Two communities with different approaches to development

By Lynn Steinberg
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Joyce Acker, a former teacher with a honeyed voice and an ever-present smile, is behind the post office counter in the corner of the general store, sorting mail and waiting on customers.

"I sit in the window of the world here," she says, relishing the view. "This is an undiscovered neighborhood, a hidden oasis. You don't come to Richmond Beach unless you're coming to Richmond Beach."

There's one main route in and out of town, and though it is increasingly clogged with traffic, residents are rewarded at the end of their drive with breathtaking views of Puget Sound and a community that moves to the gentle rhythms of a bygone era.

This is a place rich with history, where children and their education are still paramount, where firefighters hide thousands of eggs at Easter and ride through the streets dressed as Santa Claus at Christmas.

It is one of the oldest, most established communities in the relatively new city of Shoreline. Richmond Beach is an eclectic little beach town where ranch houses, cul-de-sacs and other hallmarks of '50s suburbia meet picturesque cottages flanked by white picket fences that date to the 1920s.

Meanwhile, Innis Arden stretches along the water just south of Richmond Beach, and has about the same number of residents. But unlike its neighbor to the north, Innis Arden is not likely to grow. Its vacant lots have all been sold. Restrictive covenants govern.

Most of the houses were built in the 1950s, and new construction has largely been confined to modifying or tearing down small homes, then erecting more expansive structures in their place.

In recent years in both Richmond Beach and Innis Arden, as the value of property has skyrocketed, many of the more modest homes -- once summer havens for vacationing Seattle residents -- have been expanded or replaced with large contemporary houses that sell for $1 million or more. Consider the fully furnished villa on a bluff overlooking the water that was recently on the market for $899,000.

The Shoreline School District serves both Innis Arden and Richmond Beach, and is a big draw for young families. Its strong academic and extracurricular programs are enhanced by solid parental and community support.Students of all ages spend much of their free time at school or community-based sporting events.

The community, once famous for its strawberry crop and now home to numerous artists and musicians, has steadily grown and changed. It remains safe but feels more urban than it used to.