May 21, 2002

The Honorable Stan Biles
Mayor, City of Olympia and Olympia City Councilmember
900 Plum Street Olympia, WA 98501

 

Dear Mayor Biles and Councilmembers:

I am writing on behalf of the Northeast Neighborhood Association regarding the issue of building heights along the downtown waterfront. Based on our review of the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan amendments related to this issue, we are not ready to say we think the changes make sense or do not make sense. However, we do have serious concerns about the process used to involve and gather input from the community about this issue. For that reason, we must express our opposition to the amendments until a more deliberative and inclusive process is developed and followed to involve the community in addressing this critical issue.

From our perspective, this issue provides the City Council with a unique opportunity to launch a meaningful process to begin to shape a vision of what we want our community to be like in the future. This issue is not only about building heights. It is not only about protecting the view of our glorious Olympic Mountains. It is not only about market-rate housing or parking or economics. These types of decisions challenge us to think about what kind of community we want for ourselves and for our children, not only today, but also far into the future.

These types of decisions should not be made lightly. They should be discussed and debated in the context of a larger vision for our community over an extended period of time. These types of decisions can result in many unintended and unpleasant consequences. If they turn out to be misguided, their impacts are difficult if not impossible to reverse.

It would irresponsible not to tap into the creative energy and passion of our citizens to address these challenges. For example, there appears to be a consensus forming about the need for market rate housing downtown. If that is true, have we seriously considered options other than the proposed amendments to address that need? If alternatives were studied and discarded as unworkable, was the community involved in assessing their viability?

The large turnout at the Washington Center demonstrates that citizens care deeply about this issue and about the long-term livability and vibrancy of their community. We encourage you to tap that passion, energy, and concern to help shape and implement workable solutions to address this issue and the many other challenging issues our growing community faces.

Let’s transform this debate from one that is reactive to one that is proactive and forward-looking, from one that is polarizing to one that brings us together.

All we ask is that you provide us meaningful ways to become involved in shaping our community’s future. I know we don’t always respond, but there is no choice but to make the attempt and to keep trying. As some members of our Board discussed this issue, we imagined what a different process might have looked like. We imagined City staff, Planning Commission members, and folks who have had experience addressing these sorts of challenges in other communities, coming to one of our meetings. We imagined that they came with a model of downtown that allowed us to try out different ways to add new housing stock in the downtown core without compromising some of the other values we hold dear. One board member suggested that school kids or local College students be provided with "downtown housing kits" and challenged to come up with a variety of options to increase downtown housing stock in the context of our community’s other needs.

We urge you to take a step back, take a deep breath, and count your blessings. The reaction these amendments have sparked is testament to how strong our community is, and how willing our citizens are to roll up their sleeves to make a difference. Our vision is one where we join hands and not point fingers. Let’s work together to make that happen.

 

Sincerely,

Peter Guttchen
President
Northeast Neighborhood Association