Broadview Community Council wrote a letter to Mayor Nickels opposing the proposed jail at Puetz Golf.
June 13, 2008
The Honorable Greg Nickels, Mayor
P. O. Box 94749
Seattle, WA 98124-4749
Dear Mayor Nickels,
The Broadview Community Council opposes the proposed siting of a new jail for Seattle on the Puetz Golf location at 11762 Aurora Avenue N. There are many reasons why this proposed site is inappropriate. We strongly urge that the new jail not be built on the 11762 Aurora Ave. N site.
Struggling Hub Urban Village Our neighborhood plan envisions a vibrant Bitter Lake Hub Urban Village, someday similar to Ballard or Fremont. Currently our hub urban village is struggling with crime and is not perceived as an attractive place to live or do business. It is not attractive to developers building either residential or commercial facilities attractive to the all ages and all incomes mix of people that would make our hub urban village vibrant. Adding a jail in the Bitter Lake Hub Urban Village will not help uplift the tone of the area to make it an attractive place to live or shop. None of the other proposed sites are in a hub urban village. It is difficult to imagine that the jail site would have been proposed in one of the other hub urban villages. It is inequitable to site the jail in our hub urban village. It is emblematic of the City’s neglect of our hub urban village that planners seemed unaware that it exists.
High Crime Area Aurora Avenue North is a high crime area for drugs and prostitution. Releasing inmates into this environment is undesirable for them and the community.
Schools The proposed site is near five schools (Ingraham High School, Broadview-Thomson Elementary, Northgate Elementary, Christ the King School and Lakeside Middle School).
Bus Route The site is served by one bus route, Metro # 358. The inmates released each day will have to use this route to get downtown to make bus connections, an undue burden on other users, including the many students who ride the 358 to and from Ingraham High School.
Homes Nearby Although the site is zoned commercial it is immediately adjacent to a residential community with hundreds of homes.
Drainage The site is adjacent to an old landfill, and part of the Densmore drainage basin. Paving over the currently permeable surface would exacerbate drainage and flooding problems in the neighborhood.
Tax Base The site is privately owned. Taking it for city use will eliminate the tax revenue it now generates. Two of the other proposed sites are already city property so do not reduce the tax base.
Sincerely,
Dale Johnson, President
Broadview Community Council
12656 Blakely PL NW
Seattle, WA 98177
206-362-2980
dalerayjohnson@comcast.net
CC: Seattle City Council Members
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