City Do As I Say, Not As I Do
posted by on December 28 at 17:34 PM
125th and Densmore Ave N
Last month, I wrote about a Safeway redevelopment in North Seattle’s Pinehurst neighborhood that had a handful of community groups all riled up. Several neighborhood councils made noise about the potential loss of single-family zoned housing as a result of the project, which could require the demolition of three long-vacant homes.
Ironically, the Haller Lake Community Club (HLCC)—one of the groups who opposed the Safeway project—has now asked the City for permission to convert a single-family house into an office. The house, which is next door to the community club, was recently purchased by a dance group which uses the HLCC, and the group has outgrown their current facility.
Sure, the HLCC’s plan won’t require the demolition of the house, but there will be one less single family home in North Seattle once they’re done with the conversion.
I think you're stretching to make a point. You cannot compare the immense impact that a high volume grocery store will have on the profile of a neighborhood, versus a small non-profit that has chosen to convert a single family dwelling into an office.
I think the issue is more that these people want to keep neighborhoods like Haller Lake and Pinehurst in-city suburbs, rather than dense urban neighborhoods like we're going to eventually need. Fighting off a development and saying that we can't afford to lose any single family housing, and then turning around and removing a single family home from the market when it suits you is the definition of NIMBYism (and yeah, I hate using that term too, but I think it fits here).
@1: The grocery store in question already exists and would simply be improved to the benefit of the neighborhood. If single-family housing is to remain sacred and inviolate, the Haller Lake hypocrites must be stopped!
Jonathan Spagenthal-Lee, I can't decide if you're from an Edward Lear poem or an Edgar Allen Poe. Anyhow, I would ask you this: why is the loss of one (1!) single family home in North Seattle the least bit notable? You should kick a rock around the south end one weekend and find an actual story.
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