By CLAYTON PARK and SHANNON PRIEBE

Deborah Rogers, manager of the Beard Museum Quality Framing shop, just south of Northgate Mall, has been urging the Portland-based owners of her chain to renovate the store ever since moving to its current site two-and-a-half years ago.

She's finally going to get her wish. "We're going to sink a lot of money into a remodel here in the next few weeks," said Rogers, who noted that with better lighting, for example, maybe passersby will finally be able to see that the shop is open.

There's just one problem.

Roger's shop sits on a location that could become part of the route for Sound Transit's planned Link light rail system, which will stretch from Sea-Tac International Airport to Northgate.

On July 27, Sound Transit's board of directors will determine the exact route and location for its proposed Northgate Station, as well as the light rail route in the Roosevelt neighborhood a couple miles to the south.

Two of the three proposed Northgate Station sites that Sound Transit is considering call for locating it on the site of the current Park and Ride lot located just south of Northgate Mall, on the east side of 1st Avenue NE. That would require the tracks to run directly through the block immediately to the south, where the Beard frame shop and 10 other shops would stand in the way.

Ironically, the name of the retail strip mall that the 11 shops are located in is called "Northgate Station."

The other option that Sound Transit is looking at calls for locating the light rail station on the west side of 1st Avenue NE, across the street from the Park and Ride lot. However, that site has drawbacks that make it less desirable than the east side options: A light rail station located west of 1st Avenue NE would require Park and Ride users to cross the street in order to board the light rail train, and, vice versa. Light rail commuters would also have to cross the street and walk through the Park and Ride lot in order to transfer to buses at the Northgate Transit Station, which is located just east of the Park and Ride lot.

What's more, the west side site poses concerns as a possible wetlands site.

If an east side option is chosen, the other shops that would be forced to vacate, in addition to the Beard frame shop include Ed Wyse Beauty Supply, which moved to its current location only a year ago, Signs Now, a shop that has only been open at its current site a few months, Mail Boxes Etc., Dondero Northgate Florist, House of SAS Shoes, Sub Master sandwich shop, Pipelane Ltd., Jenny Craig Weight Loss Centre, Contractors Labor Pool, which is currently undergoing a renovation, and the Oroweat/Entenmann's Bakery Outlet store.

It's not clear whether or not the two other tenants of Northgate Station, Silver Platters and Marie Callender's restaurant, would be affected by the light rail route, which would avoid those two businesses.

For Nanette Proctor, owner of Dondero Northgate Florist, the timing of Sound Transit's decision couldn't come at more inopportune time. Her lease expires at the end of October and she has been thinking of possibly selling her business in a few years.

If she is forced to move, she could find herself having to rebuild her customer base from scratch, decreasing her chances of finding prospective buyers for her business. The majority of Proctor's customers are people who work in the office complexes directly behind her shop. If she were to move out of walking distance of those offices, she may very well lose those customers.

But if Sound Transit picks the west side site, which would spare the shops at Northgate Station, it could actually be worse for Proctor, who fears her business might not survive the inconveniences to customers that a lengthy construction period would cause. The construction is expected to include partial and possible short-term full closures of 1st Avenue NE, according to Sound Transit.

If the light rail system is to be extended to Northgate at all, Proctor said, "I WANT them to choose this (the east side) site, quite frankly, because by the time it's done, I won't be here." If Sound Transit selects the east side option, then at least Proctor can expect to get compensated for being forced to move, not that she relishes that prospect.

Proctor, a second-generation family business owner who moved her shop to its present site in 1986 from from its longtime home at Northgate Mall, said it was a costly and disruptive experience she has no desire to repeat. "I moved here from the mall more than 10 years ago. Finally, it's gotten to the point where people know where I'm at ... I don't want to have to do this again."

Al Carson, an employee at House of SAS Shoes, believes the best decision Sound Transit could make is to scrap the light rail plan entirely and spend the money to improve the region's bus system. "I think it is an incredible waste of time and money," he said. He remains doubtful that the light rail system will do much to alleviate the region's traffic woes. "I think what we'll see is that the light rail system and buses will both wind up being half empty ... meanwhile a whole lot of homes and businesses will be uprooted and disturbed."

Grover Anderson, manager of Pipelane Ltd., a smoke shop, said he just wants Sound Transit to make up its mind. Either way, it's fine by him. "I'm not upset. I'll be retired before it gets here anyway," said the 57-year-old. "What they've got to decide is decide for sure it's going to happen and what time frame it would affect us," he said. "It's not unlike when they displaced homes for the freeway ... it's just on a smaller scale."

Terry Knox, co-owner of the Mail Boxes Etc. business at Northgate Station, expressed similar views. "Do what you have to do," he said. "The inevitable is the inevitable. Let's wait and see. I'm convinced that something's going to happen but let's see what it is first and then I'll react to it."

ROOSEVELT ALSO AWAITS DECISION:

Residents and business owners in the Roosevelt neighborhood are also anxiously awaiting Sound Transit's decisions regarding the placement of the light rail route in their community.

A recent Sound Transit handout described the options being considered: "All begin at an elevated station near the existing Northgate Transit Center and would travel south along the east side of the I-5 freeway. The routes vary near Northeast 76th Street by either going over, or tunneling under, the Lake City Way ramps. There are three major options within the Roosevelt area: elevated alongside I-5 and 8th Avenue NE; a tunnel under Roosevelt Way NE; or a tunnel under 12th Avenue NE. All routes would include either an elevated or tunnel station at Northeast 65th Street. Sound Transit is looking at the station and route options in more detail: Station entrances and platform locations for both the Roosevelt Way and 12th Avenue NE underground tunnel stations are being reevaluated because of new development in the area; Possible changes must be studied in the layout of the elevated Eighth avenue NE Station option; A fourth station alternative at Northgate, proposed by King County Metro, needs to be examined."

Sound Transit's proposal to build a tunnel under 12th Avenue NE drew the most applause from Roosevelt residents and merchants who attended the public meeting held June 20 at Calvary Temple church.

Doug Vohn, a spokesman for Calvary Temple, said the church holds the same position as the Roosevelt community. He said the proposal to build the route along 8th Avenue NE would divide that community in same way that I-5 did when it was built in the 1960s. In the Roosevelt neighborhood, 8th Avenue NE runs directly behind the church, next to I-5.

Vohn said when I-5 was built, Calvary Temple members saw a decline in the Roosevelt neighborhood, which is only now beginning to recover, thanks in part to recent improvements such as the renovation and expansion of Roosevelt Square shopping center.

TIME TABLE: WHAT'S NEXT

In general, there is strong regional and local support for the light rail project, according to Ron Lewis, project development manager for Sound Transit.

If all goes according to plan, preliminary engineering and station design for the light rail route from the University District to Northgate, will begin in August, with the final design to be completed by January 2002.

The central portion of the light rail system, is scheduled to open in 2006. By 2010, an estimated 120,000 passengers are expected to ride Sound Transit's Link light rail system daily, making it one of the most used in the nation.

That is IF Sound Transit is able to raise the money it needs to complete the project.

But while voters agreed in 1996 to tax themselves to construct a new mass transit system that includes ST Express buses, Sounder commuter rail and Link light rail, additional federal dollars are still needed to help pay for the project to the tune of several hundred million dollars, said Lewis.

For more information regarding Sound Transit's station plans in the Roosevelt area, contact Calvin Chow of the City of Seattle at 206-684-4652. For information, regarding station plans in the Northgate area, call Kevin O'Neill of the City at 206-684-8376.