Other Groups Opposed to the Rezone Request -
Washington State Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee

May 22, 2008

TO: Linda Villegas Bremer, Director
Department of General Administration

FROM: Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee

SUBJECT: Proposed Rezone of Waterfront Property by City of Olympia

Dear Director Bremer:

The Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee (CCDAC) has reviewed the proposal currently before the City of Olympia to increase building height restrictions on a portion of the 5th Avenue isthmus.

At its April 3rd meeting the CCDAC heard a presentation from City staff that depicted increasing the current height limit of 35 feet to as much as 90 feet. Following lengthy discussion at both the April 3rd and May 22nd meetings, the committee wishes to convey the following concerns:

• The master planning principles of both the State and the City are based on the central concept of the historic plan for the location of the Capitol Campus. Respect for this concept has been reflected over time in policy and investment decisions by both the State and the City. These investments include Heritage Park, Percival Landing and its extension, and the Fountain Block.
• Additional graphically enhanced photographs should be required for public review before any decision on this proposal is made. These views must include looking toward the Capitol from Percival Landing and its extension, the west side of Budd Bay, Port Plaza, and other locations closer in than the photographs currently available that are taken from greater distances.
• This proposal, if approved, will modify in a radical way the view corridor from the Capitol Campus to Budd Inlet and the Olympic Mountains as well as from the downtown area looking back toward the Capitol Campus. This will negatively affect Capitol Campus planning.
• The committee strongly opposes any development within the "fountain block" of the isthmus that the City has previously agreed would become an extension of Heritage Park.

The above represent our primary concerns. Secondarily, we are concerned about the effect this proposal will have on the pedestrian character we have been striving to achieve in and around Heritage Park.

The Washington State Capitol Campus is a State treasure and, as well, a City treasure. Both the state and the city have a special obligation to protect it and to be vigilant against changes that would damage its historic setting and its connection to Puget Sound.

We are supportive and understanding of the City's efforts to encourage housing in the downtown area. We recognize how necessary this is to the vitality of modern urban areas. Nevertheless, if it requires increasing the current building height limit it is our view that the 5th Avenue isthmus is not the best choice for this type of development.

The Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee requests that you forward our concerns as a response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and to the City of Olympia Planning Commission in time to be heard at their public hearing on June 24th. Please express to them that this proposal, if approved, would be detrimental to the beauty and historic concept of both the City and the Capitol Campus and do harm to the enjoyment of that historic beauty by citizens and visitors alike.

Sincerely,

Fred W. King
Committee Chair