to a limited-liability corporation called the Roosevelt Development Group (RDG), whose public face for the time being is engineer Richard Milne.
"The project is in very good hands," Milne said, adding that RDG's focus is on creating a quality project that fits in the with community at large.
PUBLIC MISTRUST
During the Oct. 23 meeting, however, Milne - confronting a frustrated and skeptical crowd - provided very little solid information about the project, and at times seemed uncertain about his role.
"One of the reasons they probably asked me to come and talk to you is that I don't know a lot," Milne said, eliciting an audible moan from some in the audience.
At one point, a member of the audience - speaking to Milne but addressing the audience at large, as well - alluded to the suspicion and wariness that Sisley's past dealings arouse concerning the Roosevelt Development Group's plans for the property, which allegedly has been leased for 99 years.
"Considering who the property was bought from," the man said, "I would not come back to the neighborhood asking for changes in zoning."
There have been rumors, the speaker continued, that the developer is seeking variances in zoning to build a 10-story building at the site. Concerning this issue, O'Halloran held an informal poll, asking residents for a show of hands as to what they would support as the maximum density at the site of 65th and 15th.
Most folks in the audience indicated they would support a four-story maximum height for buildings; a handful of people said they would support a 6-story maximum density. There were no supporters for either a 10- or 12-story height limit.
CITY'S RELUCTANCE
O'Halloran refers to Sisley as a "pariah" in the Roosevelt neighborhood, though he does give the property owner credit for promising to build something that will last. What concerns him, he said, is Sisley's willingness to run counter to the overwhelming desires of the community at large.
(Hugh Sisley did not respond to repeated requests, via both phone and e-mail, for an interview with the North Seattle Herald-Outlook.)
O'Halloran - who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the neighborhood's history and has been a key player in the process of creating an updated neighborhood plan - said he believes getting a good set of zoning regulations is of paramount importance.
He said he's "mystified" at the Department of Planning and Development's reluctance to support the majority of residents' concerns about zoning by getting something on the books. "That's disappointing to me," he said.
Nonetheless, O'Halloran said he's optimistic about the future; contrary to popular opinion, he said he does not feel that developers are difficult to work with, and adds that, for the most part, the community has enjoyed an amicable and productive relationship with city government and Sound Transit.
Despite the current snag over implementing a zoning plan, O'Halloran remains upbeat and energized about the Roosevelt neighborhood's direction - that he and his neighbors will achieve their long-term goal of creating a "vibrant urban village" around the coming light-rail station.
"I'm really motivated and uplifted and optimistic about how this unfolds," O'Halloran said. "It's a good story, and it's an encouraging story. There's some cause for hope - it might just take longer."
And as for the possibility of a 10-story building being erected in the middle of Roosevelt's commercial hub, the RNA president remains defiant: "It's not going to happen."
