Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development & Arts Committee - Public Hearing 9/19/2018

You're number 16 and higher.

Feel free to go out and listen to music.

Wonderful.

Still can't hear you.

I can't hear you.

The third time is the charm.

Welcome, and tonight's public hearing is about Council Bill 1193.30, which became ordinance 1256.50 after its passage by the City Council.

The ordinance expanded the Pike Place Market Historical District to include the Showbox Theater for 10 months.

The ordinance was adopted to study whether to permanently expand the district to include the Showbox Theater.

I welcome all of you for joining us today.

This is a public hearing of the Civil Rights Utilities Economic Development Committee.

I'm joined by my committee members, Council Member O'Brien and Council Member Sawant.

Before proceeding with the public comment, I'm going to ask our Council Central staff, Keto Freeman, to provide a brief description of the legislation and the purpose of the hearing.

And your mic's not working either.

Keetel Freeman, Council Central staff.

So Council Member Herbold just went through at a high level a lot of the content of the bill.

I'll reiterate some of that.

I'll just note a few things about sort of procedural aspects of the legislative history here and then talk briefly about what Council Bill 125650 does and then we can begin the public hearing.

But in terms of Procedural aspects of the legislative history, this is a little bit unusual in that the council is holding a public hearing on an ordinance that has already passed.

You may wonder why that is.

It's a requirement of RCW 3670A 390. That is a statute that gives jurisdictions the authority to enact on interim bases development controls and moratoria.

Under that statute, jurisdictions are required to hold a public hearing even if that hearing happens after an ordinance has been adopted.

So as the council members know, the ordinance was first introduced on August 6th.

It was discussed at the Finance and Neighborhoods Committee and amended on August 8th.

It passed the full council on August 13th, and the mayor signed the ordinance on August 24th.

So what does Ordinance 125650 do?

It makes findings of fact in support of an interim expansion of the Pike Place Market Historical District.

And up here is an exhibit from the ordinance.

In the shaded area is the Pike Place Market Historical District as it stands now.

And in the hatched area is the interim expansion that would include the Showbox site.

That amends Chapter 2524 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

That chapter has regulations for historic preservation, and it includes this expansion that you see here of the Pike Place Market Historical District.

And it establishes a 10-month work plan to study whether to permanently expand the boundaries of the Pike Place Market Historical District.

As Councilmember Herbold mentioned, there is a sunset provision in the bill.

The interim expansion expires on the earlier of 10 months after the effective date of the ordinance that just passed or when a bill permanently establishing an expansion is effective.

Thank you, Cato.

As it relates to next steps over the next 10 months, the ordinance itself contains the council's adopted work program for the next 12 months, 10 months.

And you can find that right by those mics.

You might want to take a look at them if you're interested in finding out what we're going to be doing here to sort of flush out a lot of the questions associated with a decision at a later date in 10 months about whether or not to make the boundary expansion permanent.

The other point I wanted to make before we go into the mechanics of the hearing, there's been some conversation about how the meeting notice went out.

I just want to clarify that on August 27th, in the city's paper of record, the EJC, a notice of this public hearing was published.

The notice of the public hearing was dated notice of a Seattle City Council public hearing regarding the interim expansion of the Pike Place Market Historic District to include the Showbox Theater.

It announced the time and date of the public hearing, let folks know how to sign up at the public hearing, and directed people who had questions to my staff, Newell Aldrich.

So I just wanted to clarify that the Standards that are set by state law and city law for this kind of hearing were followed by publishing a notice in the city's paper of record.

Councilor Swan?

Thank you, Chair Herbold.

I just wanted to reiterate one of the points you made a minute ago that when we, when the City Council passed the ordinance in August, it extended the boundaries of the Pike Place Market Historical District to include the showbox temporarily, so it has a 10-month stay now, but it does need to be expanded permanently, and I just wanted to make sure everybody's aware that it's a long way to go.

So as far as the mechanics of the hearing go, speaker numbers will be announced in numerical order.

Folks have signed up on a sign-up sheet, but they also have a number.

Each speaker will have a minute to present public comment.

There's another option if groups of four want to come up.

Those groups of four will have a longer period of time.

Newell, how long should groups of four have?

Five minutes?

OK.

Each speaker was given a laminated card with the number you're signed up to speak.

When your individual number is announced, I ask that you step forward to one of the two mics there or that mic there.

It's actually great if when you hear your name called, because I'm calling two at a time, if you come up at that time, not wait for your turn.

That way we can have things moving more quickly and smoothly.

When you speak, if you could make sure to drop your card into the box at the podium at the center of the council.

Noel, can you point to where that is?

And this is in case we have to reuse them during today's hearing.

I ask that you speak directly into the microphone and as you begin to speak to state your name for the record.

A timer is visible to assist speakers in tracking their allotted time.

The timer will turn, the light will turn yellow when you have 30 seconds and the red light will indicate that your time has ended.

Newell will also help you know when your time has ended.

We request that you respect the clock in consideration of people who have signed up later.

For those outside of the chambers, the appropriate speaker number will be registered on a whiteboard in the lobby on the first floor.

And so this is folks who are not in this room that are outside enjoying the concert to be able to know when the time is for them to speak.

And lastly, as, well first, since this is a public hearing, we stay, or I stay at least, because I'm chairing the meeting, until everybody's had a chance to speak.

It's a little different than other times when you come to testify before the council where we have an allotted time.

In this instance, I will stay until everybody has had an opportunity to speak.

But I do ask that you remember that the hearing is not to make a decision on a future ordinance to expand the Pike Place Market historic district boundaries.

It is to comment on the decision that the council has already made in order to comply with the Growth Management Act's requirement to get more public input on the ordinance.

The question is not whether or not to extend the interim ordinance or to adopt a permanent measure.

That is not before the council.

What we are asking you to speak on at this public hearing is related to the interim decision.

Another clarification, many of you may be aware that there's another effort separate from historic district effort to landmark this building.

This is also not a hearing to discuss the landmarking of the building.

That is happening in a separate process as well and you can feel free to get in touch with my office if you wanna know more about that.

So with that, I am gonna start.

by announcing the first two names.

Thank you.

We've got Alex Zimmerman followed by Asuka Jax.

Hi, my name Alex Zimmerman.

What's happened with show box is very interesting.

Show my face, Gabels.

Good.

What has happened is a unique situation.

Only in Seattle, a number one fascist city in America, this can happen.

And I give you classic history.

exception.

When Hitler come, she confiscate everything from 6 million Jew, make him a very rich man.

When Stalin come, he confiscate everything from 100 million people.

What is you doing is very unique because you by definition is a criminal.

I'm not care about this 200 idiot.

who sit in this room, who not understand what is, but I care about nine decision what this council make.

You guys are pure criminal.

It's America.

You forgot it's a private property.

You hire my dirty fuhrers.

That's exactly who you are, a criminal, a crook, and bandita.

Thank you very much.

Speaker two is Asuka Jacks, followed by speaker three, J.P.

Kemic.

Good evening.

Thanks for allowing me to be here to represent the intersex community.

Saving the show box is extremely important to me.

So we can have a space to go to, to be ourselves and have a great time like anybody else.

So it's important that we save the show box and music and housing is a human right.

Speaker three is J.P.

Kemmick.

And speaker four is Michael Worsley.

And again, if you could line up at the mic when you hear your name, that'd be great.

Hi, Council.

Thank you for taking the time tonight.

Many years ago, a bouncer at the Showbox threatened to, quote, smash my face in, which I don't think is the kind of service you get just anywhere in Seattle.

I've been going to the Showbox since I was 18 years old.

I've seen some of the best acts in the Northwest, let alone the world, play at that incredible venue.

I left Seattle for about five years, a couple years ago.

I came back largely because I missed the live music scene, which has been an integral part of my life in Seattle, of my cultural life, of my mental health.

And I just want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to keep Seattle a place that people feel is welcoming, a place that we feel is open to artists, and a place that we feel has room for culture.

I know it's a rapidly changing city, but we've got to hold on to the things that are so important to so many of us.

So please save the show box.

Thank you.

For four is Michael Wansley, followed by speaker five, who is Madeline Falzerano.

Good evening, my name's Michael Wansley, I'm the Grammy Award winning voice of Macklemore's Thrift Shop, and a long time Seattle resident musician.

I commend you for extending, or for actually studying this, but I have two things that I really want to encourage you to do.

Find a way to get input from everyone else online.

There are ways that you can collect more and more ideas from more and more people who couldn't make it.

The second thing, I think that there should be some avenue with the current owner of the building to make a private public partnership.

Because when you look at the Smith Tower, Remember that the show box was built two years after it, and that kind of history is disappearing from the city.

And we need to preserve it just like we need to preserve Puget Sound.

Thanks.

Speaker five is Madeline Falzerano, followed by speaker six, which is Derek Nininga.

Good evening.

Can you hear me?

My name is Madeline Fazerano and I'm speaking to each council member.

Consider how you voted on the head tax.

Tonight we are asking you to take courage and stand up for the show box.

Thank you.

Derek will be followed by Speaker 7, Brian Durdowski.

Hey, Council.

I got to use my phone because I'm tired.

So I appreciate that you guys extended the protection for 10 months for the following reasons about the Showbox.

So the Showbox is important to remember that the Showbox provides employment for people who also qualify for low-income housing.

Showbox has provided this sort of employment for 79 years.

It's hard to live where you can't find work.

City government plays a crucial role in making available viable economic stability for its citizens.

Please do not allow the city to become harder to live in.

I've actually recently been forced to move out of the city, so I feel that one very personally.

Secondly, a city is a designed ecosystem specifically for the benefit of people.

People find place within a city by relating to their surroundings.

The things that are a main proponent of this relationship in a city that has and continues to experience rapid change, seemingly without considerations of its citizens' sentiments.

This treasured venue is exponentially more important.

Please do not erode the community benefit, which is the show box.

Furthermore, in a society that appears increasingly cut off from one another, having the show box which provides shared experiences and subsequent joys is incalculably valuable.

And third, the acoustics and show experience of this place are incredible.

There's nothing else like it.

Speaker 7 is Brian Durdowski, followed by Speaker 8, which is John Brister.

And Brian, I'm sorry for not recognizing you earlier.

I would have allowed you to speak first, being that you're joining us as a former King County Council member.

So thank you for joining us.

I don't think elected officials should go first.

They should just take their place in line with everybody else.

First of all, I want to thank you very much for your public service and for taking a proactive stance to do what you could to salvage a very bad situation.

I hope it works.

I want to give you some suggestions from a standpoint of legal defensibility and conformity with the Growth Management Act.

I think you should consider expanding your study area.

If you just focus on one property, you may have some potential issues there.

Look at other properties.

Secondly, I think you should develop at the same time some possible guidelines to be considered under your Growth Management Act authority and your zoning authority.

The work that you're going to do over the next 10 months to evaluate this site is much of that work would be helpful to revising your design review standards your zoning code, and other development regulations.

And so let's do both those at the same time.

And I think if you make that effort, you will also protect yourselves, perhaps, from a concern that you're not being consistent with your responsibilities under the Growth Management Act.

I'd be happy to talk to you and your staff about these issues later.

And lastly, please consider how you got here and how you keep future amenities like this from going under the knife.

Thank you.

Speaker 8 is John Brister, followed by Speaker 9. And I think that might be, I'm having a hard time reading it.

It's one name, maybe Imogene?

Yeah, I'll agree with number 7, Speaker 7, that, you know, the property on the corner there, they're going to build a 14-story unit or complex.

You know, if you're standing at the Pike Place Market, which most tourists want to go see the fish toss.

It's one of their things.

And if you go there and you're going to have a couple big giant buildings there, it's going to be a gimmick.

It's not going to look like the Pike Place Market anymore.

Another thing is that if you look at the demographics from the raw power KXP that played on top of the Pike Place market, you'll see there was probably a lot of people about my age, also at the subop 30. You're taking away one of our last playgrounds, and I don't think it's right.

One other thing, are we going mad in Seattle?

I wore this t-shirt especially for it.

You know, you guys got to figure out how to stop that three acres that you guys are selling.

We don't have surplus land in Seattle.

You can ask anybody 10 years or older, there's not surplus land in Seattle.

You can use that property for a lot better things.

Thank you.

I've got speaker nine signed up next.

Thank you.

And if you could state your name for the record.

I am Lacrete.

I am Lucrece Green, and I have no vested interest in the showbox.

But holding a man's property in limbo for 10 months, I don't think that's legal.

Also, I pray that this council will do what must be done in order to prevent another $40 million lawsuit that we taxpayers have to pay.

Speaker 10 is Sandra Vanderveen, followed by Speaker 11, James Marshall Gooch.

Hi, I'm Sandra Vanderveen.

Hey, thank you very much for everything you've done.

You are an amazing council, and thanks for what you've done so far.

And I just want to say, you know, music is something that makes people who we are, as we all know.

But when you're playing at the show box, you're playing on the shoulders of people who have gone before for decades.

And it is something that is going to be important for everybody that comes after us.

And we need to preserve it for forever.

Thanks.

Following speaker 11, we have speaker 12, Sarah Foster.

I'm number 11. My name is Marshall Gooch and I have.

I moved here in 1979 and became part of the musical community as a performer, as a promoter, and as a volunteer DJ at the college radio station.

And I can say that the Showbox has fostered so many great musicians in our community, brought so many out of other communities, and helped people to get some focus to what they want to do in life and how to create.

And the creativity of this town is what makes it Seattle.

And to take away something that adds to that, you know, rich tapestry of culture, to take it away in order just to add some more condos for rich people, I just think is a horrendous thing.

And I appreciate what you folks are doing.

Thank you.

Speaker 12, Sarah Foster, will be followed by Speaker 13, Sarah Angel.

Hi, my name is Sarah Foster.

I am from Seattle, and I support Seattle music.

And it's very important to me that you save this show box.

Thank you.

Speaker 13, Sarah Angel, will be followed by Speaker 14, Andrew, I believe it's Drabaw.

Hi, my name is Sarah Angel and I'm just here to speak on the behalf of the magic that I found going to the Showbox.

Being in Seattle is a wonderful experience and having a place that has the history and the past of music and walking into that room is the most incredible experience that really is so tragic to think that that could somehow go away.

I actually live in the neighborhood just next to the show box.

And so the fact that there would be even more construction in my neighborhood also brings me a lot of stress and grief, especially when it's to tear down something that, you know, this whole room full of people, I can sense just, it would be such a tragedy.

And all those who aren't here to speak on this behalf.

So thank you for the time and really hope you take all of this into consideration.

Speaker 14 will be followed by speaker 15 Jonathan Thompson.

Hi, my name is Andrew drama.

I want to thank the Council for having the meeting and the temporary stop that was put on the construction.

We bulldoze cultural touchstones in the city daily and I'm just so tired of it.

And what I would like is a music venue.

I don't think we need any more billionaire terrariums or overpriced condos with subways and nail salons at the bottom of them.

I think probably music is a much more valuable aspect to the city.

Thank you.

Following speaker 15 is speaker 16, and I believe that's Chris Lefebvre.

Hi, my name is Jonathan Thompson, and I'm here to speak on behalf of the Showbox.

I think you should do everything you can to save it.

I don't know if the proposed legislation, if the owner is not terribly interested in actually running the Showbox, whether he can just close it, even if this legislation goes through.

So I hope that you consider all those possibilities.

And also I'd like to say, yeah, I'm just tired of seeing developers like tear apart our communities and bulldoze poor people's homes and bulldoze our cultural centers.

And I think at the very least that the developers should be paying a very significant share back into the community to support the arts, to support affordable housing, and these things which they are destroying, to support public transport, all that kind of thing.

So I don't think we're charging developers enough, and I think that should also be considered.

Thank you.

Following Speaker 16 is Speaker 17, Tamlyn Thomas.

Thank you for having me, my name is Chris and you guys actually all know me, I've met with you personally.

But on a different issue, I was here for the stadium and the reason I was here for the stadium debate is because we have an option that lets the community invest in the community.

We can help you avoid the lawsuit and involve all these wonderful people to now invest and be a part of the Showbox Theater.

We can actually help save the Showbox Theater for our community.

We have another option and that's why we're here is to get the message out.

There is another option on the table.

If the people in this community wanted to save it, Let them invest a hundred bucks and be shareholder owners of the share box instead of a developer from another country come down here and destroy the show box and take it away from this community that love this place so much.

Thanks very much.

Following speaker 17 is speaker 18 Israel Galindo.

Hi, I'm Tamlyn Thomas.

I wish I were as eloquent as everyone who's spoken so far, and I really appreciate the wide range of concepts.

I want to thank you for the temporary inclusion of the show box in the Historic District.

I'd really like to encourage you to make this into a permanent motion or decision.

As a longtime resident here and a taxpayer, I feel really strongly that we as a community need to be careful to allow development while avoiding the loss of our creative and community spaces.

Destruction of the showbox in the short term may provide economic gain, but in the long term, it undermines our economic vitality as a city.

We can look to Vancouver to the north to appreciate what happens when development outraces reasoned urban planning.

Preservation of the showbox should be part of a larger strategy by the City of Seattle to keep sites of creative expression whole and thriving in the midst of a growing population.

Following Speaker 18 is Speaker 19, Tammy Shuffold.

Hello, my name is Israel Galindo.

I've bartended at the Showbox for five years.

And before that, I worked at the Alibi Room, which is in Pike Place Market, for the three years before that.

And I can just tell you that the Showbox serves the market.

If there's a busy show there, all the businesses are thriving.

And I witnessed that, and we serve each other, so it should be a part of it.

And when you work at the Showbox, you go to any business, in the market and you see a little discount on your ticket which says market discount.

So they recognize us as part of the market so we just hope that you guys can as well.

Thank you.

Following speaker 19 is speaker 20, Mia Huber.

I'm a 58-year-old who grew up in South Seattle and spent much of my childhood downtown with my mom.

She used to work at Penny's there, which is now Target.

I got my first job at the market and another at Frederick and Nelson, now Nordy's.

Eventually lived in Belltown for 12 years.

I'm acquainted with what the city was.

My question is, how many more reflective glass boxes can this city support before it too turns into just that, nondescript, icy cold, and bland?

I hear next to be axed are businesses on second between Bell and Blanchard.

If all that matters is money, I am so out of here.

Following Mia Huber, we have speaker 21, which is Daniel, I think it's Restivo.

I'm sorry baby that it takes a while for me to open my eyes in the daylight I hope you know I would walk through noon's fire To bring the sun at your knees And it would sing To you With all my love All my love All my love All my love will come to dance to adore you.

Thank you.

That was lovely.

Following speaker 21, we have speaker 22, Frank W. Campbell.

Dang, I don't know how I'm going to follow that up.

Look, I believe that the decision to destroy the show box is one of Seattle's most historic, iconic, and beloved music venues would be a short-sighted and selfish decision that pays no regard to the desires of our community.

What this city needs is more affordable housing, not luxury condos in place of important cultural spaces.

Please save the show box and other important cultural spaces and build more affordable housing.

Expand the Pike Place Explorers District, permanently include the show box, be smarter and more creative with your development, and listen to the community.

Thank you.

Following speaker 22, we have speaker 23. Salvatore, I believe it's you now.

My name is Frank Campbell, and I'm a 60-year-old.

and also disabled, and also a musician.

I used to play with different bands and stuff, and seeing the ShowBot, I've been there, I've actually helped, I've known the people who originally owned the ShowBot, and it's sad, like I said, when people let developers run away with it, The heritage is almost 80 something years old and we're letting developers have their way with it, not even from this country.

I think we should subvert, keep it so the next generation will know what their heritage is. because once it's gone, it's gone.

Where's it going to come back?

It ain't going to come back.

Once it's gone, it's gone.

Thank you.

Following speaker 23, we have speaker 24, and I think it's perhaps Ruby Dumphy.

Hello, my name is Salvatore Diorio.

I'm a transient from the East Coast.

I've been here for about four years now, and I've loved the independent music and art scene here.

The show box clearly encompasses the energy as it's shown in this room here tonight.

I understand gentrification is happening rapidly around here in the whole Pacific Northwest, but one must consider the impacts on the local culture as the buildings around us are changing.

I appreciate your input.

Thank you very much.

Following Speaker 24, we've got Speaker 25, David Friedlander.

Hello, Council.

Thank you for your time.

My name's Ruby Dunphy, and I moved here when I was 18 in the improbable hopes that I would become a full-time professional musician.

Everyone told me not to do it because who would do that?

Because of what Seattle had to offer me, I'm a 22-year-old professional full-time musician with a degree in music.

It has not been easy.

I have lived in eight different homes in my four years in Seattle.

It's actually nine, but I thought that'd be an exaggeration.

A year ago today, I was living in a 10-bedroom home with 16 of us, sometimes 17 if my girlfriend came over.

It was hard and it still is hard.

And what is bringing people to Seattle, what is bringing artists to Seattle is the rich history of art and what is still happening right now in Seattle in the art community.

But we can't expect a future if we're demolishing what is bringing artists here while simultaneously building what is keeping us away.

Thank you.

Following David Friedlander, we have Speaker 26, Gerald Scherer.

Hi, I'm David Friedlander.

I'm a musician, an educator with Seattle Public Schools, a voter, and a taxpayer, and I really appreciate you opening this up to public hearing.

I moved here also to become a full-time musician.

And I moved here and what made playing first on a Tuesday night and open mics where nobody was there worth it was having places like the Showbox as the light at the end of the tunnel.

And if you, not if you, but if this goes away and there is no light at the end of the tunnel, people like us won't be here anymore.

And I just want you to consider the people that have voted and the people that have spoken tonight.

And if we aren't here anymore, then what will be left?

25% vacancy is not something that we need.

Thank you.

Following speaker 26 is speaker 27, Leah Julius.

Hello, my name is Gerald Shear and I'm I am a current employee at the Showbox.

I've been there for about two years.

The Showbox has brought me a place to belong.

It's brought me a community of people that really care about me, which I haven't found a lot in my life.

And I want that to be a place that more people can come to and work at.

It means a lot to me being there and having what it's given to me and people who have come before me and will come after me to work there and to go to shows there and to be a part of that.

And I really, I can't thank you guys enough for the work that you're putting in toward finding this place, being a historical landmark.

And I just wanted to make sure that when this surge of development is over, we still have a culture's significant meaning places.

The showbox is such a place.

Thank you.

And before Speaker 27, Council Member Sawant has an announcement.

Thank you, Chair Hubble.

Just wanted to remind everybody here, after you testify, make sure you go to the plaza on 4th Avenue, plaza of this building, because we still have the concert going on.

Soul is just starting to play, and we have Smokey Brights and Ruler, so don't miss that.

After you testify, go down there.

Don't miss that.

Following Speaker 27, we have Speaker 28, Daniel Lyon.

My name is Leah Julius.

I am the bass player in local band Thunder Pussy.

I'm excited to be here.

Thank you.

It's amazing to see so many familiar faces because that's what the Showbox is and that's what Seattle is.

This is a community and we're in this together.

And I also think While you guys are considering the future of the Showbox, I think it's important to note that it's not just a music venue, it's an art hub.

Thunder Pussy, we played there last New Year's Eve and we had dancers and visual artists and photographers and music obviously and it all comes together to create a really beautiful moment and Happy you guys did the 10-month extension, because we actually are booked to play there this New Year's Eve.

So I would like to extend an invitation to you three, as well as everyone on the council, your name will be on the guest list.

Come join us on New Year's Eve.

Experience magic.

Speaker 28 is Daniel Lyon, followed by Speaker 29, Chris Moore.

Hi, my name is Daniel.

I'm a musician as well.

I moved to Seattle with just really instruments and some stuff and crashed in my car until I could find a job and a place.

because I really felt like Seattle was the place to call me.

I remember just growing up and seeing all the shows at Showbox and wanting to be a part of that and being a part of that community.

And then being here and just realizing how amazing of a venue it is.

And it's really, it's what tourists see is right down there.

And I don't think that we want to show them when they come here that it's just a city full of condos.

Speaker 29 will be followed by Speaker 30, Ernie Ashwood.

I just wanted to say thanks for letting me be up here and speak.

I'm a local musician.

I'm a Seattleite.

And just growing up and seeing so many shows at the Showbox meant so much to me and inspired me to get involved in the arts and get involved with the community.

And if we take away the Showbox, you take away a part of our community.

If you take away a part of our community, you're taking away for what we stand, such as $15 an hour, health care, and just giving things back.

Please don't kill our inspiration.

Please don't fill it with condos that are only like 25% empty or 25% full.

Let's keep the show box alive.

Thank you.

Following Ernie, we've got speaker 31, Jack Moriarty.

Thank you, council members, for your time.

Actually, I'm going to keep this pretty quick.

I'm just here to say thank you for two reasons.

Reason number one, you've preserved the history of artists like Prince, Sharon Jones, Soundgarden, and God willing, my band that got to play earlier this year.

The second thing I really want to appreciate is what you've done for me.

No question, I'm a person of color.

We don't really get the opportunity to believe in the system that much.

We really, really feel like our voices are heard.

And what I saw you guys do over the course of that period in approving the temporary ordinance gave me hope.

It reinstalled the idea that the system can work if voices are willing to rally behind it.

So thank you for doing your job in representing the people.

That's it.

Following speaker 31, we've got speaker 32, Serena, maybe Serena Jones.

Hi, so I'm Jack Moriarity, and I'd just like to say that I appreciate the Showbox because it is all ages.

I was born a musician, and I've been playing shows live since I was seven years old.

I started going to shows at the Showbox when I was 12, and I've been going to shows there like every month since then.

And I'm 18 now, I play in three local bands, And every single time I go into the show box, I see my favorite musicians up on that stage, and it inspires me.

And I've always wanted to play there.

That's kind of been a dream of mine.

So if the show box closes down, I will never be able to play on that stage.

And I'd like to do that at least once in my life.

So that's it.

Thank you.

I've got speaker 32. I believe the name is Serena Jones?

Speaker 32, okay.

Speaker 33, Ryan Ray, followed by Speaker 34, Melissa Ricks.

Hi, I'm Ryan Ray.

I moved to Seattle two years ago to work at Amazon.

But I also moved to Seattle two years ago because it's a vibrant city with a soul and a great musical history.

I love seeing shows at the Showbox.

It's part of what makes this a really great place to live and work and be able to support a lot of the musicians that have already spoken.

I understand it's a really tough debate that you guys are dealing with, and I feel like it's It's about the show box, but it's also really symbolic for what kind of city Seattle wants to be.

And I understand that we need more places for people to live, but I think we can't do that at the expense of what creates such a great fabric and a great place to call Seattle home.

Thank you.

Speaker 34 is Melissa Ricks.

Not seeing Melissa Ricks, we're moving on to Speaker 35, Jill Passmore, followed by Speaker 36, Angela Cook.

Hi, I'm Jill Passmore and I wanted to thank you for expanding the district for the 10 months.

It's important to have the Showbox in the district because the Showbox is a public cultural space.

We lose big public cultural spaces.

Sometimes they're dive bars that we love.

But the show box is different.

It's historic and it's gorgeous.

It's acoustically perfect.

Losing this is not like losing the two bells.

I just want you to remember that.

That's it.

Hi, my name is Angela Cook.

I'm no longer a resident here, but I lived here for four years in the early, or I guess 2009, 2012. Before I ever moved here, I saw a show at the Showbox.

And one of the things that drew me to Seattle was the music scene here.

I know now that I don't live here, the two things that people think of when they think of Seattle is, first of all, music, and then secondly, the Pike Place Market.

So it makes sense to keep the venue that's been there for so long, one of our oldest music venues, as part of that historic district.

To lose that, it would be a permanent loss of something that's so integral to this city, something that people think of when they come here, and the reason that JAWS people here, so thank you for letting me speak.

Following speaker 37 is speaker 38, Shannon Wells.

Thank you.

I just want to say thank you for taking the historic step to push the pause button and have this time to consider.

I just want to remind you that this is a historic step that you took and is a turning point potentially.

I mean, it could be a turning point for this city when we talk about finally starting to take some very sort of big picture steps to think about sort of ending the cultural displacement that is happening all across the city.

One of the most oft-repeated refrains I've heard in the past month since this happened is, who's next, right?

And the concern is so goes the show box, so goes the rest of Seattle.

So if we want to start thinking about ways to do better, ways to make change, then let this be a turning point.

Let's think big.

Let's think about changing the way that we use land in the city so that it's not just about profit, but it's about people.

And let's put people first.

Thank you very much for your time.

Following Shannon is Speaker 39, Brooke Harrison.

Hi, good evening.

My name is Shannon Wells.

I wanted to thank you all for voting in support of this ordinance.

I wanted to revisit our city's Office of Film and Music, their vision statement for Seattle to become a city of music by 2020. So I just wanted to read a couple sentences of that vision statement.

Quote, We value music as a dynamic force that enriches the lives of residents, visitors, and listeners around the globe.

Seattle will be acknowledged as a distinctive center for music where a spirit of innovation continually renews a thriving music industry, both economically and culturally.

Audiences, business leaders, educators, and politicians will enthusiastically support the creative, economic, and community value of music.

I love this vision.

It's the city I dreamed of before I moved here.

I believe music is a dynamic force in our community's lives and demolishing the showbox is counter to our city of music vision.

So I'm hoping that we can work together to save the showbox and make it a permanent part of the Pike Place Market Historic District.

Thank you.

Following speaker 39 is speaker 40 and speaker 40's name I believe is Lauren Rice.

My name is Brooke, and I work at the Showbox with Shannon and many other people that spoke.

And I want to thank you just like a lot of other people have tonight.

It's been a big deal.

It's exciting, but it's not done, and we're very aware of that, and that's why we're all here.

A lot of us went to work, have gone to work, I'm going to go to work.

I met a lot of people working here.

It's expanded a lot of just my whole life, really.

So thank you for your work so far.

I'm excited to see what else we do.

And I thank you for letting me speak, and I hope that, I don't know, you're here at late too, so I hope that means a lot to you as well.

Thank you.

Following speaker 40, Lauren Rice, is speaker 41, Tessa Tenborg.

Are you Tessa?

Yes.

OK.

One more call out for speaker 40. Speaker 40 here.

OK.

Go ahead, Tessa.

I was 15. My best friend and I raced through closed doors.

We heard the initial roar of the crowd welcoming the band.

It was a packed house, hot and energetic.

I stood on the top of my toes to see over top of the heads.

That was the moment when I officially fell in love with live music.

I'm not alone in this experience.

If you ask elected officials, doctors, business professionals, teachers, they will all be able to tell you how their first ever live performance felt, how it sounded, smelled, what the bathrooms looked like.

Local live music venues, such as the Showbox, strengthen art.

They strengthen a sense of place, a local community, and they represent an experience like nothing else.

By demolishing the Showbox, we are demolishing community.

We are demolishing Seattle's remaining culture.

We are demolishing future acts' opportunity to play.

And most importantly, we are demolishing inclusiveness in the heart of America's music scene.

I luckily got my first experience But I think that others deserve to have that as well.

Thank you.

My name's Tessa TenBort.

Speaker 42 is Alexandra Bowman, followed by Speaker 43, Christopher Gibbs.

Hi, my name's Alexandra.

Thank you for having us here to speak.

Can you speak closer to the microphone?

Can you hear me?

Okay, cool.

So I'm Alexandra, thank you.

I moved to Seattle two years ago for music.

Literally, that's it.

And it's like the Goldilocks spot on the West Coast.

It is my favorite city.

I came from Philadelphia, which I still love, but I came here for music, and that was it.

It was the calling.

And I work for Live Nation now, as well as The Crocodile.

which is another very small venue.

So going from places like the Gorge and working the Gorge and then also still working the Crocodile, I love big shows, it's great, it's lovely, but there's nothing like the intimacy of a small venue with just a couple hundred people in there rocking their faces off together.

So I don't want to lose that.

So thank you.

Following Christopher Gibbs is speaker 44, David Griffin.

Hello, council.

My name is Chris Gibbs.

I'm a sound engineer.

I've worked at the Showbox, and I also work at Seattle Theater Group, a nonprofit that operates historical venues.

A few people mentioned the 25% vacancy rate in downtown Seattle.

I'd also like to underscore that there are 9,000 to 10,000 more apartments planned in that neighborhood already.

The city has a homelessness crisis.

Not only are we going to allow an outside developer to change the culture and history of the city, that's completely unacceptable.

Thank you.

Following David Griffin, we have speaker 45, Greg Carlson.

Hi, my name is Dave Griffin from Ballard.

I've been in Seattle for 25 years.

I'm an old man now, but I started going to the show box when I was 23 and have seen so many historic, wonderful shows from artists who are dead now.

Every time I go through the doors, I remember and a little tear comes to my eye for all those we've lost.

Please save the show box.

Thank you.

Hi, Greg Carlson, native Seattleite.

Imagine New York City without the Blue Note, or Los Angeles without the Whiskey A Go-Go, or San Francisco without the Fillmore.

These aren't just music venues, they're history museums, the pulse and engines of these regions.

We must save Seattle's own cultural epicenter, the showbox.

Without it, we're just a sleek-looking city with a hollow center, like something out of a bad sci-fi movie.

Following speaker 46 is speaker 47, Jamie Worthington.

Hi, my name's Kim Doyle and thank you for being here and listening to us.

Short and sweet because there's been so many elegant statements.

Thank you for your decision to include the show box into the 10 month stay and I really hope that this could be something more permanent.

Thank you.

Following Jamie is Speaker 48, Marcus William.

Hi, I'm Jamie Worthington.

Thank you for what you've done so far.

I'm curious and concerned about what actions the council is and able, prepared to do, or to handle the current lawsuit that the building owner has in place concerning his freedom of speech to try to keep the building.

I don't even know if there's anything that can be done.

I feel as a citizen that our hands are tied at that juncture and that there's nothing that we will be able to do if he does indeed win that lawsuit.

Also, For the half of the council that it's not here tonight that may be voted for a safeco I'm hoping that you'll fight as hard for the show box as you did for a team that I continue to show up for since 1997 that continually loses but that also I mean they bring in revenue, but they're getting a huge Huge deal on that rent.

So please consider that when the state the The venue that we're fighting for that brings in revenue, that continues to be a thriving point in this city when it comes down to turning that down or not.

Thanks.

Just a point of clarification, that was the King County Council.

The majority of the city council actually wrote a letter to the King County Council on that issue.

It's 5-4, right?

And thank you.

That's why I said anybody who was not here, including them.

Following Marcus Williams is Speaker 49, Demetria Doty.

Hello, my name is Marcus William Wolfington.

My family's been here for 100 years now.

I was born blocks from here.

I grew up here my entire life.

I am sorry to say that I no longer recognize my city.

It has changed so much in the last five years, let alone the last 30. Seattle, in and of itself, its music and its art has been its backbone.

And we cannot get rid of that, and this is the highest level of the music industry that we could tear down and get rid of.

It's just not the way it's supposed to be.

This is Seattle.

This is not anywhere else.

This is just Seattle, and that's how it should stay.

I want to thank anybody who is not considering tearing this down, but to everybody who might even be considering it, I would like to remind you that Seeing your home change and not being able to recognize it hurts very deeply.

And I want to thank everyone here who has spoken already.

Thank you.

Speaker 49 will be followed by Speaker 50, Anna Von Heumann.

Hello, my name is Demetria Doty, and I have worked at Showbox for a total of five months.

And along with that, I am a senior in college at the University of Washington.

In my time, I've learned there's a lot I do not know or understand.

I don't understand politics entirely.

I don't understand how Demolishing things work, I don't understand why people want to do it, but there are a lot of things that I think are more important than any of that.

Because in the just five months I've worked at Showbox, I've seen more people happy than I have in my entire life.

And I think it's really important for our people to be happy.

and to have places to go and feel like they're welcome and they matter and they mean something.

And the Showbox has made me feel like I mean something.

And to take that away from all of the people that have never gotten to experience that just doesn't seem fair for the people of Seattle.

And I think that's not something we should take away.

Thank you.

Speaker 50 is Anna Von Huben.

Great.

Followed by 51, Gabe Dalyan.

Hi, I'm Anna and I'm here because I obviously love the Showbox.

It's been a place where I've been able to find a lot of community, especially going to a lot of shows that are not just like straight white guy shows and find a group of people that you can't always find in music and in a lot of cities coming together.

It's a really amazing place and it also taking a stand to protect the showbox is also taking a stand on the kind of development that we want to see for the city.

It's not just about the showbox, it's about our city and what we want to do, because it's going to change.

There's people coming into the city because they love the culture and because they want to be here.

And it's thinking of a way to do that that's more affordable, that's better for everyone, including people that work at the market and that work at the showbox and already live in that community and the people that are the community of Seattle.

Thank you.

Following speaker 51 is speaker 52, Emily MacArthur.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Gabe Dallin.

I deliver catering here to City Hall a couple times a week.

When I do, I'm reminded of the vacant lot across the street.

And when I think about that, I think, what can we do to find a solution to preserve a cultural icon such as the show box?

And I really would like the council to consider that.

when you try to preserve my favorite music venue.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Emily MacArthur.

I'm a member of Socialist Alternative.

And I just want to say how inspired I am to stand here with all of you today, because even this small victory that we have in our hands of 10 months doesn't exist without all of us.

But I also want to say, don't allow this 10-month lead time to send us home consoled that we've won, because we haven't.

Seattle is a vibrant city because we make it so.

If the corporation wants to try to make taxpayers pay for their profits, I think we should take the show box into public ownership because the public is who truly values and benefits from it.

Art, music, cinema, and culture define this city, not monochrome second apartments for the wealthy.

Many of you are here for the first time because you feel the city is slipping through your fingers.

And I say to you, we can fight for the city that we need, and not just one that's run for and by Vulcan and Jeff Bezos.

I hope you'll all also come out this fall when the council votes on the budget, a document that puts dollar signs next to the things that they prioritize.

I've heard you all say that we should prioritize housing, arts, and culture, and we can really put that rubber to the road.

And I'd love to see you all here Saturday, October 6, from 3 to 6 p.m.

p.m.

right here at City Hall.

Speaker 53 is Molly Wyman.

All right, moving on to Speaker 54, we've got Josh Merrick followed by Speaker 55, Jade Treptow.

Hi there, my name is Josh Myrick.

Most people know me as Whitey.

I've worked at the Showbox for 17 and a half years.

So clearly the preservation of the Showbox as a music venue is very important to me and I appreciate the work that you guys have done.

But it's not just important to those of us in the room and me or this city.

It's a legendary venue that people travel to from around the country and around the world.

I've met many people who have come just to see their band at the Showbox because they want to see the Showbox that they've heard about.

Just like we might want to go to D.C.

and see the 930 Club, or to Minneapolis and the First Avenue.

We get tourism dollars because of this venue.

It's an important venue, and it's a secondary home for me.

I hope that you all appreciate that.

I don't know the last time you saw a show there, but you should have seen a show there.

People don't travel to see condos.

Nobody's coming to Seattle to visit and say, I want to see the fourth floor room.

That's beautiful.

They come to see venues.

They come to see culture.

They come to see music.

That's what Seattle is.

Thank you.

Following Speaker 55, we have Speaker 56, Dan Kavanaugh.

My name is Jack Trupto.

I'm not from Seattle originally.

I moved out here in 2009 for work.

I knew nothing at all about Seattle when I moved out, but I had heard of the Showbox.

I've always been a massive fan of music.

and following other touring bands that I've loved, I saw the name pop up over and over again.

Moving out here, I've had the opportunity to see dozens and dozens of shows, and every one of them has meant something important to me.

This was not planned because I didn't know about this until this afternoon, but I left the house this morning in a T-shirt that I bought at a Dirty Projectors show in 2011 at the Showbox.

It sticks with you and sneaks up on you when you least suspect it.

I know that That I left Seattle again in 2012 for work, but I chose to come back.

And it's in large part because the emphasis on the arts and music that not just the community feels, but my impression is that the city also feels.

I'm glad that you guys are backing that with the initial ten month extension, but please give the same chance that I've had to my four month old niece.

Let her enjoy it when she's a young adult too.

Thank you.

Speaker 56 is Dan Cavanaugh.

All right, Speaker 57 is, skip number, all right.

Speaker 58 is Pat Beatty, followed by Speaker 59, Grant Robinson.

Matt Beatty?

All right.

Speaker 59. Speaker 59, Grant Robinson.

Aye.

All right.

Thank you for your action you've already taken on this.

I would say as a lifelong resident of Puget Sound, I've seen how the creative culture of the area has made the region great, and it was what has brought so many people here.

I'm dismayed at seeing that disappear very rapidly.

As a music fan, I've lost count of the number of shows I've seen at the Showbox.

Most of them were good.

Also, out of coincidence, I wore a t-shirt from a band that I saw at the Showbox not long ago.

And as a musician, we need to support places that will continue to nurture the creative community.

And as a father, I want us to continue to have cultural institutions like that for my daughter to enjoy when she's of age.

Thank you.

Speaker 60 is Keaton Eggert.

Is that Speaker 60 here?

All right, moving on to speaker 60. All right, here we go.

All right, speaker 60, come on down.

Next, we have speaker 61. After that, Simran Kaur.

Just got finished watching Salt, and it was awesome, and I've seen him at the Showbox a couple times.

And, sorry, out of breath.

He's a lot of fun.

And I'm like, I'm really into the, style hip-hop community and stuff like that.

And especially at the Showbox, there's a really good sense of community.

And I end up going to shows by myself a lot.

And especially at the Showbox, it's one of the easiest places to just strike up a conversation with people.

And like I said, you get a really strong sense of community with that.

and it's just people like going to a lot of shows and you can just start talking to them about shows and conversation continues from there and you just strike up relationships with people and there's there's plenty of people that I I started seeing at shows a lot and kind of like develop concert friendships and stuff and hang out that way and like I said the show boxes one of the best places to do that.

I don't know if it's just the type of talent they attract there, the fan bases of them, but people there are just like super friendly and just music lovers and they wanna talk, sense community.

Speaker 61 is Simran Kaur, followed by speaker 62, looks like it's Navyat Kaur, maybe siblings.

You guys should really consider keeping the Showbox open.

I went to my very first concert there.

And I've met many friends, such as Keaton, through music artists.

I just watched Saul perform outside.

And the first time I saw him perform was in that venue.

And it was literally life-changing.

And you make really good friends.

The hip-hop community in Seattle, a lot of shows are held there.

And it's really important to our community.

Thank you.

Speaker 62 will be followed by Speaker 63, Kim West.

Hi, I'm Jyoth, and I think that we should keep this show box open because so many concerts have happened there, so many people have met.

It's created such a well-rounded community.

People enjoy going there and make friends.

And we all just watch Saul come out and perform.

And he's one of our favorite rappers, so he's evolved there, and it's special to watch.

So seeing it getting, like, tore down would not be something that we want to do or look at.

That's all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Speaker 63 is Kim West.

All right, moving on to Speaker 64, Ryan Devlin.

Speaker 65, Sarah Bennett, followed by Speaker 66, Joshua Bennett.

Hi, good evening.

My name is Sarah.

And I think what folks have been pointing to, it really is how deeply rich this issue is and how personal it is for everybody.

So I'll speak to kind of a different perspective that I bring.

So I moved back to Seattle from Washington DC in 2009. And the Seattle I found had a pall over it, which was shocking.

And where we could, like I'm moved by how shocking it was, and where we could be happy for a minute was at the music venues.

And that hall has been replaced by a shiny veneer that lies underneath it, a lot of really serious problems.

What we are actually speaking about when we're talking about the show box being torn down is our city being sold off to the highest bidder and being sold off to people who don't live here, who don't care about the people who live here, and who will extract profits from the people that live here.

This is something we can't tolerate any longer, and that's why we're here.

Thank you for considering expanding the district and keeping it permanent.

Joshua Bennett will be followed by Speaker 67, Mike Alpert.

Hi, my name is Joshua Bennett, and as a musician and urban planner, I appreciate the preview given the show box to allow people like us musicians, concerned citizens to come out, voice our opinion, and voice our love and passion for music and what it brings to the city, not only profits from bringing tours and attractions to the downtown area, but the experiences they have as well that are invaluable to us.

When Sarah first moved back to DC, we connected and started going to concerts all the time.

And that's how we got to know each other.

Music for me is food for the soul.

It not only gives people meaning, it gives people power to be something greater than themselves.

And that's what the Showbox is for Seattle as well.

I remember growing up in the Midwest.

Seattle was known for coffee and grunge.

I didn't really know anything else about Seattle except how cool their music was and how good their coffee was.

The music is good for sure.

Coffee, I'm not so sure about.

But I look forward to this opportunity during this time to take more actions to save it.

Thank you.

Speaker 67 will be followed by Speaker 68, Katie Galuso.

Hi, my name is Mike.

I've been going to the Showbox for shows for over 20 years.

I've gotten to work there a handful of times.

It's a magical place.

There's just nothing else like it in the city.

We can't afford to lose it, not culturally.

We used to be known as a music town.

So much of that's just gone, gentrified.

To lose it to condos is just unacceptable.

I'd like to continue to go see shows there.

It's a vital part of what I feel is the identity of Seattle.

I just can't imagine this town without it.

Save the Showbox.

Speaker 68 will be followed by Speaker 69, Conrad Burr-Campus.

Hi, my name is Katie Geluso, long-time listener, first-time public commenter.

I am here to ask the city's council, Save the Showbox.

I love music, but I don't attend a lot of live shows myself.

All my money goes to rent, but that is a different public comment session, is it not?

So while I'm not at shows, I do enjoy learning about Seattle's history and architecture.

I've been reading one of those coffee table picture books, Seattle, Then and Now, but that book was published in the 80s, so I found myself Googling a lot of these locations to see what these places looked like.

And I'm shocked that many of these places no longer exist.

It seems that tech companies and apartment developments have beat me to it, unfortunately.

So now City Council has a chance to save a bit of Seattle's culture and history.

There's no doubt that the show box is a landmark of the city and our musical roots.

You have the opportunity to preserve that by saving the show box.

And if we don't take a stand now, Seattle citizens will soon only be able to read about our own city's history rather than experience it first hand.

Thank you.

Following speaker 69 is speaker 70, Mickey Ovelett.

Hello, my name is Connor Abercampus.

I just came here.

I had an observation to make that not a single person speaking here is advocating for the side of people who want to tear down the show box.

and the fact that, as our city council, you should be representing us, and where are those people if they're going to try to make their persuasion?

Considering that this is something that affects everyone who actually lives in the city, The people that you're protecting are people who potentially are going to live in the city from, who knows, elsewhere, rich places that are not us.

And I just think it's kind of funny that we're just tearing everything down for those people when they don't even live here yet.

And also, with my last 10 seconds, I just wanted to comment about the fact that Mike O'Brien chose to eat his dinner at the beginning of this and his sarcastic smile and how I think it's disrespectful of the Seattle community and our opinions.

Thank you.

Speaker 70 is Mickey Ovelette, followed by Speaker 71, Lisa Roberts.

Hi, I'm Mikey Ovelette, and I'm here, I moved here three years ago from Munsonville, New Hampshire, where I come from a place where we strive to preserve the history of a city instead of tear it down and put other said developments in.

If you want to talk about historic preservation of like the historic Pike Place Market, I feel that the Tortoise Hostel, which has been there just as long as the Showbox, offers accommodations for people venturing to the city to maybe potentially move here as I did once, three years ago.

And to see this infrastructure to be torn down and replaced by something that I work really hard for in this city, right?

I'm a chef, so I work for people to have money.

And I can't afford rent to live in the city.

It's astronomical.

It's mind-blowing to me that this could potentially happen.

And it would literally ruin what the Pike Place market has to offer.

Thank you for your time.

Speaker 71 is Lisa Roberts, followed by Speaker 72, Haley Novick.

Hi, my name is Lisa Roberts.

I brought my daughters.

I'm Cameron Enfobia from Bonney Lake, Lake Taps.

I am a musician.

I'm from Utah originally.

I've been here 10 years.

I'm a single mom.

I don't have family here.

What keeps me here is the music and the best of the music in Seattle is the Showbox.

It is a family of people here.

There are people here that my kids have met tonight, people that I've met over the last 10 years that I would have never met or interacted with.

Grew up with a conservative background and have been open.

My eyes have been open to things that have made me feel a part of the city even though I don't live here.

It is my escape on the weekends.

I'm a school counselor.

Even though I am not a musician anymore, it's where my heart is.

It's where people can go and give their hearts to those who are performing and also receive the same in return.

I don't know that many things that exist where you get that same unity and you leave with friends and people with all the same purpose, even though we have completely different backgrounds.

So thank you for doing what you can to save this.

Speaker 72 will be followed by Speaker 73 Rosa Velasco.

Hi, my name is Haley.

I'm a member of Socialist Alternative.

I've been here before to speak about the desperate need for affordable housing in this city, but the developers who want to tear down the showbox aren't going to build affordable housing, and we don't need to give in to this logic that pits our needs against the arts and culture.

It's completely disingenuous to pretend that just building more housing is going to even begin to address the crisis.

We've already got more luxury housing in this city than we can fill, and landlords leave apartments vacant.

rather than coming down on the price.

We have deep pockets when it comes to subsidies for big corporations and tax breaks for the rich, or for militarizing the police and locking up children.

But when it comes to even a modest tax to help alleviate some of the symptoms of the crisis, we're told that we're going too far.

Everything that made Seattle unique or special is being sacrificed in the name of profits for the few, while the rest of us are left to fight over scraps from the establishment.

We're losing all our culture and replacing it with identical luxury housing that no working class person can afford to live in.

Saving the showbox is one way to fight back against that process, but we still need to tax the rich to build affordable housing now as much as we did last summer.

Speaker 73 will be followed by Speaker 74, and that looks like that's Madeleine Averello.

Hi, my name is Rose, and I just have to say that the Showbox provides a lot of culture, a lot of music, and a lot of big community.

Seattle is a great community, so it has to stick together, and the Showbox provides that.

So thank you.

Following speaker 74, we've got speaker 75. And I think that's, oh, it may be Joyce.

It may be Jorge Godfrey.

Jorge, all right.

Hello, my name is Natalina Revello.

And as I can see here, many, many people care about the Showbox.

And I don't think I've ever seen so many people be passionate about something that seems so important to them.

So I really do hope you consider their point of view.

So thank you.

Following Jorge Godfrey is speaker 76. Hi, I'm Jorge.

I wanna say is if you're gonna auction off the city like this, if you're gonna like try to act like no part of the city is actually worth saving.

I'm gonna lose my mind.

I'm fucked.

It's more of a, I'm, I don't know.

Speaker 76 is Sarah Champernow, followed by Speaker 77, Shua Sanchez.

Shua Sanchez.

Sorry, is 76 not here?

Don't see Sarah Champernow, so 77, Shua Sanchez.

Yep, okay.

Hi, so I'm Shaw Sanchez.

I'm coming to this conversation from a different angle than a lot of people.

I'm on the bargaining committee for UAW 4121. In my role as a union leader, I talk with members of my 4,500-person union a lot about things that are going on in the city.

And usually, I mean, almost any time the city council takes pretty much any kind of action, there's some range of opinions from the membership.

on what they're doing.

That includes a lot of things that have been going on recently.

I have been putting in a lot of effort to get people out for this Save the Showbox action for all of the meetings that we've had.

My union sent a letter in support of Saving the Showbox at the last meeting.

I just have to say that I have talked to a lot of members of my union.

I haven't talked to a single person whose support's ripping down the showbox.

Every single person I've talked to supports the show box, which is basically unheard of for issues that I've worked on.

And this just seems like the kind of thing that really would leave a bad taste in people's mouths if you don't act to save the show box.

Thank you.

Speaker 78 is Jason Tran, followed by Speaker 79, Cameron Roberts.

Hello.

My name's actually Saul.

I was performing when people were pulling cards.

I just wanted to say that to tear down the show box, for me is really heart-wrenching because it's potentially tearing away the career of a future version of myself.

The first concert that I ever went to, first hip-hop concert I ever went to was at the Showbox Market.

I performed at the Showbox Market numerous times, and I've built a career in music, and I do live in Seattle.

And as spaces like this and ways for artists to make a living get taken away from our city, true Seattleites and artists are gonna get taken away from our city, And it, quite frankly, will not have the juice anymore.

People won't like Seattle.

It won't be what people love about the Northwest.

And to think that this could happen is pretty pathetic.

Thank you.

Can you tell me what, did you sign in under a different name?

Yeah, Saul.

So no, I was performing, so my tour manager signed in, but if you wanna change the name, the name is Saul.

Got it, okay, thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Perfect, oh, so Jason signed in for you.

Got it, all right.

79 is Cameron Roberts.

Followed by 80, Alex Bailey.

Thank you.

Hi, my name's Cameron, and I just wanted to say that after my parents divorced, the music and the city was the one thing that kept me whole.

And it keeps my mom whole.

And I feel like that is why Seattle is the way it is.

Thank you.

Speaker 80 is Alex Bailey.

And after that, that's all the people we have signed in.

If we've missed some folks because you're outside listening, this is your chance.

But Speaker 80.

Hi, I'm Alex.

I grew up in Seattle.

I remember in 2008 when the abloved cultural institution, the Seattle Supersonics, left town.

There were a lot of failed actors on that.

But one of the things that we didn't do is we didn't cave in to the millions, hundreds of millions of dollars that Clay Bennett and his gang was asking for.

And we had a framework.

which was initiative 91 passed in 2006, that said that these projects had to be revenue neutral, and it was what led to potentially having a new stadium and an NHL team.

And this was all before I played music and played drums, and I had never gone to the Showbox at the time, I was younger.

But I'm pretty concerned that in 2017 we passed the mandatory affordable housing in downtown, the up zone that directly led to the situation we're in now where there's a parachute legislation to try to save a beloved cultural venue.

And I just hope that we can actually be thoughtful and not be oscillating back and forth in a way that risks serving the needs of the people of this city.

Can you tell me what number you were signed in as?

I was outside.

Thank you.

Yeah, so I think my name is Dan.

I'm an organizer with Socialist Alternative.

And I think the battle to save the show box is really about who gets to decide what our city is like.

Is it big developers and the corporate landlords, or is it working people?

And I think it's no coincidence that we find that the majority of the city council members are frequently dragging their feet when it comes to standing up to the big developers because they take campaign contributions from the big developers.

But I think Today shows that when we organize and when we fight, we can actually win.

And I think that if we keep up the pressure, not only can we save the show box, but I think we can open up a new chapter in the struggle against the big developers for rent control and for affordable housing.

Thank you.

Hi, yeah, my name's Kim West.

I was 67, but I was outside.

I am a musician in this town, and I also sit on the board of the Vera Project, so I come to express also the interests of the under-21 crowd, of which there's not many resources and not many venues that those people can go be a part of.

I grew up in this city.

I saw incredible shows at the Showbox, and they changed my life, and they made me the musician that I am today.

the active participant in Seattle city politics and goings on that I am now.

And without that, you have one less person who wants to participate.

So you can only get rid of so many of these resources that we have before we turn into San Francisco.

And my band doesn't stop in San Francisco for tour anymore.

That's how useless of a place it is.

So thank you.

All right, well we had 60 people signed up and I think everybody but six of them spoke.

So that's pretty good turnout considering there was a concert going on and really good organization.

Unless there's somebody else who wants to address us?

Oh, do you want to join us and have your say?

Come on and speak at the mic.

And you can move it right down.

Thank you, Noel.

Hi, my name is Sophie Roberts, and I just wanted to say that I love the Showbox.

My mom has been here multiple times, and I just wanted to say that I'm a musician as well.

I play ukulele at my house, and my sister taught me, so save the Showbox.

Thank you.

All right, well, with that, thanks, everybody, for coming out, speaking from the heart, and continue to follow our progress on this issue over the next 10 months.

And the concert is still going on, so please just go there.

And with that, I'll adjourn this meeting, and thank you to Council Members O'Brien and Sawant for sticking it out.

Appreciate it.