How should Ravenna-Bryant grow? Provide your comments by Thursday

Seattle 2035 is a yearlong, citywide conversation about change – where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we want to go over the next 20 years. By 2035, the city is expected to grow by 120,000 people and 115,000 jobs.

As part of this conversation, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was released and includes outlines of four growth alternatives. Community members are encouraged to provide their thoughts for how Seattle should grow over the next 20 years. Click here and provide your input by June 18.

Three types of urban villages
The drafted plan builds on the current Urban Village model and creates 3 types of urban villages.

1. Urban Center: very dense villages with housing and a high number of regional jobs. The University District is considered an urban center and includes the U-Village area, which is the southern part of Ravenna-Bryant.

2. Hub Urban Village: dense villages with a balance of housing and jobs.

3. Residential Urban Village: the least dense urban village with housing and local jobs. Roosevelt is considered a residential urban village. On average, residential urban villages are designated and zoned with a balanced mix of commercial/mixed use (31 percent), multi-family residential (33 percent) and single family residential (33 percent) zones. As with hub urban villages, land use designations and zoning vary between individual residential urban villages.

Four alternatives for growth
The DEIS proposes four different ways that the city can grow. Each would affect Ravenna-Bryant differently.

Alternative 1: Continue current trend (no action)
Growth will generally follow current market trends. Residential growth will continue in the urban village neighborhoods that have experienced significant growth in the past 20 years, with a relatively low level of change in other urban villages. New jobs would occur primarily in Downtown and South Lake Union.

For Ravenna-Bryant, this plan would continue residential growth patterns that we are currently witnessing. This alternative would increase residential growth.

Alternative 2: Guide growth to urban centers
Urban centers, like the University District, will become magnets that more strongly attract new residents and jobs faster than over the last 20 years. This change may lead to a significant rise in the number of people walking or biking to work, and a corresponding decline in driving and car ownership. Alternative 2 represents a significantly more concentrated pattern of new growth in the urban centers compared to past trends.

Since the southern part of R-B around U-Village would be part of an urban center, this alternative may significantly increase development in that area. Growth could be particularly substantial considering the area’s proximity to the Husky Stadium light rail station, the Burke-Gilman Trail, two major employers (UW and Children’s) and easy-to-access shopping.

Alternative 3: Guide growth to urban villages near light rail
This alternative puts an emphasis on growth in urban centers but also in urban villages near the light rail stations. It includes boundary adjustments to urban villages with light rail stations to encompass a 10-minute walk to the station.

Under alternative 3, the growth anticipated in urban centers would likely be a mix of mid-and high-rise development while growth in transit-oriented development nodes would likely be mid-rise. Areas of expanded urban villages would likely convert from existing lower intensity to higher intensity development. For example, if a light rail station is planned for an area currently zoned predominantly single-family, future land use actions would likely rezone the areas within a ¼ or ½ mile of the station to accommodate low-rise multifamily and possibly local-serving commercial uses.

Expansion of urban village boundaries could increase Roosevelt Urban Village to include Ravenna to about 22nd Ave NE (10 minute walk from Roosevelt Light Rail). Alternatives 3 and 4 project that housing would grow for 1500 people and jobs would increase by 1600 in the Roosevelt Urban Village. In areas outside of the urban villages, including the rest of Ravenna-Bryant, the overall development character and pattern would likely remain as currently exists. This means that residential growth would continue in most of R-B.

Alternative 4: Guide growth to urban villages near transit
Growth would take place in areas with the greatest number of transit-oriented places—served by either bus or rail. In addition to areas covered in alternative 3, more growth would also be concentrated in other urban villages that currently have very good bus service. Relatively more urban villages would be subject to increased growth and possible boundary changes.

Potential Impact on R-B:
• Expansion of urban village boundaries could expand the Roosevelt Urban Village to include Ravenna to about 22nd Ave NE, a 10 minute walk from Roosevelt Light Rail. See Alternative 3 above.
• The rest of Ravenna-Bryant would see a smaller share of residential growth than is currently occurring.

edward boyer

I strongly disagree with the expansion of Roosevelt Urban village to include Ravenna east of 15th Ave. This area is single family home zoned and should remain so. It is the nose of the camel under the tent. I would like to know whether the candiates for Seattle Council District support the erosion of this area of Single Family Homes.