CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION calling for additional actions by the City and its partners to advance the vision of the Uptown Urban Design Framework, leverage new investments at Seattle Center to support mobility and promote livability in the Uptown Urban Center as both Uptown and Seattle Center grow, and to update the Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan.
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WHEREAS, Uptown was designated an Urban Center by the City Council when it adopted Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan in 1994; and
WHEREAS, Urban Centers are to receive a significant share of citywide growth over time and a concentration of jobs and housing of regional significance; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle City Council recognized the Queen Anne Community Plan as the community’s vision for growth in the neighborhood, including the Uptown Urban Center; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle City Council has adopted goals and policies for growth in the Uptown Urban Center; and
WHEREAS, the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) has worked with the Uptown neighborhood, including the Uptown Alliance, to develop an Urban Design Framework that establishes a vision for the future development of Uptown; and
WHEREAS, the Uptown Urban Center has been designated as an Arts & Culture District and will leverage the resources of Seattle Center to be a regional arts destination; and
WHEREAS, designation of Uptown as an Arts & Culture District will advance the neighborhood identity as a regional destination for arts and culture; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted development regulations that advance the vision of the Urban Design Framework to strengthen the connections between the Uptown Urban Center and the Seattle Center; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Center is a world-renowned 74-acre gathering place for civic, cultural, arts, entertainment and sports events and activities that began with the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and accommodates over 12 million visits annually; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Center’s mission is to create exceptional events, experiences and environments that delight and inspire the human spirit to build strong communities; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle (City) is committed to ensuring that Seattle Center remains a welcoming place for all that reflects the City’s values for equity and inclusion; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan was adopted by the Seattle City Council in 2008 to set a 20-year vision, and since then many remarkable changes have taken place and others are planned on the Seattle Center campus and citywide creating new opportunities and challenges for Seattle Center; and
WHEREAS, Seattle is the fastest growing U.S. city with approximately 110,000 new residents since 2008, making Seattle Center an even more important neighborhood amenity to the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods in Uptown, South Lake Union, and Belltown; and,
WHEREAS, significant changes have occurred in these surrounding neighborhoods since the 2008 Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan including the opening of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the emergence of South Lake Union as a high-technology center and dense urban residential neighborhood, and the completion of South Lake Union Park, the Museum of History and Industry, and the Mercer Corridor projects; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan Planning and Design principles and Seattle Center Design Guidelines provide guidance for the Seattle Center campus; and
WHEREAS, relocation of several current Seattle Center tenants and the Seattle Center campus maintenance facility may be necessary and campus features may be displaced; and
WHEREAS, development of new affordable housing on City-owned property will expand the diversity of housing opportunities in Uptown; and
WHEREAS, the City is considering a proposed private investment in the renovation of the Seattle Center Arena of over $500 million to redevelop it as a world-class civic arena to attract and present music, entertainment, and sports events, potentially including NBA and NHL events, which will require addressing many issues including design, integration with and enhancing connections to the Seattle Center campus and Uptown and adjoining neighborhoods, multi-modal transportation needs, parking, and others; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Center Arena renovation will require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Center Arena EIS may identify potential mobility mitigation measures; and
WHEREAS, the private owners of the Space Needle propose to reinvest over $100 million in a major renovation; and
WHEREAS, Seattle Public Schools owns approximately nine acres of property adjacent to Seattle Center and is planning to build a new Memorial Stadium and high school; and
WHEREAS, Sound Transit is planning for a light rail station to serve the Uptown/Seattle Center area which will create a new point of arrival for Seattle Center and Uptown as part of the Sound Transit 2 (ST2) or Sound Transit 3 (ST3) projects/stations; and
WHEREAS, important transportation improvements are on the horizon including the completion of the State Route 99 (SR 99) tunnel and opening of the North Portal, reconnection of Harrison, Thomas, and John Streets across SR 99 to rejoin street access between Uptown and South Lake Union, completion of ST2 projects that will enhance transit connections to Seattle Center, siting of ST3 stations on or nearby the Seattle Center campus, and the implementation of the Lake to Bay Streetscape Concept Plan connecting South Lake Union to the Waterfront; and
WHEREAS, the City with regional partners is developing the One Center City study, which will prepare a long-range mobility and public realm plan and visions for the center city, including north Downtown neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the 2017 Uptown & Seattle Center Strategic Parking Study identifies strategies for managing future parking needs as Seattle Center and Uptown grow; and
WHEREAS, new development regulations for Uptown include provisions to preserve landmarks and vulnerable masonry structures; and
WHEREAS, design guidance for new development in the Uptown Urban Center currently relies on neighborhood design guidelines from 2005 and these guidelines do not completely reflect emerging conditions and opportunities; and
WHEREAS, while land use regulations can act as a catalyst for new development in a neighborhood, zoning changes alone cannot achieve all policy goals related to urban design, social equity, and community revitalization, and transportation. NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
The Council declares its intent to support the growth and livability of the Uptown Urban Center and requests that City departments carry out initiatives to support growth and livability that include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. Seattle Center, in coordination with other City Departments, is requested to:
1. Update the Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan to serve the diverse needs and desires of visitors for generations to come, while coordinating planning and design of projects and initiatives, transportation mobility, parking, and financial sustainability.
2. Engage the public, particularly Uptown residents and businesses, and Seattle Center stakeholders to seek and respond to their input throughout the Master Plan update process.
3. Form partnerships with and determine roles for the Seattle Center Advisory Commission and Seattle Center Foundation.
4. Work collaboratively with Seattle Public Schools on the planning and design of the proposed new Memorial Stadium and high school at Seattle Center in accordance with the Seattle Public Schools and City of Seattle Partnership Agreement related to Memorial Stadium and Seattle Center.
5. Proceed with an interjurisdictional transfer of property to Office of Housing of land located on Mercer Street between 2nd and 3rd Ave N for the development of affordable housing in the Uptown Urban Center.
B. As a part of the proposed Seattle Center Arena redevelopment, if non-City funding becomes available to pay for the development of a North Downtown Mobility Action Plan and provide transportation implementation funds, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) should work with the community to develop such a plan that would prioritize multimodal transportation investments, including investments identified in previous studies and current studies such as One Center City, to effectively support access to Seattle Center and provide greater mobility options to the Uptown Urban Center.
C. The Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD), SDOT, the Seattle Planning Commission, the Seattle Design Commission, and Seattle Center should engage with Sound Transit on ST3 station planning and siting in the Uptown Urban Center to best site the light rail station to serve the Seattle Center campus and Uptown Urban Center and coordinate this planning with the Seattle Center Master Plan update. As part of this planning, determine how Republican Street can be designed to strengthen the connections between the Uptown Urban Center and Seattle Center.
D. OPCD should work with the Uptown community to update the Uptown Neighborhood Design Guidelines to align with the Citywide guidelines, provide guidance on Uptown specific development standards, and reflect the principles of the Uptown Urban Design Framework.
E. OPCD should work with the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) to complete a Historic Resources Survey to identify potential landmarks in the Uptown Urban Center.
F. The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections should develop business practices to provide for bonding or other securities to enhance the function of the vulnerable masonry structure TDR or TDP program for both Uptown and the University District Urban Center.
G. OPCD and DON should study TDR programs for historic landmarks and identify options for improving the overall dynamics of the landmark TDR market to ensure that the program functions to both preserve existing landmarks and provide a true economic incentive for owners of landmarked properties. Council requests that OPCD and DON report to the Council by June 30, 2018 on options to improve the landmark TDR market. The report should (1) identify and inventory landmark TDR sending and receiving sites, (2) identify regulatory and policy barriers to the transfer of development rights from landmark structures, and (3) analyze and make recommendations on options for improving the landmark TDR market, including, but not limited to, modifying boundaries for sending and receiving areas, allowing limited transfers between receiving areas, and further capitalizing the TDR bank.
H. The Office of Arts and Culture and the Office of Housing is requested to work collaboratively with the Uptown Arts & Culture Coalition to identify opportunities to align affordable housing strategies with the Arts & Culture Overlay District designation for Uptown. Those strategies could include, but are not limited to, marketing affordable units to artists, identification of barriers to development of dwelling units for artists on the ground floor of mixed-use buildings, development of affordable units for all workers in arts organizations, and development of other supportive partnerships. City-owned land located on Mercer Street between 2nd and 3rd Ave North should have priority consideration for new affordable housing development.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2017, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2017.
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President ____________ of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the ________ day of _________________________, 2017.
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Tim Burgess, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2017.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)