Exploding neighborhoods: Magnolia to Mercer Island

Two tales of neighborhoods in conflict with themselves and the coming changes in the way we live illustrate how the decade will evolve, and how neighborhoods will be at the forefront of the debate.

In lovely Magnolia and tranquil Mercer Island, talk of plans for different kinds of housing has been the ignition of revolt. The Magnolia story has been more fully told: Residents of that great place to live object. They object to plans to include housing for the homeless on former federal land; they object to being dissed as "affluent," and they fundamentally object to the first rule of the evolution of Puget Sound cities: that life is about to change.

Seattle officials are attempting to buy 31 acres of the old Fort Lawton within some federal guidelines, and that includes some housing for the homeless, some for low-income families and some homes at the steeper market rate. Mixed development is the most recent mantra of both city planners and housing advocates. I think it remains an open question how successful mixed use can be in some neighborhoods.

That said, the debate around the future of Fort Lawton, Discovery Park and Magnolia residents is whether those acres should go green, go affordable, or not go anything. Certainly, the internal pressure to "end homelessness" in Seattle and the county in 10 years stokes every fear in neighborhoods that thought a certain age and character granted them immunity to change.

On Mercer Island, a similar fight brews over 0.8 acres of city-owned land in the island's First Hill neighborhood. Mercer Island City Manager Rich Conrad explained that because of a hole drilled for reservoir water elsewhere, the parcel became open to development, or at least discussion of development.

"It could go to a private developer for three residential homes, it could remain open, it could become a model housing development for much smaller units, often called cottage housing," Conrad said. He emphasized the process has just begun and no decisions by the City Council have been made.

But it has not just begun for some Mercer Island homeowners. An oft-quoted meeting at an island Starbucks about two years ago showed the regional growth and density organization, FutureWise, put the arm on Conrad by saying while Mercer Island's downtown has been densified, the rest of the city could use much greater density, by as much as 30 percent.

Conrad said similar conversations took place in Woodinville, Bellevue and half the cities on the Eastside at about the same time. "FutureWise has since backed down and accepted our city's comprehensive plan to retain the residential nature of the island, with plenty of highly dense buildings in the town center," Conrad said.

That does nothing to stem the anxiety. Readers of the Magnolia conflict, as reported in The Seattle Times, have written letters to the editor that accuse their neighbors of NIMBYism, and of not being of generous heart. The city needs housing for the homeless. What's the problem?

On Mercer Island, where I have lived for about 15 years, the discussions are similar, with some people thinking there are regional contributions a small city must make for affordable housing, and some saying a neighborhood's sense of community is so fragile, government intrusion is not desired.

Mercer Island City Hall prefers to call cottage or dense housing units "alternate housing," and, indeed, some cottage housing in Kirkland and elsewhere is successful. Change is not guaranteed to be a success, however, and the impact of new kinds of housing on established neighborhoods is full of uncertainties.

Here's a clue about the debates that will shape this region in the next decade: "People living next to Fort Lawton argue that the city's intentions, though noble, could cause traffic congestion, increase crime and isolate formerly homeless people from services. Conservationists are frustrated, too. Magnolia is home of the largest active colony of great blue herons in the city ... " [The Seattle Times, April 26, "Hosting homeless: Magnolia objects," by Sanjay Bhatt.]

Expect to read many more stories about the urban decline of nature, the impact of density and the push-back from neighborhoods as metro Puget Sound becomes a reality.

James F. Vesely's column appears Sunday on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is: jvesely@seattletimes.com; for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to Opinion at seattletimes.com