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Approximately 45 people from the community attended this meeting to discuss their vision for the new Montlake Branch of The Seattle Public Library. City Librarian Deborah L. Jacobs opened the meeting with welcoming comments and introductions of Gilbert W. Anderson, Library Board steward for the Montlake Branch; Miriam Driss, branch library manager for Montlake; Justine Kim, Library project manager for Montlake; and Val Frye, representing Neighborhood Library Services. During the course of the meeting, Jacobs also introduced Jane Appling, Library public services coordinator for neighborhood libraries; Lisa Richmond, public art project manager, Seattle Arts Commission; Ed Weinstein, architect for the new Montlake Branch; Tom Horne, Library selection services manager; Paula Herman, selection services librarian; and Ellen Judson and Suzanne Kotz, Citizen Implementation Review Panel members who also are Montlake residents.
Deborah Jacobs explained the intent of this pre-design meeting was for members of the community to share their desires and ideas for the Montlake Branch and meet the architects and staff involved in the project. The new 5,000-square-foot library will replace the current 1,574-square-foot branch.
Horne discussed expanding and identifying gaps in the already good collection at Montlake. Driss discussed plans for a meeting room to act as a gathering place for the community and as a location to hold library programs. Appling spoke briefly about expanding the library collection and technology, and developing the library's programs and services. Richmond spoke about Libraries for All's strong commitment to site-integrated public art, and explained that, as the design progresses, Library staff, designers and community members will convene to interview artists for the project. Jacobs spoke briefly about Capitol Hill Branch's new target opening in March 2003 and mentioned the construction work underway at the new Central Library.
Weinstein, who also is a Montlake resident, introduced the members of his team: Richard Yancey, project architect; Christiane Pein, staff architect; and Barbara Swift, landscape architect. He listed past Weinstein Copeland projects, stressed the team was committed to listening to community input and explained the firm's design process of fitting the building to the neighborhood and the site. He discussed design goals and noted that Montlake is made up of mostly single-family residences and a small commercial strip. He outlined the challenges presented by the site and discussed several possibilities for parking.
Jacobs described the meeting format and explained the meeting would break into four stations. She invited people to circulate around the room and offer their ideas. Additionally, the public asked questions of various staff members and architects:
Q. What is the size of the lot and the building? Could the library be on
two levels?
A. The lot is 13,500 square feet, and the building will be 5,000 square
feet. In general, with rare exceptions, the libraries are not designed on two
levels, due to the need for increased staff.
Q. How are the number of parking spaces being determined?
A. The land use code requires 10 to 13 parking stalls. Some negotiation
may be possible, depending on the traffic management plan and the desires of
the community.
Q. Parking at the University Branch on 50th and Roosevelt is on a slightly
raised level - is that possible here?
A. The parking at Montlake could be slightly above or slightly below level
- all possible alternatives will be explored.
Q. Does the present parking plan include staff parking?
A. In general, it is library policy not to provide staff parking, and to
encourage staff members to use public transportation or park off-site.
Q. With an expanded library there'll be much greater usage, especially at
night. Parking is particularly critical. How do you plan to address this?
A. There is a possibility of discussing expanding street parking on 24th,
if the community endorsed street parking on this block.
Q. Is it possible to hide the parking like at the Green Lake Branch?
A. Yes, parking could be screened with latticework and vegetation. We have
an obligation to screen parking from public view and make it attractive.
Q. It would be really helpful to have an open area for poetry, story telling
and other programs.
A. The relationship of the space to the activities is very important. The
meeting room will greatly expand opportunities for programs and activities like
these.
Q. Doesn't the city land use code require institutional dispersion?
A. (NOTE: Institutional dispersion means maintaining a certain distance
between institutions in neighborhoods. The question refers to the distance between
the new Montlake Branch and the Montlake Elementary School.) We have looked
into this issue. There is a specific clause for an exemption when there is a
significant topographical break between two institutions, as there is in this
case. We are very aware of this and have a lot of experience with conditional
use agreements and exemptions, and the dispersion criteria. We will work with
the City of Seattle to obtain approval through proper procedures.
The meeting then broke into four sessions on design, collections, services/programs, and art. Those sessions yielded the following comments from members of the public on their hopes and dreams for the new Montlake Branch:
Design
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Collections
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Services/programs
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Art
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Toward the end of the meeting, board steward Gilbert W. Anderson noted that work toward developing a library in Montlake has been going on for two years, and the next steps will be to work on design and show drawings to the public.
A member of the architectural team answered a question about the library's location next to residential, single-family houses, stressing the design should balance residential and commercial elements. In response to a question about the timing of reviewing design work, Richard Yancey said the timeline shows the end of schematic design around the end of the year
Jacobs thanked everyone for attending and told community members there would be ample opportunity to provide feedback and have input into design decisions. Jacobs noted that a recap of the meeting would be posted on the Library's Web site and would be available in hardcopy at the branch. The meeting ended at 8:30 p.m.
Comments can be directed to the capital program office at capital.program@spl.org, and to Justine Kim, Library project manager, at 615-1329 or by e-mail at justine.kim@spl.org.
Content Modified: Content Modified: 10 October 2002
08/11/2006
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