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Neighbors pushing for more warning, input on development across Seattle

SEATTLE — Families in north Ballard say they and others across the city are dealing with rapid new development that does not take into account their community concerns.

At the corner of NW 70th Street and DivisionAvenue NW, construction has already begun on six live/work units where a single home once stood.  Neighbors say they were given little notice to raise concerns about parking and other design issues.
The developer began demolition and construction even before officially asking the city to subdivide the lot.
“It’s a very busy block,” one neighbor said. “Our school bus comes right down this block and there’s a new park here with a considerable amount of traffic.”
“What’s happening on this block here in Ballard is representative of a citywide issue,” another neighbor said.
KIRO 7 pulled city records. In Ballard alone, there were 16 applications to subdivide lots in the last month. There were nine applications in West Seattle and six in Capitol Hill.
Capitol Hill neighbors persuaded a developer Wednesday to add parking and scale down a project after hiring a land use attorney. The Ballard neighbors tried to do the same thing. However, they said the developer would not back down and they did not have the money to continue the fight.
Ballard neighbors are now pressing the city to at least do a traffic impact study before allowing any more work on the six-unit development. The developer, when reached by phone, would only say he was building housing needed for a growing city.