Nickels unveils more help for the Ave

"It is tough to do business here right now," he said. "There's no place to park, parking is expensive, there are a lot of vacant storefronts and people feel unsafe."

Walsh is working with others to patrol the streets and spread the word that there are plenty of positive reasons to shop the business district, known as "the Ave." He was buoyed yesterday by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who visited the shopping district to announce more plans to bring business back to the Ave and improve safety.

"I can be optimistic; I'm young," Walsh said.

Nickels' plan includes a controversial proposal to lift lease lids, which limit the amount of property some major businesses or institutions may lease in neighborhoods around their campuses. Lifting lease lids would allow the University of Washington to lease more space off campus.

"The University of Washington is our city's largest employer. We should encourage its potential, not stifle it. The lease lid makes no sense. Let's get rid of it," Nickels said.

The mayor said he plans to send legislation to the City Council next week proposing that lease lids be removed.

Nickels also unveiled a plan to add more police patrols to the commercial district, along with economic development and housing incentives.

The city will also install "giving meters" on the Ave in effort to reduce panhandling. Money dropped in the meters will be collected by the city and given to Partnership for Youth. The meters are new for Seattle, but have been successful in Vancouver, B.C., a spokeswoman for the mayor said.

Nickels also announced yesterday that the university, Safeco, University Towers Hotel and University Bookstore are contributing $150,000 a year for the next two years to add more police patrols to the business district.

Some worry that it might not be enough.

Twenty years ago the Ave bustled with business. The shopping district included a mix of small businesses and major retailers, including Nordstrom. Gradually, pressure from improvements at University Village and increasing numbers of street kids and panhandlers chased away customers. Retailers closed their stores.

"We have been there 28 years," said Don Wilson, owner of The Soap Box. "Our staff is afraid to work after dark. We were robbed three months ago in broad daylight. The roadwork is making it difficult for people to get to the store.

"I hope all these improvements will drive that certain element out of the area, but I am worried that it will just make it a nicer place for them to throw down their things.

"It is killing us right now."

Small shops similar to The Soap Box are closing and are being replaced by a stream of Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai restaurants, and smoke shops.

Some who gathered yesterday took exception to the mayor taking credit for Ave improvements, such as widening the sidewalks, that were started years ago under Mayor Paul Schell's administration when the council approved councilmanic bonds and applied for federal grants.

University neighborhood activist Matt Fox is among those who oppose lifting the lease lid.

He said lifting the lease lids will do little to improve the Ave. He predicts most of the campus offices will locate on Brooklyn Avenue and Roosevelt Way.

"It will create an impetus to tear down older buildings," Fox said.

City Council President Peter Steinbrueck said that while he supports the university's desire to grow and add research space, he doesn't want the pedestrian nature or unique character of the Ave to be sacrificed in the process.

"To summarily throw out the lease lid will have very lasting and detrimental effects on fragile relationships in the community," said Steinbrueck.

"I will insist that there be a community process to make sure the community's concerns are being taken into account.

"I don't think the lease lid is the devil it has been made out to be."

Many at the university, squeezed for space, are watching the lease lid issue closely. The university's continuing education program has been looking for a permanent home since an electrical fire destroyed its offices in December.

"There is no physical space on campus," said Roberto Sanchez, a spokesman for the educational outreach division.

"Anything that gets us closer to campus and gets us a permanent space is good for us."

Safety, noise levels, partying, absentee landlords and rebuilding a family neighborhood in the housing around the Ave were other concerns expressed by the crowd that gathered in front of the University Bookstore yesterday.

"It is great to see the effort to revitalize the Ave, but we need to keep families in the neighborhood," said Patty Whisler, a University Park resident.

She said too many homes have become student housing.

It is noisy at night with parties, Frisbee games in the street, and people howling, Whisler said.

Nickels said he is also proposing a more stringent noise ordinance to the council.

P-I reporter Kathy Mulady can be reached at 206-448-8029 or kathymulady@seattlepi.com

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