Safeway's discount gas station is still at issueLast year Seattle City Council passed an emergency ordinance seeking a pedestrian zone at the intersection of NW 85th and 15th NW. This ordinance instructed the Dept. of Planning and Development (DPD) to come up with a permanent recommendation for a pedestrian overlay, a zoning category that would limit car-oriented development and encourage business that can be walked to. The emergency ordinance will expire on April 1st. DPD's proposal shrinks the pedestrian zone down to include Walgreens on the NE corner of 85th east to 14th, and cuts the Safeway property in half below where the bank is, leaving out the parking lot where Safeway has threatened to put in a discount style gas station. West of 15th the zone goes only two businesses down from NW 85th and north only 2 properties. In other words, the proposal shrinks the overlay to an area immediately surrounding the 15th & 85th intersection, but leaves open for car dependent development much of the area. While we approve the notion that DPD still wants a pedestrian zone, we are concerned that this zone is so small it really does not promote the kind of pedestrian friendly development we would like up and down 15th.
Neighbors who feel strongly that this proposed zone should be bigger must contact their City Council members now. Go to www.seattle.gov/council for e-mail addresses.
A full Council public hearing is scheduled for March 22 at city hall.