The Letter I Sent to Rudeen About the Christian Restoration Center

I'm a resident of Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood, and I'm writing you first of all to express concern about the sad state of the property you'll be developing here in the summer at 4351 15th Avenue South. I've taken some photos to show you the extent of the damage.

1. There's a lot of graffiti. A lot.



2. There's also a broken toilet and empty liquor bottles.



3. There's garbage and broken glass scattered all over the place.



4. There's an overflowing garbage can that the local rats are probably enjoying, but the neighbors, not so much.



5. There are boxes full of (presumably dead) fluorescent blubs. These contain mercury and possibly lead. According to Seattle Municipal Code 21.36.025 (Unlawful Disposal), these bulbs cannot be taken to city transfer stations; you can read about proper disposal at this King County website.



Anyway, the Beacon Hill community would like you to please clean up your property as soon as possible. I know your company is headquartered in Spokane, and I understand how you might not be aware of the way things are going over here in Seattle. But I'm happy to provide you with photo reports whenever you like -- please just ask.

We'll also want to provide input as to the design of the new building. Apart from work that appears to be going on at the VA Hospital, this will definitely be the largest new construction on Beacon Hill in many years and will have a huge impact on the community. We look forward to working with you on this project! Have you planned any community meetings yet?

Please let me know as soon as possible about your plans for site cleanup. I've already reported the graffiti to the city just to get that in the system, and I'm so concerned about all the illegal dumping that I should report that as well. But I'd prefer to work directly with you on all this. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

--JvA