Public Service Clinics Topics
City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development
Agency/Program Overview
The City Council passed legislation in September of 2008 that authorized the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and the Department of Planning & Development (DPD) to work with Seattle’s citizenry to begin updating neighborhood plans where appropriate. The ordinance and a companion resolution implement three key programs that together are intended to create a neighborhood-based planning process that is rooted in the good work citizens conducted in the 1990s.
Neighborhood Plan updates began in Autumn 2008 in North Beacon Hill, North Rainier and MLK Jr. @ Holly. Each of these neighborhoods is home to a newly opened light-rail station and experiencing or expecting significant new population and business growth. The Department anticipates that the southeast neighborhoods of Rainier Beach and Columbia City will be among the plans receiving updates in 2010.
Specific Research Question
How well do the zoning and current land uses within the commercial core and around the light rail station respond to the demand for retail and services in the Rainier Beach neighborhood, and for creating a vibrant urban village? What is the appropriate focus and composition of the retail and services in Rainier Beach given the proximity to other retail and service centers?
Additional Project Background
As an urban village in the City of Seattle, the City expects that Rainier Beach will be a focus of residential development. The area around the new light rail station the intersection of MLK Jr. Way and Henderson will likely be a larger focus of development than it currently is. The Rainier Beach Neighborhood Plan contains strategies promoting the revitalization of the commercial core. Recent comments from community members stress that 10 years later the range of available goods and services still do not meet the needs of the Rainier Beach community. This research will hopeful inform the discussions during the neighborhood plan update about strategies for economic development in the Rainier Beach Core and around the light rail station.
Key Steps
Create an inventory of businesses and services.
Calculate theoretical market demand for goods and services in the community.
Complete a comparative analysis of Rainier Beach market segment with other nearby commercial centers.
Complete a literature review and document strategies that are appropriate to the market and community's economic development objectives.
Additional Research Resources
City of Seattle GIS and business license information.
Office of Economic Development
If you have questions about this topic or would like more information, please email David W. Goldberg, Senior Planner.