As you may recall, there was quite a stir in the local Magnolia, Ballard, and Queen Anne communities regarding the possibility that the a new municipal jail could be sited in the Interbay at 1600 W Armory Way, across from the Whole Foods Mall.

 MyBallard.com reported  in September, 2008, that about 250 people from our communities attended a meeting to voice their concerns about this action.

Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Seattle and Shoreline have agreed to a joint environmental review process of the sites the North/East Cities (NEC) are considering as a possible location for a new municipal jail. These cities have signed an agreement regarding the municipal jail environmental review process. The agreement is only about the process for the joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will evaluate the environmental impacts of potential sites among the five cities. 

The NEC group will conduct six EIS scoping meetings in January, 2009 focused specifically on gathering comments on the scope of the EIS that will address environmental impacts of potential development of a regional misdemeanant jail.

The next meeting will be held January 14, 2009, from 6 p.m. to close of comments – in the Olympic Room at the Seattle Center, located at 225 Mercer Street, Seattle.