In a few weeks, WSDOT will open the new off-ramps from the brand new West Approach Bridge North. This will be the very first time westbound drivers travel on the new structure and use the new off-ramps to Montlake Boulevard and Lake Washington Boulevard. 

The new off-ramps are scheduled to open mid-July and the new westbound lanes from the floating bridge to Montlake are scheduled to open in late August. 

The opening of the new WABN bridge structure will take place in phases so that crews can remove the existing ramps to make space for the mainline construction.

As we get closer to this change, we will send more detailed information with graphics, videos, weekend work impacts and the specific date of the off-ramp opening. Be sure to stay in the loop by reading these email updates, following us on twitter, visiting our website and joining us for our regular, public meeting on Wednesday, July 12, at the Graham Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.

Here’s a sneak peek at what to expect when the exit lane and off-ramps open:

• A westbound SR 520 closure from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday the weekend before the westbound off-ramps open.
• Round-the-clock work during the westbound SR 520 closure. 
• An earlier exit for the new westbound SR 520 off-ramps, closer to the western end of the floating bridge (before the sentinel).
• Continued construction access via the 24th Avenue East bridge as crews use the MOHAI staging area through the end of the project.

For more information about the 520 Bridge visit:

• Email WABN staff with your questions about the project or construction activities.

• Join us for our next monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 12, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Graham Visitors Center.

• Visit the SR 520 Orange Page for the most up-to-date information on closures and construction impacts.

• Visit the WABN project website to find general information about the project.

• Follow us on Twitter @wsdot_520 to get key news and updates about the SR 520 program.

Please join your neighbors in a two hour contribution to the reforestation of our beloved greenbelt. We will be doing light weeding and spreading burlap sacks and wood chip mulch.

Become a part of Forterra, the most successful urban forestry organization in America.

Your friendly neighborhood forest stewards, Cathy Nunneley and Trina Wherry, will be forever grateful.
See you there!

Saturday, July 15, 10 AM–noon
138 32nd Ave E, Seattle, WA  98112
Coffee and snacks will be available.
All gloves and tools provided.

Questions? Cathy Nunneley: [email protected]

Campo de Borja Wine Dinner

Experience why the Campo de Borja wine region is called the “Empire of Garnacha.” Join us for a 5-course dinner featuring the wines of Bodegas Borsao and Alto Moncayo. Meet and interact with the winemakers while you enjoy the Spanish creations from our Chef Joey Serquinia. You can view the menu and purchase tickets here.

Thursday, June 29
$110.00/person. Includes food, wine pairings, tax and gratuity.

SOLD OUT

The Harvest Vine Food and Wine Fair

You’ve been watching us create your meals over our counter for years and have been asking, “where can I find these ingredients?” or “how can I make that?”

Your opportunity has arrived! Come meet a few of the importers and purveyors we work with, mingle with our staff, and taste and purchase the unique wines and food products served here at the Harvest Vine.

• Wines and Sherries from Europvin and American NW wines and Vinea Imports. Purchase Spanish wines and sherries that may be difficult for consumers to find. Discounts on purchases of 6 bottles or more and case discounts.

• Spanish food products from Culinary Collective & Aneto

• Paella Kits. Rice and non-perishable ingredients to make your own paella in a 6-person paella pan: peppers, meats, cheeses, olive oils, and more.

Chef Joey Serquinia demonstrates how to use these unique ingredients, creating delicious small bites (pintxos) for you to enjoy.

Saturday July 15
Entry tickets $20.00 per person with $10.00 credit towards any food and/or wine purchased the day of the fair.

Flamenco & Paella Dinners

Because our summer paella dinners have been so hugely successful over the years we are adding an additional night this year. We will have one dinner in July and one dinner in August. Dates will be announced soon and tickets will be available for purchase through our website shop/events.

New Website & Online Store

We just launched our new website, created by Rasteroid Design.

Some great things about the new website:

• We are now able to update our Dinner Menu daily and will include all of our nightly specials.
• You can now purchase gift cards online through our website shop/events.
• You can see all our upcoming events as well as purchase tickets and seats to all of our wine dinners.

Reservations at the Harvest Vine!

We’ve made the switch. Although we are no longer on Opentable, we are still accepting online bookings through our website or by downloading the RESY app.

Harvest Vine
2701 E. Madison St., Seattle WA 98112
206 320-9771
https://www.harvestvine.com

Here are the Seattle OPCD and SDCI Land Use notices and City planning activities in the last three weeks for communities from 18th Ave. to Lake Washington and E Union St. to SR-520.

Outline shows the area under consideration.

Design Review — Central Area Design Guidelines Open House

The Central Area Design Guidelines Coalition (collaboration between: 23rd Ave Action Team, CA Land Use Review Committee, Historical Central Area Arts and Cultural District, Central Area Collaborative, African American Veterans Group of Washington) is working with the City of Seattle and local architects Schemata Workshop and Mimar Studio to outline a set of neighborhood-specific guidelines to guide future development in the Central Area. Come and provide your valuable input!

Open House
June 19, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Lutheran Church of the Good Shepard
2116 E. Union St.

Design Review - Design Review Program Changes

The City of Seattle is proposing legislation to modify the design review process: simplify and raise the thresholds for projects subject to design review, switch from a variety of thresholds based on use, units, and zoning to simple square footage thresholds that respond to the complexity of a site and type of project. The legislation would also create a new “hybrid” process that allows one phase of design review to be handled administratively and the remainder by the design review board.

The legislation adds a requirement that all applicants for projects going through design review conduct outreach to the communities near their projects before they begin design review. The legislation also modifies the composition of design review board members, eliminates the streamlined administrative design review process, modifies the review process for exceptional trees, and updates and clarifies other provisions related to design review.

Notice of Design Review Amendments

23rd Avenue Urban Village Rezones – Public Hearing

The Seattle City Council is considering proposed legislation to change Seattle’s land use and zoning that would affect property in Central Area near the intersections of 23rd Avenue and S Jackson, Cherry and Union streets. The proposed changes would rezone land in the Central Area in order to implement a community vision for 23rd Avenue and Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) requirements.

The legislation would require new commercial or multi-family development in the affected zones to contribute to affordable housing and would also add development capacity in the form of an increase in the amount of allowed height or floor area for buildings in zones where the MHA requirements would apply. The legislation is intended to increase commercial and residential development capacity near these intersections to achieve the community’s vision to strengthen the Central Area’s unique identity and community character, help create vibrant and resilient commercial districts with pedestrian friendly mixed-use development, support existing and new businesses and development, provide opportunities for a variety of shops, services and affordable housing, and support community ownership and equitable development that serves the diverse Central Area community.

Public Hearing
Monday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m.
Commons/Lunch Room
Garfield High School
400 23rd Avenue

Notice of Public Hearing

Colored areas are included in the MHA requirements.

MHA Draft Environmental Impact Statement

The City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) has issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing several alternatives for implementing Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA). MHA would require that new multi-family and commercial developments meeting certain thresholds either build affordable housing units on-site or make an in-lieu payment to support the development of affordable housing. MHA would focus primarily on creating housing reserved for community members earning 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) or less.

To implement MHA, the City is considering amendments to regulations to increase development capacity in the study area. The study area is existing multi-family and commercial zones in Seattle, areas currently zoned Single Family in existing urban villages, and areas zoned Single Family in potential urban village expansion areas identified in the Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Planning process.

Notice of Release of DEIS

2310 E Madison St

Streamlined Design Review Application proposing a five-story structure containing 17 apartment units and 470 sq. ft. of commercial space at ground level. Existing structures to be demolished. Zone: Lowrise-3, Neighborhood Commercial 2-40′, Urban Village Overlay

Notice of Streamlined Design Review

1106 34th Ave

Council Land Use Action to rezone a 4,808 sq. ft. portion of land from Lowrise-2 to Neighborhood Commercial 1 with 30-foot height limit and a 6,109 sq. ft. parcel of land from Lowrise-2 to Neighborhood Commercial with 30-foot height limit. The property is bounded on the south by East Spring Street, to the west by 34th Avenue, to the North by a commercial building at 1112 34th Ave and to the east by an unimproved alley. Zone: Neighborhood Commercial 1-30′, Arterial within 100 ft., Lowrise-2.

Notice of Recommendation

2348 43rd Ave E

Shoreline Substantial Development Permit to allow a three-story apartment structure with six residential units. Parking for six vehicles to be provided below grade within the structure. Existing detached parking structure to be demolished and the existing single family residence to remain. Zone: Urban residential, Shoreline habitat buffer, Archaeological buffer area, Lowrise-3, Conservancy recreation, Arterial within 100 ft., Special grading requirement.

Notice of Decision

Resources

Land Use Information Bulletins
Property & Building Activity Interactive Map
Permit and Property Records
Design Review Board
Buildings in Design Review Map

The overall number of incidents in Madison Valley reported to the police dropped to 43 in May, down from 56 in April. The decline was due to small drops in many types of offenses rather than following the usual pattern whereby changes in car prowls and auto theft drive changes in the overall monthly totals. Seven burglaries were reported during May and there was also another incident in which a shoplifting incident became an “armed robbery.”

1. On May 2nd police were called to investigate a burglary at a residence on 21st Ave. E. near Denny. Earlier that day someone had taken a bicycle from an open garage and a gas grill from a patio. Police searched for fingerprints but found none.

2. On May 3rd police were called to an apartment complex on 23rd near Denny to investigate a burglary that had occurred sometime in the previous few days. When they arrived, the victim reported that someone had taken clothing and tools worth approximately $3100 from a communal storage area in the building. Although the building is secured the storage area is not. Police did not search for fingerprints because so many people have access to the storage area, but asked the building manager to determine if the event had been captured by surveillance cameras.

3. Sometime between May 5th and May 12th someone tried to break into a garden storage shed at a residence on Lake Washington Blvd. near E. Madison. When they returned home after a week’s absence, the residents found that the lock on the shed had been damaged to the extent that they could no longer open the door. Because the burglar was unable to gain entry, nothing was taken from the shed.

4. During the morning of May 7 a burglar broke into a basement residence on Howell near 29th by climbing through an unlocked window. After ransacking the rooms, the burglar stole cash and items worth approximately $1000. The police found various personal items in the residence that the burglar apparently left behind, and submitted them to the police lab for possible fingerprints. The burglar also prowled a vehicle in the driveway at the residence, and while doing so left behind self-incriminating jail release paperwork.

5. On May 11th police were called to an apartment complex on 23rd near Denny to investigate damage to several locks on doors at the complex. Although able to gain entry through the front door, the burglar was apparently unable to open any other doors. Police asked the building manager to determine if video footage from security cameras recorded the burglar’s activity.

6. Sometime during the daylight hours of May 17 a burglar broke into a storage unit connected to an apartment on 20th near Pike. The burglar took two pieces of luggage worth approximately $500. The victim did notify police of the incident until May 24th because until then he had not noticed that anything was missing from his storage unit.

7. Sometime between May 17 and May 27 a burglar stole five bicycles worth approximately $10,000 from a storage unit in a residential building on E. 25th near Denny. During that period, a contractor had been working on the building and had left the front door ajar. The burglar apparently entered the building while the door was unlocked.

On May 9th police were called to the grocery store on Madison and 22nd to investigate an armed robbery. When they arrived a clerk at the store told them that a “chronic shoplifter” at the store had threatened to shoot him when he tried to prevent the shoplifter from taking a bottle of Suja from the store. Although no one saw a weapon during the incident, both the clerk and the store manager advised the police that they were “willing to be the victim of a robbery” [i.e. willing to testify against the shoplifter – Ed.] The police advised them to provide video footage of the incident and to call 911 when they saw the shoplifter/robber again.

Lowell Hargens is a Madison Valley resident and former University of Washington professor of sociology specializing in the statistical analysis of data.

Jim Henkens, proprietor of Marine Area 7, a Madison Valley shop selling vintage cookware, is hosting a private dinner.

“June is a great time of year to be a cook in the Pacific Northwest. So many of my favorite ingredients are at their peak.”

The Menu:
• Bruschetta with burrata, arugula, radish and pine nuts
• New potato salad with morels and fava beans
• Poached Sockeye Salmon with roasted cherry tomatoes
• Garden greens with creamy pistachio vinaigrette
• Lemon polenta cake with rhubarb compote

Sunday Supper
June 18th, 7:00 PM
RSVP only
$110 includes wine, gratuity, and tax
Purchase Tickets

Marine Area 7
2814 East Madison Street
Seattle, WA 98112
http://www.marinearea7.com

It’s not widely known that the Rautureau family lives in our neighborhood. Yes, the husband in this family is Thierry Rautureau, the famous “Chef in the Hat” and with his wife, Kathy, owner of the restaurants Luc and Loulay. The couple have lived in Madison Valley for 30 years and raised their two sons here. Their contributions to the community extend far beyond the restaurants.

Although Kathy is a homegrown American from L.A., Thierry, as everyone knows, is French. He has had an adventurous life on his journey to Seattle.

In France, at the age of 14, one chooses a career path: academic or trade. Thierry chose cooking. He worked in three restaurants learning the necessary skills and then he was off to serve his mandatory stint in the army. By 19, he was done. What to do next?

Thierry was raised in a very rural and poor part of France. His grandparents were farmers at a chateau and his parents worked locally. Although romanticized by many, rural France can be a confining environment for a curious young man. Thierry wanted a broader experience. An opportunity awaited him.

A sponsor gave him some money for travel and Thierry arrived in Chicago with $12 in his pocket. A job was waiting and he worked and lived illegally for 3 ½ years. Thanks to the other restaurant employees, Spanish became his second language. Although initially he hadn’t planned to stay in America, an opportunity to travel west and explore prompted him to obtain his green card.

He and a friend bought a car for $500 in San Francisco and began a fun-filled California road trip. He worked for a pittance in his first job in Los Angeles, where wages were too low to pay his rent. Next, he landed at an Italian restaurant and there his fate was sealed. The pretty waitress asked him out and he and Kathy have been together ever since.

Kathy was dabbling in school and learning the flower trade. She was supporting herself with waitressing while developing a flower arranging business. Today, she’s become an accomplished designer with natural talent.

In 1987, they came up to Seattle to visit friends and ate at Rover’s in Madison Valley.  It was a serendipitous event. Rover’s owner was looking to sell the restaurant. Thierry and Kathy obtained funding from a partner, bought the restaurant and moved a few blocks away.

The convenience of living so close to the restaurant was wonderful for family life, but they were particularly drawn to the neighborhood. They loved the diversity and the vibrancy of Seattle. L.A. hadn’t felt like the right place to raise a family.

When the couple’s two children entered school, they were able to squeeze a bit of time from the 24/7 restaurant obligations to lead fundraising efforts. The first Auction/Dinner at McGilvra elementary raised $140,000. They continued fund raising efforts at Washington Middle School and Garfield as their sons progressed through public education.

Thierry works tirelessly giving back to Seattle. Coming from such modest means in France, he expresses amazement at his lucky life. This insightfulness keeps him going. He is a member of the Food Lifeline board and supports many other efforts to assist Seattleites experiencing food insecurity. Hunger relief is very dear to him.

Thierry is a member of the Alliance Françoise to promote French culture and has been knighted by the French government. He actively participates in Madison Valley community life through the Madison Valley Merchants Association. He is always willing to donate to neighborhood events. His many involvements in the Seattle food scene are simply too numerous to list here!

Nowadays, Rover’s is closed and the new (7 years, already!) café, Luc is their neighborhood baby. Three years ago, Loulay opened downtown. Thierry oversees the food, etc. Kathy designs all the flower arrangements and you can find her as Luc’s hostess on Friday and Saturday evenings. She continues to design flowers for weddings and other special events though her company “Flowerworks.” You can check her out online for your next party!

And, by the way……What’s with the “Chef in the Hat” handle?

Kathy explains: Looking for a different Christmas gift one year, she happened upon a nice Fedora in one of the neighborhood consignment shops. Thierry loved it. Wearing it as he emerged from the kitchen at Rover’s to greet his guests, as is his custom, someone called out: “It’s the Chef in the Hat”!  The hat has become his trademark since that day.

It’s wonderful, of course. Thank you, Kathy! And thank you both for being such great neighbors.

Realogics Sotheby’s and the McGilvra PTA are working together to revive the once-popular Madison Park Home and Garden Tour. The proceeds will benefit the elementary school’s kindergarten and first-grade programs.

The tour will feature 10 homes and gardens in the neighborhood. The properties comprise a variety of architectural styles, including traditional Craftsman homes and modern structures.

June 11, Noon–4 p.m.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online.

Spread the word—it’s time to vote on the parks and street fund projects.

The new method for allocating the city grants is being implemented this year, based upon a participatory budgeting model. The cycle began some time ago, and depended on social media, volunteer community organizations, and other outreach such as the city had capacity for. Then there was a round of “development meetings” where proposers could get feedback and help with refining the proposal or decide to take back for more preparation work. There was some kind of voting/selection process for the top candidate projects and now everyone is asked to please vote on their top three.

This is one method of getting neighborhood improvements, and quite major ones if the projects are broken up over time. The projects can come out of community having proposed/planned/discussed and created support for over time. Or someone gets a great idea and gets together with his neighbors, who agree it’s a great idea and network with more neighbors and start visiting community groups to ask for feedback and support.

Granted, this might feel like being at the tail end of a process, as folks may or may not have been informed. But there is always the next round. And loads of grants and opportunity, both for neighborhoods, and for projects that enhance our city and community. Check it out at the city’s Grants and Funding page.  There are grants for infrastructure and for community building and for FUN!!