Update: Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall project

June 14, 2016 by 1 Comment

It’s been since December 2014 that the public comment period ended in regard to the Alki Coastal Erosion project spearheaded by the Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project outlines a plan to replace a stretch of seawall that precariosly holds back the 50″ diameter sewage pipe that flows around 2 million gallons of wastewater per day.

BartonPumpStation

A representative from the Army Corps Public Affairs Office promptly responded to my inquiry in wondering what the delay was for getting construction started….

“According to our project manager, we received a letter of concurrence from the State Historic Preservation Officer and we sent our feasibility report and appendices to our higher headquarters in Portland June 1 for review and approval. We are now waiting for them to review – if they determine we’ve adequately addressed their comments, then we’ll be ready to get going on the Design and Implementation phase. We are anticipating approval this summer.”

I’m not sure if “approval this summer” will result in any near-term progress. However, I can tell you that the Seattle Parks Department’s truck drivers are getting pretty nervous how the seawall is holding up every time they park near it to backfill the erosion

The newly refinished Barton Pump Station and nearly completed Murray Ave Station won’t do much good if the main artery to the West Point Treatment Plant ruptures due to a collapsing seawall. All of us living down near the beach will know first hand the meaning of “it all rolls downhill”.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Bulkheads, In the News, Parks

Beach Drive short term rental properties under direct fire (opinion)

June 3, 2016 by 6 Comments

Representation of known short term rental units in Seattle

More like a scattered shot gun approach if you ask me. The Seattle Mayor & esteemed Council members are set to propose strict regs on ALL short term (under 30 days) rental properties in the entire city. That of course includes all of West Seattle and the handful of units on Beach Drive which yours truly just went live with in May. 

The purpose and intention of the proposed legislation is to discourage homeowners with non-owner occupied properties to choose housing out of town tourists over more permanent long term renters. If it all goes as planned, the Council predicts there will be 300 new long term rental units on the market.  They stop short on claiming they’ll be “affordable” but that’s what they really want, and frankly should want.

Councilmember Tim Burgess that chairs Affordable Housing prides himself on using “smart policies and evidence-based solutions”. Really?

From personal experience, the few guests we have hosted so far have either had family living in West Seattle, were referred by neighbors that don’t have enough space for out of town relatives, a family from Minnesota that drove up from Portland to hang out and see a Twins game at Safeco Field, and a local West Seattle resident celebrating a landmark birthday with her out of area friends as a stay-cation. What they all had in common is…

  • They did not want to rent a hotel downtown and fight traffic and parking.
  • They did not want to stay in the basement of someone’s primary residence.
  • They all wanted a private waterfront home all to themselves which is not available anywhere commercially in the city.
  • They all spent a majority of time & money hanging out in West Seattle.

Other than required licensing, the Council is not going to hinder homeowners that are using their primary residence for housing STR guests. The idea is that this segment of the market is merely trying to make ends meet and subjecting them to the proposed regs wouldn’t result in additional permanent units anyhow. Well, the only 2 homeowners I know around here using their primary residence as a STR have entire apartment units on their lower floor and choose short term rather than permanent renters. Not trying to pull them into the crab boil as well but it probably won’t be long before the City sics their proposed staff of STR inspector goons on them as well!

Now we need to make a decision what to do with our house next door if the legislation passes through as proposed. Rent it out on a permanent basis? No, we also like the flexibility of using it for ourselves, family & friends. Sell it? Maybe some years down the road. Bottom line is that the City of Seattle will miss out on any further taxes & licensing fees we generate and West Seattle establishments will lose some year around tourism dollars. It’s just too much work & expense to run a STR like ours for the proposed limit of 90 days a year when the break even point is more like around 160 days.

 

WShotel

West Seattle’s one and only hotel/motel

I’m not saying a problem doesn’t exist in other parts of the city. All of Burgess’s example’s of why short term rentals are cheating permanent locals from finding affordable housing border downtown Seattle. He claims extreme abuses of entire apartment/condo floors being held out for STR to tourists. We’ve recently learned that “entrepreneurs” are actually renting out permanent apartment space and then jacking the rent to STR guests all with 100% approval of the building’s management team (also receiving a cut, of course). I also wouldn’t be surprised if abuses are taking place with the recent high density rezoning and micro housing attended for gram & gramps or permanent local renters.

Seems to me that the Council and Mayor should be targeting those abuses rather than ma & pa on Beach Drive.

 

Scupper, reporting/ranting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Beach Drive Homes, Current Affairs, In the News, Opinion, Politics, Rants and Raves, Scupper, Vacation

Bottom line: Plug your nose & talk to the State

September 30, 2015 by 4 Comments

In our continuing coverage regarding the foul Beach Drive bouquet, A small community meeting with representatives from King County Waste Water just adjourned from the sidewalk of 4700 Beach Drive SW. Armed with a color 4 page report regarding the soundness of their sewer, King County says it wasn’t them!

2015-09-30 16.13.00

 

Four leakage sensors were setup inside man-holes along the circa 1957 main line that runs along the drive…

2015-09-30_1715

 

With no solid evidence supporting sewage runoff as our culprit, the meeting turned into a “now what” conversation. An ecologist from the county recommended that neighbors start a permit process asap with Washington Fish & Wildlife for dealing with the next round of rotting sea lettuce. The permits apparently last five years. If  NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is correct, we could be literally blown out of our houses next summer! An article issued by King 5 back in July reported NOAA’s prediction for Seattle’s chances of continued warming…

SEATTLE – There’s a 90 percent chance El Nino will continue through this coming winter and an 80 percent chance it will extend to early spring 2016, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center reported Thursday.

The stench has been no stranger to the Fauntleroy Cove area where residents took action to remove the seaweed. The Seattle Times reported…

When the problem last emerged in 1990, state officials attacked it by corralling the seaweed in nets and hauling it out into the sound, where it was dumped. They did this for three years at a cost of about $10,000 a year, then stopped. The problem abated until this summer, when average temperatures were three to four degrees above normal and the Puget Sound area saw more sunshine than usual.

A few residents present at the meeting showed interest in moving forward to find a solution. Maybe consulting with other neighborhoods that have or are currently dealing with this issue would be a good start. We did learn that Dumas Bay click here for their study & Shilshole Pt. were also plugging their collective noses and working on solutions.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

 

 

Filed Under: Beach Drive Homes, In the News, Puget Sound

New stink to an old story?

September 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

EDITORS NOTE: Please scroll to the bottom of this post for an update.

Some new controversy is brewing in regard to the rotten egg-like stench we reported along parts of Beach Drive SW.  A neighbor in the 4600 block reportedly complained about the gaseous smell to a King County Wastewater representative and was told that the cause could possibly be related to a recent CSO (combined sewage overflow). At first flush, I would think they are referring to heavy rains we experienced on August 29th which pushed our monthly total far beyond the average.

seattle2015rain
Another concerned neighbor and I caught up with a KC Waste Water truck hanging out this morning at the base of Jacobson Street. The gentleman in the truck explained that he was tasked with installing sophisticated sensors at different points along the sewer line that would indicate any accidental sewage leaks. He went on to say that most complaints of the odor have been located between around LaRustica Restaurant and about the 5000 block of Beach Drive. Also checked out were the City of Seattle lines that run down Jacobson to the main county line. Where the two lines intersect create what’s called  the SW Alaska Street Seattle Combined Outfall which dumps out into the sound when the Alki overflow treatment plant becomes overwhelmed.

AlaskaCSOphoto1

 

Incidentally, this particular outflow rarely overflows according to report studies (.1% yearly 1987-2007) however it is not uncommon to have some leaky-poos just north at the 63rd St & Alki outflows.

AlkiUntreatedCSO

63rdCSOphoto

The CSO Status website used by recreational divers and beachcombers has been experiencing technical difficulties and is not showing any real time data for the outflow stations in the immediate area.

King County West Point Treatment is encouraging all residents along the drive to report any stink zones with the exact time they occur. This will go along ways to get to the messy bottom of the mystery. 24 hour odor hotline 206-263-3801

A meeting had been setup between representatives of King County Waste Water Treatment, concerned homeowners and local media for this Friday but has been temporarily postponed.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

 

UPDATE September 25, 2015: We received this email from a local resident:

Hi. Thought I would pass along some information about my morning’s experience regarding the odor on Beach Drive.

Last night when the odor intensified, I called the hotline you posted on the Blog (thanks for that information).  This morning around 11:30 a King County representative came to measure the levels of hydrogen sulfide, the likely gas causing the odor.  The couple of manholes out in front of the house had a zero reading for hydrogen sulfide.  At our deck, water side, the reading was .02.  At the bulk head, the reading was .14.  The rep said this was definitely abnormal and KC continues to be perplexed as to the cause but is actively investigating. 

He expected some public announcement next week on the status of the investigation.

Thanks again for the information on the Blog.  Helps to inform and connect us all.

Filed Under: Alki, In the News, Puget Sound

Unusual carcass washes up on Beach Drive shore

April 1, 2015 by 1 Comment

A local neighbor reported this washed up shark carcass to Washington Fish & Wildlife late this morning while walking his dog along Emma Schmitz Viewpoint…

Shark_001

Beach Drive resident Mark Snyder spotted the nearly 6 foot hulk after peering over the edge of the seawall to see what all the bird racket was about.

A spokesperson from WSFW believed that it may be related to a species of Thresher shark they’ve been seeing due to the warmer than usual waters off the coast. She also mentioned that ocean going ships will often snag an animal from distant waters and deposit them on inland shores as they reduce speed. A Wildlife boat has been dispatched for tomorrow morning to drag the shark back to the Armeni ramp for proper disposal.

Mark is often seen sail boarding on the windiest of days around here and told us that “this will definitely make me better at my sport, I’d hate to fall out there and meet one of these guys!”

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: In the News, Just for fun, Parks, Puget Sound

Comment period open for Emma Schmitz Memorial seawall project

December 12, 2014 by 3 Comments

With an official press release due out as soon as this Monday, Beach Drive Blog has been notified by Seattle Parks and the Seattle District of the US Army Corp of Engineers that public comment is now open in regard to the pending seawall replacement for the southern section of Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook Park. Public Comment closes December 31st 2014. Click here for the Public Notice. Comments may be e-mailed to Melissa.L.Leslie@usace.army.mil.

Tanya M King, Public Affairs Specialist with the Corp is very interested in being the single point of contact for any unofficial comments or concerns residents may have regarding the project. There are several different public entities within the immediate scope of the project (Seattle Parks, King County sewer and road, City of Seattle utilities & sidewalk, etc) and Tanya is committed to work with all jurisdictions to get your answers “it may take a day or two or even longer in some cases, but I will do my best to make life easier for residents looking for answers or expressing concerns”. Please see Tanya’s contact info at the bottom of post.

We wrote an article back in April when Becky Rufin, Parks Engineering Manager with Seattle Parks & Rec was kind enough to share the 64 page proposed plan for the new seawall. Per Becky’s email today…

If approved by the federal government, the Seattle Parks Department will be entering into a cost-sharing agreement for replacement of this aging structure. Project design and construction would actually be executed by USACE.
Please note there is currently a public review period open for the proposal, and comments must be received by December 31, 2014.

Beach Drive Blog asked Tanya to confirm a few specifics regarding the project. She responded before I could even finish the post!

How much taller will the new wall stand above the existing? 2 to 3 feet

Is any type of railing going to be installed? Too early to tell. Not to that level of design stage yet but it would be built low if built at all.

What if any new landscaping will there be? Would work with parks dept. but low native shrub/vegetation is what we’d expect in respecting neighbor’s views.

One new aspect to the plan is in respect of losing a few feet of public beach when the proposed wall is built in front of the old wall…

Due to the close proximity of the sewer main to the existing seawall structure, moving the alignment of the new seawall landward was assumed to increase the risks of potential failures during construction and significantly increase overall costs of the project. Therefore, the decision was made to move the alignment slightly waterward and mitigate for any nearshore (beach) area lost as a result of the project. A small amount (0.02 acres) of beach would be lost due to the footprint of the new seawall. To offset the loss of habitat, the project would reclaim adjacent beach habitat by removing a portion of riprap placed in the 1998 City of Seattle emergency repair. This entails lengthening the amount of seawall installed in order to stabilize the shoreline back to or near its pre- 1998 alignment and removing the waterward riprap and fill materials. The proposed ratio would be a 1:1 replacement as this habitat reclaims the lost habitat imposed by the new seawall and could begin to function immediately post-construction.

I think Emma herself would be pleased to know her overlook park could grow a little wider…

OmiSchmitz

This 1940’s photo shows Emma (on right) with her daughter-in-law Frankie posing beside the old family mansion that once stood where Mee-Kwa-Mooks Park is now. Courtesy of Bob Thomas who found the photo in an attic of a property he now owns.

Again, please contact Tanya for any unofficial (non-public) questions or concerns regarding this long overdue project,

Tanya M. King
Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District
206-764-6958 (office)
206-422-2679 (cell)
206-764-3769 (fax)
http://www.nws.usace.army.mil 

 

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Bulkheads, In the News, Opinion, Parks, Puget Sound

Is it safe for Fido to get in the water?

July 21, 2012 by 2 Comments

Numerous articles and publications regarding algae blooms have been circulating throughout local government sites and are now making their way around local West Seattle veterinarian clinics. Now that our family has added a virtual land seal (Scupper Jr.) to the pack, I figured it was wise to know more about the safety of dog paddling along our Beach Drive shores.

2012-07-19_16-16-21_901

This bulletin (commonly found in many states) has stirred up some confusion as to the safety of pets swimming in or around the algae blooms commonly seen on our marine beaches. As far as I can tell, these warnings are targeted specifically for lakes, ponds, rivers and non-moving estuaries. ALTHOUGH, I do have major reservations letting our pup thrash around in the colorful Puget Sound soup known as Noctiluca.

According to reports, The Washington Department of Ecology is still uncertain what else may be included in the unprecedented amount of recent algae blooms…

"They know for sure they have large amounts of common Noctiluca algae, which looks like tomato soup, but they have not identified several other strains they observed."

Conclusion: Your pets are likely to be just fine after swimming around these blooms but until I hear more, it's "Scupper, leave it!"

Scupper (Sr.) reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: In the News, Pets, Puget Sound

Local TV network takes notice of Beach Drive’s community safety efforts

June 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Komo 4 just aired a piece on how involvement by the local community helped create a safer park on Beach Drive. You can see one of the most active community members walking their dog Tazi in the news video…

 

BDB gives a big hat tip to everyone involved in working with the various public agencies in making these safety changes. The additional L.E.D. lighting may not deter all the criminal activity taking place in the park's lower section but it definetly gives an innocent walker-by a chance to see "what's up" before heading down there!

I walked down there the other night and was impressed how the three L.E.D. lights give just the right amount of illumination. There were some fears that the area would be too lit and ruin any ambiance the lower park offers. 

The next anticipated change will be a sign noting the park's closing hours.  

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog 

Filed Under: Current Affairs, In the News, Parks Tagged With: ,

Seattle police increasing their presence along Beach Drive SW

March 27, 2012 by 4 Comments

By land and by sea, Seattle police are keeping their word regarding increased visibility along the Emma Schmitz Memorial Park.  This cruiser was spotted off the park Monday afternoon…

SafeParks

Is this show of force making you feel safer? According to Captain Paulsen of the SPD during his report to concerned residents on March 20, he stated:

One of the things I have done is thrown some extra patrol cars down in the area, it’s not so much going to catch somebody or anything, but … this type of crime causes a lot of fear and we want to subside that fear by having this presence down there for you all. … Trying to think what else I’d like to say in regards to that. (watch video on West Seattle Blog) 

According to many of the neighbors within a stones throw of Emma Schmitz, shedding some light on the park would help the nerves a whole lot more.  A little digging has uncovered a successful attempt to light up a nearby park just north named Cormorant Cove (just so happens that Greggettes body was recovered at this park).

ParkLighting

When asking Seattle City Light what needs to happen to get the same treatment for Emma Schmitz, a representative responded…

The flood light on the pole by Cormorant Cove Park is being paid for by HARBOR WEST CONDO HOA which is the condominiums right next door. The light is actually angled toward the condo's although it is illuminating the park area too. If you'd like a flood light at Emma Schmitz Park my advice is to contact and get approval from Sea. Parks & Recreation at (206)684-4075. The monthly fee for a 400 W flood is $17.64. 

Well, I can tell you that this particular light is squarely focused on the park. There's another light on the pole just to the south that illuminates the condos parking lot. Less than $20 bucks a month?… I'll bet 2 months of park lighting that other Beach Drive neighbors would kick into a fund for lighting the lower section of Emma Schmitz for years to come. 

 Scupper for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Crime, In the News, Parks, Safety Tagged With: ,

Practice makes more perfect for various rescue agencies

March 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Blakely Rock off the northeast of Bainbridge Island is the scene of several public agencies working on polishing their on- shore & near-shore rescue techniques and procedures.  Among the participating agencies include the Coast Guard, various city fire departments, police, and the Washington State Fish and Wildlife.

  RescueExersises

The recent coverage from the Bainbridge Island Review mentioned that this is not the first year for these rescue exercises at Blakely Rock (a popular destination for Puget Sound divers & kayakers at low tide).  Corey Williams, technical trainer for Northwest Maritime Rescue was quoted…

“We are going to be running a couple different scenarios based on some search and rescues from last year; panicked swimmers and divers, … A lot of agencies have no problem getting the kayaker out of there, but they don’t know what to do with the kayak,” Williams said. “If they leave it there, will they go through the proper procedures of reporting the kayak?”

Given warmer weather approaching and the popularity of personal sized paddle craft, this is time well spent by these agencies. You never know when one those guys trolling for salmon from a paddle board actually catches something and gets yanked off their boards!

Scupper, for Beach Drive Blog

Filed Under: Dives, Events, In the News, Puget Sound
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