Northgate is identified in the City's Comprehensive Plan as an "Urban Center." This will require transforming a shopping mall into a walkable neighborhood business district that is also a regional shopping destination.

The Northgate Area Comprehensive Plan was passed by the City Council in 1993 to create a framework for this process.

This is a boldly ambitious task. The transition period will be difficult, because of the need to maintain the economic vitality of the area while it is undergoing this metamorphosis.

A number of pending land use actions and redevelopment proposals are currently on the table, notably a proposal to convert the mall's south parking lot into a new development that would include a park-and-ride, a light rail station, a cinema/hotel/office/retail complex, and several hundred housing units.

Next month the Neighborhoods, Growth Management, and Civic Engagement Committee will review the Northgate Area Comprehensive Plan and its implementation, and move forward a resolution laying out a City work plan.

Many people in the community have expressed concerns about re-development proposals, with some justification. The proposals do not go as far as is needed to transform Northgate into a walkable neighborhood business district and community focal point.

The City cannot control all of the actions of private property owners. The City can, however, work diligently to ensure that it fulfills its obligations under the Northgate Area Comprehensive Plan, and that all parties are engaged in finding positive solutions to community issues.

I will work to ensure that the City mitigates the traffic impacts of the proposed developments, and that the development is designed to promote a pedestrian-friendly community.

The City needs to develop the pedestrian connections that will make this a reality. The City has already committed to funding a Northgate Branch Library, and the City Council has proposed funding a Northgate Community Center in the levy proposal that will be on the ballot this fall.

These two facilities should be sited in a way that makes them most accessible to the community. The City is also seeking to fund the acquisition of open space for the Northgate area, and City staff members are working with Sound Transit and Metro to coordinate the development of transportation options.

Whether we can move Northgate in the right direction rapidly enough to make sense both for the property owners and community members will be a real test of our ability to create new urban neighborhoods and implement growth management effectively. It's a major challenge in the coming months.

- RICHARD CONLIN,

Seattle City Council