Third Time’s a Charm?

On June 15, the City’s Northwest Design Review Board (DRB) reconvenes for another meeting on a master use application for the proposed Brooklyn Court development.

A 90-foot Western Red Cedar, nicknamed “Big Red”, and deemed “Exceptional” under City code, is subject to special consideration by the developer and the city planners who are charged with evaluating a master use permit for the project. In early January, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) gave conditional approval of the proposed design but also for the removal of the tree.

A group of neighborhood residents (including the author) appealed to the City Hearing Examiner in January, maintaining that the DPD had failed to comply with Seattle Municipal Code by not allowing public comment on the tree at its October 4, 2008  DRB meeting.  The City Hearing Examiner in March issued an Order directing the DPD “to assure that the Western Red Cedar is considered as part of the design review process for the proposal, as required by the Code.”

A second design guidance meeting on May 4 specifically focused on the tree and did allow public comment. Following that meeting, a report issued on May 11 recommended that the applicant examine alternative options for the site and return to the DRB for another recommendation meeting, now set for June 15.

 
Discussion will continue at the June 15 meeting, set for 8:00 P.M. at the University Heights Community Center, Room 209. Links to DPD documents are:

Project: 6515 Brooklyn Ave. N.E.
Design Proposal available (3.49 MB)
Review Meeting: June 15, 8:00 P.M.
University Heights Center
5031 University Wy N.E.

Room #209
Review Phase: Recommendation past reviews

Project Number: 3004423 permit status | notice

Planner: Shelley Bolser

Read the comments the people involved with the appeal to save the tree sent in to DPD.The comments have been forwarded by DPD to the Northeast Design Review Board so that they can have the benefit of the thinking prior to the meeting.  Anyone interested in the fate of the Exceptional Western Red Cedar should attend the DRB meeting and express their views.

View Julia Helen Tracy's presentation poster, "Incorporating a mature Thuja plicata tree into Brooklyn Court".

- Paul Wiesner

"Big Western Red Cedar": How Much Longer Will It Live?

The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) decided on January 8 to approve the Brooklyn Court development. The decision may have settled the fate of the 90-foot Western Red Cedar on NE 66th street. DPD determined that this cedar was "Exceptional" but, nonetheless, DPD will allow its removal after concluding that construction near the root zone would make it difficult for the tree to survive an additional 20 years. DPD also asserted that a redesign of the project would significantly reduce the number of residential units.

Six residents of the Roosevelt area (one of whom is the author of this article) have appealed the DPD decision and are currently scheduled to make their case before the City Hearing Examiner at 9:00 A.M. on March 27. The core item of the appeal is that the Big Western Red Cedar can be preserved and project density in excess of 42 residential units can still be achieved. The original application was for 39 units; the approved number is 54.

It is not possible here to describe the complex technical issues about the protection area needed for the tree, the likelihood of survival of the tree with that protection and its impact on the density of the project. To learn more, attend the next Roosevelt Sustainability Group (RSG) meeting at 7:00 P.M., March 16, in Room 242 of Roosevelt High School. The appellants will present summary details and seek advice from attendees about whether to persist in their appeal. The RSG will also explore ways to better protect our trees and natural environment as development proceeds.

The growth of the Big Western Red Cedar is pictured in the two photos, the first from 1937, the second from 2008 (click the thumbnails to see the full-sized images). No one knows if this is its last year.

- Paul Wiesner

Related links:

Land Use Final Appeal (.pdf)

March 16 Roosevelt Sustainability Group Meeting Agenda (.pdf)