Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2002 9:55 PM
To: citycouncil@ci.olympia.wa.us
Subject: Protect the Waterfront

To: the Olympia City Council

We oppose a plan before the Olympia Planning Commission to allow taller buildings on the downtown waterfront.

It is unfortunate that the Capital Center Building, at 120 feet, was allowed in the first place, and the proposed changes to allow building height increases up to 75 feet for nearby buildings adds insult to injury.

The City of Olympia has a wonderful opportunity to have an unobstructed vista and public access from the capitol northward to the water and the Olympic mountains. These amenities are attractions in and of themselves and provide Olympia with stunning views for those visiting the capitol.

With the gentle upward slope of the city's terrain away from the shoreline, there is plenty of property that would maximize view sites, be financial viable, and provide housing downtown.

The voters and taxpayers have made significant public investments in the development of the walkway around Capitol Lake, Percival Landing and Heritage Park. A very large contingency of state and local interests have been working together to create a unified vision for the development of the area.

The potential has been recognized for decades. In 1911, architects Wilder and White submitted their plan for Heritage Park and won a national competition. But, it is only recently that these public commitments have been made and it is now flowering.

The planning commission and the council should reject these amendments and continue to support the current comprehensive plan.

Jane and David W. Field