Left: the back of the backstop. Right: the front of the backstop and the tagged building
A Seattle Public Utility employee installing a new metal grate
Friday night, a fire broke out in a shed behind a house at 10755 17th Ave NE just before 10 PM. Fifteen different fire units were called out to the scene which blocked NE Northgate Way as the blaze was put out. The flames spread to the back of the house (see above on left) but were quickly extinguished.
Shammara Estrada, Victory Heights’ Community Council Representative, reports,
Not sure if you are aware of this – but Bill Pierre has begun plans for redevelopment of his vast property along Lake City Way. The family has contracted with the UW Urban Design and Planning Department to facilitate planning efforts and engage the community in the conversation for the future of this property. They are primarily looking at issues such as connectivity, uses, etc and not specifically what will be built there. There will be a blog up soon with updates and more information. If you are interested in being a part of the process, they will be having some visioning sessions.
When: Saturday, May 19, 9am-4Where: Nathan Hale High SchoolWhat: Broken into two segments, the morning half will focus on the general framework for the property and the second half will be more small group break out sessions. For those of you that want to be included but cannot commit to a full or half day, there will be an area set aside for those just wanting to leave their ideas and comments.
The long-proposed and studied plan to increase floodplain storage and habitat quality to the Thornton Creek greenbelt at the “Knickerbocker” site (NE 100th Street, at the base of 20th Ave NE) looks to finally begin construction in May 2013.
Seattle Public Utilities and the Park Department acquired the land between 2001 and 2006, permanently removing several houses that had been located on the south side of 100th.
Residents in the project area, members of the Thornton Creek Watershed Oversight Council, and advocates for Thornton Creek began to work with SPU and Parks on ways to get a floodplain reconnection project designed and built in 2009, as this type of project was identified in the Thornton Creek Watershed Action Plan. Project design was initiated in 2010 using a $100,000 King Conservation District grant to design the floodplain project. SPU led the design work using a consultant and has held about five community meetings to discuss the project and get input.
Sample drilling was performed last month at the site, and funding secured from King Conservation District, an EPA Ecology Grant, and Seattle Public Utilities to finally implement the work starting next year. The plan includes relocating several hundred feet of Thornton Creek, create up to an acre of vegetated floodplain (currently a picnic and dog-walking area), and build a new pedestrian bridge over the widened creek.
It’s also hoped that the wider, slower creek will enable fish to reach and spawn further upstream eventually.
See also: Thornton Creek Alliance Meeting April 26th
When it comes to getting rid of unwanted household items, a tired-and-true solution is to put them out in front of your house with a “Free” sign (see last week’s post)–at least until garbage day–then get rid of it! But when you put it on someone else’s property, that’s considered dumping and it’s illegal.
Alfredo Estrada on 23rd Ave NE reports someone left a plastic bin on the corner of his property with various miscellaneous items and a waterlogged piece of paper taped to it saying “Free.” He said, “It is not very neighborly to leave trash at someone else’s house. I assume it must have been someone passing by.”
Please keep an eye out for this kind of dumping.
Looking north at Lake City Way from NE 98th Street: 1955 & 2012
The Pinehurst Seattle blog has reprinted the newspaper ad from The Seattle Sunday Times on May2, 1920 announcing the sale of lots in Victory Heights. Check out those low, low prices!
The Thornton Creek Alliance announced its annual meeting and elections will be held on Thursday, April 26th from 7PM to 9PM at the Meadowbrook Community Center, 10517 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125.
The meeting will feature a representative from the National Wildlife Federation who will provide an overview and share information about how a community can become a Wildlife Habitat team. Community Wildlife Habitats are organized by a team of people, who not only help create habitat, but also hold workshops about gardening for wildlife and organize community events such as stream or trail cleanups. Can the Thornton Creek Watershed become a Habitat team? Join the conversation.
Following the Educational Program there will be a brief annual review update on programs that affect the watershed and you:
Committee Reports and elections will also be held.
For more information, see their Facebook page:
Today is the one-week anniversary of the blog and already change is in the air! Apparently I wasn’t the only Victory Heights resident who thought having a blog was a good idea. Unbeknownst to me, several months ago the Neighborhood North District Council had gotten the ball rolling on starting a blog here and even paid for a domain (victoryheights.org) to be purchased for that use. I was blissfully unaware when I beat them to the punch by going live first.
Next Monday I’ll be attending a meeting with our Victory Heights Community Council representative, Shammara Estrada, and somehow we’ll consolidate all these efforts into one awesome Victory Heights blog (either here or at the new domain). Stay tuned, your friends and neighbors are dedicated to keeping you informed on the latest news for Victory Heights residents.
