Current Issues:

Nightclub License –
RIP & Long Live the Nightlife Advisory Board!

After months of work, amendments and consensus building, a nightclub license is not to be. The compromise license approved by the Council in September earned a veto from the Mayor and not much enthusiasm for an override.

I’m disappointed in this outcome, but optimistic about the other related legislation passed by Council. The hard work of researching the problems we’re experiencing and possible solutions yielded great results. In August Council approved four pieces of legislation that will work to strike a balance between encouraging the health of Seattle’s nightclubs and preserving neighborhood safety and livability. The highlights include:

1. A new nightlife enforcement unit that can respond to neighborhood resident complaints and issue fines;
2. Strengthening of the City’s existing nuisance code;
3. A new requirement that large nightclubs prepare safety plans;
4. An agreement with the Mayor that his staff will research and report back to Council with recommendations concerning club security staff training, zoning, promoter licensing, and new enforcement authority held by the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

So what’s next? Unfortunately, when the Mayor vetoed the license legislation, he also nixed the creation of the Nightlife Advisory Commission. This nine-person board of citizens, made of both nightlife industry- and neighborhood-representatives, would have advised the city on matters ranging from the license and violence to litter, noise and how to keep a thriving nightlife in Seattle.

Fortunately, we have a back-up. The Economic Development & Neighborhoods Committee, which I chair, passed legislation in the summer that creates a Nightlife Advisory Board. We passed it before we knew the license legislation had enough support to make it to Full Council. Good thing we did! I plan to call this legislation up to the full Council this month, so we can establish an advisory committee to the Council.

Then there’s the final piece of the Neighborhoods & Nightlife package to address: the Noise Ordinance. I stripped the noise issue out of the Mayor’s version of the license because I didn’t think that a club should lose their business because they’re too loud. That said, I do think a club should be forced to control their volume. My proposed amendments to the current Noise Ordinance would establish a metered, objective standard for noise and create a graduated fine structure for violations. Following an initial warning, clubs would receive a $1000 fine for the first violation and a $2000 fine for each subsequent violation. Non-sworn (meaning not Seattle Police) City-staff would work at night to measure the noise with meters, work with club owners about ways to keep the sound inside, and, when necessary, issue citations. The new Nightlife Advisory Board will help advise the City on what the noise threshold should be.

I anticipate that the Economic Development & Neighborhoods Committee will take action on these noise code proposals at a December meeting. Feel free to contact my legislative aide David Yeaworth if you would like more information.

Whether the demise of the nightclub license is good or bad news to you, thank you for being part of the debate. Literally hundreds of people who don’t usually pay attention to local government got involved. That’s a great thing!

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I attended "Picnic at the South Precinct" on September 15, 2007, and enjoyed the performance of NW Tap Connection. The picnic celebrated the end of summer and the great work of the community, the Seattle Police Department and South and Southeast Seattle.

Industrial showdown

You might have read in the media that some companies and employees who work in our industrial areas (primarily SoDo, Duwamish and Ballard/Interbay) are concerned that non-industrial businesses are moving into their neighborhoods. Current industrial tenants worry that non-industrial users are “speculating,” betting they can profit by picking up industrial land, waiting for industry to leave and then working to rezone the property for new retail, office or even residential use.

According to the Seattle Planning Commission, 12 percent of Seattle’s land is zoned for industrial purposes, yet it accounts for 25 percent of our jobs and the majority of those jobs pay more than $55,000—a good family wage, often without the requirement of a college education. Click here to read the Planning Commission Industrial Lands Study.

So, a debate rages about whether Seattle should draw a bright line around our industrial-zoned areas and tell other users to buzz off or whether we should open up our restrictions and let the market decide. Some current industrial businesses make a very strong argument that industrial jobs in the City are dying and never coming back. Others say they’re never been better. Some say we need to modernize the definition of industrial in order to get smart in the 21st century.

The Mayor has come up with a proposal which, among other things, would limit the amount of “stand alone” retail and office in industrial zones. Retail stores and offices could be no larger than 10,000 square feet unless they are considered accessory to an industrial use. The theory is that through these restrictions (critics point out the changes play out as down zoning; in this instance limiting commercial and industrial uses); fewer non-industrial businesses would find the industrial area attractive, leaving more space for industry.

The Council will consider this proposal during the next several months. Parts of this debate will include the density allowed on industrial property and definitions of what constitutes an industrial business in this day and age.

Rezoning anybody’s property is always challenging. Property owners are quick to point out that if the City changes the way their land can be used, then the value of the lot is changed. Assuming the value goes down, obviously, people don’t like that. I understand the investment property owners make and I value the living wage jobs that our industrial lands support. I want our city to be a place where working-class families play a role in our community.

These issues are sure to be hotly debated and I’m looking forward to finding solutions that work.

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Autumn in the Chinatown/
International District

The committee’s final meeting “in the field” before recessing for budget work was held September 20 in the Chinatown/International District. I had hoped to hold the meeting outside in Hing Hay Park, but a few days before the meeting I had to admit that it was no longer “dusky” outside at 7 p.m. as I had been telling myself. No, it was dark. Seattle Channel would have had to haul out noisy generators for bright lights. I gave in and we moved the meeting into the basement of the Bush Hotel.

Before the meeting Edna Shim from my staff and I joined Marybeth Ellis of the International District Chamber of Commerce, Sara Wysocki from the City’s Department of Neighborhoods and others for a great walking tour of the area. We started at the Danny Woo Community Garden at Kobe Terrace Park, across the street from the historic Panama Hotel. The garden provides a place for low-income neighborhood residents to grow fruits and vegetables. I met Kikuko Dewa at the garden. She is an older resident of a nearby apartment building who is trying to plant and harvest indigo for traditional dyeing of fabric. She says she wants to bring this knowledge to the younger generation.

The second tour stop was at the KOBO gallery at Higo, at Jackson and Maynard. KOBO occupies the former home of Higo Variety Store, a neighborhood fixture owned and operated by the Murakami family for 75 years. The welcoming committee included principals from KOBO, Momo, Kaname as well as a representative of the Murakami family. They gave a brief historical overview about decades of economic decline in the area and their work turning things around.

If you aren’t already familiar with this part of Japantown (the north side of Jackson), it’s worth checking out. Maneki, Seattle’s oldest and maybe best Japanese restaurant, the Panama Teahouse, KOBO, and, coming this fall, Momo, a new store, and Kaname, a new restaurant. This is a great area to poke around.

After meeting up with Paul Chen, owner of the Sea Garden Restaurant, to talk about street life in the ID, I met with 40 or so elderly residents along with community volunteer (Chinese interpreter), Nora Chan, at Hing Hay Park. The group had a lot to say about public safety.

Thank you to the Chinatown-International District Public Development Authority and everyone who made our committee meeting a great success!

Economic Development and Neighborhoods Meeting held at the Bush Hotel

At the table with Sally:
Quang Vang - Executive Director, Vietnamese American Economic Development Association
Maribeth Ellis - Executive Director, Chinatown International District Business Improvement Association
Ray Ishii - Acting Executive Director & Finance Manager, Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDPDA)
Joyce Pisnanont - I.D. Housing Alliance and SCIDPDA board member

Not pictured, but at the table:
Thomas Im - Community Planner, Inter*Im
Tomio Moriguchi - Property Owner and board chair of Uwajimaya, Inc.

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Budget time

That’s just one of the spending items we’re looking at from now to Thanksgiving. Many of you have emailed about the desire for outdoor pools, new P-Patches, public ownership of surplus school buildings, park rangers downtown, more sidewalks, the Cascade People’s Center, and more. Feel free to contact me if you’d like specific information about proposed budget items. You can find information about the budget and link to live webcasts when Council meetings are happening by connecting the Council’s webpage at www.seattle.gov/council.

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Councilmember Clark and David Harrolds, property manager and resident of the Governor Apartment building in the Chinatown/International District.

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