Meeting Today: Represent Your Concerns!

Next Steps: Share your views during the public comment period at the September 26^th Citizens Advisory Committee meeting. The meeting is from 6-8 p.m. in Room W3747 of the Whale Building at Children’s Hospital TODAY. Support study of the LCC alternatives.

Background: Children’s is proposing to add 1.5 million square feet of development, increase building heights from terraces of 37, 50, 70 and 90 feet to 240 feet, expand its boundaries across Sand Point Way and add two new entrances on NE 45^th and NE 50^th Streets.

Where we are in the process: The City has now completed its “Scoping Report” on Children’s proposed expansion plans. This is where the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) considered comments from the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), several community organizations, including the Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC), and over 250 individuals and households about other alternatives that deserve study in the environmental impact statement (EIS) and what environmental impacts need to be mitigated. The next step is preparation of the preliminary draft EIS and draft master plan.

Will other alternatives be considered? In its Scoping Report, DPD has requested that Children’s prepare one or more additional alternatives with lower building heights. This is good news, but few specifics are provided. There are no recommendations regarding the contested new entrances on NE 45^th and NE 50^th.

Where is the CAC on alternatives and other matters? In its comments, the CAC has recommended a greater range of alternatives for evaluation in the environmental impact statement (EIS). The CAC also recommended greater attention to evaluating the effects of the two new proposed entrances on NE 45^th and NE 50^th Streets, including consideration of internal circulation patterns that might eliminate the need for the two proposed new entrances. There have been issues with the CAC regarding meeting location, agenda preparation and availability of Children’s model at the Laurelhurst Community Center.

Speak up at the September 26^th CAC meeting

The CAC is required to participate directly in the formulation of the master plan to ensure that the concerns of the community and the institution are considered. Please urge the CAC to:

1. Support study of the LCC alternatives in the EIS: Ask the CAC to write a follow-up letter to DPD and the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) requesting that LCC’s alternatives be studied. LCC has proposed three alternatives. One would retain existing building heights as Children’s has not developed fully under the current height limits. The other two would limit building heights to 90 feet. Square footage expansion would be limited to 250,000 square feet, but exploring greater square footage within the height limits would be allowed. There would be no expansion of institution boundaries across Sand Point Way and no new access points to the hospital on Laurelhurst residential streets.

2. Hold future CAC meetings at the Laurelhurst Community Center: On August 24, LCC requested that future CAC meetings and public meetings relating to Children’s expansion be held in a neutral setting—at the Laurelhurst Community Center. Neighbors would be more likely to attend meetings in more familiar surroundings and this would address one of the major goals of the Code to “encourage significant community involvement.”

3. Ensure an open and transparent process: Agendas must be prepared under the direction of the DON to ensure responsiveness to both the community and the hospital. As the major stakeholder in the process, the CAC should be encouraged to allot agenda time to LCC periodically at key phases in the process to ensure a balance.