100+ gather for over 2 hours at a special Maple Leaf development hearing. Neighborhood wants Environmental Impact Study, more considerate development.

It was a packed house Monday night at the University Heights Community Center as 100+ residents faced 10 Prescott Development representatives and vendors to express Maple Leaf’s dissatisfaction with Prescott’s plans for their neighborhood. I didn’t really realize the huge scope of this proposed project until I was able to see and hear for myself how it will basically create a brand new neighborhood of 40 single family homes in what is now a wooded parklike setting.

The net-net of this project is that it is so large in scope that it is deserving of special attention from the city. All kinds of issues were brought up from; how will construction prevent airborn chemicals/materials from entering the neighboring city water reservoir (this was the #1 scary finding of the night), how can residential side streets accomodate all the new traffic these 40 homes will bring, to why does the developer plan on destroying half of the existing bald eagle habitat (one Prescott vendor suggested the eagles could use the remaining half of the trees).

Anyway, this is a big issue that is important to all of us in Seattle and Maple Leaf needs your help. And the big step that could help them the most right now is to make the city require a full Environmental Impact Study for this project.

You can send your emails encouraging the city to do this to PRC@Seattle.gov (make sure to include Project 3006480) in the subject line. You can learn more about Maple Leaf’s efforts by visiting their web site - www.MapleLeafCommunity.org/savewaldo.html, or even better - donate to their cause and help them get lawyered up!

You can donate to Maple Leaf online at www.MapleLeafCommunity.org/pp/start_donate.html

Photos from the Monday meeting