View XML QR Code

Neighborhood Planning Office Director's Records, 1991-1999

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Neighborhood Planning Office
Title
Neighborhood Planning Office Director's Records
Dates
1991-1999 (inclusive)
1995-1998 (bulk)
Quantity
5.2 cubic ft., ((13 boxes))
Collection Number
5760-01
Summary
Director's Records (created by Director Karma Ruder) for the Neighborhood Planning Office, 1994-1999; included are materials relating to the planning process, the NPO's work with other City agencies, and issues faced by the neighborhoods.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Return to Top

Historical Note

The Neighborhood Planning Office (NPO) was created in 1994 to implement the goals of the Comprehensive Plan for neighborhood planning. The office began work in January 1995 with a goal of creating 30 neighborhood plans in four years. The program was extended for a fifth year and the NPO closed June 30, 1999, after which its functions were folded into the Department of Neighborhoods (DON). Throughout the planning process the NPO worked with the Office of Management and Planning (OMP) and DON. Each neighborhood was assigned a staff member to oversee the planning process, and consultants were hired to facilitate communication between community members. Areas of priority were urban centers, manufacturing and industrial centers, urban villages, and distressed areas.

The planning process was broken into three steps: pre-application, Phase I, and Phase II. Work on the pre-application for funding included creating an Organizing Committee, setting neighborhood boundaries, developing planning guidelines, and developing neighborhood profiles and maps.

Phase I included outreach to community members, organizations, and businesses to organize and discuss the state of the neighborhood, writing a community vision statement listing the values and goals of the neighborhood, and creating a Planning Committee to lead Phase II. The results of Phase I were reviewed by the community in a validation step to ensure that the community as a whole was represented in what would become the basis of the scope of work for Phase II.

Phase II consisted of planning and developing projects and putting the plan through the validation process. The final plans, subject to environmental review to ensure compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), were submitted to the City Council for review, approval, and adoption. Once approved, projects were prioritized for funding.

Return to Top

Biographical Note

Karma Ruder, former director of the Neighborhood Planning Office, holds bachelor's degrees in human relations and philosophy and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Ms. Ruder was named a Distinguished Citizen by former Mayor Paul Schell in 1999. She now works as the Director of Community Collaboration at the Center for Ethical Leadership.

Source: http://www.ethicalleadership.org

Return to Top

Content Description

Files created by Director Karma Ruder, including subject files, reports to the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods, public involvement files, and files documenting the work the NPO did with interdepartmental groups and other city departments, such as City Light, the Department of Construction and Land Use, Seattle Engineering Department, the Department of Neighborhoods, the Office of Economic Development, the Office of Management and Planning, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Subjects include: transportation issues such as urban trails and bicycling; parks and open space; interaction with the City Council; inter-departmental agreements;, neighborhoods; lighting and water reservoirs in communities; an agreement that the new baseball stadium would give money to neighborhoods; the Neighborhood Planning Data Viewer Geographical Information Systems project; a partnership with the non-profit Sustainable Seattle group and the neighborhoods planning process.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Neighborhood Planning Office Director's Records, Record Series 5760-01. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in four series: Subject Files, Reports, Public Involvement Files, and Work With Other Departments.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Lighting--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Neighborhood planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Parks--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Reservoirs--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Transportation--Washington (State)--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Neighborhood Planning Office
  • Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Neighborhoods

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government

Form or Genre Terms

  • Agendas
  • Correspondence
  • Memorandums

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Ruder, Karma (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Scott Cline
2002

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...