There is no doubt that, over the past decade, Ballard has seen some significant change. Our neighborhood has, as we all know, become denser and has increased in population with younger people and families.
According to The Department of Planning and Development, despite the change in the job market, job growth has not kept up with the rate of population growth.
The DPD is partnering with community organizations such as Ballard Chamber of Commerce and the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth to come up with a coordinated and strategic planning effort to address the changes in our neighborhood and to create a vision that will steer future urban development in Ballard.
Over the past year DPD and SDOT have been coordinating with the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth as they discover the issues faced and opportunities presented by the growth in our neighborhood. Through this collaboration, the City has begun work on an Urban Design Framework (UDF) for Ballard.
“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,” says DPD Planner David Goldberg.
At this stage, the UDF will focus on the shaded area in the map below (click for bigger image).
“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,” says Goldberg.
Click here to learn more about the project from Scott Ingham, co-chair of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, during his interview on KUOW radio last week.
The City is set to host an open house to share more information about the project and to give locals a chance to give their feedback. The event will be held on Wednesday, May 7, at Ballard Library (5614 22nd Ave NW) from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend and give their feedback.
In anticipation of the open house, an Imagine Seattle website has also been created to get local feedback on a series of issues that are important to the growth of Ballard.
Each week the site will provide facts about Ballard and prompt locals for their thoughts and feedback. All who are interested are encouraged to register on the website to receive weekly updates about the conversations.
Locals who are keen to give feedback but who are not interested in registering on the website can complete a one-time survey to contribute their thoughts.
“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,” says Goldberg.
The My Ballard team will keep readers informed about developments in the project and ways to give their feedback.