University, City sign new agreement

UW President Richard L. McCormick, left, and City of Seattle Mayor Paul Schell shake on the new University-City Agreement while Bridgett Chandler, UW director of Community Affairs, looks on. The agreement governs the University's planning process. Fourteen neighborhood groups also were involved. in creating the document.

The University of Washington and the city of Seattle have concluded a new City-University Agreement, with broad support among neighborhood community councils.

The agreement was signed May 7 by UW President Richard L. McCormick and Seattle Mayor Paul Schell in ceremonies on campus.

“The approval of this document marks an important step in maintaining good relations with our neighbors and with city government,” said McCormick. “This document is a product of consensus, involving many months of discussion among the university, 14 community councils representing neighborhoods near the University, and city government.”

“The University and the surrounding communities will always have some issues that divide them,” said Chris Leman of the Eastlake Community Council. “But what we have developed is a consensus for a process to address these issues as they emerge. There has been remarkable goodwill from both sides to develop this process.”

The University's planning process had been governed by a 1983 City-University Agreement. In 1996, following a two-year review, the city adopted the Major Institution Ordinance, the land use code provisions governing major institutions. At that time, the City Council passed a resolution recognizing the need to review the agreement with the UW in light of the land use code changes. The city's Department of Construction and Land Use reviewed the 1983 agreement and submitted a report and recommendations in May 1997.

But in June 1997 the community groups and the UW jointly requested that the city delay further consideration of changes to the Major Institutions Code specific to the University. The UW and community groups then began to work on specific changes to the 1983 agreement, which they believed were more appropriate than adapting the Major Institution Ordinance to cover unique university-community interests.

The agreement focuses on the process by which the UW will develop its campus master plan beyond the year 2001. The agreement covers off-campus leasing within a primary and secondary zone. It also includes a consensus regarding membership in the City-University Community Advisory Committee, the committee's responsibilities, and its operation. The agreement provides goals for transportation and traffic management, and it outlines the planning process, including the process for changing the University's master plan.

Community representatives agreed to an increase in the amount of space the UW can lease off campus. Unlike the previous version of the agreement, campus improvements will not reduce the amount of space the UW can lease off campus. Under the new agreement, the UW may enter into new leases only within a permitted leasing zone of approximately six square blocks in the U District.

The membership in the City-University Community Advisory Committee will grow from 11 to 16 members, so that a greater number of communities can be represented as the committee advises the city and the UW. ¶

Bob Roseth, News and Information