Testimony by Emily Ray — June 24th, 2008

Dear Chair Tousley and Members, Olympia Planning Commission:

Subject: Urban Waterfront Comment, Attn. Jan Weydemeyer

Your June 24 public hearing vividly brought to light the deep division in our community regarding the proposed rezone of heights on the isthmus. It also demonstrated perplexing differences regarding the vibrancy and health of our downtown area.

I have lived in Olympia 42 years and in the same home for 40 years. When I first moved here, nightlife, with music and bar life, happened primarily at the Tyee in Tumwater (the site is now a Fred Meyer store), Bailey's Motel out on Martin Way, and the old Hotel Olympian (now senior housing). Logging trucks rolled though the streets toward the port and the log dump on West Bay Drive. After 5 p.m., almost nothing downtown, from 11th to the waterfront, was open. The town was DEAD.

Then Carolyn Street LaFond opened the first European-style espresso coffee shop. Other little cafes began springing up. Dilapidated over-water sheds along the waterfront were torn down. Percival Landing was built. More coffee shops, theaters, and art galleries opened their doors. Malls east and west impacted major department stores downtown but other businesses filled in. Most survived the disaster of the 2001 earthquake and subsequent disruption of trade. Today the town buzzes into the wee hours, especially on weekends.

From a 42-year perspective, Olympia has achieved an amazing level of vitality. I am not the only person who thinks so. Forbes Magazine listed Olympia as #8 on a list of Best Places for Business and Careers (up from #10 in 2007). Olympia was #16 on Sperling's 2007 raking of Best United States Cities. Our city was featured in the 2006 edition of 50 Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family.

And, just recently Olympia was cited as having the "most stunning setting" among US state capitals by WalkStyles. Features highlighted by the national company were our Capitol building, lake and mountains.

Why would we kill the goose that laid the golden egg?

The Olympia Planning Commission Should: Deny the Rezone Request and Reject the Staff Alternative

The Planning Commission Should Also Recommend that City Council Initiate an Intensive Effort to Site Housing Downtown Away from the Isthmus

The DEIS states (p. 7-9), "Multiple studies indicate that downtown Olympia has significant capacity to absorb new housing." At the public hearing, various reasons were given for the absence of new housing: Properties might have contamination, or absentee owners might be content to let the property sit vacant, or an historic designation might impede change.

We need a block by block, property by property inventory of downtown sites. As a city, we need to exercise all tools to encourage housing. Explore the possibility of condemnation to acquire properties for housing. Use zoning to mandate housing. Give property owners a limited amount of time to act or sell. Examine historic properties; not all are equally deserving of preservation.

If contamination exists, try the creative approach developed by Council Member Joe Hyer on the lot behind Schoenfeld‹a partnership so that the city bears some of the cleanup cost with the property developer.

The DEIS also (p. 7-9) acknowledges that the 1999 charette concluded that an amenity such as a park would improve development potential. The current openness of the isthmus is a boon to all surrounding properties in an economic as well as aesthetic sense. Securing that land as park would preserve those benefits and encourage housing to locate nearby, in downtown Olympia.

Interestingly, the 2006 Olympia Comprehensive Plan, in Chapter 11, Housing, does not speak to market-rate housing, the presumed objective of this rezone request. It speaks to the need for affordable housing, and for a housing mix for all income levels.

Traffic

The DEIS (p. 7-13) acknowledges that new development could have "significant impacts on traffic, transportation, and housing." Elsewhere (p. 7-3), the DEIS states, "Access to the analysis area is somewhat constrained by its location on relatively narrow neck of land."

Fourth and Fifth avenues are our major east-west connectors through town. It is incredibly unwise to create more congestion in that area. At a minimum, far more study should be done on transportation impacts to ensure that traffic can continue to flow freely through that area.

Sea Level Rise

The DEIS acknowledges (p. 7-12) that much more needs to be known about sea level rise and climate change. Any decision to site large buildings on the isthmus should be postponed until the analysis is complete. Buildings in the way of sea level rise and stormwater backup cause floodwaters to spread further inland. Having seen the disaster of Katrina, and ongoing problems with Missouri levees, why would we be so unwise to court the same sort of disaster?

The city's own staff member Rich Hoey has an excellent presentation on this whole topic, which he presented at the SPEECH Forum on June 19.

Urban Edge

Proponents of the rezone speak to the need for an "urban edge." One way to achieve this would be to use the block on which DaNang sits, and which has been acquired to add to the Fountain block. That area could be occupied by several small cafes, with outdoor tables and seating. This would give a pleasant transition to the openness of the isthmus area, and provide more pedestrian and tourist destinations.

On the Budd Inlet side, the Olympia Yacht Club, Bayview Market and a variety of other buildings along Percival Landing already supply an urban edge.

Back to Views

The Overview of the 2006 Comprehensive Plan includes this lovely piece: "Community parks will also be enhanced. Our centerpiece will be Heritage Park, envisioned in 1911 by the designers of the original Capitol Campus. Stretching from Budd Inlet to the Temple of Justice, it will be a unique memorial to the lands, waters and people of our great state. Percival Landing will be extended. At Priest Point Park, hikers will find new twisting trails around our evergreen giants; nature lovers will stroll through a botanical garden that rivals Seattle's Arboretum."

A "corridor" cannot stretch from Budd Inlet to the Temple of Justice with tall buildings in the way.

A Sense of Perspective

In this critical decision, I urge you to take the long view. The folks who have stepped up with the moniker, Olympia Vision 2020, are on the right track. Look way to the future. I mentioned my long experience with Olympia for a reason; change takes time, and good change may take even longer.

You have heard from six past Governors and their First Ladies, and past leaders on the Olympia Planning Commission. Surely their views matter! Don't be stampeded into making a hasty and wrong decision.

Impacts on views and traffic, the potential for flooding, and damage to the heart of Olympia's beautiful vistas all point to one action: Please, deny the rezone request and reject the staff alternative. But don't stop there. Recommend that the City Council initiate a thorough visioning process with the aim of encouraging housing downtown. Ask for meaningful, intensive public involvement along with in-depth exploration of all the tools available to the city. Strive to be remembered as visionaries who secured the way to Olympia's even more successful future.

Sincerely,

Emily Ray

cc: Olympia City Council