Archives West Finding Aid

The Downtown Plan, or Land Use and Transportation Plan for Downtown Seattle, was a project begun in the early 1980s to replace the Comprehensive Plan with new land use policies, a new zoning code and a new zoning map. The Downtown Plan is the most well-documented project within Kraabel's papers. The project was inspired by the Seattle 2000 Commission, which established long-range goals and objectives for the City and was intended to be a guide for downtown growth. The many parties that contributed to the Plan are reflected in Kraabel's papers, including the Executive Office, City Council, the Mayor, many citizens, several technical advisory committees, a Mayor's Task Force, Special District Boards, the Design Commission and the Planning Commission. Land use, transportation issues, housing, traffic, open space, the waterfront, parking, pedestrian traffic, and human services were all discussed during development of the Plan. The Plan was adopted by Council in 1985 through Resolution 27281. Many related documents can be located through the Published Documents Index; specifically, proposed, draft, and revised versions of the Downtown Land Use and Transportation Plan can be found there.

The Document List in Box 1 for the Downtown Plan is a list of documents with alphanumeric codes compiled by the Kraabel staff. Documents can be found by their code, which are on tabs attached to the documents, but they are not in the exact order in which they appear in the list. Agendas of the Urban Redevelopment Committee, which Kraabel chaired during this period, are included for 1984 to 1985. Also included are discussion agendas for the Land Use Committee, notices of public hearings, memoranda and correspondence. The Downtown Plan was a complex project, involving issues relating to the land use code, housing, economic development, and environmental and social issues. The complexities of the issues are reflected in the records through interdepartmental correspondence, constituent comments, reports, and drafts of legislation. Correspondents include Allied Arts of Seattle, Denny Regrade and Capitol Hill community organizations, and many downtown businesses as well as many individuals. Peter Steinbrueck, Virginia Galle, and Brewster Denny were among the citizens helping shape the Plan and its revisions. The newspaper clippings in Box 6 contain many business and community organization newsletter clippings regarding the Downtown Plan.

Revisions and updates to the Downtown Plan are also included here and date from 1988-1989. The update includes documentation of Initiative 31 and the Mayor's proposed alternative. The Initiative, known as the Citizens' Alternative Plan or CAP, was passed in 1989 by Seattle voters. The Initiative limited the height and size of downtown buildings. The Initiative was supported by Margaret Pageler and Peter Steinbrueck, among others; Paul Schell and Walt Crowley were among those against the Initiative.

The Housing series measures 1.2 cubic feet and dates from 1975 to 1990. The subjects most well-documented are the Housing Maintenance/Preservation Ordinance and the Senior Housing Program, although there is also information relating to accessory apartments. Downtown housing issues overlap with the Downtown Plan and researchers should consult both series.

First passed in 1980 and amended in 1981, the Housing Preservation Ordinance prohibited demolition of sound residential structures for putting in a vacant lot or parking lot. The ordinance required approved replacement use before a demolition permit was issued. It also required funding housing replacement or providing a share of the financial equivalent. In 1984 the fee required for the demolition of residential structures was found to be unconstitutional by the State; a replacement ordinance was introduced and passed in 1985. The 1985 ordinance incorporated the licensing of demolition and change of use of residential structures, and provided eviction protection and relocation assistance for displaced tenants. The State again found the ordinance unconstitutional in 1987 because of its tax on development in the replacement provisions (San Telmo Associates v. Seattle, 108 Wn. 2d 20). The records provide insight into the process of crafting the ordinance as well as background on low-income housing in downtown Seattle.

The Senior Housing Program records date from 1980 to 1986 and primarily address issues relating to bonds for elderly and disabled housing. Discussions through correspondence include putting the bond issue on the ballot in 1981, the work program for the bond issue, and housing issues related to low-income elderly and disabled people. Public hearing rosters and Council decision agendas are included. These records also include discussion of how to allocate the $5 million of unallocated funds in 1986.

The Land Use and Urban Development series is the largest within Kraabel's Subject Files, in part because he chaired the Planning and Urban Development Committee for a total of seven years. The records date from 1972 to 1990. Many topics are covered in this series, ranging from bed and breakfast zoning to the Shoreline Master Program.

Kraabel's efforts to regulate houseboat rates, one of the issues for which he is most well known, are documented here through hearing transcripts, draft legislation and correspondence. The records on this issue date primarily from 1980 to 1983, but range from 1977, when the first Equity Ordinance was passed, to 1986. Known as the Houseboat Equity Ordinance, the original ordinance was intended to control moorage rate increases and regulate eviction notices. Various aspects of the original ordinance and subsequent amendments were declared unconstitutional by the State.

Also well-documented in the Land Use and Urban Development series are changes made in multi-family residential land use policies reflecting complex growth-related issues. Residential density provisions as a whole were reexamined and elements such as open space, scale, and varied housing types considered; parking and setbacks as well as neighborhood character also made up part of the discussion. Changes in policy are documented through policy planning reports, constituent mail, and Council correspondence. The multi-family zoning records date from 1979-1989, but the bulk of the records and discussion date from 1989. Prior to multi-family land use policy discussion for the City as a whole, Ballard and Fremont were chosen as re-evaluation pilot projects beginning in 1987. Community input, draft legislation and reports document the Ballard and Fremont projects, dating from 1987 to 1988.

Public hearings and Council actions regarding land use and zoning changes related to the Shoreline Master Program in the mid-1980s are also in this series. Site planning in the late 1980s is well documented in the Land Use and Urban Development series. The projects most well documented are planning for a City Hall, the Convention Center and Westlake. Beginning in 1979, the City began exploring office needs for the City and performing long- and mid-range space planning. Several different options were explored for a new civic center with the final recommendation being for a location in the vicinity of the existing buildings, as that location offered "the best opportunity to meet the City's needs in a responsible, systematic way that will achieve a noble legacy for our community" (Box 22/4, New City Hall Project : Planning and Design Advisory Committee - Project Recommendations March 1, 1988). It would be the next decade before any of the planning was realized. Also documented in the Site Planning subseries is discussion over how to develop the PC-1 site located on Western Avenue west of the Pike Place Market. The Westlake Project Files include discussion of how the site was to be developed. Issues discussed included whether or not the Seattle Art Museum would be located there, the Rouse Company proposal, financial issues, and the monorail.

The Legislative and Interdepartmental Series measures .8 cubic feet and dates from 1979 to 1991. Primarily documented here are education and 1991 budget issues. Also documented here is reorganization of City departments, especially the planning function in the City in 1986 and 1987. Also of note in this series are folders on the City Flag, which Kraabel designed for the Goodwill Games, and on the recall charge made by Judy Ryan in 1990.

The Transportation Series measures 2.0 cubic feet and dates from 1971 to 1990. The bulk of the records in this series document the I-90 corridor between I-5 and Bellevue, including the bridge over Lake Washington. Part of the regional transportation system, many parties were involved in planning the I-90 corridor and they did not always agree. Issues included lane configurations, funding, including state and federal funding, environmental issues, mass transit, and transit access. The records reflect both the length and the complexity of the decision-making process. The actions of the Transportation Committee, of which Paul Kraabel was either vice chair or a member, are well documented with respect to the I-90 issues. The Puget Sound Council of Governments acted in an oversight capacity and because several Councilmembers were on PSCOG, including Paul Kraabel, Jeanette Williams, Phyllis Lamphere, and George Benson, the actions of this organization are also well documented. Other organizations and individuals represented in the series include METRO, the City of Mercer Island, Mayor Royer, Margaret Tunks, and Jerry Schneider.

The Utilities and Water and Waste Management series measures 1.6 cubic feet and dates from 1985 to 1990. This series primarily documents the decision-making process regarding Metro's 1990 conditional use application for the expansion of the West Point Sewage Treatment Facility, located in Discovery Park. A secondary treatment plant was part of a long-term goal of cleaning up the Puget Sound. Some records in the series address the issues of combined sewer overflow and secondary treatment prior to 1990. Alternatives and financial issues related to a treatment facility are addressed in reports and correspondence dating from 1986 to 1989, as well as consideration of Alki as a possible location for the treatment facility.

The records primarily document the decision to build a facility at West Point and the resistance by environmentalists and community members to the site. In 1990, the Hearing Examiner for the City held hearings in May regarding the West Point Metro permit and recommended granting the permits; City Council also held hearings and recommended the permits be granted. The parties involved in the hearings included the Department of Construction and Land Use, Metro, Magnolia Community Club, Friends of Discovery Park, and Puget Sound Water Quality Defense Fund, among others. Agendas and transcripts of the hearings are included in the records. Issues discussed in hearings include environmental and economic issues, odor and noise control, traffic and visual mitigation. Correspondents include Robert Kildall, R. J. Brooks, and Shary Flennikan, among others.