District 5 – North
Sandy Brown and Debora Juarez
Sandy Brown
1. What’s your favorite historic place in Seattle and why do you think it’s important?
Seattle’s Historic Churches. It may not be much of a surprise that, as a former pastor, I appreciate Seattle’s historic churches. After preservation was assured of my home church, First United Methodist at Fifth and Marion, I’ve watched the progress on its new, adjoining skyscraper very carefully. I like the way the new building relates to the former church and the neighboring Rainier Club and look forward to enjoying this new architectural feature of Seattle when it is complete. I also appreciate the Trinity Episcopal Church and First Covenant Church as examples of working church buildings that serve religious communities well. Each of these buildings is important both as a touchstone on a previous era and for the respite they provide from our sometimes cold and inhospitable modern urban landscape.
2. How can Seattle accommodate the growing numbers of residents and increase in density while keeping neighborhood character?
Additional density must be focused on our urban villages and along transit corridors and I believe we can meet our housing supply goals by increasing height limits in these areas. Existing neighborhoods can receive some additional density through ADUs and DADUs, but I do not support the recommendation to allow development of triplexes, duplexes and non-owner-occupied ADUs and DADUs in single family neighborhoods. I prefer that the financial benefits from additional ADUs and DADUs flow to single family property owners rather than developers. We also need careful attention to lot coverage, massing, tree canopy, setbacks, and other characteristics that preserve livability even as density increases. Finally, we do need special protections on older buildings so that we do not lose many more examples of the classic single- and multi-family housing stock that typifies residential Seattle. I advocate for new multi-family buildings to be ½ off neighborhood commercial streets so that we can protect our historic single-story commercial buildings.
3. Do you believe historic buildings and places help create a more sustainable, affordable, and livable city? If so, how?
Some years ago I had the privilege of wandering through the attic of one of Seattle’s early-20th century buildings. I marveled at the quality of lumber used in its construction – dimensional 4”x12” clear fir rafters logged from virgin northwest forests. The quality of materials and craftsmanship from these historic buildings makes them treasures that must not be sacrificed to the wrecking ball. As a longtime Seattle resident, I watched years ago as the White/Henry/Stuart Building and the Music Box Theater were demolished. We have pieces of terra cotta from these buildings scattered around town, but nothing replaces the architectural elements that are now lost to all our descendants.
Preserving historic buildings reduces waste and helps toward sustainability, but there is a deeper reason for holding on to these historic treasures. We are a people with a story and these buildings are part of the narrative. They remind us of the Alaskan Gold Rush, of the Great Seattle Fire, of the contributions of early settlers and later immigrants. Look closely and they tell us of immigrants from the Far East or former slaves from back east. They don’t tell the whole story, in part because their antecedents from Native American peoples were long since destroyed. But they do tell us something of who we are, of our past, our character, our failures, and our hopes. In a world where we too easily believe we can continually reinvent ourselves moment by moment, we need anchors to remind us who we are. Let’s make certain we preserve Historic Seattle so we can remember and so we can pass our story on to those who follow.
– Sandy Brown
October 15, 2015
Debora Juarez
1. What’s your favorite historic place in Seattle and why do you think it’s important?
My favorite historical place in Seattle is the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Discovery Park. The former Fort Lawton is now a crucial gathering place for Seattle’s Native American community as well as the broader Seattle community. I was involved with the takeover of the Fort when I was 12 years old, so the Center has an emotional connection for me as well, due to the leadership of Bernie Whitebear.
2. How can Seattle accommodate the growing numbers of residents and increase in density while keeping neighborhood character?
Seattle can accommodate growth and density by concentrating development around our transit- and jobs-rich urban villages.
3. Do you believe historic buildings and places help create a more sustainable, affordable and livable city? If so, how?
Yes. Our historic buildings and places help to engender a tremendous sense of place and community. When people feel engaged with their city, they are more likely to support environmental goals, enact social justice measures, and interact with their neighbors. We need to preserve our historic buildings and places so that we can maximize this effect.
– Debora Juarez
October 23, 2015