Originally published Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 12:00 AM
James Vesely / Times editorial page editor
Surprising Newcastle: visions and opportunities
The little town of Newcastle, population around 10,000, has some big dreams for itself as a livable, picturesque American city, and, by...
![]() |
Times editorial page Editor
The little town of Newcastle, population around 10,000, has some big dreams for itself as a livable, picturesque American city, and, by gosh, it might just make it.
Squeezed between Renton and Bellevue, Newcastle voters incorporated a decade ago as a way of not becoming Renton. Like similar communities of that era, incorporation — of Sammamish, Kenmore, Newcastle and others — was felt the better option to being part of the sometimes indifferent King County government or getting a postmark by annexation.What became of Newcastle in the following years was not much, except for a couple of very big things that now look like real assets: one of the finest golf courses in the region sharing views by million-dollar homes, and an almost accidental greenbelt around the city that gives it the leafy character of a postcard.
There's nothing to write home about sitting in the Newcastle City Hall, a warren of corridors leading to a meeting room right above a machine shop. But inside City Hall, plans are emerging toward a unifying planned community with cottages and shops sitting just beneath the Golf Club at Newcastle.
"We have a plan," said Newcastle Mayor Ben Varon, "and that ties to a vision of a very livable city with a downtown core of attractive shops and interaction of pedestrians and community."
To back that up, Newcastle passed some interesting zoning changes in 2007, which are atypical of many suburban solutions. For example, Newcastle's new zoning does not put a limit on multifamily dwellings in the downtown section and mandates 50 percent pedestrian-friendly uses of the main streets. The new Newcastle also stops all future drive-throughs, in favor of more walk, less ride.
John E. Starbard, city manager, also notes that the new King County library building will be the first dual-use library and condo/retail building on the West Coast. He thinks it will be the model for how small cities adapt public buildings with private interests.
"Besides," Starbard said, "if the library wants to expand, they can push down a wall and take some retail space."
It's clear Newcastle is starting from behind on some issues. The City Hall is an embarrassment, and while the city is paying $100,000 a year to live above a noisy machine shop, the new plan for a people-friendly City Hall is still without funding or a building site.
But in the labyrinthine growth of community identity in the region, there certainly will be a place for a redone Newcastle. It has a solid home and real-estate base, and the community currently has opted to stay away from big-box retail and strip-mall driving destinations — although that's about what it has now.
Starbard says the natural geography of Newcastle, a close commute to Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport, and the permanent green buffer around the city will work in its favor.
The city planner is also enthusiastic about attracting developers for cottage living. That's housing of about 1,000 square feet appealing to retirees and singles. It can be put in the cleverest configurations to offer another choice between codes and typical homes on a larger lot.
Will any of this work? Hard to say with a difficult housing economy, but a visit to Newcastle is also a visit to a place of experimentation and expectations. It came of age in a different time; an old Newcastle flourished when miners pulled coal from its ground. That yesterday is barely visible today and at first glance, there is nothing very special about a town with cul-de-sacs and the standard retail outlets on Coal Creek Parkway.
But near-in suburbs are the laboratories of adaptation of how people will live in greater density and with small-town atmosphere. That has happened most successfully in Kirkland, thanks to a waterfront, but also in Renton and in the treasured neighborhoods of Seattle such as Green Lake, Wallingford and West Seattle.
So it might go with Newcastle, born in 1993, ready to shake the coal dust off its shoes.
James F. Vesely's column appears Sunday on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is: seattletimes.com">jvesely@seattletimes.com; for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to Opinion at seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Guest columnists: Compensate Pend Oreille County for impacts of Seattle City Light's Boundary Dam
E.J. Dionne / Syndicated columnist: Still-popular President Obama will be tested this summer
Guest columnists / The Democracy Papers: Saving America's democracy-sustaining journalism
2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Tax tips for new independent professionals
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sports car/coupe? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Seattle may allow homeowners to build backyard cottages
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- Relative: Police say woman with McNair bought gun
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Mariners Blog | What the Seattle Mariners learned on their road trip
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
- Brier Dudley | Brier Dudley | Learning hard lessons from Boeing giveaways
- Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
211 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
140 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
115 - What Mariners learned on this road trip
114 - Seattle may allow homeowners to build backyard cottages
86 - FBI denounces rumors: Palin not investigated
78 - Bicyclist fatally hit by SUV outside Bremerton
57 - 2 wounded in Central District drive-by shooting
57 - Bellevue ordinance would fine retailers for not collecting runaway shopping carts
56 - Mariners did their part, now they need help
51
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Seattle may allow homeowners to build backyard cottages
- Researchers stunned by inmates' success raising endangered frogs
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- 250 gather in field near Twisp for fairy congress
- New laws help tenants evicted due to foreclosure
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- The People's Pharmacy | Estrogen mimicker found in sunscreen
- Seattle safety project: A snake shelter on Beacon Hill






