White Center Now: The blog about White Center

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

From trees to tunes, with some confrontation along the way, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council tackled several topics tonight.

LOCAL SERVICES: Director Leon Richardson was a spotlight guest. First he explained the department (“local government for unincorporated King County” among other things) – which has two divisions, Road Services and Permitting, plus the director’s division, which does planning, economic development, etc. But “it’s really anything you can think of,” he said. He talked about how Local Services helped speed things up when utilities seemed to be foot-dragging on replacing stolen wire.

NHUAC members immediately brought up the longrunning Tim’s Tavern outdoor-music issue, as the tavern had a show outdoors tonight and is promising one every Thursday. They could get a special permit, county managers said. Shortly thereafter a woman in the audience said she’d rather hear live music than see dead bodies in the street, and a short shouting match broke out as other attendees countered that the two types of situations were entirely unrelated. Richardson calmed the crowd by saying both types of situations were worthy of concern. The frustration had initially erupted because after two years of complaints, residents thought the county had worked it out with Tim’s to cease outdoor performances, and told Richardson it shouldn’t have taken so long for the county to do something.

NHUAC also brought up a recent story in an online publication that apparently quoted a King County official as saying rezoning could be an option for the White Center business district. Asked about that, Richardson said “right now we haven’t proposed anything” and “we’re not planning on it” but acknowledged that he’s asked his team to analyze possible “inconsistencies” in zoning in some areas.

That led a few minutes later to the multi-decade issue of whether White Center is more closely aligned with Burien or Seattle. Shortly thereafter, the topic changed and the county team was thanked for resolving some road issues, while also being asked what ever happened to the plan for resolving the bumpiness on 107th at 16th. Open a ticket with Roads, was the advice.

Another question: Someone’s neighbor seemed to be running a home-based car-related business and taking up parking spaces. They too were advised to contact the county officials who likely could properly route the complaint.

Next person asked about the fireworks ban and what the 4th of July enforcement plan would be this year. No change this year, the county reps said – for complaints, there’ll be a phone line set up and an emailbox. Richardson noted that they have six code-enforcement officers for 250,000 people, so don’t expect an immediate response.

NHUAC’s Barbara Dobkin said she’d heard county councilmember Teresa Mosqueda’s chief of staff mention trees and a park ahead for 16th SW, and wondered where that would be. Richardson said there’s definitely a “beautification project” on the drawing board but didn’t have specifics. He and another county staffer said it’s apparently related to the forthcoming King County Parks Levy.

Another attendee asked about how birds would be deterred from power/utility lines. That’s up to the utilities, said Richardson. They also fielded a question about economic development, and how the county is looking at cultivating new businesses as well as getting current ones to stay. The attendee who had voiced previous concern about seeing a body on the street talked about spending years supporting small businesses and brought it back to her concern about NHUAC’s Tim’s Tavern worries, and more shouting ensued. The Local Services reps eventually left; the attendee got up and accused the board members of wanting to close Tim’s, which they denied.

Everybody calmed down for the rest of the meeting and were chatting animatedly by its adjournment. Meantime, one more big

KING COUNTY URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAM: The program’s manager Joanna Nelson de Flores brought updates. It’s been four years since the county released a 30-year forest plan. They found, among other things, that tree canopy “is holding pretty steady” rurally but not so much in the urban areas. So White Center is an area with “low canopy,” you likely won’t be surprised to hear. The “unincorporated subarea plan” is part of their focus. Basically, anywhere a tree is growing is “part of the urban forest,” she explained. She talked about state funding that had opened the door for some youth involvement in Glendale Forest (which dates back several years). “It’s a small little gem, only five acres,” Nelson de Flores said. “It’s a work in progress.” There’s a plan, with a bridge as the next major piece.They’ve been doing lots of restoration including planting 500 trees and shrubs “within a few months.” They have partnered with nearby Rainier Prep on the EarthCorps Green Generation School Program. They had an open house last week.

Most trees are on private property, so in order to support a thriving urban forest, they have to work with private landowners too.

She said the program had recently secured a grant – and then got it yanked because of the federal axe. They’re hoping to proceed with at least part of what had been funded. More trees at White Center Heights Park, for one.

But, it was acknowledged later, trees can be a tough topic for some – an incident in the past might have led to “tree

At the start of the meeting, they heard from a new business’s co-proprietor:

WOLFPACK CELLARS: The meeting opened with James Bivans, who just signed the lease for the new Wolfpack Cellars location in the rebuilt commercial storefronts on 16th SW. (Here’s our previous coverage.) They’re signing up members but don’t have an opening date set yet – “lot of permits” although they have high hopes since they have a meeting with the Liquor and Cannabis Board on Friday – but they’re hoping for June. First their spring release is May 17, 4-6 pm; they’ll be using the new tasting room, but it has to be a “private event” until everything is approved. You can sign up online to get on their mailing list.They’re also going to participate in the White Center Pride Block Party. Their new space will be dog-friendly and kid-friendly, “like Beer Star only much, much smaller.” No food, for starters, but you’ll be welcome to bring in neighborhood food.

And toward the end, they invited a group to say a few words after they’d uncloaked during the forestry Q&A:

WHITE CENTER SOLIDARITY: It started with two people and has grown into a number of working groups focused on a variety of community issues, including protecting people from rent hikes and protecting immigrants. They have general gatherings and potlucks. You can find ways to get involved via their website – see it here.

REPAIR EVENT: Darlene Sellers reminded everyone it’s coming up 9:30 am-12:30 pm at the Steve Cox Park Fieldhouse – details here.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NHUAC: They usually meet on first Thursdays, 7 pm at the North Highline Fire Station (1243 SW 112th).

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