Event: Olympia, WA Feb 19th!

Hearing Feb 19th Thurs Set on Senate Version SB 5687 of Futurewise TOD (transit oriented development) Bill in Government Operations Committee

TIME: 330 PM
PLACE: Olympia Senate Hearing Room to be determined (stay tuned)

The hearing on this bill that will do so much damage to our urban environment is being held on "Environmental Lobby" Day! You can see below that the other side on this issue is mobilizing so please call, testify, email today your opposition to this bill (see emails of Senators to call listed below) **

Don't forget to attend Sally Clark's forum next Wed. the 18th on this bill - the other side is organizing for it I know! (6:00pm to 7:30 at Langston Hughes that day 104 17th Ave. S.) for more information contact 206-799-6082) or go to our website for a lot of good information on how it will impact your nabe! http://www.zipcon.net/~jvf4119/

See flyer below from Coalition of Environmental Groups & how they've disregarded Our Neighborhood Concerns - They say we are spreading "misinformation" Note below that a coalition of environmental groups are coordinating support for this bill in its current form without any consideration to the issues neighborhoods and low income housing advocates have been raising in our city. Last week over 120 residents at the Mt Baker Clubhouse from all over the city roundly condemned the bill in its current form. Three weeks ago, the Federation of Community Councils with over 20 groups present unanimously voted to oppose the bill. Two days ago, the 37th District Dem's covering areas directly affected by the bill voted 4-1 to oppose this bill Yet these environmental organizations to date have paid no heed to these concerns and accuse us of spreading misinformation. Its a darn shame that so many of these enviro groups in this coalition, including organizations many of us have supported for years with our dollars and memberships, have chosen to give blind support to the Futurewise bill.

In its current form, the 50 acre mandates within one half mile of at least nine Seattle transit stations in our nabe's would require Seattle to upzone for 17000-20000 units in each of these nine areas. Many of them now are at 4-9 units per acre (2000-4000 units) and house literally thousands of low income, multi-racial, and working people (this includes half the developable land in SE Seattle - the low income, multi-racial, and working class half). There is no doubt it would set off massive levels of displacement and gentrification not to mention dramatic loss of trees and open space in our inner-city communities. Contrary to Futurewise and the claims of the Low Income Housing Alliance, the housing mitigation measures in the bill are not adequate by a long shot to stem these losses that would result if this bill is passed in its present form.

Call or write members of the Senate Government Operations Committee whose names are listed below to oppose SB 5687. Sponsors of this Senate version include Senators Kline, Kohl-Welles, Kauffman, McAuliffe, and Jacobsen.

You might also email/call them too and your Senator. (go to State Senate website for their phone #'s) -
D's:Senator Darlene Fairley mailto:fairley.darlene@leg.wa.gov
Senator Eric Oemig mailto:oemig.eric@leg.wa.gov
Senator Joe McDermott mailto:mcdermott.joe@leg.wa.gov
Senator Craig Pridemore mailto:pridemore.craig@leg.wa.gov
Senator Pam Roach (R) mailto:roach.pam@leg.wa.gov
Senator Don Benton (R) mailto:benton.don@leg.wa.gov
Senator Dan Swecker (R) mailto:swecker.dan@leg.wa.gov

We have supported (and some of us are members) of the organizations listed on the alert below. They work on important causes we care a lot about. Many of us worked with some of these long standing groups to get growth management passed in the first place. But we cannot countenance such blind support like this for a bill destructive to our neighborhoods. They do a disservice to their important goals and to our "urban" increasingly threatened communities. The logic that environmental values within our urban neighborhoods (especially predominately low income and multi-racial areas) must be sacrificed to preserve these environmental values out there - somewhere else - is completely unacceptable. A 50 unit per acre one-size fits all mandate with no regard or even analysis of how it affects our communities, with not even an attempt to take input from these affected communities, and across large areas of our city is completely unacceptable