Joint Statement Update - April 20th, 2011

Volunteer Park Cafe and Volunteer Park Neighbors are pleased to tell our fellow neighbors in recent days we've had productive talks. Both sides are working towards an agreement that would allow VPN to support VPC's restaurant permit application, while also protecting the character of our neighborhood now, and in the future.

We hope to be able to announce an agreement, or substantial progress on one, at the Public Meeting the Department of Planning and Development is hosting on the restaurant permit application. This meeting will be at 6PM, on April 25, at the Stevens Elementary School cafeteria.

At this time we cannot provide any further details or answer questions regarding our joint efforts, in order to better assure their success.

Volunteer Park Cafe & Volunteer Park Neighbors

 

Improving neighbor relations - October, 2010

As you are probably aware, as part of the rezoning process for the cafe, some of our neighbors have raised concerns regarding how our operation impacts the neighborhood. We’d like to affirm our continued commitment to being a good neighbor and respond to these concerns directly, so our customers and the community can understand our position, as well as what we’ve done to mitigate the issues.

Delivery vehicles and public safety

Some have claimed that our delivery trucks pose a threat to public safety.

In the past, delivery trucks (and sometimes customers in a hurry) have at times pulled onto the strip of dirt adjacent to the Galer Street sidewalk, or partially blocked the uphill lane of traffic for short periods of time.

We believe the claims about a threat to public safety are unfounded. There has been no accident, or near-accident, as a result of our deliveries.

In order to address concerns, we have asked our delivery drivers to only park in legal spaces on Galer and 17th. If no legal spaces are available on these streets, they should make their delivery from the Auburn Place alleyway behind the cafe.

Additionally, we have placed planter boxes in the strip of dirt adjacent to the Galer sidewalk to brighten up the space and prevent any motor vehicles from parking there. (Bikes are still welcome to use the bike rack.) We are also working with the Department of Transportation to see if a delivery parking area can be designated.

Parking

Some neighbors have raised concerns regarding parking impacts associated with customer and employee parking. They have asked that our customers and our staff obey all parking laws. Some have gone beyond this, and demanded that we police parking on the block.

Generally, our employees are here to serve cafe patrons, not do parking enforcement. Further, not every instance of someone parking illegally in front of a fire hydrant or against traffic is a result of a patron or one of our employees. We’ve observed neighbors doing these things too. Not that it’s OK, in either case.

To respect neighbor concerns, we have posted placards on 17th and Galer reminding patrons to park legally. We also ask employees that see a patron park illegally request the patron re-park legally.

It also should be noted that we have roughly 20 employees, 14 of which take transit, walk, bike or get a ride to work. The majority of our employees do not effect neighborhood parking. However, if employees need to drive to work, our policy is that they park legally. Further, the majority of our patrons throughout the day arrive by foot or bike.

Whether it’s a neighbor that walks over during the day, because our cafe has become like a second living room or workspace, or patrons walking down from shopping on 15th or a visit to Volunteer Park, we take it as a point of pride that so many of our employees and patrons use alternate modes of transportation.

Refuse storage and pick up

Our neighbors have raised reasonable issues with our refuse containers and pickup schedule. Specifically, neighbors have asked us to handle recycling more quietly, and increase pickups to keep homeless foraging, rodents and odors to a minimum. They also want pickups to occur after 8am weekdays, and 10am on weekends and holidays.

In the past, we moved recyclables to outdoor receptacles when we closed at 9pm. We also had once weekly garbage pickup of our refuse storage receptacles on the easement next to the Auburn Place alleyway.

We understand that handling recyclables and garbage can be noisy and smelly. We now have published policy requiring that employees place recyclables in our receptacles before 8pm. We have also increased the frequency of our refuse pickups. We have always tasked morning staff with sweeping and cleaning the area if receptacles have been disturbed overnight.

Also, we are in the process of designing and building a refuse enclosure to keep the refuse from being disturbed, and help limit odors. In designing the enclosure we have attempted to solicit the input of our neighbors who had complaints.

We have requested the garbage company do pickups after 8am on weekdays and 10am on weekends, but while the garbage company noted our request, but per the city’s agreement with collectors, they are only required to collect after 7am. We will continue to work with the collectors for later pickup times.

Noise

A few neighbors have taken issue with the noise associated with normal cafe operation, and cafe cleanup after close.

We will continue to comply with Seattle's Noise Ordinance, and invite anyone interested to walk through the neighborhood during a bustling weekend dinner service, to observe the small amount of noise we generate.

Also, we have admonished employees to be mindful of neighbors and keep noise at clean up time to a minimum.

Cooking exhaust

From day one, our commercial kitchen was inspected and approved by the city to meet all regulations, including exhaust. As part of the current permit process with the Department of Planning and Development, we will again work with the city to ensure we meet all regulations for cooking exhaust.

It’s worth noting that we use induction cooking, rather than conventional gas or electric stovetops. Not only is induction cooking significantly more energy efficient, and safer for kitchen staff, but it provides the same precise temperature control as gas, while giving off less heat and exhaust than traditional cooktops.

Our new garden

Some neighbors claim that the newly renovated and landscaped back garden will double seating capacity.

Our permit application with the city does not include outdoor seating in the garden. Claims to the contrary by certain neighbors are simply factually inaccurate. Yes, we may have stated we were considering it in past press statements, but mere grousing doesn’t contravene the actual facts presented in our permit application to the city.

Prior to the garden renovation, the back of the building was overrun with weeds. We obtained permission from our landlord to plan and build the garden, in order to spruce up the lot to better fit with the character of our neighborhood, and be a good neighbor.

Since we opened, we’ve been a proponent of locally sourced foods. The garden will provide us with fresh produce for our kitchen, and is an extension of our belief that sourcing locally is good for health and the environment. Further, we hope in the future that we may be able use the garden to teach others about growing and preparing healthy foods.

Our garden was created in the same spirit as the city’s 2010 Year of Urban Agriculture and Local Food Action Initiative. We want to inspire others to join the urban agriculture movement for the health benefits, sustainability, savings, and simple pleasure of growing your own food.

We also intend to share the use of the garden with the family that lives in the residential apartment in our building.

Our upstairs office

Our building includes a basement that we use for storage, the main floor that houses the restaurant, and an upstairs with a small office and a completely separate residential apartment. Another party leases the apartment.

Our permit application is quite clear that we are asking to keep the basement as storage, convert the main floor from a grocery to a restaurant, and continue to use the small upstairs space as an office. No dining or food preparation will occur upstairs.

Property Values

Some have claimed that our presence in the neighborhood has adversely effected property values.

A quick look at the property value estimates for our neighborhood at online real estate sites such as Zillow or Redfin shows something else entirely. As you’ll see below, the trend for the property values of our immediate neighbors have not differed appreciably from those of the 98112 zip code, Capitol Hill in general, or the city as a whole since we opened in early 2007. While, unfortunately, property values are down in Seattle and our neighborhood, this is quite obviously due to the national real estate and financial crises, not to the presence of a cafe that many of our neighbors see as an amenity.

Example Property Value of Immediate Neighbor
Example Property Value of Immediate Neighbor

Further, a look at the Walk Score website shows that our cafe is a positive component of this neighborhood’s rating of “Very Walkable”. Prospective homeowners consider the Walk Score of homes, as a general measure of livability, before purchasing.