UNAPROVED

Present: Helen Jackson, Barbara Davenport, Tom Scott, Elliott Smith, Anne Mackie, Leslie Hill and Libby Stark.

Greg Robanser and Laura Witt attended as guests.

Announcements: The YNA received a holiday card from Mayor Tim.

Elliott made a motion we approve the minutes from October and November. The motion passed unanimously.

5-plex apartment at 506 Potter St.: Not all neighbors within 500 feet have received the required notification from the designer Todd Fuller. According to the drawing, the plot plan does not match the drawing nor does it address parking and garbage for the apartment. For Arnason to continue, a conditional use permit (CUP) must be filed with the City and then it will proceed to a hearing examiner for a public hearing. It was suggested to respond directly to Todd Fuller’s design with a letter written by Anne Mackie from the YNA Board (with a cc to the Planning Department). The letter will address the size and scale of the building, the historic character of neighborhood homes, the setback from Grant and Potter Streets and parking. Board members were reminded to be cautious about getting too upset over the legacy of poor property management by Arnason. Depending on the outcome, the Board felt a lawyer may need to be consulted for further action. The next steps include the letter to be written by Anne, Tom will consult with a property lawyer and another board member will check with the Planning Department regarding what has and has not been filed with Planning and the online calendar of hearings with the commissioner. It was mentioned that on December 8 something was filed with the Planning Department.

Planning Committee: Tom Scott yielded in the interest of time. It was noted that in the design review section of the Neighborhood Plan Update architectural guidelines will need to be addressed. Small sub-committees from the Planning Committee will meet to discuss architectural guidelines (Barbara Davenport chairing) and parking (Elliott Smith chairing).

Small and Simple Grant: From the vote at the October meeting: 6 for traffic calming, 4 for tree planting. Tree planting was last done in the 1980s and would need a coordinator to organize and work with PSE. Last time tree planting was done, PSE dug the holes. As the York Neighborhood is not doing so well with the Green Energy Challenge it was decided that more trees would be the best use of grant money. A motion was made by Anne to write the Small and Simple grant for tree planting and beautification. Helen seconded and it passed unanimously. Greg volunteered to write the grant and coordinate the process. The grant is due in February.

Annual membership meeting: The next general meeting will be held on 2/28 at 7 pm at WECU. Libby Stark will call WECU and reserve the room. The agenda will include NIP grant speakers, the election of officers and several reports from committees (historic preservation, NIP, Small and Simple grant application).

Triangle area parking: Elliott has spoken to ten neighbors about parking in the triangle. There are quite a number of cars parked along Garden, High and one block of Indian Streets whereby drivers park and take the bus up to WWU, thus limiting available parking to residents. Elliott has spoken with a traffic officer. It was suggested to investigate residential parking. Elliott will chair the parking sub-committee for our Neighborhood Plan Update.

Newsletter: Topics for the February newsletter include thank yous and the general meeting (including elections). More deliverers are needed as is someone to coordinate distribution. The newsletter will come out sometime in early January.

Newsletter advertisements: Adich complained that there ad was old. It was suggested to pull their ad until the make a further donation and then we can run a newer looking ad.

Franklin Park: Helen Jackson met with Katie Franks of Planning and Jonathan Schilk of Parks regarding Franklin Park. Parks wants the YNA to plant and maintain the vegetation at the park. Maintenance will be problematic. Helen will ask for a reconsideration as it is not appropriate that Yorkers maintain a public park, although YNA is in charge of the hillside at Franklin Park now.

Historical Preservation Committee Chair: See attached notes provided by Barbara.

Garden Club Chair: The annual progressive dinner party was held on Saturday, December 9. Once again, it was a success.

Treasurer: Helen provided a handout indicating we have $585.26 in our checking account and $551.82 in our savings account. See attached.

Holiday caroling recap: It was recommended that next year we do several shorter runs in order to accommodate more families. Several families went home due to long waits and no room on the wagon. Tom will have a map for the drivers next year.

Kathryn Hanowell of the City of Bellingham was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. She will be in attendance at the February board meeting. At January’s board meeting Alan, president of Sehome, will be visiting.

Topics for next board meeting: 506 Potter, general meeting, newsletter.

The meeting adjourned at 8:57.

Submitted by Libby Stark