Queen Anne Hill: A Microcosm of Change

The Rise of the Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth

In December 2005, Kroger (a large supermarket chain) signed a contract to buy the lease for several properties on Queen Anne Hill: a locally-owned grocery market (the Metropolitan Market), a lower-income apartment building, and two houses. Kroger planned to install one of its supermarket chain stores, QFC (Quality Food Centers), in place of the Metropolitan Market. Suddenly, the entire neighborhood was up in arms.

Terry Halverson had started working as a bag boy at the store years before, when it had been called Thriftway. By 2005, Halverson was known and loved throughout the neighborhood as the owner - operator of the Metropolitan Market. Within weeks of Kroger’s announcement, about 2,000 people had mobilized to oppose the chain store development. Tim Burgess, former head of the Queen Anne Community Council and one of the nine co-founders of the neighborhood resistance movement, recounts the story. [Personal interview, August 2007] The local news stations depicted community members speaking to over-crowded rooms. The speakers were everything from rational and logical to angry and confrontational. Members named their resistance movement “Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth” (QANRG).

Local businesses joined in the rally, hosting meetings and petitions, and putting up signs in their windows. The signs read, “Buy Locally, Build Responsibly, Build Community.” According to Burgess, the local businesses for the most part were willing and able to adhere to socially and environmentally responsible guidelines set forth by the organization. These included the local bookstore, the local hardware store, and the local boutique and mail center.

When I asked Burgess why the community had rushed to the small market’s rescue, he gave me four reasons:

1. the market had been there for years, and in the small family-oriented community, the market was quite popular, especially for its assortment of organic and socially responsible products;
2. the local market was part of the community, sponsoring local Little League teams and making the largest contribution to the Queen Anne food bank;
3. the proposed Krogers’ QFC would have been the largest branch of this national chain in Washington State, and thus represented the extreme opposite of the locally-owned Metropolitan Market ;
4. the other local businesses were afraid of losing business to the conglomerate.

Initial Success Builds More Community

Most people now living on Queen Anne Hill cite the battle to save Metropolitan Market as a turning point for the community. The QANRG had begun with one main goal: to save the Metropolitan Market. (If that had been impossible, their fall-back position would have been to force a compromise with Kroger on community issues such as safety and aesthetics.) QANRG, however, expanded its scope to include other pillars. Sustainability and environmental stewardship concerning new development on the Hill have become cornerstones of the organization. Burgess reports that QANRG now occupies such a strong role in the community that commercial developers approach it immediately to discuss their plans in order to ensure that they will not encounter any problems. Consequently, developers have become more sensitive to issues surrounding sustainability and the environment.

Another central goal for QANRG is that of fostering community. This past summer (2007) it sponsored a Summer Outdoor Film Series. Burgess notes that the movies have a social conscience, with “teaching [or] educational” objectives. For example, one featured movie was “An Inconvenient Truth,” the film about global warming and climate change. QANRG also sponsors a weekly Farmers’ Market. Burgess cites these events as a fun way to build community, support the locally owned businesses, and bolster new business endeavors.

When asked why programs unrelated to the original struggle have maintained such a degree of success, Burgess answers that the momentum from Metropolitan Market has carried over. He also cites the national trend towards a more sustainable and socially responsible world. He notes that organizations focusing on community and sustainability are popping up all over the city of Seattle. Some examples are “Sustainable Ballard,” “Yes!” the organization of Uptown, and yet another in the Capitol Hill area.

In fact, because of the support they have received concerning issues like responsible development and community spirit, many QANRG members have run for and won positions on the Queen Anne Community Council. Tim Burgess is now in the process of running for Seattle City Council. He notes that many city representatives were very professional and responsive in dealing with the QANRG and the QFC/Metropolitan Market battle. Some gave bureaucratic answers, but others provided creative and more helpful answers. Burgess hopes to encourage more pro-sustainable, local and socially conscious actions on the city government level.

The Local Business Community and QANRG

Anyone who walks down Queen Anne Avenue will notice the unique advertising in business window displays. Café Appassionato boasts a sign by QANRG that says, “Buy Local, Build Responsibly, Build Community,” along with a sign advertising shade grown certified organic espresso. El Diablo Coffee Company has a smattering of advertisements for socially minded activities such as the re-opening of the Queen Anne Library. Lily’s, a kids’ salon, has a kids’ art contest during the monthly Art Walks. The Farmers’ Market banner features Organic and Natural products. Pasta and Company advertises their “Pure Food Philosophy” in the front window. “All the Best”, a pet shop, features Natural Foods. A sign on the corner announces that Napolitano Day Spa participated in the Adopt-A-Street program by adopting Queen Anne Avenue. Café Lladro features Fair Trade Certified Products, a Seattle Weekly Green Card Participating Business sign, an Organic Recycling Program, and Shade Grown Coffee. Video Isle, the local video store and a Little League sponsor, devotes half of its window space to displaying photos of the Queen Anne Little League teams over the years. New Ground Social Investment offers socially conscious investment. A store that opened less than a year ago is named “Eat Local,” and features words like ‘Sustainable,’ ‘Local,’ and ‘Organic.’

Directly following the initial struggle to save the Metropolitan Market, every store had the QANRG sign in the window. Walking down the street this month, I saw that the QANRG signs were mostly gone, but they had been replaced by socially responsible advertising. The long list above is just a few examples of the socially responsible advertising that exists on the hill. Ever since the Metropolitan Market battle, the businesses have begun to advertise to the socially and environmentally responsible consumer. To what extent can these changes be credited to QANRG, as opposed to national trends? This is an interesting and debatable open question.

Hossein Soleymani, Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager of the Queen Anne branch of HomeStreet Bank, a locally owned neighborhood bank, states that the Metropolitan Market struggle encouraged, but did not change, those businesses already involved with socially responsible and sustainable practices, and “opened up a dialogue” with the rest of the local businesses. [Personal interview, August 2007] According to Soleymani, the struggle and the founding of QANRG were certainly pivotal points; QANRG’s role was to inform the neighborhood and make educated community decisions.

Another community activity sponsored by QANRG is the monthly Art Walk. Every third Thursday, the local businesses sponsor local artists and extend their business hours. Kim Flanery-Rye, owner of the Bouncing Wall, a store for wearable art, organizes the Art Walks. She teamed up with the Queen Anne Frame, and together they showed the businesses how to participate. (For example, HomeStreet Bank displays the art of its customers.) The Art Walk organizers compiled lists of local artists and received a notable response from the artist community. Flanery-Rye says that the Art Walks are great for publicity: “They’re a really good draw.” [Personal Interview, August 2007] The merchant group has become more cohesive, and the community activities have become more organized. She says that the small independent businesses need to help each other to draw people out. During the extended hours for Art Walks, merchants have noticed an increase both in new customers, and in old customers returning. Flanery-Rye notes how the community benefits: Art Walks support local artists, forge a feeling of community, provide organized activities, and support locally owned small businesses.

The Role of the Consumer

To what extent do the changes in Queen Anne Hill result from consumer-driven social responsibility? If the parallel can be drawn between QANRG and the rise of overt socially responsible advertising, perhaps it was the consumer and grassroots organizations working together. However, it seems more likely that the change was a combination of the events on the hill and the national (or worldwide) trend towards a more socially responsible and sustainable way of life. Or more accurately, the events on the hill form a crucial part of the national movement towards change. The national movement consists of grassroots organizations, community (or consumer) movements, and the roles of business, labor and government. This article showcases what seems to be one example of many in which communities form and fully support a grassroots organization to make lasting change. And, as Burgess observes, Queen Anne is just one example of many similar phenomena in Seattle.

Amy Beck is a Senior at Middlebury College, Vermont, and a Queen Anne Hill resident.