Tag: Ballard

Crews Responding to Outage in Ballard, Crown Hill

Seattle City Light crews were responding to a power outage in Ballard and Crown Hill Saturday night that affected about 11,200 customers.

An underground cable failure was determined to be the cause of the outage. An initial estimate for restoration of service was set for 4 a.m.

The general boundaries of the outage were N 112th Street on the north, NW 46th Street on the south, 6th Avenue NW on the east and Seaview Avenue NW on the west. Not all customers within those boundaries were affected. Please see www.seattle.gov/light/sysystat/ for updates.

Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to about 750,000 Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

City Light Recognizes inHaus Development as an Energy Efficiency Superstar

Seattle City Light will recognize inHaus Development and its Solo Lofts team as energy efficiency superstars at tonight’s game between the Mariners and the Red Sox.

inHaus is currently developing Solo Lofts, a 20 unit boutique condominium building now selling in Ballard. This all-electric, Built Green, 4-star project incorporates energy saving technology inside and out.

“We’re actively trying to do things better rather than slapping something on the wall and calling it green,” inHaus co-owner Dave deBruyn said.

Among the energy saving features are extra insulation, fiberglass windows, ENERGY STAR appliances, on-demand hot water and WaterSense® fixtures. The building is expected to use 18 to 19 percent less electricity than a similar building that was built to meet building code requirements. The building will also be wired so solar panels could be installed at a later date.

Since the inception of inHaus in 2010, energy efficient design has been an inherent part of its operations. deBruyn said certified energy efficient homes in Seattle and Portland have sold at 10 to 20 percent more than standard homes, which is good for inHaus, the environment, and especially for the people who buy the homes..

Seattle City Light is recognizing inHaus as energy efficiency superstars and for doing their part to keep conservation a top priority for you and the city of Seattle because the less we use the more we all save. Find out how you can be an energy efficiency superstar and lower your bill at your home or business by visiting seattle.gov/WePower.

DPD and Ballard Partnership Seek Input for Ballard Urban Design Study

– City launching online & in-person options to give your thoughts on Ballard’s Future

  • Attend an open house at the Ballard Library on May 7 from 5:30 – 7:30 to learn about the project, join in conversations about Ballard’s future, and share your ideas.
  • Provide your feedback through the Imagine Seattle website that will ask questions on a series of topics over the next few weeks.

Over the past decade, Ballard has seen significant changes from the “sleepy” neighborhood it once was. The area has become denser as it became attractive to younger people and to families with children. At the same time, the job market has changed, but job growth has not kept up with the population growth.

We are partnering with the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth (Partnership) on a coordinated and strategic planning effort to address these changes and help create a vision that will shape growth and guide new development in Ballard.

For the past year, the DPD and Seattle Department of Transportation have been coordinating with the Partnership as they have identified issues and opportunities to address as Ballard grows. In response to their work, the addition of RapidRide and potential light rail to Ballard, the City has begun work on an Urban Design Framework (UDF). It will be a collaborative vision and recommendation for urban design, land use, transportation and other strategies that will guide future development while ensuring Ballard’s people and places thrive. We’ll look at a larger area to understand the context, but the focus of work is on where we are likely to see continued development and change in the coming years (see map).

The City and Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth are hosting an open house at the Ballard Library on May 7 from 5:30 – 7:30 to provide an opportunity to learn about the project, join in conversations about Ballard’s future, and share your ideas. Since Ballard has many active users of online news and blogs, the City is using the Imagine Seattle website to get your feedback on a series of topics over the next few weeks. Each week, the site will provide some facts about Ballard (a full background report is available here) and prompt you for your thoughts and priorities. Many questions allow you to “map” suggestions, and once registered, you will receive weekly updates about the conversations. Whether online or at a meeting, the City and Ballard Partnership hope to encourage a respectful and productive exchange among neighbors – we want to hear all of Ballard’s ideas about the future.

The Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth is tackling many topics and recently received an $85,000 grant from the City’s Only in Seattle program. Working with the City they identified the following areas that the City can address through the year-long UDF project. Your thoughts and ideas are needed to help direct and prioritize our work on the following topics:

  • Character of Development: Ballard is booming. What should the mix and character of development be as the Ballard core grows?
  • Improve Connections: Metro introduced Rapid Ride, and by mid-2014, Sound Transit and the Seattle Department of Transportation will have completed their study of possible high-capacity transit improvements between Ballard and downtown Seattle. What types of transportation connections are needed to support growth, and what are the opportunities and challenges presented by the potential high capacity transit stations?
  • Expand Economic Opportunity: The local business community, neighborhood groups, and non-profits have mobilized to form a Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth with the mission to encourage investment and identify strategies to augment Ballard’s commercial core. How can the City grow and diversify to expand economic opportunity?
  • Sustain Health: The primary goal of this collaboration is to foster an environment that supports the health and access to opportunity for a diverse community. What specific actions should we take to increase access to resources such as affordable housing, employment, and safe public spaces that support a healthy community?

The Imagine Seattle website does require registration, so if you don’t wish to join the conversation online, you can fill out a one-time survey or attend the open house. This is the first of three phases of work and coordinated community engagement. The City and Ballard Partnership will use all the input to shape recommendations.

What do you think about the future of Ballard? Here’s how you can provide your feedback:

Questions? Comments?
David Goldberg, Planner
(206) 615-1447
davidw.goldberg@seattle.gov

Aditi Kambuj, Planner
(206)615-7911
aditi.kambuj@seattle.gov

 

City Partners with Community to Begin Urban Design Framework for Ballard’s Future

-Seeking Feedback for Ballard Urban Design Study

Over the past decade, Ballard has seen significant changes from the “sleepy” neighborhood it once was. The area has become denser as it became attractive to younger people and to families with children. At the same time, the job market has changed, but job growth has not kept up with the population growth.

We are partnering with the community on a coordinated and strategic planning effort to address these changes and help create a vision that will shape growth and guide new development in Ballard.

For the past year, the Department of Planning and Development and Seattle Department of Transportation have been coordinating with the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth as they have identified issues and opportunities to address as Ballard grows. In response to their work, the addition of RapidRide and potential light rail to Ballard, the City has begun work on an Urban Design Framework (UDF). It will be a collaborative vision and recommendation for urban design, land use, transportation and other strategies that will guide future development while ensuring Ballard’s people and places thrive. We’ll look at a larger area to understand the context, but the focus of work is on where we are likely to see continued development and change in the coming years (see map).

The City is hosting an open house at the Ballard Library on May 7 from 5:30 – 7:30 to provide an opportunity to learn about the project, join in conversations about Ballard’s future, and share your ideas. Since Ballard has many active users of online news and blogs, the City is using the Imagine Seattle website to get your feedback on a series of topics over the next few weeks. Each week, the site will provide some facts about Ballard (a full background report is available here) and prompt you for your thoughts and priorities. Many questions allow you to “map” suggestions, and once registered, you will receive weekly updates about the conversations. Whether online or at a meeting, the City and Ballard Partnership hope to encourage a respectful and productive exchange among neighbors – we want to hear all of Ballard’s ideas about the future. 

The Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth is tackling many topics and recently received an $85,000 grant from the City’s Only in Seattle program. Working with the City they identified the following areas that the City can address through the year-long UDF project. Your thoughts and ideas are needed to help direct and prioritize our work on the following topics:

  • Character of Development: Ballard is booming.  What should the mix and character of development be as the Ballard core grows?
  • Improve Connections: Metro introduced Rapid Ride, and by mid-2014, Sound Transit and the Seattle Department of Transportation will have completed their study of possible high-capacity transit improvements between Ballard and downtown Seattle. What types of transportation connections are needed to support growth, and what are the opportunities and challenges presented by the potential high capacity transit stations?
  • Expand Economic Opportunity: The local business community, neighborhood groups, and non-profits have mobilized to form a Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth with the mission to encourage investment and identify strategies to augment Ballard’s commercial core. How can the City grow and diversify to expand economic opportunity?
  • Sustain Health: The primary goal of this collaboration is to foster an environment that supports the health and access to opportunity for a diverse community. What specific actions should we take to increase access to resources such as affordable housing, employment, and safe public spaces that support a healthy community?

The Imagine Seattle website does require registration, so if you don’t wish to join the conversation online, you can fill out a one-time survey or attend the open house. This is the first of three phases of work and coordinated community engagement. The City and Ballard Partnership will use all the input to shape recommendations.

What do you think about the future of Ballard? Here’s how you can provide your feedback:

Questions? Comments?
David Goldberg, Planner
(206) 615-1447
davidw.goldberg@seattle.gov

Aditi Kambuj, Planner
(206)615-7911
aditi.kambuj@seattle.gov

CO Detector Helps Save the Lives of Ballard Couple and Their Pet

UPDATE: 5 p.m.  Seattle Police Investigators determined the cause of the CO Poisoning was accidental. The couple is recovering at Virginia Mason Medical Center. The couple’s dog was taken in by a neighbor.

March 26—Firefighters rescued a couple and a dog out of a Ballard townhome full of Carbon Monoxide this morning. 

Prior to the firefighter’s arrival, a PSE employee was called to a townhome located in the 800 block of NW 52nd Street to look into a CO Alarm sounding in Unit B of a two-unit complex.  While investigating the cause of the CO Alarm activating, the PSE employee discovered a car running in the closed garage of Unit A.

At 5:12 this morning dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call from the PSE employee reporting the running car. When firefighters arrived they made forcible entry into the 3-story home. Inside Unit A, they found two semi-conscious patients who collapsed at the top of  the staircase . The patients demonstrated symptoms of CO poisoning.  Firefighters rescued the couple and their dog.  Once outside the home, the two patients began to regain consciousness. The dog did not show any visible symptoms of CO poisoning.

Medics evaluated the patients, a male and a female in their 30’s, and transported them to Virginia Mason Medical Center to be placed in the hyperbaric chamber.  The patients were conscious and stable at the time of the transport.

Fire crews measured the CO levels in Unit A and found the levels to be 1300 parts-per-million. Greater
than 35 ppm Exceeds acceptable levels for continued exposure.  CO is an odorless colorless gas that can be deadly. It’s often times called the “Silent Killer”. According to the National Fire Protection Association a person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.

Firefighters used industrial fans to ventilate the townhome and to make the environment safe for the occupants to return to the units.

The family in the non-affected unit  had left prior to firefighters arrival to stay with relatives.

If your CO alarm sounds, get out immediately and call 911.

The Fire Department is thankful for the diligence and quick actions of the PSE employee.  The on-scene fire officer stated two occupants of the home would not have survived without the actions of the Puget Sound employee.

For more information on danger of Carbon Monoxide click on this link.

http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubed/brochures/carbon%20monoxide.pdf