DESC is in the process of informing neighbors and interested members of the community about the new Crisis Solutions Center under development at 1600 South Lane Street. This program aims to divert individuals impacted by mental illness and substance abuse from jails and hospitals, by providing a more appropriate therapeutic alternative.
They are hosting an informational meeting next week about this project: Tuesday, November 9, 6:30 – 8:00 PM, at the Giddens School, 620 20th Ave. South. Staff will be present to answer questions and concerns about the project.
For more information, please also see their webpage: http://desc.org/crisis_solutions.html, or the attached letter from Bill Hobson, Executive Director of DESC.
You can also reach out to the Jackson Place Community Council at [email protected].
The comma right after the website is included in the link and will not take you to the website.
http://desc.org/crisis_solutions.html
I recently learned about the DESC’s plan to open a Crisis Solutions Center at 1600 S Lane St Seattle for mentally ill and drug addicted homeless people.
This location resides in a residential neighborhood with families, children, schools, day care centers and family oriented parks. As resident of S Lane St, I am outraged that my neighborhood was not informed and given the opportunity to voice our thoughts, concerns and opinions prior to finalizing the 1600 S Lane St location for the Crisis Solutions Center.
Not one of the 9 DESC Supportive Housing locations resides in a residential neighborhood. All of these locations offer long-term housing solutions for mentally ill and drug addicted homeless people – the Crisis Solutions Center does not. The Crisis Solutions Center plans to house individuals anywhere from 72 hours to 2 weeks. In addition, these individuals are in a psychiatric or substance abuse related crises.
This type of facility is entirely inappropriate for the S Lane St neighborhood and residents. To allow a revolving door of in crisis mentally ill and drug addicted homeless people is irresponsible and puts S Lane St home owners, families, children, schools and child care centers at risk.
The Crisis Solutions Center is better suited for a non-residential neighborhood, where individuals in crisis can receive the appropriate care they need and not pose a risk to families, children, schools, day care centers and family oriented parks.
If you look up the zoning for the proposed project you will see that it is currently zoned commercial. Neighboring zoning is Industrial across the street and lowrise 1,2,and 3 on surrounding streets. The area has a large sections of industrial and commercial zoning around it.
DESC is not trying to change the zoning of the neighborhood. DESC is working within the zoning requirements of the parcel. The existing structure is zoned for one use and if they occupy the lot then the zoning would need to change (for the property, not the parcel). If I have a single family house on a large lot and I want to tear it down and build a multi-family structure, so long as the parcel zoning permits this change I can do it. But I would need to change the zoning for the new structures from single family to multi-family.
As a homeowner or even a renter, it is important to understand how the neighborhood is zoned before purchasing or renting. If you want to live in a strictly residential area, then it is important to find a space that is zoned that way. When you live adjacent to a commercial/industrial zone it is unrealistic to think that you can impose residential zoning requirements to parcels that are not zoned like that.
All of DESC’s facilities have residential neighbors. DESC has been a responsible neighbor in all of it’s endeavors and I don’t doubt they will be at this facility. Most of the outrage and opposition is fear mongering about a population viewed as undesirable.
Having a facility like this is beneficial to the entire community. Tax dollars will be saved as less people are inappropriately incarcerated and/or hospitalized. Studies have shown that crisis intervention centers save communities money and make communities safer. In addition, 100 new jobs will be coming to the area. These employees may also bring new revenue to local businesses. This is entirely appropriate for the community.
Word.
Gee Jenifer what a canned response. So what is your part in this. It seeems you have a lot to gain. Are you an employee of this organization.
Hi again Eyes. It gets tiring when you continue to throw around insulting knee jerk responses like the one above. Like you, I live in the community and care about the neighborhood. I have family in the neighborhood and have been in and out of the central district since the mid eighties, when my mom moved to Seattle. I have lived in my current spot for the last decade. I have two children, one is an infant and one is in elementary school. What I have to gain from this facility is what everyone has to gain and I pointed that out in the last paragraph of what I wrote. You disagree with that and that’s okay.
I believe in becoming informed about what is going on and I believe in standing up for what I think is right. I don’t work for DESC. While you guys are in the conversation figuring out how to sue and calling foul on zoning changes and procedure, I looked up some information online and researched what is going on. You have access to this information too but chose to say that DESC are liars and they are not following zoning procedures. You want to make it a hassle for the facility to operate and want them to just go away. I want the facility to be able to operate and do so in a responsible way.
I don’t necessarily want to get into a food fight over zoning issues. What I do want to address – and what the DESC has failed to do – is the lack of engagement and partnering with the S Lane St community PRIOR to imposing the plans for the Crisis Center on the residents of S Lane St. How is the DESC being a *good friend* when they didn’t inform, engage or attempt to get community feedback from the residents of S Lane St prior to finalizing plans for the 1600 S Lane St location? The DESC’s approach to developing this Crisis Center is “We’re not asking for your support and we’re not responding to your criticisms. We’re just letting you know what we’re doing.”
In addition, I’d like to know what studies the DESC has conducted to determine the cultural, environmental and financial impact of the Crisis Center on the S Lane St community. To my knowledge there hasn’t been any research done. This isn’t some ordinary business moving into the area – it’s a Crisis Center that will have a revolving door of seriously mentally ill and drug addicted homeless people.
I believe in the mission of the DESC and feel the Crisis Center will be a valuable asset to Seattle. But the question is, where’s the most appropriate location for the Crisis Center? If this facility is to operate in a responsible way, doesn’t it need to know the impact it’s going to have on the community as a whole – not just the people it’s serving? There are too many unanswered questions on the table that pose a serious risk to the S Lane St community’s well-being and long-term viability.
Oh, and one more thing – this isn’t the first the DESC has tried to impose a project on a community: http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/270552_homesight18.html.
I too did some research on zoning restrictions for the Dearborn Corridor. And yes, 1600 S Lane St is currently zoned as commercial. But if you had done a little more research, you would’ve found information pertaining to a project the City of Seattle has proposed, followed with extensive research. It’s called Livable South Downtown and part of this project includes rezoning areas within South Downtown. Executive recommendations made back in Dec 2009 that are based on a background report conducted by the city recommend changing the current zoning of 1600 S Lane St from C2 Commercial to NC2 Neighborhood Commercial. You can read more about the project here http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/South_Downtown/Overview/.
Project Goals and Objectives
The overall goal of the South Downtown project is to stimulate housing and related development consistent with the Mayor’s Center City for great urban neighborhoods. Several specific goals and objectives for the project include:
* Stimulate housing and jobs through zoning and land use decisions
* Respect neighborhood character and neighborhood plans
* Promote an integrated mix of uses
* Support quality connections between neighborhoods and the downtown as a whole
* Encourage economic vitality and environmental sustainability
* Accommodate regional services and ensure they align with the goals of the local community
The goal of this project is to encourage and stimulate long-term residential and economic growth. And I just don’t see how siting a Crisis Center at 1600 S Lane St accomplishes that.
You are right Kirstin, the project does not support the policy. But when did the city ever support enforcing existing policy in this area? Promises will be given just to shut us up and get it in the door and up and running. Ignore the guilt trips if we ever want any chance at economic development investment in our neighborhood and the centeral district as a whole.