AIA Seattle, representing more than 2,000 design professionals in the greater Puget Sound region, urges our fellow citizens to vote in favor of the City of Seattle's proposed Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy.

The levy program will replace or renovate 32 of the City's 33 fire stations, in neighborhoods throughout Seattle. Planners have designated twelve stations for replacement, five stations for substantial renovation, and fifteen for partial renovation or remodeling. The proposed levy will also replace the inadequate Fire Alarm Center and Emergency Operations Center, currently located in Fire Station 2 in Belltown, with new, seismically secure, technologically modern facilities.

Based on their expertise in urban design, neighborhood improvement, and design, architects and design professionals commend the levy program, based on the benefit it will provide to citizens of Seattle and the region. Specifically, we note these positive effects:

· Maintaining Public Infrastructure
The City's vibrancy and livability depend on the conscientious maintenance of its essential services. Existing Seattle Fire Department facilities range in age from 26 to 85 years. Most of the buildings do not meet the requirements of Seattle's energy code or the City's standards for sustainability and energy conservation. In the majority of cases, aging and inefficient building systems, expensive to operate, and increasingly likely to break down, can result in Fire Department service disruptions. Older fire stations, particularly those built before 1965, lack the space for modern fire-fighting operations, apparatus, and equipment. Their short, narrow bays can not accommodate the types of apparatus currently in use and projected for the future, including the Urban Search and Rescue unit.

Design of older fire stations could not anticipate today's requirements for hazardous materials handling and decontamination of personnel and equipment. Most stations provide insufficient gender-separation among the firefighters, although women now make up 9% of the uniformed staff.

· Enhancing the Urban Environment
Fire stations serve as essential components of the urban fabric in every neighborhood in the City. The buildings offer a source of civic pride and respect for the services they house. The Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy will provide the opportunity to replace or renovate the stations now in the poorest condition, to enhance the neighborhoods they serve.

· Investing in the Future
Generations of public funding have contributed to the construction and maintenance of the 33 stations that now house fire services - from Seattle's oldest working fire station, built in 1918, to its newest in 1977. The Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy provides the opportunity to design and construct facilities to last the next fifty years, to contribute their part to the vibrancy of the City and its delivery of essential services.

Representing the design community's partnership in neighborhood development benefiting our fellow citizens, the AIA Seattle Board of Directors endorses the merits of the 2003 Fire Facilities & Emergency Response levy program, and urges all Seattle voters to go the polls and PLEASE VOTE YES for community preparedness November 4.

Reference: AIA Seattle Advocacy