Alki Elementary Parking Dispute Nears DecisionAlki Elementary Parking Dispute Nears Decision On July 1st, Deputy Hearing Examiner Susan Drummond is expected to rule on the second appeal regarding a proposed zoning exception for the new Alki Elementary School. The dispute centers around the number of parking spaces required by city regulations and the request by Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to build the expanded school with fewer spaces. The original zoning regulations required 48 parking spaces, but SPS initially proposed a design without on-street parking. After an appeal by neighborhood residents, Drummond ruled last August that SPS must adhere to the parking requirement and ordered the district to revise its plan. SPS subsequently submitted a revised design with 15 parking spaces, which was approved by the city. However, another group of residents filed an appeal, arguing that the new plan still violated zoning regulations. In a three-day hearing held in May and June, the parties presented their arguments. The appellants contended that the school would generate excessive traffic and that the reduced parking would deprive residents of on-street parking. SPS argued that the school would primarily serve students who walk or bike, and that the existing parking would be sufficient to meet the needs of staff and visitors. The city supported SPS’s position, stating that the zoning exception was consistent with city planning goals. Now, with the closing statements submitted by all parties, the verdict is pending. Depending on Drummond’s ruling, a lawsuit by SPS is possible. In the meantime, Alki Elementary will continue to operate in a temporary location at Schmitz Park Primary School for at least two more years while the new school is built.
(Rendering of the new Alki Elementary entrance on the north side of the school)
Monday (July 1) is the day that the deputy hearing examiner Susan Drummond is expected to make its ruling in the second appeal against a proposed zoning exception for the new Alki primary school. Thursday was the deadline she gave to the three parties in the case – the local residents who had appealed, Seattle Public Schoolsand the city Department of Construction and Inspections – to submit their closing statements, which all three did. You may recall that the only question is whether SPS will be allowed to build the expanded new school with fewer parking spaces than city zoning regulations require. The rules require 48 spaces; the neighborhood originally wanted to rebuild without on-street parking; a separate group of area residents appealed the other zoning exceptions the city had granted. Last August, Drummond ruled in their favor on the parking issue and ordered the district and the city to go back to the drawing board on the matter. (Other exception appeals were denied or resolved.) The district then revised the design to create 15 spaces on the southwest side of campus; the city said okay, and then this appeal was filed.
The case was argued in a three-day hearing that we covered in late May and early June (here’s our Day 1 report , our Day 2 report , and our Day 3 report ), and now the verdict is awaited. The closing arguments are all on the record – you can download and read the appellants’ argument here, the district’s argument here, and the city’s brief argument here.
Depending on what Drummond decides, a subsequent lawsuit is possible; that was the first action the district took after the previous ruling, but a judge dismissed it because it was not a land use decision but merely an impetus to reconsider the issue. In the meantime, Alki Elementary spent the just-completed school year in a temporary home in the first Schmitz Park Primary School and will remain there for at least two more years. Last year, the school’s enrollment was approximately 271 (100 below capacity), and the new school is expected to reach double that, with two kindergarten classes also expected to be housed on campus.
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