The 34th Annual Ravenna Park Egg Hunt in the Park will be held On April 24th in "Little Park" on Easter Sunday at 2:30 rain or shine. If you have a child participating, bring a dozen plastic eggs, filled with candy, coins, sticker, or other treats (no nuts, please) to the Coleman's House at 311 19th Ave NE before 6 PM on Saturday April 23rd. 

With your eggs please include the form which is available here: The Egg Hunt Form.

You can help hide eggs, make a donation for the "Golden Eggs," or volunteer to be the Easter Bunny next year.

Come join the neighbors this Sunday for a good time in the Little Park.

Are there rats in Ravenna, and Roosevelt, too? Who would know unless they seee them or unless they went to the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association meeting last night. About 120 people showed up and it was a busy agenda. First off the acting president was named official president for the coming year. (I showed up without pen and paper, so I have no names to report.) 

After her introductory remarks, a nice young lady from Seattle Public Health arrived and shared some information on rats and what to do about them. There are 4 steps to removing rats:

1. Take away their food. (Stop feeding birds for a while if you must)

2.Exterminate by trapping and/or poisoning.

3.Keep rats out of your yard by eliminating places they nest.

4.Keep rats out of your home. Rats can enter through an opening the size of a quarter.

For the very inquisitive, you can view a dot map of where rats have been reported in people's toilets. And the why of that is something I've been harping on for years. Garbage disposers in kitchens are food processers for sewer rats. They love that stuff and will follow the food trail to it's source. Of course it's dark in those pipes and on occasion they make a turn and end up in your bathroom. Save your self a couple hundred bucks and get rid of your disposer. It will never break down again.

Fortunately Seattle has a yard waste and food waste recycling system and all such waste is composted. These items are stored in containers and picked up each week. Wonderful. 

Next up we heard from the Department of Transportation. Seattle has two floating bridges and one of them (the north bridge on the rat map) needs replacement. In order to pay for it there are going to be tolls and the tolling begins soon. So the talk concerned electronic tolling and what it might mean to you. Can rats cross the bridge and get into Seattle? Can they use the bridge to get out of Seattle? Will they too be charged a fee? These questions were not asked.

Next on the agenda was the selection of board members and their approval. All went well and even some new folks stepped up to help. It was also approved that board meetings would be open to all. Meetings on the first Tuesday of the month.

Then came the big draw of the evening. The run down houses in Roosevelt. I wrote about them before and even have blog dedicated to the Roosevelt-Ravenna Zonning Issues. On the property in question, are there rats? And the answer is an unequivocal, "YES!" An important part of getting rid of these rats is to make sure they are contained and destroyed, not just driven onto neighbors well kept properties. A second and equally important part of the rat remove issue is taking measures to keep other rats from invading the location with their bad building concepts and inappropriate designs. Overbuilding and building in the wrong location destroys a neighborhood just as surely as the current condition of these properties does. Jim O'Halloran, the Roosevelt Land Use Committee spoke to the large audience of about 125. Two processes are in action at the moment. 

1. The Roosevelt Neighborhood Plan is working its way to city approval and needs the support of the Ravenna neighbors. The RNA plan was worked on by a large group of people from the community with the desire to grow the neighborhood since a light rail station will be built there. A great deal of effort went into enhancing the neighborhood while preserving its charm. That support is easy. Everyone should email member of the Seattle City Council and tell them that they support the RNA Plan.

2. The RDG (an out of area development company which wants to build buildings on the rat infested property in excess of 120 feet, where current and recommended zoning is 40 feet) is taking some plans to a design review board. The time to oppose bad design is all of the time and any time. Jim requested that the audience be alert to this meeting and voice opposition when appropriate.We have to do what we need to do to keep the rats out.

The meeting closed with a short piece regarding the Ravenna quest to win  a $50,000 prize by being the most efficient recycling neighborhood in Seattle. And we are now leading. Kudos to us. Ravenna rocks!

The Ravenna Park Traffic Circle (Naomi Circle) redo is nearing completion. Back in the fall of 2009 Sue had an idea and the neighborhood agreed. The English Ivy and a few trees added little to the neighborhood.  Pulling out 30+ year old ivy by the roots is no mean feat.

But we persisted. With a grant from the city work continued through the winter. In May of 2010 I reported on the progress to date. But knowing that summers are the dry months we waited until fall to begin planting. The planting went well. As we near the end of the grant period we're into the final phase. Here is a list of the flowering plants we'll plant over the next two weekends. Once they are in and a few of them blooming I will post pictures.

All of the plants we've planted are native to the Northwest and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Seattle Community Center Spring Schedule
The Seattle Parks Department has just released its spring schedule of Community Center activities. In the Ravenna and Ravenna Park area, the Ravenna Eckstein CC and other north end Community Centers have the following daily schedule planned:
1. Five drop-in programs for tots aged 2-5
2. Open basketball for the 18 and under crowd.
3. Chess for adults
4. Fitness programs for adults
5. Racquetball, Wallyball,  Goju-Ryn Karate, Tai Chi, Ping Pong, and Pickleball are all available on a drop-In basis at certain locations.

I could go on and on. The document released by the Seattle Parks Department is 56 pages long with an amazing array of events and activities throughout the Spring.

The Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center is located at 6535 Ravenna Ave. NE / Seattle, WA 98115 and their phone is: 206-684-7534. if you are not looking for something to do, just go there and tell them you want to volunteer for something. Current budget cuts in the city make these programs difficult to fund and manage.

Closings in any January are usually down because December is often a slow month. And this year is no exception. And, usually, many listings that haven’t sold go off the market at the end of the year. Sellers assess what their future holds and some decide to wait until “Spring” to re-list. Some rent their properties out hoping for better times. The smart ones are often the ones who stay on the market during a time of reduced inventory.

With 5 closed sales and only 21 active listings, the Absorption Rate is just a hair over 4. Definitely a seller’s market. I know there will be more homes coming on the market in the months ahead, but if you are prepared, now might just be the time.

For in-city Seattle north of the ship canal the statics include 116 closed sales, 211 pending sales and 743 active listings, for an Absorption rate of 6.4
This report includes single family homes, townhomes and condominiums.

You can see the listings included:

Ravenna Market Report.

With 8 possible closings if February and the current shortage of listings I look forward to a month that will not be as busy as it could be unless more sellers put their homes on the market.

People talk about shadow inventory, foreclosures, short sales and REO’s, and try to predict where the market is going and what will happen next. Rest assured that it is not going anywhere with any great speed. If you desire to buy or sell, now is as good as anytime in the foreseeable future.

This lovely house sold and closed in January of 2011 for $800,000 in Ravenna Park, directly across from the park.

If you live in the Seattle area, and in particular the north Seattle and the Ravenna or Ravenna Park areas, give me a call and let’s discuss how to resolve your real estate issues.

The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) manages a program called the Seattle Senior Housing Program. The old Ravenna school has been remodeled into one of the twenty three apartment buildings managed by the SHA. The units in the buildingss are either one or two bedrooms. Buildings have elevators and also all have community rooms to encourage activity among the residents. All are smoke free.

To qualify, residents must earn 80% of area median income or less, and be 62 years or older, or disabled. Rents are affordable at one of four levels based on income. I see the sign out at the Ravenna location, which means that the waiting list is probably short right now. For further information, consult the website link above or just give me a call.

The old Ravenna school is located right next to the recently remodeled Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, a children's playground and the Ravenna pea patch. There are also many restaurants and shops nearby, including Third Place Books, LaVassar Florists, DaPino Italian Deli and many more. About six blocks to the south is Ravenna Park.

Perhaps you know some senior who needs to move from their home but does not want to leave the neighborhood. This is the perfect opportunity to let them know.

Do you like organic produce all year around? Here in Ravenna and Ravenna Park Full Circle Farms delivers clients a delightful box of fresh organic produce every week or every two weeks, your choice. Full Circle is one of the few subscription farms that gives options.

You can pick up your produce at the Ravenna Community Center like a lot of your neighbors do. And in many other communities around the Puget Sound.

And it gets better than that. Gone for vacation?...just let them know. Want to substitute?...Their user friendly website makes it easy to eliminate those brussel sprouts and substitute avocado instead. We live about 4 blocks from the Ravenna Community Center and every Thursday enjoy picking up the pre-selected delivered items to grace our table for the coming week.

Full circle delivers local produce whenever possible, but we don't mind getting delicious grapefruit, tangy tangelos and lovely avocados from other regions during the winter. Eat organic and make it easy. For larger families, they have a bigger box.

If you'd like to live in Ravenna or Ravenna Park just let me know. I've been here for 25 years.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn visited the Seattle neighborhoods of the University District and Ravenna in one of his town hall style outreaches. He's in the second year of his four year term here in Seattle.

One particular topic that is a concern for many of us in the Ravenna/Roosevelt area is the proposed development that exceeds current zoning by a factor of 4. I've blogged about our land use issues and what the developer wants before. We've been trying to come to grips for several years now with the landowner and the developer, without much success. Laurie Hemingway of the Roosevelt High School PTSA, Diane Haddock a representitive of the Ravanne/Bryant Neighborhood Association, and Jim O'Hallorn of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association and Chair of the RNA Land Use Committee with questions and statements encouraged the mayor to support the neighborhood plan over the wishes of one irresponsible landowner and one zealously greedy developer.

Mayor Mike McGinn came to his position as Mayor of Seattle by way of neighborhood activism and planning in the Greenwood community. Although he acceded to the substance of the concerns expressed, he side-slipped committment, in the name of some larger but unspecific viewpoint. We all wonder, if these town hall meetings are public relations gambits consisting of lip-service, or if he really means it when he says, "Let's work together on what makes a great place." Or will he swing toward development for development's sake because that creates jobs and density?

There was a time when Vashon Glacial Ice Sheet retreated to the north and Green Lake overflow found it's way to Lake Washington by way of Ravenna Creek, a process that has left this part of north Seattle with a ravine bearing the creek's name. A Realtor named Beck bought the land in 1887 and named it after the Italian city. In 1911 the City of Seattle acquired the land as a park which now amounts to 49.9 acres including the creek bed ravine, a softball field at the southeast end, a picnic area, and a wading pool/playground area on the high ground to the south of the ravine. Walking and running on trails among the old trees is a favorite activity of students and long time residents alike.

Cowen Park is now attached to the west end of the ravine and includes wide open play areas, and a play ground. In the northwest corner is the place where Ravenna Creek was day-lighted a few years ago through the efforts of many neighbors. Having the stream running again has increased the wildlife in the Ravine and the water flow as erased the problem of stagnant pools in the low areas.

The housing stock on the north and south sides of the park is mostly from 1900 to 1940. Many craftsman bungalows, Tudors and colonials can be found here. The south side is closely connected with the area just north of the University of Washington. This desirable are is sought after for it's proximity to the University and easy access to downtown Seattle. Many homes to the south have been converted to student rentals but homes between Ravenna Blvd and the park have retained their value as single family residences.

On the north side of the park is an area of about 300 homes bounded by 15th Ave NE on the west and 25th Ave NE on the east. Since there are no bridges, other than the 20th Avenue foot and bike bridge, across the ravine there is very little traffic here. Ravenna Park is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city.

There are only 4 homes for sale in the Ravenna Park neighborhood at this time. If you would like more information on them, please let me know.

Our neighborhood, year and a half long traffic circle project to remove ivy and replant with native plants has reached the end of stage three. Our first mission was to remove the well entrenched ivy that had been planted 30-40 years ago. No mean feat if you've ever tackled a significant swath of that invasive. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of what the circle looked like with ivy everywhere.

The next step was to dig out some tree planting holes and break up the concrete under them so the roots of bigger trees we would be plants would have some room to grow. Then we bark-mulched the whole area. Neighbors went down periodically to do a little weeding. We wanted to wait through the summer to plant so that the annual rains would help out in that department.

Behind the scenes were those who knew how to get the grant from the city for the work done and those who researched the native plants and did the planting design.

Over the past few days, George pruned the Hawthorns as the city gardener advised and today Woody and I cleaned up the results of that pruning. It's looking good. I can't wait to see it flourishing in summer.

Thanks to everyone who has helped out. I look forward to seeing you often in the park for weeding and for fun.