Position Paper: OLY2012 Strongly Opposes Substitute Senate Bill 5800

Introduction

OLY 2012 is a volunteer group of citizens committed to the revitalization of Olympia’s downtown core, as well as to the tenets of the state’s Growth Management Act, which, among other things, call for housing density in our urban centers and along transportation corridors. As such, OLY 2012 has been a vocal and ardent supporter of the City of Olympia’s 2008 Comprehensive Plan Amendment that allowed for taller buildings on what is known as the Olympia Isthmus. Our September 2008 position paper on the City of Olympia’s Comprehensive Plan Amendment can be read here.

Naturally, we are strongly opposed to Substitute Senate Bill 5800* , which seeks to override the Olympia City Council’s 2008 Comprehensive Plan Amendment decision with the singular and common purpose of preserving a narrow view corridor within a panorama from the Capitol Campus that has long been interrupted and blighted by an economically ailing downtown Olympia.

Position: OLY 2012’s Final Position Paper Endorsing the Urban Waterfront Rezone

Introduction

OLY2012 is a group of independent citizens who care about downtown Olympia and hope to see it evolve in the best way possible for the community as a whole.  Just as the community has been divided by the proposed Urban Waterfront Rezone, the OLY 2012 steering committee was torn on this issue initially.  Back in March, our first straw vote on the issue amongst our initial six-person steering committee was split, 3-3.

True to our mission of building broad-based community support, in early June we published what we hoped would be a “compromise” proposal for addressing the isthmus issue in our first position paper: Today’s Vision for Downtown Olympia. The proposal called for opening views and park space through the center of the isthmus by purchasing and removing the Capitol Center Building while approving a modified rezone to enable the building of mid-rise, mixed-use structures on the western edge of the isthmus.  Our hope was that our compromise proposal would unite the community, just as it united our initially-divided steering committee.

Position: Rebuttals to Arguments Opposing Isthmus Rezone

It’s abundantly clear that the majority of Olympians don’t want housing on the isthmus!

Most of the people we know are in favor of smart growth, urban density, improving the tax base, and making tradeoffs for the good of downtown and the surrounding environment, which is to say, they are in favor of passing this rezone and building condos on the isthmus.

We have also encountered many citizens in our community who are initially drawn to the populist-sounding appeal made by opponents of the rezone, but our experience has proven that once citizens think through the issue to a level deeper than a protest catch phrase, they realize, for all of the reasons laid out above, that the right thing to do for the community as a whole is to support the rezone.

Even if there are citizens in favor of the rezone, the issue is divisive and should be shelved!

Controversy is common to most urban development projects. 

Position: Colpitts Project

The Oly2012 Steering Committee (SC) is thrilled that the downtown housing proposal from Colpitts Development Company (Colpitts) is moving forward. Colpitts recently submitted a land use application to construct a seven-story, mixed-use buidling with 126 market rate apartments near the corner of Columbia Street and Fifth Avenue as soon as 2009. The Oly2012 SC has emphasized the importance of getting a developer to “go first” in order to jump start market rate housing. Downtown needs a blend of housing stock options from low-income to high-income, and the Colpitts project should be the first step in meeting the significant middle-income housing needs. Although some people have legitimate concerns related to parking and access, the Oly2012 SC is confident these concerns will be creatively addressed over time, and believe the benefits of the project will greatly outweigh any long-term impacts. For these reasons, the Oly2012 SC urges citizens to support this important pioneering project.

Position: The Hands On Children’s Museum

The Oly 2012 Steering Committee supported the acquisition of Port of Olympia property by the City of Olympia for the purpose of building a new Hands On Children’s Museum. The museum has not only outgrown its space, but must move to make way for the Washington State Heritage Center that will be built on their current site.

Background

The total cost of the project is estimated at between sixteen and eighteen million dollars. Of the total, eight million will be public funds acquired through the public facility district, plus one million set aside by the City for this purpose. The public funds will be used to purchase the land and construct the building. The remaining balance of seven to nine million will be generated through private fundraising efforts, and used to complete the interior of the building and various indoor and outdoor exhibits.