Seattle Comptroller/Clerk Files Index
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Clerk File 312306
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Response to 2012 Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) No. 114-2-A-2: Third Avenue Transit Corridor Initiative. |
Description and Background | |
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Current Status: | Filed |
Index Terms: | DOWNTOWN, STREETS, TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC-TRANSIT, SOCIAL-SERVICES, ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT |
References: | Clerk File 311072 |
Legislative History | |
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Date Filed with Clerk: | April 25, 2012 |
PDF Copy: | Clerk File 312306 |
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Initial Response M E M O R A N D U M DATE: March 30, 2011 TO: Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Transportation Committee Chair Councilmember Bruce Harrell, Transportation Committee Vice-Chair Councilmember Jean Godden, Transportation Committee Councilmember Tim Burgess, Transportation Committee CC: Ben Noble, Bill LaBorde, Mike Fong FROM: Becky Guerra, City Budget Office; David Hiller, Mayor's Office External Affairs Ethan Raup, Director of Policy and Operations RE: Response to SLI 114-2-A-2: Third Avenue Transit Corridor Initiative ______________________________________________________________ This memorandum transmits the multi-department response to the City Council's Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) #114-2-A2 included in the 2012 Adopted Budget, requesting the Executive to create a task force to identify actions needed to improve the functionality, urban design, safety and security of the downtown Third Ave Transit Corridor, as well as to recommend options for addressing the impacts on tourism, economic development and social equity arising from the elimination of Metro's Ride Free Area (RFA). Organizational Structure: The Third Avenue Initiative has recently undergone changes in its leadership structure. Given the growing body of work related to the project, leadership duties have been split into two categories. David Hiller in the Mayor's Office will continue to lead the external coordination of the initiative, including working with stakeholders. Becky Guerra in the City Budget Office will take the lead on internal coordination work, including convening the Third Avenue IDT, managing the development of the workplan, and responding to the requests of the SLI. Ethan Raup is involved with all areas of the initiative, and specifically ensuring the consistency between the Third Avenue Initiative and the larger Center City Initiative. The Executive team works closely with several Council staff members, including Bill LaBorde and Mike Fong. Council staff and Executive staff will meet biweekly to ensure coordination on this initiative. The initiative is connected to the broader Center City Initiative (CCI) through regular CCI discussions. The CCI cabinet meets with the Mayor monthly and the CCI public safety sub-cabinet meets with the Mayor biweekly. The vision of the Center City Initiative is to support and create downtown Seattle streets that are safe, inviting and vibrant, where people feel safe and the pedestrian experience is engaging. Departmental and Agency Liaisons: The members of the newly-formed Third Avenue IDT are: Barbara Gray (SDOT), Greg Doss and Mimi Walsh (SPD), Judy Summerfield (HSD), Gary Johnson (DPD), Pamela Banks (DON), Tim Croll (SPU), Stephen Crume (SCL), Cheryl Collins (OH), and Lance Randall (OED). After developing the workplan, this core group may expand to involve other departments and agencies. Agency representatives who are also involved in the project are: Leslie Mills, Department of Corrections; Ian Goodhew, King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office; Sandra Ciske, SeattleKing County Public Health, and Chris O'Claire, King County Metro Transit. External Stakeholders: The first Third Avenue stakeholder meeting took place on February 28. A transcript of notes from that discussion is included as Attachment A. External stakeholders include the following: * Coalition on Homelessness, Alison Eisinger * Doug Hurley (self) * Greg Waddell (self) * Joshua Green Corp., Helen Wattley-Ames * Henry Aronson (self) * Wright Runstad, Jeff Myrter * Cleanscapes, Jodie Vice * Downtown Seattle Association, Jon Scholes * Pacific Merchant Shippers, Jordan Royer * Downtown Seattle Association, Kate Joncas * Defenders Assoc., Kris Nyrup and Lisa Daugaard * Via Architecture, Mahlon Clements * Judge Mary E. Lynch (self) * Matt Griffin (self) * Matthijs Mullender (self) * Patty Fong (self) * Paul Wiesner (self) * Phillip Alden Tavel (self) * Seattle Symphony, Simon Woods * Housing Resources Group, Stella Diaz * Melbourne Tower, Steven Baral * Benaroya Hall, Troy Skubitz * IGA Kress Supermarket, Tyler Myers Workplan: The workplan will be centered on the following goals and policies: Coordinating with King County to mitigate the impact of the elimination of the Ride Free Area on social equity and transit operations; Improving signage, lighting and/or other physical changes that improve visitors' feelings of safety and security; Identifying and implementing effective means of policing the corridor and ensuring public safety; Integrating well-maintained transit waiting areas into the streetscape in a manner that serves transit operations and improves perceptions of public safety and security, while maintaining pedestrian access to neighboring businesses; Engaging adjacent building owners/businesses to coordinate and improve street edges and improving stewardship of sidewalks, building entrances and retail fronts; Expanding existing efforts to remove trash and clean sidewalks on a daily basis; Promoting increased and more vibrant retail activity; Engaging low-income housing operators (and social service providers) in their efforts to maintain security and livability near their entrances. Using the above framework, the IDT will develop a detailed workplan which will recommend solutions to identified problems, and will consider the long-term implications of any proposed solutions. The workplan will also include proposed metrics and scheduled milestones for meeting the objectives. Given the recent change in the leadership structure of the initiative, we appreciate Council's flexibility as we strive to develop the workplan as soon as possible. Initial Work from Departments: Please see Attachment B for a summary of department progress to date. The attachment includes input from the following departments: SDOT, HSD, OED, SPU, SCL, and OH. The status report from SPD is incorporated into the following section of this memo. Implementation of the Policing Initiative: The Seattle Police Department shares the Council's goal of ensuring that the City uses the very best evidence-based, data-driven approaches to addressing the crime and disorder in the Third Avenue target area. West Precinct commanders are currently employing an array of strategies that are consistent with the research on Problem Oriented Policing and Hot Spot/micro-place based enforcement, including but not limited to regular, repeated and visible patrol by foot, bike and mounted units and targeted deployment of proactive units. This is for us an ongoing, day-by-day challenge that is not best characterized as a "pilot" or special "initiative." That said, we are always looking for new, potentially more effective solutions to help us address this problem location. In addition to 911-response, mounted and other proactive footbeat / bike resources, the Department currently dedicates at least one 9-member footbeat / bicycle team to Third Avenue problem areas. Using the general approach of the Koper Curve concept, these officers are being deployed in limited time segments to increase safety and then withdrawn before continued presence begins to show diminished returns. [Note: the Koper Curve, pronounced "koe-per curve" describes the amount of time a police presence at an area increases safety before continued presence begins to show diminished returns. It is based on a study sanctioned by George Mason University that showed that having officers at a location for fifteen minutes per hour provides maximum deterrence. After fifteen minutes the return on investment starts to decrease.] As we analyze more data and work to pinpoint micro-hot spots (see below), we will adjust the focus of these proactive resources. To identify the micro-hot spots within the Third Avenue corridor, we have begun a data-mining project with George Mason University, to analyze what are termed "Part II crimes" within the Uniform Crime Reports rubric. (Part II crimes include offenses such as disorderly conduct, drug offenses, and vandalism; where Part I crimes represent more serious offenses such as aggravated assault and burglary.) Previous work by researchers has focused on the more serious Part I offenses. However, it is the lower level types of crimes and calls for service that are not only more frequent, but also more problematic from a community safety perspective. Through this project, our aim is to identify specific block faces that constitute the micro-spots in the Third Avenue corridor and to associate these with the specific types of incidents occurring there. This will permit us to deploy our resources in a highly focused manner and to assess the outcomes of these efforts. As a companion to the data-mining project noted above, the Department is proposing the reinstitution of the High Impact Offender Program (HIOP). Previous examination of offender contacts in the downtown core yielded a small group of individuals responsible for a disproportionate number of calls for service and for regular and frequent arrests. The attention these individuals attract from both the public and officers has the potential to obscure some of the more endemic problems in the area and to divert limited Department resources that might be used to better purpose. This was a key suggestion coming out of the February 28 outreach session held at Benaroya Hall. The aim of HIOP is to focus police, prosecution and human service resources on these frequent offenders. Working first with the Human Services Department, SPD will develop a case file on each individual. Where appropriate and feasible, some offenders will be referred to treatment options to address the underlying causes and conditions which lead to their repeated arrests. In other cases, SPD will work with the Law Department and King County Prosecutor to identify individuals for special prosecution attention as they are arrested on outstanding warrants or as they commit new crimes. Under HIOP, SPD will direct attention first to those individuals within the identified group who operate most frequently in the Third Avenue corridor. The expectation is that by reducing the calls for service associated with these individuals, we can then more clearly focus City resources on the chronic behaviors, incident types and environmental conditions that give rise to other repeat calls for service in the target area. It is likely that many of the efforts ultimately adopted to address these underlying problems may not be enforcement in nature. These will be described in the reports given by other departments participating in the Third Avenue Initiative. The collective goal is to pursue strategies that provide effective solutions, knowing that funding limitations create challenges to implement the program as completely as optimal. 2012 Schedule: The newly-formed IDT will meet weekly through April to develop the workplan. This frequency will be reduced once the workplan is established, likely to a monthly meeting through 2012. The Third Avenue external stakeholders will meet regularly, no less frequently than every other month. SLI 114-2-A-2 Response, Attachment A Transcript from Stakeholders' Meeting, February 28, 2012 Darryl Smith: The challenge from Council is to bring together all of the relevant staff. We realized we needed to do this across downtown. CM Rasmussen: Third Ave needs to change. I'm confident that if we work together, it will. My work started with the bus tunnel and the incident with the assault in the bus tunnel. We learned that some physical and operational changes to the bus tunnel that could avoid issues in the future. The signs for emergency phones not obvious. When I added it up, there are at least ten city entities that have some measure of responsibility for third avenue. No clear ownership. Need a "sheriff of third avenue." Accountability. Important for everyone to do their part. Including property owners and managers. SDOT: The right of way issues downtown affect the city as a whole. Legislation today on Westlake Park ownership. Transfer of right of way simplifies management of the space. USDOT may provide grant for the transit corridor on third. Working to get that money, which would fund many of the projects that are needed. SPU: Cleanscapes donated basic cleaning services for about a year. Council put 177k in SPU budget for third ave cleanup. Directed to maintain the type of service Cleanscapes had provided. May have additional capabilities if they are needed. Addressed overlapping service providers. We are soliciting contractors for third ave. Will then see what else we can do. Metro: Last summer, County Council voted to remove the RFA. We were asked to develop a plan by May 2012. Working with stakeholders. 1. Fare collection will slow down buses. 2. Extensive surveys of social services, housing, etc. to figure out what services are needed. 3. Meeting this month to learn what we found out. Boarding in front, exit in back. Not everyone actually pays. All of those things are issues this decision is directed towards. Stakeholder Report-Outs Litter: Downtown ambassadors are responsible. Litter makes you feel bad. One of the things that brings it down. Would like to see a better job. Use the Ambassadors better. I'd like to see a police storefront on third ave. I don't like the bicycles. You have work crews, volunteer hours. You should take anyone who is picked up in the area and force them to work on cleanliness of the neighborhood. There is a huge workforce of people who have to do work anyway. Why not use it for productive ends. Darryl Smith: On Beacon Hill in the jungle, we put together NATS, and DOC crews were a big part of that. They've been there a bunch and it really helps. There are thousands of community service hours. No one knows what to do with them. Use volunteer hours at a discount towards needed downtown projects. Someone like Cleanscapes could help manage this. Police I think police walking on third would be huge. With cordial, respectful attitudes. Not driving/biking PAST. Looked into buying nightclub; we'd have security walking, which makes it feel better for everyone. Mardi Gras happened because there was no feeling that anyone was there. Joe Kessler: I agree. Last 7 months we've added 18 foot units. Have the nicest cops on the force. They were hand picked. Moved officers into the precinct just for this. Didn't really have foot beats before. We're ramping up. Bicycles downtown are critical. Foot beats are critical downtown as well. I would invite you to walk along with my foot beat. Might inform the conversation. Cops are some of LEAD's biggest proponents. Macy's has a mirror-windowed storefront, mirror hurts. SWAT van not helpful. Friendliness factor most important Available workforce. Hopefully only so much trash. Used to have planters, too much to maintain. Millionair Club directs folks towards this. Maybe we'll have something like that here. We have hanging baskets. Low maintenance. Another thing is that there are many different kinds of people waiting for bus. Crowd can be intimidating to some. Possible to separate waiting folks from shopping folks from... DS: Are there physical things about third that affects how it feels? Problem with third is really the activities. What physical things can be done to discourage unacceptable behavior. Or to encourage others to come to third so that there is a counterweight. Belltown neighborhood plan called for 24 hour neighborhood, bet those folks don't want that anymore. A lot of people have abandoned third avenue. Challenge is to bring people back. How about food carts. Vancouver, BC a 24 hour city. Bus tunnel construction had a major impact. Still dealing with that. What's left is dead streets. This is a regional problem. Many customers live here. Location of the drug market is a huge issue. We've been dealing with this since I was in high school and longer. We have Same problems when I opened QC Grill. We were pioneers. We're starting to get a reputation as not the best downtown area. What we are trying to do is think about the challenge holistically. Do the plans address some of these dead blocks? Gary Johnson: There was some implementation funding. Some of what we did was work with property owners to put higher quality weather protection. On Pike St we worked with city and we met with Metro, SDOT, etc. Can we implement now? Already been planned. Example: Ross sidewalk: why the 2 phone booths and why the kiosk? The kiosk is a disaster. What we really need here is a multi-agency focus. What is your thought on the 3rd and Pike bus stop? Rite Aid 4th and Pike blacked out windows. Destroyed the ped corridor. Getting the overhead protection, leaning rails made a tremendous difference. The restaurant though put in the shutters so you can't see the stuff. They seem to be under-lighting the street. I want to use the word unacceptable. Walked outside today. Heard we have 1-3 phones stolen a day on 3rd. After concert we were accosted by 10-15 panhandlers. Very unpleasant. From the owner perspective, for us to put in proper awning can be hundreds of thousands. Metro has offered some small help. Budget has 300k for all of third. Can't afford even one awning. Can't afford to keep an off-duty cop. 180k a year. I'd rather have the mean cops than the nice cops. Third and Pike on corridor between convention center and Pike Place. 10 million a year. Barbara Gray: Echo the cost issues. The basis for defining the improvements of the USDOT grant. Many of the things we can do with the grant address the issues discussed here. Darryl Smith: What he's been talking about has pretty consistent for a while. From my perspective: what will be different now. What's different is the intense and collaborative focus. Dannette Smith: HSD/SPD meeting monthly on public safety and homelessness. In Belltown we're working with providers on being good neighbors. How can they expand their roles in the community. We're looking to provide services in a different way. History is of providers doing work in one way only. This coming change will significantly affect how these things work. We are not addressing panhandling, but rather how people are living, what kind of help they need, and how to use existing services. Providers say they can't be responsible for their client's behavior outside. We disagree. We think that should be part of the service delivery. Kris Nyrop: Try to be brief. LEAD is a pilot started in October in Belltown. Only on a small scale right now. No concrete data. Based on programs from UK and Australia. Based on a series of contradictions. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to a drug user is to be arrested. Sometimes the best thing is to get arrested. Worst outcome is prosecution, conviction, jail time, loss of status; funneled into illicit system. Best case outcome, like with NCI, drug court, is that the person gets taken out of the illicit system they are in and put into positive opportunities. We are focusing on the second one. Outcomes elsewhere have been reduced levels of recidivism, increased public safety in the communities where folks live. Most obvious difference is access to healthcare and drug treatment. In UK, these are savings. Here, these must be purchased. Working mostly with private funding, SPD, NCI. We are very hopeful that we'll have good outcomes to report. Kate Joncas: Would love to talk to you about judges who are interested in putting folks to work. What are the desired outcomes? To get everyone to the table, we need to talk about outcomes. Can we survey them now, then survey them after? We want to know if stuff is working. Second thing is that I know it's a lot of the same people buying and selling. Can we get a social worker to find out? Dannette Smith: We can increase outreach, but this is part of our condo with SPD. We're looking to increase the REACH team. Let me respond. We called the area plywood alley. Frequently calling cops. When I think about Westlake/Pac Place then think about Housing Levy, it makes me think we have a great base. I interviewed friends before the meeting. I heard a homeless advocate tell me she wouldn't come to third because it scares her. Sight of open drug dealing scares people. Impressed by work on frequent flyers was impressive. Realize that some could have gotten out. Maybe some are parasitic. What happens to those folks? Leslie Miller, DOC: Once we started going out there, people started to put a face to the DOC. What we do is 1. affirmative conduct requirements. We monitor these. Because of recent budget stuff, lost 8,000 people off of supervision of these folks. Quick stat: last ten years, 985000 stopped, only 2800 names. The reason everyone on the street hates that van is that it has parole officers. We stopped 63 people in 3 hrs yesterday. 60 used to be DOC active. 1 is active now, 2 are pending felonies. Because of budgets, vastly less supervision. I know these people extremely well. We can't do anything about them if they aren't being supervised. Folks would avoid SODA orders by walking away. Now, they don't need to. This is all about a lack of supervision leading to inevitable recidivism. The issue is that we have to keep an eye on people. Without that, we can't do anything. Our goal is to get people back on paper. Joe Kessler: My guys are walking foot beats right now because they care about downtown. All of our commanders, Lts, Sgts, are here by choice. I really think we have a window of opportunity. We're here for the same reason you are. Dannette Smith: Leslie raised the issue of shelter resistance. What would be a proper policy around that issue? Second, how can I help my providers balance treatment with law enforcement? We can walk away with that discussion. Joe Kessler: One piece is specifically what is our code of conduct? What is acceptable and what isn't? I didn't see a change from continually arresting people over and over. What is it that we want these people doing instead? Darryl Smith: It's now 7:30, time to touch on next steps. City agencies will be taking all of your thoughts into our first meetings as a city. We'll then return to you. Tom Rasmussen: Very motivating. This is exciting. Ridden the vans, walked with the cops, visited the shelters. We'll continue to participate. Bill, Brian will be engaged. The challenge is how to institutionalize the positive changes we seek. The Human Services are key and I agree with Dannette that providers have some level of responsibility for clients' behavior. We pay millions of dollars to providers. We have a right to expect that they will control the behavior of their clients, to the extent that they can. Dannette's going to put that in contracts, and we expect pushback. I appreciate all of the various challenges. Jordan says something I question. Most drug buyers are in the system. I don't believe that. We need to challenge each others' assumptions. We need to get good information. We don't need to re-plan. I question something Kate said. I hope that doesn't distract us from what we need to do on the street. All I know is it needs to feel better. Kate Joncas: We need to measure to know that it feels better. David Hiller: Our staff are going to be working very hard to figure out where to go. We've thought a lot about metrics. We're going to ask out staff to develop metrics. We need a yardstick. It's not just how many people do we pick up every day. We're going to get a team together and make a work plan. SLI 114-2-A-2 Response, Attachment B Third Avenue Initiative: Initial Department Work Component: Expanding existing efforts to remove trash and clean sidewalks on a daily basis Department: SPU Short-Term Actions: We are putting the following activities out to bid, using the additional special appropriation: * Sidewalk sweeping to collect ground litter -all sidewalks covered 1/night * Ensure street side litter cans are not overflowing and cleanup any litter around cans -as needed * Human waste cleanup on sidewalks (pressure wash & deodorize) -as needed * Sidewalk pressure washing -1 block face/week on designated blocks, in consultation with adjoining business/property owner and contingent on availability and cost of water * Issue reporting (any maintenance issue to responsible party) -as needed Examples include: o Graffiti on public or private property o Street light problem o Plugged storm drain o Dumpster issues The bid package has been submitted to FAS, and we expect the contract to be awarded in time to allow work to commence in early or midApril. Component: Engaging low-income housing operators and social service providers in their efforts to maintain security and livability near their entrances. Departments: HSD and OH Short-Term Actions / HSD: * Identify programs with documented civility problems/complaints from the community. * Initiate meeting with all providers and community members to illustrate issues, identify problems, and solutions. Short-Term Actions / OH: * Pro-actively discuss Center City Initiative goals with housing operators at scheduled site inspections. * Solicit feedback from housing operators on their efforts to maintain security and livability near project entrances, including challenges, strategies, and best practices. Inquire if specific improvements to City services could aid their efforts. * Consolidate feedback/recommendations for next steps with housing operators and other City reps. Long-Term Actions / HSD: * Establish ongoing and regular communication between providers and community leaders or organizations. * Assist providers in developing Good Neighbor Agreements addressing concerns regarding their services. * Connecting providers with other city departments who can assist, i.e. SPD,SDOT,DON Long-Term Actions / OH: * OH Asset Management staff assesses project operation and management regularly, including projects with reported criminal or potential criminal activity within or adjacent to the site, neighborhood complaints etc. and provide recommendations or require corrective action to address these issues. OH can: a) Increase frequency of inspections from every three years to annually ("walk-by" or "drive-by" inspections, following up conversations with site staff etc.). b) Re-inspect sites to assess progress on desired outcomes. c) Coordinate efforts and communicate expectations with cofunders including WSHFC, King County, State Commerce and WCRA. d) Work with housing operators to develop their own strategies to improve public safety and site security; ensuring these strategies are fully implemented. * Some projects may not have available funds to invest in improvements such as security, exterior lighting, surveillance systems, entry systems or extra security staff. These projects may require additional operating funds in order to address these needs. Funding options for these types of measures will require further discussions after the appropriate improvements are identified. NOTE: OH monitors the projects annually to evaluate operations, physical needs and financial positions to meet needs. These efforts are ongoing. OH can work with owners of affordable housing projects to identify needs for particular buildings and the neighborhood in general. Coordination with funding partners, including other City departments, might provide resources to implement improvements (lighting, security systems, staff etc.). Potential Policy Changes / HSD: Require Good Neighbor agreements for all HSD provider contracts. Work Completed to Date / HSD: * HSD staff has met & developed ongoing dialogue with community organizations representing Belltown and Pioneer Square. * HSD has met with all contracted providers in the Third Avenue corridors to alert them of concerns and seeking their assistance in resolving issues. * HSD staff has helped six agencies in the downtown core develop Good Neighbor Agreements. * HSD staff has worked with both the Lazarus Center and the Family & Adult Services Center to help them address service delivery issues minimizing neighborhood impacts. Work Completed to Date / OH: * OH Asset Management staff inspects projects. Frequency of inspections is increased if project is determined to be struggling or "troubled." Factors affecting properties include: property conditions, space design, population, financial stability, neighborhood activity etc). NOTE: action on the street related to non-residents is difficult for a property manager to control without community support. * All OH-funded properties are required to have management and maintenance plans. During site visits OH inspects for deficiencies, including issues affecting street-appeal and security, street level issues such as graffiti, vandalism, litter/debris, exterior lighting etc. Deficiencies are noted and submitted to project owners in writing. Owners are required to correct deficiencies within 30 days (3 days for life safety issues). OH Asset Management staff review owner responses to correct noted deficiencies. Follow-up inspections are scheduled if the level of the noted deficiency warrants re-inspection. * Eight of these projects serve formerly homeless individuals. Most of these projects already have a management plan in place tailored to project's particular population, such as: 24-hour on-site staff; secured building entrances, surveillance equipment and quality exterior lightening. Housing operators and owners are required to submit any notices of neighborhood complaints and their responses with each annual report. OH staff follows up on complaints and responses. At times Housing operators and owners are called in to discuss particular issues and possible solutions. Work in Process / HSD: * Development of Good Neighbor Agreements with all HSD service providers. * Inclusion of expectations and requirements for Good Neighbor Agreements and community health/safety standards in future Request for Investment and contracting. * HSD plans to release a Communities Supporting Safe & Stable Housing RFI process that includes increasing the standards for shelter and day center service providers located in the corridor. Work in Process / OH: * See "short-term actions" -soliciting and consolidating feedback from housing operators and owners. * See "long-term actions" -developing solutions for projects lacking available operating cash or building reserves to complete site and security improvements or employ 24-hour onsite/security staffing. * Lyon Building is exploring option to transfer building to new owner (management capacity is part of that review) * Frye Hotel discussions on staffing, capital improvements and management have been ongoing for over a year. * Glen Hotel owner initiated process for potential TDR sale to fund building improvements, and is beginning to seek potential commercial developers to buy the TDR. Building design (including security) will be reviewed. Resource Needs / HSD: * Non-profits may require additional financial resources to implement some strategies, such as hiring additional security to implement Good Neighbor Agreement. Resource Needs / OH: * Street level site and security improvements (exterior lighting, security camera installation, etc.) may require additional resources * Guidance and recommendations from SPD on bestpractices/protocol for housing owners and operators to address loitering, panhandling and/or potential criminal activity on public sidewalks * Trained professionals to make recommendations and offer training to building managers on enhancing a secure environment for the buildings, the residents and the pedestrian/street activities Notes from Assessment of Existing Work / OH: * OH is aware of noted problem areas in the Third Avenue Corridor (3rd and James; 3rd and Lenora) and their proximity to projects in the City's portfolio. The urban-street activity that is not related to residents is a difficult situation for City low-income housing project owners as well. Conversations pertaining to improvements in site safety, security and street level "street-appeal" are ongoing with housing operators and owners at these locations. Controlling activity in and around the property is part of management. * Experience has shown that a well-designed building with adequate common areas can reduce undesirable activity. Examples: o Morrison and St. Charles-staff office located for greatest visibility. o Opportunity Placecommon areas allow homeless women inside activities. Angeline's Day Center for Homeless Women in ground floor includes an enclosed private courtyard. o Traugott Terrence has off-street outdoor space at rear of building. Simons Senior Apartments has a large community room and balconies for tenants. o Glen Hotel needs a new design (SRO model tends to be more difficult to manage). Owner implemented stricter house rules pertaining to guests in 2008, and employed additional security staff in 2010 to address security concerns. * Adequate staffing levels matched to the needs of the tenant population (esp. City housing projects serving formerly homeless), including live-in staff and experienced housing case managers, can deter undesirable activity through prevention and rapid intervention. On-site community building activities can strengthen tenant-to-tenant relationship as well as staff-tenant relations. Negative tenant behavior can be identified more quickly and responses can include social service intervention. Component: Continuing coordination with King County to mitigate the impact of the elimination of the Ride Free Area with regard to concerns about social equity and impact on transit operations. Departments: SDOT and HSD Short-Term Actions / SDOT: * Support Metro Pay on Entry Project implementation plan * Identify mitigation measures to keep buses moving and minimize impacts on vulnerable populations * Partner with Metro to implement mitigation measures Short-Term Actions / HSD: Staff is participating in the King County Metro planning group. Long-Term Actions / SDOT: * Partner with Metro to add off-board fare payment infrastructure to all Third Avenue bus stops (excluded from short-term scope) * Upcoming work planning will clarify additional long-term actions Work Completed to Date / SDOT: * Metro Pay on Entry Project implementation plan is in development * SDOT has participated in extensive discussions of impacts and identified candidate mitigation measures with HSD, MO, Council, and King County. Work in Process / SDOT: * RapidRide "phase 2" might include off-board fare payment at up to eight bus stops between Main and Stewart in 2013-14 time frame * Pay on Entry Project implementation plan on track for King County Council approval in May Resources Needed /SDOT: * Resources needed for short-term mitigation measures to be identified through Pay on Entry Project implementation plan * Resources needed for off-board fare payment infrastructure to be developed through Metro-SDOT partnership efforts and RapidRide project * Federal, state and local grants are an option Notes from Assessment of Existing Work / SDOT: * Current planning is consistent with previous work that has identified measures to keep bus moving/improve speed and reliability on Third Avenue. SDOT plans include the Seattle Transit Master Plan, Center City Circulation Report, and others. Component: Engaging adjacent building owners/businesses to coordinate and improve street edges and improve stewardship of sidewalks, building entrances and retail fronts Department: OED Short-Term Actions: Pike and Pine Street Canvassing Organizations Code of Conduct: The purpose of the code of conduct is to address aggressive canvassing by individuals hired by professional solicitation firms in the downtown core. The Pike and Pine Business Association engaged its members and representatives of professional canvassing firms to develop the code of conduct, outlining agreed upon procedures when soliciting donations. Long-Term Actions: * Explore with LAW and DPD the possibility of advertising on transit shelters and kiosks within the public right of way -This would allow the City to generate new revenue to fund streetscape and public safety improvements, such as replacing existing Metro shelters and other street furniture with more aesthetically pleasing options. * Improved Way Finding Signage -Better directional signage and interpretation would improve the overall visitor experience * Pike Street Beautification Flowerboxes, wider sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities would improve overall pedestrian experience along from the Convention Center to the market. * Improved Pike Street Intersections Intersections along Pike Street should be made more pedestrian-friendly. Brick inlay for the Westlake Park and Plaza). All-direction crosswalks for every other crosswalk on Pike Street. * Only In Seattle OED's neighborhood business district program, promotes a healthy neighborhood environment for businesses. The program focuses work in the following strategy areas: business retail and development, safety and cleanliness, marketing and promotion, appearance and pedestrian environment, and business organization. Work in Process: Pike and Pine Street Canvassing Organizations Code of Conduct -Program is active and being evaluated for effectiveness. Component: Promoting increased and more vibrant retail activity Department: OED Long-Term Actions: OED and DSA are looking to develop a strategy to recruit retail businesses to the downtown core of Seattle to increase retail sales and create retail jobs. Work Completed to Date: * Mobile Street-Food In late 2011, to the City passed legislation that would encourage mobile food vending in the right of way. OED organized two trainings (one in Spanish) to explain the changes and launched a website as part of the www.growseattle.com site that would house all the permit requirements. * OED has developed a scope of work with DSA to outreach to professional services and retail businesses in downtown to identify issues and trends impacting their operations, and provide access to resources essential to business growth. * OED has developed a scope of work with enterpriseSeattle to recruit business in the retail, professional services, information technology and financial sectors. Work In Process: * OED is initiating a process to make starting up a new restaurant or modifying an existing restaurant more streamlined and more transparent. This process will include mapping the current process, gathering information from the industry on where the gaps, redundancies and confusions are, and determining the type of tools needed to make the process easier to navigate. * EnterpriseSeattle is in the process of providing recruiting services for 80 prospects that are interested in relocating their operations to Seattle. Notes from Assessment of Existing Work: * The Business Retention and Expansion Program has been in existence for more than 2 years and has yielded over 1,219 industry visits and has provided direct assistance to 671 companies. Information gathered from the visits to downtown businesses has provided insight on the issues to be addressed along 3rd Avenue. OED will continue to work with the DSA to identify areas for improvement along the corridor. Component: Improving signage, lighting and/or other physical changes that improve visitors' feelings of safety and security Departments: SDOT and SCL Short-Term Actions / SDOT: * Compile previous design plan documents for Third Avenue for IDT review and input * Identify items related to signage and urban design that are still outstanding from these plans * Prioritize outstanding items as part of work planning exercise Short-Term Actions / SCL: Complete arterial streetlight outage patrol -April 2012 Long-Term Actions / SCL: Work with SDOT to evaluate streetscape and lighting improvements. LED conversion of existing fixtures could be possible in late 2014. Arterial LED roadway lighting standards will need to be published. Work Completed to Date / SDOT: Participate in team and stakeholder meetings, begin policy discussion with Law regarding right-of-way and civility issues Work in Process / SDOT: Assess SPD concerns/needs about right-of-way signage and develop tactics to support their work that are consistent with SDOT's defined role for right-of-way management Resources Needed / SDOT: The design strategies defined in the existing Third Avenue corridor plan are unfunded and need to be refined to reflect current needs prior to developing cost estimates. US DOT grant application pending for both physical design improvements as well as safety and security measures. Component: Integrating well-maintained transit waiting areas into the streetscape in a manner that serves transit operations and improves perceptions of public safety and security, while maintaining pedestrian access to neighboring businesses Department: SDOT Short-Term Actions: * Review both the Transit-Friendly Design Guidelines and the Third Avenue Design plan for outsanding items that would advance this element of the Initiative * Prioritize outstanding items as part of work planning exercise * Include these principles in all Third Avenue bus stop upgrades including those related to RapidRide and to RFA discontinuation * Negotiate with Metro to retain cleaning / maintenance resources allocated to current shelters prior to their renewal Work Completed to Date: * Participate in team and stakeholder meetings, begin policy discussion with Law regarding right-of-way and illegal activities * All six Third Avenue Belltown bus stops have been upgraded Work in Process: * Assess SPD concerns/needs about right-of-way signage and develop tactics to support their work that are consistent with SDOT's defined role for right-of-way management * Work with Stakeholder group to identify barriers to private contributions and volunteer efforts for transit zone improvements (awnings, lean rails, pay station graffiti removal, etc.) * RapidRide project includes modest upgrades to some bus stops between Main and Cedar in 2012-2013 * RapidRide "Phase 2" to include more comprehensive upgrades to some Third Avenue bus stops Resources Needed: Design elements and signage improvements are currently unfunded and not defined well enough to assess reliable costs. The Third Avenue IDT work planning and project prioritization will provide the necessary information to examine resource needs. In addition to the USDOT grant defined above, transit zone improvements can be accomplished through new development projects or through private partnership funds. _______________________________________________________________ 2012 Seattle City Council Statement of Legislative Intent Approved
Budget Committee Vote:
Statement of Legislative Intent: The Council requests the Executive create a task force to identify actions needed to improve the functionality, urban design, safety and security of the downtown Third Ave Transit Corridor, as well as to recommend options for addressing the impacts on tourism, economic development and social equity arising from the elimination of Metro's Ride Free Area (RFA). Multiple City departments will need to be represented on the task force, including the Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police Department, Seattle Public Utilities, Department of Planning and Development and the Office of Economic Development. Given that the impending elimination of Metro's RFA will significantly affect the corridor, King County Metro Transit will also need to be a key player in developing recommendations and a strategy for implementing those recommendations, as will representatives from the neighboring business community, the Downtown Seattle Association, non-profit service providers and other stakeholders. This effort would build on previous work conducted by the City and other agencies and stakeholders over the past few years along Third Avenue, with the goal of reassessing existing programs and previous plans in light of current conditions and the impending transit changes. The team will be tasked with identifying short term and long term actions, potential changes in policy, resource needs and possible funding sources and strategies. In support of this effort, Council plans to appropriate additional funding for regular cleaning in the corridor and set aside one-time capital funding to support appropriate infrastructure investments. The Council looks forward to recommendations from the task force about how best to invest these dollars. The following highlights some of the key challenges to be addressed by the task force: * Continuing coordination with King County to mitigate the impact of the elimination of the RFA (scheduled for October 2012), both with regard to concerns about social equity and impacts on transit operations; * Improving signage, lighting and/or other physical changes that improve visitors' feelings of safety and security; * Identifying and implementing effective means of policing the corridor and ensuring public safety, particularly in hotspots such as Third and Lenora and Third between Pike and Pine; * Development of a pilot "hot spot" policing initiative with identifiable outcomes and strategies to track and reduce reported and on-view criminal activity within targeted zones within the Third Avenue Transit Corridor. In developing and executing this proposal, SPD should involve relevant adjacent property owners. other government agencies, including the State Department of Corrections and King County Transit Police and other relevant stakeholders. SPD should use an evidence-based hot spot problem-solving process as described in the March 29, 2011 Office of City Auditor report " Addressing Crime and Disorder in Seattle's 'Hot Spots': What Works? " * Integrating well-maintained transit waiting areas into the streetscape in a manner that serves transit operations and improves perceptions of public safety and security, while maintaining pedestrian access to neighboring businesses; * Engaging adjacent building owners/businesses to coordinate and improve street edges and improve stewardship of sidewalks, building entrances and retail fronts; * Expanding existing efforts to remove trash and clean sidewalks on a daily basis; * Promoting increased and more vibrant retail activity; and * Engaging low-income housing operators and social service providers in their efforts to maintain security and livability near their entrances. Background: On August 16, 2011, the King County Council enacted Ordinance 17169, imposing a two-year congestion reduction charge of $20 on vehicle registration renewals. The County legislation also included a provision ( Sec. 11) discontinuing the downtown RFA by October 2012. The County Executive has until May 2012 to submit to the County Council an implementation plan for elimination of the RFA. King County Metro has convened several work groups to develop the implementation plan. Seattle staff are participating in the two groups focused on human service impacts and bus speed and reliability. The RFA was established in 1973 as part of an effort to revitalize downtown, but allowing riders to board downtown without payment has also allowed large masses of buses to move more quickly through downtown and to stay on schedule in the area where a huge proportion of the system's riders board or alight. Now that most riders carry Orca cards, buses board more quickly. However, with the high level of regional and local buses working their way through downtown, Metro and SDOT planners still have concerns about delays when the RFA ceases. Moreover, in the nearly 40 years the RFA has been in place, many human service providers have located within the RFA. Even though Metro plans to continue and expand a robust free and reduced fare ticket program, these service providers and advocates have expressed concerns about a loss of mobility for homeless and other vulnerable populations. Additionally, Third Avenue has long had problems with poor urban design, insufficient lighting, crime, graffiti and trash on the street. A handful of storefront businesses and building entrances have become nodes for loitering, with a couple streetcorners in particular perceived to operate day and night as open-air drug markets. In the last few years there have been some high profile violent crimes on Third Avenue. All this, along with several empty storefronts, has created a popular perception that Third Avenue and the downtown commercial core as a whole are becoming more dangerous. Downtown stakeholders have long recognized these problems. In 2007, the City of Seattle, King County Metro and the Downtown Seattle Association negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding to assign responsibilities for a long list of short-term improvements in the areas of Public Safety, Cleaning and Trash Collection, Lighting, Urban Design and Tracking Programs. The MOU was never executed. Department of Planning and Development also undertook development of an urban design study that produced a two-part set of recommendations on bus shelters, signage, glass canopies, landscaping, sidewalk improvements, storefront improvements and public art. That plan was never implemented although the recommendations were well received by stakeholders. The City Auditor recently identified a growing body of criminology research that demonstrates that policing strategies focused on specific, small areas within neighborhoods are effective at reducing criminal activity and increasing safety in those areas. The report found that a majority of crime in Seattle occurs on a very limited number of block faces and that these locations of concentrated criminal activity do not materially change from year to year. Several block faces along the Third Avenue corridor in Downtown Seattle experience significant levels of criminal activity and the Council regularly hears concerns from residents, employees, and business and property owners regarding the level of illegal activity in specific areas. Responsible Council Committee(s): Transportation Date Due to Council: Written quarterly reports or briefings due in March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, 2012 Second Quarter Update M E M O R A N D U M DATE: June 29, 2011 TO: Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Transportation Committee Chair Councilmembers Bagshaw, Burgess, Clark, Conlin, Godden, Harrell, Licata, and O'Brien CC: Ben Noble, Bill LaBorde, Mike Fong FROM: Ethan Raup, Jaline Quinto, and David Hiller; Mayor's Office Becky Guerra, City Budget Office RE: Response to SLI 114-2-A-2: Third Avenue Transit Corridor Initiative ______________________________________________________________ This memorandum represents the second quarter update on the multidepartment response to the City Council's Statement of Legislative Intent (SLI) #114-2-A-2 included in the 2012 Adopted Budget, requesting the Executive to create a task force to identify actions needed to improve the functionality, urban design, safety and security of the downtown Third Avenue Transit Corridor, as well as to recommend options for addressing the impacts on tourism, economic development and social equity arising from the elimination of Metro's Ride Free Area (RFA). Progress Update by Department DPD: DPD continues to work with Law, the Mayor's Office and Council to craft an appropriate proposal for reconsidering current restrictions for advertising on transit shelters and kiosks within the public right of way. While the focus is on Third Avenue, expansion to other parts of the Center City is under consideration. There are also many other issues related to such things as bike share, pay stations and information kiosks, and how they would be coordinated with the bus shelter program. HSD: HSD is finalizing Good Neighbor Plan language details in the upcoming investment commitment processes which will be released in late June 2012. Services and housing are contributors to the health and safety of neighborhoods. Through tools such as good neighbor agreements, agencies will work with community members, businesses and law enforcement to ensure they can provide a safe, clean environment that supports clients' rights to receive services as well as provide opportunities to contribute to the community's overall health and safety. HSD is on track to begin augmenting quarterly Good Neighbor Agreement reports late June. OED: OED has entered into a contract with enterpriseSeattle and the Downtown Seattle Association to respond to inquiries and provide information to 80 prospects interested in locating to Seattle in 2012. Prospects that show an interest in locating their business in downtown are provided with an initial package of information that includes demographics, taxes, financing, potential sites, lease rates and technical assistance. Once a business has identified a location to set up their operations, OED offers assistance with permitting issues and financing. Prospects that actually locate their business in the downtown core are tracked by the Downtown Seattle Association. As of the first quarter in 2012, 35 businesses have located their operations in the downtown core. OED has entered into a contract with the Downtown Seattle Association to conduct visits with 80 professional services and retail businesses in the downtown core, and provide 40 of them with direct assistance with challenges they are having doing business in the downtown core. As of the first quarter of 2012, 28 companies have been visited in the downtown core. OED continues to encourage mobile food vending in the core area. OED has worked with mobile food operators to make sure that they understand the required steps in the City and County permitting process, including organizing several mobile food vending workshops and developing an online resource guide ( www.growseattle.com/start/street-food-vending ). A Special Events Task Force was convened in spring 2012 by OED at the behest of the Mayor's Office to address how the City and special event entities work together to provide benefits to the economic and community health of Seattle while minimizing costs both to the City and event organizers. A list of recommendations was developed that will require both short term and long term steps for implementation. OED is compiling the vacancy rates of commercial properties with the core area. The data that will be used to determine the baseline will be coming from vacancy rate analysis conducted by CB Richard Ellis and Office Lease. The data analysis considers the historical data of Puget Sound office rates, downtown Seattle market and a 5 year retail rate comparison between Bellevue and Seattle. At the end of fourth quarter in 2011 the vacancy rate was 17.55%. At the end of the first quarter in 2012, the vacancy rate is now 15.60%. OH: OH has shared and discussed Center City Initiative goals with housing operators at all five (5) OH-funded housing programs within the Third Avenue Initiative area. OH has extended invitations to property and building managers, and encouraged their participation in External Stakeholder's meetings. Representatives from Bellwether Housing, Catholic Housing Services, and Plymouth Housing Group have attended meetings thus far. As a means of making the areas around their buildings safe for residents and visitors, housing providers are employing measures to discourage unwanted activity around the building such as: * Improved/additional exterior lighting * additional exterior and interior surveillance cameras * adding sound system under awning * improvements to front entry/lobby areas * sidewalk repairs/resurfacing * Miscellaneous/routine cleaning and maintenance such as exterior window washing, pressure washing, and graffiti removal as needed. Housing providers are also coordinating and communicating with neighbors by visiting neighboring business to network and share concerns, and by participating in other neighborhood meetings to discuss mutual safety and security concerns, and strategize solutions. OH Asset Management staff conducted additional site visits in June 2012 to meet with property managers and talk about neighborhood safety. (Note: Site and building exterior at all of the projects were observed in good condition and repair with the exception of one 'graffiti-tag' on the alley side of one project, which will be removed.) All of the housing owners in the Third Avenue Initiative area have completed and submitted Capital Need Assessments for their projects, which include a 20-year schedule and cost estimate of larger capital improvements. Larger improvements, including exterior improvements, are included. All buildings have a plan for maintaining a good "street appearance". OH's second quarter metrics are included as Attachment A. SCL: City Light conducted outage patrol in the area within the initiative boundaries. Three lights were discovered out and were replaced. The annual contact voltage survey in this area will be completed mid-Oct 2012. There were no recorded contact voltage events in this project boundary in 2011. The next arterial patrol is scheduled for Sep 2012. SDOT: Metro and SDOT have finished identifying the candidate capital improvements to mitigate the RFA removal and are in the final stages of defining the human services mitigation. Four-hundred thousand dollars that was previously contributed by the city to support Metro's Ride Free Area will be used to provide mitigation for vulnerable populations and human services clients. Metro will fund most capital improvement projects up to $700,000, which includes upgrades to the tunnel that are necessary as well as surface improvements to keep buses moving and improve the passenger environment. Metro is currently waiting to hear if they will receive a grant to upgrade off-board fare payment infrastructure along Third Avenue. SDOT proposes to use between $100,000 and $150,000 of the SLI funding to take existing Third Avenue Streetscape conceptual designs plans into the preliminary engineering phase. This phase would rely heavily on the Third Avenue stakeholder group for input and involvement as these projects are more fully designed and readied for implementation. SDOT proposes to use the balance of funding (approximately $200,000) to provide local match for regional and federal grants. Metro and SDOT are partners with Metro as the lead on applying for these grants. It is likely that Metro will be successful in securing grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration to be used in 2013-14 that would implement physical improvements along Third Avenue bus zones (approximately $3.5 million likely to be granted out of a $4.5 million request). For baseline metrics, SDOT has used Metro data to determine that there were 41,300 daily-boardings on Third Avenue between Main and Denny in the fall of 2011. SPD: SPD West Precinct has been very active in developing short, intermediate, and long term operational plans for the Third Avenue Initiative and to meet the Council's legislative intent. Under the direction of new precinct commander, Captain Jim Dermody, the West Precinct has closely analyzed calls for service data within the boundaries of the Third Avenue Initiative to develop specific and focused directed patrol at crime and disorder concentrations with a nexus to transit nodes. The short term plan will employ both focused directed patrol at location-based crime and disorder concentrations and increased uniformed officer presence utilizing several SPD units and King County Metro Transit Police. This will reduce both calls for service at these "hotspots" and the fear of crime for our customers and tourists visiting our city. Additionally, directed patrol is being utilized in high crime concentration areas in the three other neighborhoods of the Center City Initiative simultaneously with the Third Avenue focus. The intermediate plan involves sustaining directed patrol in high crime concentration locations and builds upon the investment and short term gains by incorporating multiple revised law enforcement tools such as the High Impact Offender Program (HIOP) and Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) program for drug sellers. Both programs are currently being developed in coordination with SPD, Law Department, King County Prosecutors Office, the Defender's Association, Municipal Court, and Superior Court. These new programs should provide additional tools for officers on the street while satisfying the concerns of Municipal and Superior Court Judges. A Community Appearance Index will be completed to establish baseline data for appearance improvements and to focus efforts with cooperating city departments and the business community. The long term plan involves leveraging our relationships with social service providers, street outreach, faith based organizations, and business owners/organizations to sustain the directed patrol gains and build upon the physical improvements made by the multiple city departments involved in the Third Avenue Initiative. Our plan is based upon the understanding that any long term sustainable success will rely upon the integrated and holistic efforts of every city department including SPD. SPU: The enhanced cleaning contract was established April 19 for sidewalk pressure washing, litter cleanup, and reporting litter and graffiti incidences to SPU. The contract was expanded for sidewalk gum removal May 23. The original contract work began April 30, and weekly contractor reporting began with the May 14-21 period. A fourmonth gum removal effort began June 3, with the plan to evaluate the first-cleaned area after three months in order to develop terms for ongoing gum removal. SPU fielded an online survey through Survey Monkey from April 14 to April 30. There were 203 qualified respondents. They were asked to rank the degree of the problem (3: major problem, 2: moderate problem, 1: minor problem, and 0: no problem at all) and identify themselves as a building owner/property management firm in downtown retail core, other business owner in downtown retail core, resident in the downtown retail core, or employee in the downtown retail core. The results of the survey are as follows: Problem Overall Score (0 to 3) Unclean alleys 1.9 Unclean sidewalks 1.8 Litter or illegally dumped materials 1.7 Unclean bus shelters or bus waiting areas 1.7 Overflowing litter or recycling cans 1.2 Graffiti 1.2 External Affairs: The Mayor's Office, King County Executive Office, and Downtown Seattle association met on May 7 to discuss reviving the Third Avenue MOU that was tabled in 2007. A basic framework for the MOU has been updated. The revisions will be discussed at a meeting to be scheduled in the immediate future. The Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) cleaned all 400 downtown parking pay stations, repainting all of them after initially removing nearly 1,800 tags. In the week ending June 2, the MID removed another 117 tags. In the week following, MID staff report that 50 of them had been retagged. In exploring beneficial community partnerships and possible volunteer work in Third Avenue clean-up, the Mayor's office consulted with David Bracilano, Personnel Department, to discuss the issue of volunteers doing what might be considered "union" work. Personnel's response was that there are existing waivers for volunteer work in City contracts. For an example, please see language in the PTE Local 17 contract, section 2.6(a) and 2.6(b). However, there is a requirement that city unions be given a 30-day notice before union work is performed by volunteers. David Hiller and Bill Bryant, SDOT, met with the owner of Melbourne Tower and King County Metro at Melbourne Tower to review transit loading, passenger waiting areas and other issues during the PM peak. The owners of Melbourne Tower continue to express interest in replacing the existing Metro transit bus shelter with a continuous awning, which costs $400,000 and is currently unfunded. A tour of the area involving the Mayor, key City personnel and Kate Joncas of the Downtown Seattle Association, was held on May 29. The availability of stakeholder tours was announced at the June 14 stakeholder meeting. Workplan The latest workplan for the initiative is included as Attachment B. This was developed by the numerous departments on the Interdepartmental Team (IDT), including DON, DPD, HSD, OED, OH, SCL, SDOT, SPD, and SPU, and incorporates input from Council members and preliminary feedback from external stakeholders. In addition to the progress on the workplan detailed above, the City has entered into a partnership with the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs that will help the City institutionalize thoughtful, timely and coordinated delivery of services to more effectively address longstanding challenges in specific areas of downtown. The goals of this partnership are: to enhance the workplan by working across departments to explore opportunities and barriers for success; identify a framework for performance measures and outcome tracking; fold in applicable forprofit and non-profit concepts such as customer identification and deliverable products; and look at methods to leverage small and consistent wins to generate and maintain momentum. Next Steps The Interdepartmental Team (IDT) continues to meet on a monthly basis, and relevant departments are implementing their components of the workplan. Discussions between the UW Evans School and key department staff are underway; further updates on that component will be provided in the third quarter SLI response. Staff members are in the process of scheduling meetings with DSA and other stakeholders to get additional input on the work plan. City staff will schedule a time for 3rd Avenue area stakeholders to accompany staff on a walking tour to highlight particular issues or areas of concern. Attachment A Office of Housing Second Quarter Metrics Attachment B Third Avenue Initiative Work Plan (current draft) Fourth Quarter Update M E M O R A N D U M DATE: February 13, 2013 TO: Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Transportation Committee Chair Councilmembers Bagshaw, Burgess, Clark, Conlin, Godden, Harrell, Licata, and O'Brien CC: Ben Noble, Bill LaBorde, Mike Fong FROM: Ethan Raup, Jaline Quinto, and David Hiller; Mayor's Office Gary Johnson, Department of Planning and Development RE: Response to SLI 114-2-A-2: Third Avenue Transit Corridor Initiative ______________________________________________________________ This memorandum represents the fourth quarter update on the multi-department response to the City Council's Statement of Legislative Intent #114-2-A-2 included in the 2012 Adopted Budget, requesting the Executive to create a task force to identify actions needed to improve the functionality, urban design, safety and security of the downtown Third Avenue Transit Corridor, as well as to recommend options for addressing the impacts on tourism, economic development and social equity arising from the elimination of Metro's Ride Free Area. Department Reports Progress Update: SPD / HSD SPD West Precinct has developed short, intermediate, and long term operational plans for the 3rd Ave Initiative and to meet the Council's legislative intent. The West Precinct, under the direction of Capt. Jim Dermody, analyzed 911 calls for service data specifically related to Part 1 crimes (homicide rape, robbery, aggravated assault, theft, auto theft and burglary) and Part 2 crimes (other crimes including "quality of life" crimes that are much of the focus of the Center City Initiative work) within the boundaries of the 3rd Avenue Initiative. Specific directed patrol methodology is being employed at crime concentrations with a nexus to transit nodes. At the end of Q2 and beginning of Q3, the short term plan used targeted directed patrol at location based crime concentrations and intense officer area saturation utilizing many SPD units and King County Metro Police. This had an immediate and sustained reduction of calls for service at these "hotspots." Moreover, anecdotal evidence suggests the fear of crime for our community members and tourists is being positively affected. Additionally, directed patrol is being utilized in high crime concentration areas in the three other neighborhoods of the City Center Initiative simultaneously with the 3rd Avenue initiative. The intermediate plan was implemented in Q3 and was sustained in Q4. The intermediate plan continues the use of directed patrol in high crime concentration locations by focusing datadriven efforts at offender diffusion from 3rd Avenue and in other neighborhoods. It also includes retrieval and analysis of Part 1 and 2 crime data within the initiative boundaries as well as the crime concentration "microplaces." The intermediate plan builds upon a Community Appearance Index for the 1500 Block of 3rd Avenue completed by the Seattle Neighborhood Group and the Metropolitan Improvement District. The Community Appearance index was completed to establish baseline data for appearance improvements and to focus efforts with cooperating city departments and the business community. The long term plan involves leveraging our relationships with social service providers, street outreach and business owners/organizations to sustain the directed patrol gains. A new partnership between SPD, HSD, and the MID is being finalized to close the gap for outreach in the downtown neighborhoods. This partnership creates a vital link for SPD officers to collaborate with Mental Health Professionals and other service providers to find non-criminal solutions when encountering mentally ill offenders or homeless individuals. This partnership builds upon the safety and physical improvements made by the other City departments involved in the 3rd Avenue Initiative. Our plan is based upon the understanding that any long term sustainable success will be based upon the integrated and holistic efforts of every City department, including SPD. Additionally, the long term plan builds upon and incorporates multiple revised law enforcement tools such as the SERVE program (Services and Equity for Recidivists via Enforcement, formally known as HIOP) and Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) program for sellers. SERVE and SODA are currently being developed in coordination with SPD, Law Department, King County Prosecutors Office, Municipal Court, Superior Court and the Defenders' Association. These integrative initiatives should provide new tools for officers on the street while satisfying the concerns of the judicial branch of the city and county. SPD was recently chosen by George Mason University's Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy as a partner in a COPS (Community Oriented Policing Strategies) discretionary fund grant. Through the grant, SPD will develop and evaluate an innovative community policing strategy that will focus police driven problem solving efforts in the identification and implementation of non-arrest interventions for areas of disorder related to juveniles (juvenile hotspots). The project will begin a pilot in the West Precinct in Q2 2013 and will focus on areas such as Third Avenue and Westlake Park. Progress Update: SDOT Work Plan Item: Partner with Metro to add off-board fare payment infrastructure to all Third Ave bus stops SDOT continues to collaborate with Metro on design work to be integrated with the Metro E-Line implementation and the Third Avenue Urban Design program. Work Plan Item: Review previous design plan documents, and develop a prioritized list of signage and urban design actions that have yet to be accomplished (including the Transit Friendly Design Guidelines and the Third Ave Design Plan) SDOT kicked off design of the University to Stewart segment of Third Ave with a team including Weinstein AU architects, DPD, and King County Metro in November. This short timeline effort will feed into both the 2013 Macy's bus stop construction project and into a larger project that will address numerous locations along the corridor from Jackson to Denny, with a focus on transit-related sidewalk and street improvements. The design is expected to: * Build off of existing studies, particularly the 2009 Third Avenue Phase II Design Recommendations * Focus on University to Stewart * Provide additional detail on "typical" blocks * Build on existing studies, particularly DPD's "Phase 2 Design Recommendations" * Accomplish the above on a time frame (early 2013 completion) to help guide the Metro-led 2013-14 grant funded project ($9.4 million project including Federal Transit Administration, King County, and Seattle funds) A Steering Committee comprised of Ethan Raup, Peter Hahn, Diane Sugimura, Kevin Desmond, Phil West and Erin Devoto has been convened to provide oversight to the project. The group will ensure that departments and agencies are coordinating and will solve problems as they arise. Additionally, SDOT, Metro, and external stakeholders are participating in a DPD-lead visioning effort to guide the long-range vision. New Item: Develop permitting programs for temporary Aboard signs and newspaper boxes The Public Space Management Task Force, that includes staff from several City departments and a broad group of external stakeholders, held its initial meeting in January. It is anticipated that the group will meet in 1Q-2Q 2013 will a final report delivered by the end of 2Q. New Item: Identify the feasibility of applying Metro Code of Conduct rules to transit waiting areas SDOT convened first meeting of all appropriate partners to identify a path forward. A second meeting is pending. A small work group is meeting regularly to assess the feasibility of more broadly applying Metro code of conduct to bus zones within the public ROW. This group includes King County Sheriff's Office and Metro Transit, SDOT, Law, SPD and DPD as needed. Progress Update: OH Work Plan Item: Discuss Center City Initiative goals with housing operators during scheduled inspections Complete. Work Plan Item: Solicit feedback from housing operators on their efforts to maintain security and livability near entrances; consolidate next steps Conversations with front line staff at site inspections are complete. Representatives from key downtown housing providers (DESC, Plymouth Housing Group, etc.) and Rick Hooper, OH Director, are participating in the Mayor's Center City Initiative Stakeholder's Roundtable, which is focused on identifying effective strategies to improve civility and address street disorder. Work Plan Item: Augment existing project assessment work of OH staff (see workplan for details). Complete. OH Asset Management team will begin scheduling 2013 inspections in early January. One hundred fifteen (115) projects are due for inspection in 2013, representing approximately 40% of the total OH Multifamily Rental portfolio. Nearly 25 projects in the four Center City neighborhoods are due for full site inspections in 2013. Walk-by inspections were conducted periodically through the 4th quarter of 2012. Borrowers are required to submit copies of any neighborhood concerns/complaints they receive, and their response to these concerns, with their annual reports to Office of Housing each year. OH staff reviews submitted concerns to ensure housing providers respond to in a timely and effective manner. Three cases of neighborhood concerns were reported this year, two of which have already been resolved. OH, HSD and SPD are working with the housing/service provider on the remaining situation (street activity on 3rd between Virginia and Lenora near YWCA Opportunity Place), which involves reports of criminal and undesirable street activity occurring in this known 'hot spot'. OH staff inquire about community relations with site staff at inspections, but we've formalized this practice by updating our inspection questionnaire to include the topic of community relations specifically, and will place a special emphasis on assessing each project's relationship with the neighboring community during our upcoming inspection cycle. Work Plan Item: OH and SPD staff on the Third Ave Interdepartmental Team will work together to better inform housing owners/providers of the realistic expectations of SPD officers. The goal of this task is to ensure a mutual understanding of roles/responsibilities between housing owners/operators and law enforcement officers. Exploring this topic may help identify communication and intervention "best practices." SPD and HSD have separately coordinated meetings with service providers including DESC, Plymouth Housing Group, Catholic Housing Group, YWCA and Compass Housing. Housing providers also continue to work with SPD Community Police Teams and Crime Prevention Officers. Work Plan Item: Engage property managers and area residents in promoting the safety of their own communities: SPD to contact the five OH-funded properties in the core area to discuss their interest in attending/participating in resident community meetings addressing both personal safety and specific neighborhood crime problems. At Councilmember Rasmussen's request, OH assisted in coordinating and attending meeting focused on the Gilmore building at 3rd and Pike. Bellwether Housing staff, commercial property owners/managers, SPD, DPD, OH and Councilmember Rasmussen met November 28 to discuss challenges of criminal and undesirable street activity occurring on this corner, and steps all parties have taken to address challenges. OH is working to schedule meeting with YWCA staff, SPD and HSD to discuss challenging street activity on 3rd between Virginia and Lenora (YWCA Opportunity Place). Confirming schedule availability for January 10th meeting. Progress Update: SPU Work Plan Item: Putting enhanced cleaning efforts out to bid Contract work continues as described in the report for Q2. Through December 9, 2012: 33 block faces have been washed; gum has been removed from 31 block faces; and litter can topping and ground litter removal has been done every evening. In addition, the following two related work items have been performed: 1. Litter can fullness audit done over five days in midOctober. Analysis of results will be used to determine service enhancements per new MOA between the City, the DSA, and Metro. 2. Gum removal tested on volunteer property areaway. Leakage observed on follow-up inspection. Next steps TBD. Additional Progress Updates Progress Update: MOA Mayor McGinn, DSA President Kate Joncas and King County Executive Dow Constantine signed the Third Avenue Memorandum of Agreement on December 11. The Agreement divides responsibility for addressing a range of actions among the three parties to significantly improve the quality of the street environment and transit services along the Third Avenue corridor. Highlights include: * Installation of real-time transit arrival information at bus stops * Completion of an urban design framework that focuses on University to Stewart Streets * Beginning the implementation process of design improvements * Continuing the feasibility of an off-premise advertizing program * Addition of $20,000 from the City to increase litter can pickup * Renewed commitment from Metro to provide bus stop cleaning services * Directed SPD foot beat patrols to address public safety hot spots. * Develop additional resources to address human service needs in the corridor Progress Update: Center City Initiative The Mayor's Center City Initiative continues to provide a strong collaboration between City inter-departmental teams and downtown neighborhoods. A key element has been the CCI Roundtable process aimed at addressing pervasive street disorder issues common throughout downtown. The Roundtables are bringing together stakeholders representing a wide range of interestsdowntown businesses, human service providers, legal aid organizations, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, residents and others. Professor Steven Page from the Evans School has done a masterful job of leading the group in identifying common areas of interest in improving the downtown street environment and creating an action agenda for collaborative implementation. The Roundtable has met four times in two hour sessions to date and is in the process of articulating specific action items for implementation. Recent areas of emphasis include: * "Quality of Life" crimesA team from the Center for Court Innovation was recently in Seattle to evaluate Municipal Court's Community Court program. The team spent three days in intensive interviews with staff from SPD, the Mayor's Office, Law, the Municipal Court and the King County Prosecutor's Office. Incoming Community Court Judge Karen Donohue is looking forward to the recommendations that the Center for Court Innovation team will present and welcomes Roundtable input on potential changes. CCI Roundtable members are working with SPD, Law, KC and Muni Court to improve the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in addressing street environment disorder. * Legislative AgendaThe Roundtable is discussing an agenda for lobbying the Legislature for increased funding for mental health and drug and alcohol addiction treatment services that could have a significant impact on the downtown environment. Medicaid expansion via Affordable Care Act implementation holds significant promise and may be the focus of lobbying efforts. The Roundtable provides the opportunity for a very broadbased coalition to push for this funding. * Street populations and servicesThe Roundtable is also focusing on gaining a better understanding of the street populations that are in need of servicesan assessment of needs, current outreach resources, gaps and the types of services that need to be enhanced. A strategy to address needs will follow the assessment. Progress Update: Off Premise Advertising The Request for Information process has been completed and staff were pleased that several strong responses were received. Next steps include issuance of a Request for Qualifications, identification and drafting of necessary sign code amendments, possible Council action on amendments and potential contract negotiations with vendors. Progress Update: Westlake The Executive has partnered with the Downtown Seattle Association in the creation of a Westlake Task Force. The group is comprised of Westlake Park area stakeholders and City departments and will focus on issues in that area. The first meeting, held on November 5th, focused on issues related to youth and young adults that congregate in the park. HSD staff spoke about outreach and engagement efforts and SPD updated the group on the new trespass ordinance. The Task Force will meet again in early February and will discuss street use permitting and enforcement, along with brainstorming ideas for summer activation in the park. Progress Update: Outreach and Engagement Team HSD and SPD are working on an assessment of street populations and current outreach resources in order to inform the development of a Multi-disciplinary Team that will connect those in need on downtown streets with services and to respond to the Council proviso related to funding for the Team. Plans for a strong collaboration between HSD, SPD, the MID, DOC, existing providers and others is taking shape. A review of best practices in other cities such as San Diego's Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) is underscoring the wisdom of this approach. Measuring Effectiveness Measuring the effectiveness of the Center City Initiative (CCI) is critical to assessing whether and how we are meeting our goals of: creating a street environment where all people feel safe, sustaining a vibrant and inviting public realm, supporting thriving business and residential neighborhoods downtown, providing outreach and services to people in need and providing many attractive options for traveling around downtown. Beginning with the launch of the Third Avenue Initiative--which is a component of our overall CCI efforts---departments met to create metrics by which we would measure progress and track our work. A table of metrics, which has been shared with Council in past quarterly reports, and is divided into sections below, has functioned as an important starting point for tracking the work of departments as well as tracking external outreach, such as perception surveys, which departments have undertaken to gather baseline data. Progress will continue to be tracked through direct metrics such as 911 calls, public opinion research including surveys and focus groups, and data relating to broader trends, such as the number of residents in Center City neighborhoods. Additionally, the Mayor's office and departmental staff are in ongoing discussions with representatives of the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington to explore next steps for a project that will be complementary to our existing efforts to track CCI metrics. Enhanced Cleaning Services The City's enhanced cleaning service contractor supplies regular reports on power washing and gum removal. SPU also receives and monitors detailed weekly cleaning reports from CleanScapes which contain daily logs of litter clean-up, gum removal, damaged cans, graffiti locations, street lights out and any general concerns. These reports have been shared with Councilmember Rasmussen's office per his request. Fourth quarter totals are below.
In fall 2012, SPU conducted an audit of 45 waste cans in the CBD. The audit looked at each can over a four to five day period, three times a day. The audit was designed to inform waste pick-up or "topping off" times and frequency. The review revealed that 7 of the 45 cans were 90% full on three of the five audit days. SPU is evaluating these locations for additional attention.
Crimes and Calls for Service The West Precinct analyzes 911 calls for service data (specifically related to Part 1 and Part 2 crimes) within the boundaries of the Center City Initiative. Specific directed patrol methodology is being employed at crime concentrations with a nexus to transit nodes. The end of December sees an overall increase in holiday related activity downtown with Christmas parties and people on vacation or break from school going to bars and nightclubs. Moreover, the very large New Year's Eve event at the Seattle Center has impacts downtown. Additionally, large electronic music events, such as the one on New Year's Eve (Resolution) at the WaMu Events Center, create impacts downtown and in Pioneer Square. Foot traffic in the CBD increases exponentially after Thanksgiving and lasts until Christmas. Note the overall decrease trend in the CBD even with the exponential increase in foot traffic and business patronage. Hotel stays were up 17% from last year during this same time period. Also, overlaying the data from the Christmas beats we provided earlier, show the positive impact the beats had in the retail core during this time. The positives are the impacts that directed patrols and other proactive work is having in the four center-city neighborhoods at a sustained rate since June 20th. That work shows that focusing on crime and disorder concentrations using data and evidence-based tactics ("science based" as Dr. Weisburd describes it) has an impact in the larger areas in which those problem block faces are situated. It also helps us highlight where the gaps are with our other law enforcement and community partners. The work in the CCI Roundtable is focused on closing those gaps. Compared to the baseline, calls for service are down substantially since the implementation of directed patrols.
MID Ambassador Activity Reports Each day, Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) Downtown Ambassadors are out in Downtown Seattle responding to customer calls, giving people directions, removing graffiti, cleaning sidewalks and more. Each of these actions is catalogued and analyzed. Information gathered is entered into the Clean and Safe Management System (CSMS), which offers complete MID Ambassador data management and reporting of daily safety and maintenance activities. Trend lines in all major areas are positive compared to the baseline year.
Vacancy rates of commercial properties within the core area Property values and occupancy rates are an important indicator or the desirability of Center City properties. After substantial increases in vacancies and declines in assessed valuation linked to the Great Recession, vacancies and valuation are steadily, if slowly, moving in a positive direction. The retail vacancy trend has turned positive, with vacancies beginning to decline in 2012.
Construction Activity The previous construction cycle in Downtown peaked in 2007 with almost $3 billion in projects under construction by the end of the year; this was double the construction activity in 2005. By the end of 2010, activity had declined to approximately $1 billion. In 2007 there were 51 projects under construction, but by December 2010 there were only 12. However, in 2011, construction activity increased over the previous year. At the end of 2011, there was $1.9 billion in construction activity across 29 projects under construction. Since the end of 2011, six projects have been completed and another 14 have broken ground. As of December 2012, there were 37 projects under construction with a construction cost of $3.6 billion. Residential projects accounted for the largest share of this activity with $1.6 billion in construction costs among 46 projects.
Downtown Residential Population & Housing Units Seattle has a strong employment base in the Center City. However, there is a consensus within the City that downtown will benefit from greater balance between commuter and resident populations. Population trends likely correlate with the desirability of the Center City, with residential populations increasing or declining based on attractiveness, value, feelings of personal safety, and other factors. We do not do sub-city population estimates for intercensal years which would require information on vacancy rates, group quarters and household size that we don't have at small geographies. For the chart "Downtown Population and Housing Units" the number of net new housing units added since April 2010 was 193 for a new total of 10,070 and there are an additional 1,838 units from issued permits still in the pipeline. This data is from DPD's permit tracking system.
Improvement in the Quality of Public Spaces The Public Life Survey examined how public spaces are used. It provides information on where people walk and stay, either as part of their daily activities or for recreational purposes. This informs the City's decisions about which streets and routes to improve, and how to make them pleasant places to visit, not simply traffic conduits. The study also provides information on how and where people sit, stand, or engage in other stationary activities in the city. These stationary activities are good indicators of the quality of the urban spaces, as a high number of people choosing to spend time in the city indicate a lively city with strong urban quality. The survey identified who uses the city, how they use and experience the city, and what modes of transportation they used to get there.
Street Light Outage Patrols and Relamping Programs Fully functional street lighting is an important factor in public safety. Seattle City Light conducts regular patrols to check for any lamp outages on Third Avenue and the broader Center City.
Recent SCL Patrols: * November 2012 -SCL patrolled the CBD in advance of the holidays. 3rd Ave Bus Zone Boardings 2009-2011 Transit boardings correlate with a number of factors, including employment activity, economic health, and the comparative value and/or attractiveness of transit when compared to SOV commuting. Metro data indicates that transit boardings are returning to pre-recession levels. One note of caution about drawing conclusions moving forward is that Third Ave ridership has been impacted by the end of the Ride Free Area and the RapidRide C/D startup. Fall 2012 data will establish a new baseline for service.
Office of Housing -City Supported Housing Measures The Office of Housing's Rental Housing Program funds the development of affordable rental housing in Seattle using the Housing Levy Rental Preservation and Production Program funds, federal funds, and other fund sources. To ensure quality affordable housing, OH's Asset Management unit monitors existing projects to ensure that City-funded units are healthy and livable for low income and workforce tenants, and that activities associated with the projects do not constitute an undue burden on their neighbors or the community-at-large. Monitoring includes an annual review of operations.
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