Belltown: Is this as good as it gets?
Belltown's history over the past 25 years suggested vitality, density, and the kind of success needed for the state's growth management plans to succeed. Now, it may be at a tipping point, in the wrong direction.
Crosscut
Crosscut
The fate and future of Seattle's Belltown neighborhood have provoked a lot of concern lately. The violence and street activity has mobilized the neighborhood. Recently, more than 300 people came together to express their concerns to Seattle Police and city leaders. It was somewhat ironic that Mayor McGinn — an advocate for the town hall format — did not attend.
Those who did attend demanded action from the city and a more visible police presence in the neighborhood. The mayor and the Seattle Police Department have responded by saying they will add police resources to the neighborhood during busy weekend nights.
But the police are not the only answer to Belltown’s problems. To better understand the challenges facing this unique mixed-use neighborhood, some history is needed.
Prior to the 1970s most of the area, then called the Denny Regrade, was zoned general commercial with some designated manufacturing along the waterfront. In 1985, the city of Seattle adopted a package of zoning changes and policies including a new designation called "downtown mixed residential" (DMR) to establish housing as the primary use for the area.
It was an area not unlike South Lake Union today, in which the city wanted to steer private investment and create a dense urban living environment. Additionally, investments were made early on for low income and affordable housing, beginning with the Pike Place Public Market and then north into Belltown, to make sure economic diversity was preserved in the growing neighborhood.
Sensing the coming economic development, entrepreneurs began investing. My own experience in Belltown started when Peter Lamb, then part-owner of Il Bistro, joined Steve Good and opened the Queen City Grill at First and Blanchard. I was busing tables at Il Bistro and was recruited to help open the Queen City. It was 1987, and the zoning changes adopted in 1985 were beginning to have an effect. In the next five to 10 years, the neighborhood would change dramatically.
In 1987, the street was kind of barren when compared to today. There were few establishments in the area, most notably the Frontier Room next door, where Nina poured strong drinks — a service for which we were very thankful.
The main problems for our business were the street population and the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB). We routinely had to throw out drunken people hassling our customers. The convenience store across the street did a bustling business in fortified wine and the WSLCB almost drove us out of business because of their denial and delay of our liquor license application — but that's another story.
Soon, the Watertown opened down the street, Casa U-Betcha opened across from us, and restaurants started opening their doors throughout the neighborhood. Belltown was fast getting a reputation as a place to get a great meal and have a good time. People wanted to move there, and thanks to policies that encouraged it, density followed.
The trend would bring the Flying Fish, Cascadia, El Gaucho, the Crocodile, and countless other restaurants, bars, and live music venues. Peter Lamb is still a presence in the neighborhood with Branzino, as are the originals from the Queen City. And thankfully the Croc is still a neighborhood institution. Unfortunately, the Frontier Room doesn't have the edge it once had when Nina tended the bar.
While Belltown is in many ways an urban success story, there are still many challenges ahead. The zoning changes of the 1980s have provided the opportunities for dense urban living, which in turn created demand for businesses that have generated wealth and created jobs.
But some key ingredients are still missing — there is a shortage of neighborhood amenities such as park space, not because government didn't think of it, but because government and the neighbors were nervous about who would use the space. A basketball court and some public art went up in the mid-'80s in a little pocket park, which attracted an open air drinking crowd and is now a dog park. There is not a full-fledged community center to support the growing number of residents.
Amenities like parks and community centers, benches on the street, and active public spaces are essential, and we have to have more effective ways to manage their use. Failing to create public spaces because we are afraid the "wrong people" will use them is not an option.
The success of the state's Growth Management Act, which protects our rural and scenic landscapes from sprawl, depends on us getting it right in all of our densely developed urban neighborhoods, Belltown included.
Depending on who you talk to, the problems either started with people moving into Belltown from the suburbs and other parts of the city or the explosion of nightclubs and bars in the neighborhood. This, and a tougher street scene, has set the stage for the battles over the long-term vision of Belltown.
There is a great diversity of people who make their home in Belltown. It is a mix of young people, empty-nesters, and low-income people. Their visions for their neighborhood matter. And they differ widely in their opinions of what the neighborhood is and what it should be in the future.
Belltown has a diversity of day- and night-time businesses that give it flavor and energy. They too differ in their opinions about their vision for the neighborhood. A common view, however, is that they don't think their customers should be accosted while visiting their shop, studio, restaurant, or nightclub.
Every summer crime spikes around the city, and Belltown is no exception. I have been through many of these cycles and usually SPD and the mayor have the same response. They shift personnel from specialty units like SWAT and anti-crime teams (ACT) and call it a new project, program, or emphasis. Truth be told, the shift in resources is a response to the cyclical and seasonal nature of crime.
But there is a larger issue that everyone in Belltown needs to debate and discuss. Namely, what kind of neighborhood do they want Belltown to be? Everyone needs to be at the table for this discussion: the clubs, restaurants, day-time businesses, human service providers, and residents. To simply depend on the seasonal SPD response is to fail to come to grips with long-term solutions.
The question ought to be: how can we create a balance in the neighborhood that provides for economic success for the various types of businesses in the district and a safe and welcoming environment for the visitors and residents that sustain them?
The question may be common sense and simple, but the solutions are difficult. Here's my take on what needs to be done.
First, the Belltown Business Association (BBA) and the Belltown Community Council need to get together with the restaurant owners and the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association (SNMA) to talk about their goals for the neighborhood. The SNMA must agree that the city needs the authority to shut down problem venues, and the other businesses and residents, in turn, must promise not to oppose every new liquor license out of hand. And they should join forces to put pressure on City Hall to provide dependable police staffing levels that result in a consistent visible and active presence in the neighborhood.
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Comments:
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 7:31 a.m. Inappropriate
Disorder is not the biggest problem in Belltown, more likely it is a simple matter of competition - mixed use development and the cool neighborhood business district are still great ideas, but perhaps overbuilt. The empty storefront under the Apartment building or lagging business volumes on Broadway or the University District aren't the result of a lack of police presence, just competition from other areas modeling upon their success.
It may well be the fact that the biggest impediment to urban growth is actually an excess of authority, not the lack of it. I'm not talking the beat cop on foot or bike, but rather those in the upper floors of the new urbanism, the legal profession and their control freak conspirators.
Entrepeneurial business that is not, irregardless of the image created by the retail sector.
One ommission in your piece - the role of Union land ownership in Belltown, a significant factor. As too was Martin Selig, who expanded the ride free zone into the area upon offer of $50k a year to Metro, a bill never paid, and still due.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 9:24 a.m. Inappropriate
Belltown is a work in progress. Personally, I like it more as it fills in. 2010 is way better than 2000, which is way better than 1990. Since it's taking decades to reach its potential, it's avoiding the "all at once" scenario and maintaining a good variety. Variety is also aided by the mix of high, medium, and low cost housing. (Kudos to the non-profits for building good subsidized buildings that enhance the neighborhood.)
Vacant retail is easy to figure out. Too much retail is required in new buildings. We should change the zoning so that retail concentrates on a couple of good retail streets, rather than dispersing it all over and never reaching critical mass in any one area.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 2:06 p.m. Inappropriate
Interesting article but background information is incorrect. The Denny Regrade was actually rezoned RM-MD (Residential Medium-Mixed Density)in March, 1975(Ordinance No. 104271). This zoning changed the Regrade from a commercial zone to a mixed use, mixed density zone that basically mandated street level commercial/retail and residential above. Densities started at FAR 2.0 and bonuesed up to FAR 5.0 with mid-rise residential. This zoning was based upon the Denny Regrade Plan by Lee Copeland.
Developers wishing to do commercial were given two years to vest and finish projects under the old commercial zoning. One developer, who had opposed the zoning change did do three office buildings (primarily along 4th Avenue)under this provision.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 2:24 p.m. Inappropriate
Nice article, though you might have mentioned that the area has history prior to the 1970s! There are many 1920s buildings that add a lot of character to the neighborhood.
We looked at a couple places in Belltown before deciding to move to South Lake Union. The biggest turnoff was the high speed of vehicle traffic on the streets, and the lack of a playground for the kids. (SLU has two now: Cascade and Denny Park. Both parks date back 100 years or more, though the playground equipment is new.) I like a lot about Bell Street Park, but one or more of the avenues really needs to be calmed to support a better pedestrian experience.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 2:33 p.m. Inappropriate
Valet parking, dress codes, undercover law enforcement, zero tolerance of the scofflaw laundry list of misdemeanors, and beginning the 'clean up' earlier than 2:00am would probably help.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 4:15 p.m. Inappropriate
Seattle history buffs are like Bradbury's book people, except history is not as memorable as great literature. So unless one has time and interest to burn in the Seattle Room, the details get more and more scrambled. Too bad too. The Rezone' two rezones noted here were indeed about 10 years apart. What has gone missing is the lesson a more history conscious Seattle would put to use instead of rabidly making the same mistake all over the place, urban village strategy, not withstanding.
For the record, the second Regrade rezone lowered expectations as much as the City could bring itself to do. It happened because developers were willing to show how the earlier one had raised property holders' expectations of a market 50 years out and aimed at those with means far in excess of the city's workforce.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 9:05 p.m. Inappropriate
The urban village strategy doesn't call for a lot of bars in most villages. And most are more middle class vs. the higher number of very high and very low incomes in Belltown. I don't see much parallel.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 9:09 p.m. Inappropriate
I should clarify: a city only has so many bar districts. It's not that Seattle is all that prescriptive about where bars go; actually we seem to try our hardest to let them go to as many multifamily districts as possible (co-locating multifamily zoning with lack of noise enforcement, in a bizarre twist that probably makes antacids sell better in this city), but nightlife-type bars like to concentrate, and there isn't enough business for concentrations to happen in very many areas.
Posted Tue, Jun 29, 9:53 p.m. Inappropriate
I wish the phrase "street disorder" would not be used when talking about areas that are experiencing assaults and murders. That phrase was tied to the late, unlamented panhandling ordinance which, of course, would not have prevented violent crimes of the sort increasingly happening in Belltown over the past few years. The latter happen when there are many bars and clubs.
I don't know why people bought expensive condos in Belltown without taking into account that "vibrant nightlife" (which is a meme that all politicians seem to tout) often means drunkenness when the clubs close, and drug trade while the clubs are open. The same thing is happening in Fremont and the Market area. Most of this seems to be more a matter of unrealistic expectations on the part of people with money who want to live in urban areas that provide them the same feeling (and actuality) of serene safety as Medina, rather than the actual worsening or higher frequency of crime.
Posted Wed, Jun 30, 10:16 a.m. Inappropriate
The open air drug market is the biggest disorder issue in Belltown and the reason gang members are drawn there (bars and a convenience store here and there for refueling don't hurt).
The combination of easy access (from freeways, neighborhoods and downtown) plus a history of open air drug dealing that draws buyers from the 'burbs, and a drug using (nightclub) crowd all combine to mean street dealers will come from all over to work this neighborhood. A ready supply of mules with homeless folks and down-on-luck users who loiter in the area exacerbates the problem, making it easy for dealers to avoid arrest by using middle-folk.
More enforcement won't fix it because arresting mules doesn't stop the dealers. Neither does arresting these street dealers - cops call these low-level dealers "tissues" - arrest one and another pops up. The supply of people for whom the stigma of dealing and arrest are nil and the benefit of ready cash is great is just too large.
What will help? In the short run blanketing the neighborhood with "eyes on the street" in the form of neighborhood patrols (not police, neighbors who know what's going on and have some training in how to not get themselves in sticky situations). In the long run, decreasing demand through treatment and addressing the underlying social issues that create a ready supply of young African American men who have nothing to lose by selling drugs on the street.
Those are tall orders! Good luck Belltown.
Posted Wed, Jun 30, 10:49 a.m. Inappropriate
I thought the article was great but left out the 50 plus non-profits in Belltown that in my humble opinion help to create the challenges we all face in Belltown. It seems to me that the City or whoever designs where non-profits go seem to keep placing them in Belltown. Many of the problem people who are arrested in Belltown don't live in Belltown but come down here to partake in many of the non-profit services only available in Belltown. Since this is where they get their food stamps, counseling, unemployment, help, etc. this is where they decide to hang out. The drug dealers know this and come here to make their scores. Unfortunately many of these people are drug addicts, alcoholics and problem people of various types. I believe the over whelming amount of non-profits in Belltown needs to be addressed. Outside of this I wish someone would open an ice cream parlor in Belltown. I support everyone in Belltown who wants a safer, cleaner neighborhood to live, work and play. This has been my motto since I moved to Belltown. We have done our part on 2nd Ave. between Bell & Blanchard and will continue to do so. Cheers! - Joe
Posted Wed, Jun 30, 3:26 p.m. Inappropriate
Seattle history buffs are like Bradbury's book people, except history is not as memorable as great literature. So unless one has time and interest to burn in the Seattle Room, the details get more and more scrambled. Too bad too.
afreeman, well put. Except history can be memorable, and occasionally can constitute great literature itself. But you are right about the details getting scrambled and the historical stream getting polluted. Another reason — as if we needed one — that history really is more important than it seems to be to many people.
Posted Wed, Jun 30, 8:06 p.m. Inappropriate
Royer is right about the lack of park space. On a trip to Paris last year, I marveled at the number of benches, gardens and parks the city offered its citizens and the fact that I could enjoy these spaces without fear of being accosted made it all the more wonderful. In certain parts of Seattle, being able to sit in a park unmolested is just a dream.
Posted Thu, Jul 1, 11:48 p.m. Inappropriate
I've had an idea recently in regards to park space in the area. I think if the city closed down 7th Ave in the Denny Triangle between Westlake and Denny and purchased the blocks on either side (almost all of it Clise property) we could build a truly amazing park. It would be Belltown's backyard. You could build something about the size of Cal Anderson park. Only personally I envision gardens instead of the fountain, and more trees with wandering paths. The soccer/softball field could stay. It would also serve as a really great pedestrian connection between the Westlake Center area and the Seattle Center. It could also potentially bring more activity to Denny Park, which would serve as it's passive counterpart.
If 7th Ave was found to be a necessary connection, a lidded trench wouldn't be too difficult. The location is perfect for a Belltown park because nobody in the neighborhood would be more than 7 short blocks away. It would certainly spur more development on the other half of the Denny Triangle and the area north of Denny Way.
I really don't think it would be prohibitively expensive either. Cal Anderson cost what 5 million? Factor in land acquisition and we might be talking what like 200 million for the whole project? I'll take that over a streetcar any day!
Seattle Commons 2.0 anybody?
Posted Fri, Jul 2, 6:27 a.m. Inappropriate
This isn't exactly rocket science. In fact, the solutions are "too simple".
1) End the 'War on Drugs'. Just put the dealers out of business by making them compete with doctors and prescriptions. I know, totally amazing that American medicine can actually be cheaper than something, but it could be.
2) Provide adequate housing for the homeless. This affects, not just public spaces, but also domestic violence where the battered spouse has nowhere else to live, and prostitution.
3) Hire some people in uniform to pick up trash (all day long and every day) and a few more to serve as attendants at public restrooms.
Sadly, these ideas do not involve huge bulldozers, more police, or legions of social workers, and won't be tried for many years to come.
Posted Mon, Jul 5, 5:52 p.m. Inappropriate
-serial_catowner is absolutely right about this one. Achieve just these three things and we would be light years along in creating livable cities.
Posted Tue, Jul 13, 10:59 a.m. Inappropriate
I live in Belltown and it's evident to me that Seattle does not think it is a "real" neighborhood. I was recently looking for a place to swim and found Seattle Parks department has pools in Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard, Garfield and other areas in a large circle around Belltown:
http://www.seattle.gov/Parks/pools.asp
It's also very disappointing to hear that the Light Rail is going from Westlake directly to Capitol Hill. Why not a stop in Belltown, say at 4th & Battery? It would certainly attract businesses to the empty buildings on 4th and revitalize the struggling area between 5th Ave and the Whole Foods on Denny. Maybe they should just re-install Denny Hill!
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