RE:  Draft Shoreline Master Program

Dear Chairman Horn and Members of the Olympia Planning Commission:

I am writing this letter on behalf of myself[1] and Olympia 2012, an organization dedicated to promoting the further development of Olympia’s Downtown that is environmentally and economically sustainable.  We appreciate the time and energy the staff and the Planning Commission, especially Commission’s Shoreline Master Program subcommittee, devoted to preparing this draft document.  2012’s members, including myself, attended several of this subcommittee’s meetings.

We have the following questions and concerns:

Setbacks – From our attendance at the Shoreline Subcommittee meeting, we understand that staff  is recommending setback of 30 feet in the Urban Intensity designation as a placeholder while they conduct studies to evaluate various methods of protecting Downtown from the impacts of sea level rise, including building a berm.  We applaud the City’s efforts to proactively address sea level rise and undertaking the study.  Nevertheless, we wonder if imposing setback of 30 feet in the Urban Intensity designation (page 59) is premature before the study is complete since the impact of this requirement would make some of current structures that house some of Olympia’s best loved water enjoyment and water dependent uses nonconforming and would limit their expansion.  We suggest that you wait until the study is finished, before you impose this requirement that has significant impacts.

We are also concerned that mixed used buildings need to be setback 40 feet from the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM ). (Policy 6.7.4.B, page 67)  While we support public access and shoreline restoration, we do not believe that a mixed used project containing a mix of commercial and residential causes more environmental impacts than residential buildings and buildings that house water dependent and water enjoyment uses.   Some of the commercial uses could include some water enjoyment uses. Also, some commercial uses that are not water dependent add interest to the waterfront experience.  For instance, along Portland’s waterfront promenade on the Columbia River, shops selling ice cream, candy, kites, and biking gear make the waterfront pedestrian’s experience more interesting and attract people to the waterfront.   This policy needs clarification so it does not apply to desirable mixed use projects or restrict commercial uses that enhance the waterfront pedestrian’s experience.   We have similar concerns about Policy 6.7.1 B, page 65.

Heights in the Urban Intensity Zone – We support allowing building heights of 65 feet for buildings that are more than 100 feet from the OHWM. (page 58).  However, we also support heights of 65 feet for buildings that are within 100 feet of the OHWM.  We would like to understand the rationale for not allowing taller buildings in this area of the Shoreline.  Studies done previously by City pointed out that buildings must be at least five stories to include structured parking.  If the reasons for not allowing buildings of more than 42 feet are aesthetic in this part of the Shoreline, we believe these shorter buildings would be less aesthetically pleasing as they most likely would include surface parking closer to the waterfront – a poor use of land anywhere but especially here where the waterfront and the amenities built along the waterfront have the ability to attract the density the City plan says we want.

Further, buildings of 65 feet also allow more units to be built in the downtown, especially in this area most likely to attract residents to the Downtown.  Maximizing housing in this area would help achieve the City’s housing, transportation, and economic development goals and would not be inconsistent with Shoreline Master Program guidelines.

View Protection – We are unsure about the intent, effect, and consistency of the Figure 5.1 Key View Corridors (page 51) Policy 5.4.1 (page 34) Policy 5.10.2 A and B ( page 48) and Policy 6.10.2 F (page 72).  Policy 5.4.1 A states, “Existing public access should be protected and maintained so the public may continue to enjoy the physical and aesthetic qualities of the shoreline.”  Does this mean that entire view corridors must be preserved as they exist today?    We support preserving existing public access and the policies and regulations in this section seem to be designed to do that.  Because the rest of this section deals with actual physical public access to the shoreline, it is not necessary to include “view corridors” here.

The draft SMP defines Urban Intensity Designation’s purpose (page 29) “to provide for high-intensity water-orientated commercial, transportation, industrial and high density residential (emphasis added) uses .. .”  We are concerned that the intent of these policies and regulations are not clear and the interpretation of Policy 5.4.1 A, Regulations 5.10.2 A  and 6.10.2 F combined with the View Corridor maps could work against this purpose.  If the intent of the View Corridors’ map and these policies is to limit the heights to 35 feet or prohibit development altogether  on vacant or undeveloped properties in the Urban Intensity designation or  near the Urban Intensity designation,  we fear  that some of these properties in these areas will remain in their current derelict state or will do little to provide for the amount and range of housing choices needed for a vibrant downtown, to reverse urban sprawl and to  make alternatives to single person auto trips more feasible.   Also, if the intent of these policies is to limit buildings in this designation to 35 feet or prohibit altogether, it severely limits the City’s ability capitalize on the investment  it has made in Percival Landing and the City and State’s investment in Heritage Park.  The City of Olympia has lagged behind other cities in Thurston County in adding to its tax base.  Anti density and anti development policies will exacerbate the City’s ability to fund key infrastructure in its capital facilities plan.

Or if these policies are just unclear, then every future development proposal will be contentious.  This kind of process creates uncertainty and acts as a major deterrent to development in the Downtown. We hope that this is not an attempt to impose process costs on potential builders with no prospect of sustaining the restriction

Dredging – Regulation 7.4.3 (page 82) prohibits dredging in the Urban Conservancy designation unless it is part of an approved restoration project or program.  We are concerned that such a provision could prohibit the dredging of Capital Lake to maintain it as a lake.  See description of restoration 7.7 on page 91.

We also think that the proposed dredging provisions would cripple the operations of the Port of Olympia, Fiddlehead Marina, the Yacht Club and other key water related activities. The dredging permit process is regulated by the Corps of Engineers and other entities that carefully review environmental issues related to dredging.  A blanket prohibition of dredging to maintain recreational and commercial enterprises on the waterfront will have significant economic impact eliminating many family wage jobs.  There has been no analysis of the impact of this provision.

Failure to Coordinate with Port Plan. The City’s previous planning documents have incorporated the Port’s Plan (that was the result of a public planning process).  The citizens and taxpayers of Thurston County have a significant investment in the Port’s plan.  The Port has begun to make a profit and continues to provide family wage jobs with good benefits to skilled blue collar workers. Much of the interesting and well used development such as the Farmer’s Market, Anthony’s, the Hearthfire, and development across the street from the Farmer’s Market has taken place on Port property.   The Port has also continued to undertake significant environmental cleanup projects.  The City has not analyzed how this proposed SMP will impact the Port’s ability to operate and continue its cleanup efforts.

Consistency with the rest of Olympia’s comprehensive plan - The Shoreline Master Program is an element of Olympia comprehensive plan.  Not only must it be coordinated, it must be consistent with the comprehensive plan.  This should be made clear in Policy 1.2 G (page 2).  See RCW 36.70A.480 and RCW 36.70A.070.

Lack of an Environmental and Economic Impact Analysis -We are also concerned that no draft environmental statement has been prepared for this plan.  Without it, it is difficult to discern the analysis of the issues or the rationale for some of the policy and regulation choices. In addition, the proposed plan is full of changes that will have significant economic and operational impact on the Port (a county wide taxing district), downtown businesses, the potential for housing and the overall vitality of downtown.

Thank you for considering our comments.  Please enter them into the record on this matter.

Sincerely,

Holly Gadbaw

1625 Sylvester Street

Olympia, WA 98501

Oly2012_StrategicPlan_FINAL

The following candidates were elected during the November general election:

• City Council Position 4:  Karen Rogers
• City Council Position 5:  Stephen Buxbaum
• City Council Position 6:  Jeannine  Roe
• City Council Position 7:  Joe Hyer
• Port Commissioner #2:  Bill McGregor
• Port Commissioner #3:  Jeff Davis

The City of Olympia recently began the process of updating its 1994 Comprehensive Plan, which is the blueprint for how the City manages current and future urban growth in accordance with the State Growth Management Act.

The City Manager has proposed the City of Olympia’s 2010 operating budget, which includes significant cost savings measures and services cuts as a result of declining revenue.   The City Council will vote on the final budget on December 8.  An excellent overview of the proposed budget is on the City webpage.

The Olympia City Council voted 4-3 to stop its selection process to find a developer that would have built a 200-stall parking garage downtown.   Rather than build the parking garage, the City will focus for the time being on adding 200 new surface parking stalls in downtown.  One location where surface parking stalls will be added is the City property located at 318 State Avenue where soil cleanup activities were completed in October.

Two downtown parks are undergoing major construction.   Development of four acres of West Bay Park is scheduled for completion in January.  The City has also started the first phase of rehabilitating Percival Landing.

The Port Commissioners voted 2-1 to enter into exclusive negotiations with MJR Development to develop the 2.4-acre parcel located at the northern tip of the Port Peninsula.   The three development options, all of which include public access, are 1) a three-story hotel with an adjacent restaurant, 2) a three-story, mixed-use office building with an adjacent restaurant, and 3) a hotel and restaurant combined into one building.

Capital Shores Investments officially filed land use and permit applications with the City of Olympia in October to develop the mixed use project called Larida Passage.

The State is considering a smaller, less expensive design for the Washington Heritage Center project at the former visitor’s center at the corner of Capitol Way and 14^th Avenue.

The Parking and Business Improvement Area has hung new street banners (“It’s Your Olympia”) in select downtown locations as part of its marketing and beautification efforts.

Call to Action

The City of Olympia is holding a community meeting regarding Larida Passage on Monday, December 7, 2009 at the Olympia Center. It will begin at 6:00 pm. The purpose of the meeting will be to inform attendees about the details of Triway’s land use application. The project architect, engineer, transportation consultant and landscape architect will be there to answer  questions. In addition, the conceptual design will go before the Design Review Board on Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 6:30 in Council Chambers at City Hall, and the public may attend.

If you cannot attend, you may submit written comments to:

Cari Hornbein, Senior Planner

PO Box 1967

Olympia, WA 98507

Phone: (360) 753-8048

E-mail: chornbei@ci.olympia.wa.us

Fax 753-8087, TTY 753-8270.

Public Meeting Calendar

What is the Steering Committee Up To?

The Steering Committee is in the process of reorganizing and preparing for next year.  The following individuals have recently joined the Steering Committee:

• Michael Ryherd
• Katherine Mahoney
• Joan Machlis

Opinion/Editorial

…by Enid Layes

The recent election in Olympia followed the pattern of elections elsewhere in these troubled economic times.  It was a tough year for incumbents. Two of our finest council persons were defeated by, in my opinion, far less qualified challengers.  Joan Machlis and Jeff Kingsbury are smart, thoughtful, progressive and courageous individuals; they always did their homework.  I didn’t agree with every action or decision, but admired their work ethic and their integrity. They both deserve our very sincere thanks for serving the best interests of Olympia during their tenures on our City Council.

The election, however, provides a wake-up call for those of us who consider ourselves “progressives” — citizens who want to create a liveable, economically vibrant, sustainable Olympia.  Are we really going to continue to let the voters I call the “non-progressives” be the voice of our city?  The groups opposing revitalization of downtown keep saying that state and federal governments and foundations will pay for repairs to Percival Landing, new parks and other amenities.  This sounds like the cargo cult of the South Seas or the mythical peace dividend.

The non-progressives were highly motivated to cast their ballots and they got out their votes.  They won, but I refuse to believe they represent a majority of voters.   In a city with 27,669 registered voters, only 15,593 actually cast ballots on November 3^rd – a 56% turnout!  However, the narrow defeat (96 votes) for Joan Machlis, in particular, points out that the voters, despite their frustration with the economy, were not overwhelmingly in favor of tossing out incumbents who voted for the isthmus rezone.  The election of Jeff Davis and Bill McGregor to the Port Commission shows that the larger community remains committed to thoughtful economic development in the heart of Olympia.

While the outcome of the city council races were a disappointment to many people interested in revitalizing our downtown, our economy and our tax base, the controversy of the last year and a half has caused more people to begin looking at what is going wrong in Olympia and to look for solutions.   As the economy recovers and private capital starts looking for opportunities, Olympia needs to be ready to welcome investment and jobs.  We will face tough competition from communities that have figured out what pays the bills for schools, cops, libraries and parks.  Over the next year, our community will learn this math lesson the hard way.  Unfortunately, it is too late for those who will suffer from cuts in vital services.

We need to join together, get to work, and devise a strategy that can achieve our goals.

Want More?

• Email us your questions or comments
• Subscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list

Newsletter Purpose

Oly2012 is a citizen’s organization dedicated to helping decision-makers significantly improve downtown Olympia before 2012 by mobilizing an active network of well-informed citizens.  The Oly2012 Steering Committee distributes this periodic newsletter to Oly2012 mailing list subscribers in order to encourage people to get involved with downtown issues.   If you do not want to receive these newsletters and want to unsubscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list, simply send an email with your request to: Oly2012@Oly2012.org.

• Hoffman Construction and Belay Architecture have been selected as the preferred developers for building the new $35 – $40 million City Hall in downtown.  A preliminary model and renderings of the new building are available for public viewing in the existing City Hall.

• The City Manager has recommended a 2009 budget to the City Council that includes cutting 22 staff positions and funding for social services and customer services.  The proposed cuts are primarily due to declining sales tax revenues.

• The City has completed the 30% design for replacement of Percival Landing’s decaying wooden boardwalk in accordance with the 2006 Percival Landing Concept Plan.  The first phase of the rebuilding project alone is expected to cost $15 million and is not fully funded yet.

• The City’s Land Use Committee recommended that the City Council not apply the 8-year property tax exemption to the proposed Larida Passage housing development on the isthmus.

• The City Council voted to conduct a $75,000 feasibility study of turning a greater portion of the isthmus into a City Park, and recently expanded the scope of the feasibility study.

• The Washington Department of Ecology and Port of Olympia are working together to remove dioxin-contaminated sediment from two Port shipping berths later this year. In a related story, Port of Olympia’s marine terminal began receiving Weyerhaeuser logs after years of court challenges on environmental issues delayed a plan to move the Weyerhaeuser log-export business to Olympia.

• The City Council sent a letter to Artspace, a nonprofit developer from Minneapolis that specializes in building affordable artist housing-workplaces, requesting Artspace to consider building such a project in Olympia.

• The downtown library is currently being remodeled and upgraded through December.

• The Olympia Food Co-Op is planning to open a 5,000 to 10,000 square feet downtown store in 2009 and is seeking input on the type of store Olympians want.

• The Olympia Film Society unveiled a new marquee for the Capitol Theater, which is a replica of the 1924 original.

Call to Action

Well, we truly thought and hoped we could move on from the controversial isthmus issue.  However, continued pressure on the City Council by the Olympia Isthmus Park Association has meant the issue isn’t over yet, even though the City Council telegraphed their intentions on September 30^th.  So, keep the emails, letters, and calls to City Council coming.  They really do need your support in order to make the final decision on the isthmus rezone.  The isthmus ordnances are expected to be drafted by November 18^th and voted on at the December 9th City Council meeting (see below).

Public Meeting Calendar

What is the Steering Committee Up To?

In the past month, the Steering Committee has attended City Council and City committee meetings, met with experts and interested citizens about economic development, and continued to gather information and spread the word about the Capital City District concept.

Opinion/Editorial

“An Isthmus Park is Not Feasible, Even if We Had the Funds”

When given a choice between an image of the isthmus piled high with monolithic buildings and an image of the isthmus composed of a tree-lined park, most people are naturally drawn to the isthmus park concept.  Although the air-brushed park image is enticing, we do not believe the isthmus park expansion is feasible in light of the City’s land use and urban design objectives – even if our community could afford it.

There are many reasons why an expanded isthmus park is not feasible, with density, sustainability, and transportation goals in the City’s Comprehensive Plan being near the top.  The City is way behind in reaching its downtown housing density goals.   Just meeting the current City goals will require at least 20 blocks of downtown land (figuring 5 story buildings with parking built-in) dedicated solely to urban housing.  Simply put, there is hardly enough room in downtown to accomplish our housing density objectives without being forced to build higher-than-mid-rise structures in most of it.  Downtown already has 63 acres of park space, which occupies approximately 10 percent of the total downtown area.  We just can’t afford to add more downtown parks in locations prime for residential development if we truly want to meet the Comprehensive Plan goals.  It should go without saying that not meeting our density goals will also stymie the sustainability and transportation objectives, which call for giving citizens the opportunity to live where use of a car is a choice and not a necessity.

An expanded isthmus park is also not feasible from an urban design perspective.  The design concepts of urban edges and continuous streets are ubiquitous throughout the Comprehensive Plan and are fully intended for the isthmus.  The expanded isthmus park (with two major cross-town thoroughfares running through it no less) would inhibit downtown vitality and park usage by removing opportunities for urban edges and continuous streets.  Indeed, the City constructed an expensive (and wonderful) connection to the Westside with the 4th Avenue bridge and other pedestrian friendly facilities across the isthmus including sidewalks, bike lanes, and lighting. These substantial investments will fall short of their intended goals without a continuous street edge across the isthmus and the naturally-occurring pedestrian activity that would come with it.   Likewise the use of Heritage Park and Percival Landing will never live up to their full potential without an adjacent urban edge of continuous streets.

Safety is an often overlooked issue that further hampers the feasibility of an expanded isthmus park.  Safety issues are already major concerns at downtown parks such as Heritage Park and Percival Landing.  Keeping these parks vandal free are major challenges for City Police and the State Patrol since there is no nearby activity after dark.  In fact, the State officially closes Heritage Park at 11pm because it cannot afford the surveillance that it feels is necessary for an open space of that size.  The only realistic way that downtown parks can be safe for all citizens after dark is with adjacent housing and mixed-use activity that will populate the area for 18 to 24 hours a day.  This is called community policing (or as Jane Jacobs would say, “eyes on the street”).  The City of Olympia is dedicated to community policing, which is a major them in the Comprehensive Plan chapter on public safety.  Community policing is only practical and effective for parks when parks are appropriately scaled to the built environment surrounding them.  Thus, expanding Heritage Park would further undermine Olympia’s community policing goal by removing urban activity near our large downtown parks.

It should also be noted that an expanded isthmus park is not called for nor even discussed in any existing City, County, or State plan.  The plans that do exist have been created through many years of public input, careful planning, and a 2004 voter-approved funding measure.  Supplanting these existing park plans with a new and costly park project on the isthmus would negate the considerable time, money, and energy spent on park planning by city officials and citizens.  How is an expanded isthmus park more important than existing and underfunded downtown park priorities such as rebuilding Percival Landing or new walking paths to connect our existing waterfront parks?  Moreover, pushing this new park “priority” to the front of the line would also suppress the needs and desires for other parts of the City.

Of course there are the obvious financial questions posed by this isthmus park initiative.  How much is it really going to cost?  Where would the dollars to acquire the isthmus come from?  What about funding to maintain and secure the park?  How could our severely cash-strapped city afford to lose the current – and potential – tax revenue generated from the isthmus?  Is adding another strip of disconnected grass to Heritage Park worth the financial burden in these difficult financial times ?

For all of the above reasons, the initiative to create an expanded isthmus is divisive at best, and selfish and irresponsible at worst.  Even in the highly unlikely event that a large amount of cash suddenly became available from the City, State, and private donors, creating an expanded isthmus park would fly squarely in the face of many goals, objectives, and dreams that have been carefully articulated in the Comprehensive Plan.  As a result, we do not believe that an isthmus park is palatable or feasible, even if the feasibility study being commissioned by the City says we can afford it.

Want More?

• Email us your questions or comments
• Subscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list

Newsletter Purpose

Oly2012 is a net-roots organization dedicated to helping decision-makers significantly improve downtown Olympia before 2012 by mobilizing an active network of well-informed citizens.  The Oly2012 Steering Committee distributes this periodic newsletter to Oly2012 mailing list subscribers in order to encourage people to get involved with downtown issues.   If you do not want to receive these newsletters and want to unsubscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list, simply send an email with your request to: Oly2012@Oly2012.org.

To watch the forum in its entirety, please click below.

• The August primary election narrowed the candidates for local races in the upcoming November general election as follows:
  • City Council Position 4:  Karen Rogers vs. Karen Veldheer
  • City Council Position 5:  Jeff Kingsbury vs. Stephen Buxbaum
  • City Council Position 6:  Joan Machlis vs. Jeannine Dellwo Roe
  • City Council Position 7:  Joe Hyer vs. Tony Sermonti
  • Port Commissioner #3:  Jeff Davis vs. Dave Peeler

• After years of study, the Capitol Lake Adaptive Management Plan Steering Committee recently voted 6 to 3 to recommend that the State of Washington eventually return Capitol Lake to an estuary.

• In early July, Mayor Mah dropped his ballot measure proposal to raise property taxes to pay for an isthmus park and rebuilding Percival Landing.  In related news, the owner of Viewpoint Towers renewed efforts to lease the building once the City decided not to pursue buying the building.

• There are a lot of publically-financed urban redevelopment projects underway in downtown Olympia.  Some of the key projects under construction this summer, or approaching a critical planning stage include:
  • The Port of Olympia has issued a Request for Proposals for development of the 2.4-acre NorthPoint urban waterfront area at the tip of the Port Peninsula.
  • The City of Olympia broke ground earlier this summer and is currently constructing the future West Bay Park.
  • A Port of Olympia contractor is in the process of building new roads, curbs, sidewalks, bike lanes, lighting and utilities for the 13-acre East Bay Redevelopment Project.
  • A State of Washington contractor began construction of the 394,000-square-foot Wheeler Building, which is the most significant construction project on the Capitol Campus in many years.
  • The City of Olympia is currently cleaning up the empty lot next to the Olympia Transit Center for possible future development.
  • The City of Olympia has invited Artspace, which is a national non-profit organization that works with cities all over the country to build affordable artist housing, to visit the City (see meeting calendar below).

Call to Action

Karen Rogers – Karen Veldeer

Jeff Kingsbury – Stephen Buxbaum

Joan Machlis – Jeannine Dellwo Roe

The Forum will begin at 6:00 pm.  All of the questions for the candidates will focus on the future of Downtown Olympia, and will be posed by the moderator, TVW President Greg Lane.

Parking

Housing

Safety

Shopping

Entertainment & Dining

Arts & Culture

Capitol Lake

Economic Development

And please, don’t forget to VOTE!

Public Meeting Calendar

In early May of last year, our group formally began our work by writing our vision for downtown – a combination of a high-level sketch of what downtown should become melded with specific positions and issues for our group address in the year ahead.  In that paper we first laid out our initial position on the isthmus rezone.

Though little has changed from last year to this year in terms of our future vision for downtown Olympia, our 2009 vision paper is written in terms more general than our vision paper of a year ago – more vision, less position.  Our future positions and work will be based on the platform established in our annual vision paper.

Our Downtown Vision for 2009 will focus on four key items: Housing, Parking & Transit, Economic Vitality and Arts & Entertainment.  The work OLY 2012 will engage in over the next year will be directly linked to these issues.

Housing

Housing remains at the top of our list of key issues for downtown.  In order for downtown to thrive economically, people – all kinds of people – must be there at all times of the day and night.  In this day and age, getting people into historic urban cores in the numbers necessary to make them economically vibrant requires housing – offices and retail establishments alone don’t work.

As our region faces a substantial projected growth in population, downtown must provide for more housing if suburban sprawl into our agricultural and rural resource lands is to be stemmed.  Plus, denser downtown housing supports other city-, county- and state-wide goals for reducing automobile trips and greenhouse gas emissions.  We are excited about the possibility of a community where the walls of suburban segregation are taken down and where a diverse mix of community members can live, communicate and collaborate with one another in close proximity[i].

Maintain the existing low income housing

We envision a downtown full of housing for all income levels. Currently, downtown housing is almost exclusively low income or subsidized housing, and we fully support the maintenance of this housing type.  It is an important source of housing for downtown workers, the elderly, artists, musicians and students, and it lends considerable vitality to downtown today.

Ensure the availability of affordable workforce housing

Downtown should also be an important source of affordable workforce housing for our teachers, police, firefighters and civic servants.  As housing costs continue their long-term trend of increasing[ii], it is important that we provide adequate housing options for these key members of our community.

Build market-rate housing

Perhaps most essential for downtown is the development of market rate housing, of which there is hardly any today.  It is the pent-up demand[iii] for market rate housing in walkable urban neighborhoods that will attract new housing development dollars into the core.  Market rate housing can also be an important source of subsidy dollars for the development of low income and affordable housing[iv].  By focusing on market rate housing, the other forms of housing will come more easily.

Plus, market rate housing will bring larger disposable incomes into the urban core.   Providing opportunities for people with above median incomes in our region to live downtown will help support downtown businesses, bolster the arts community, and add significantly to the city’s tax base.

Support housing projects already in the pipeline

There are many notable projects for housing on the horizon as well as some in the works already.  Colpitts has a 120+unit mixed use apartment complex in the heart of downtown planned and could break ground as early as this summer.  City Council has prioritized attracting a project from Art Space, which would provide live/work spaces for professional artists.  The Port of Olympia just unveiled the initial development proposals for its East bay property and housing proved to be a major component of the proposals.  The Union Heights project, currently under construction at the corner of Capitol Way and Union, is slated to have several market-rate condos above retail and commercial space.  Barney & Worth, a consulting firm hired by the City of Olympia recently issued a report encouraging the city to work towards building a large, mixed-use development on the corner of Fourth & Jefferson.  And of course, Triway Enterprise’s mixed-use project on the isthmus, despite numerous ongoing challenges from its opponents, remains alive and well.

We will continue to advocate for all of these mixed-use projects and look for ways to attract new ones.

Parking & Transit

The most heavily walked – and shopped – block in downtown is bordered by Capitol Way to the west, Washington Street to the east, Legion Way to the south, and Fifth Avenue to the north.  One of the main reasons for this is that this block is the only block in all of downtown that provides a “continuous” street uninterrupted by any surface parking lot.

As the below map shows in pink, the reality is that most of downtown is dedicated to surface parking.  (Click here to download entire map.)

We envision a downtown with:

(a) Many more continuous streets bordered by mix-use buildings;

(b) Strategically placed parking garages and peripherally placed street & surface parking for commuters and residential tenants (along with public shuttles if necessary);

(c) Street parking that is effectively and economically designed for easy, short-term access by the consumer; and,

(d) An improved regional transportation system that makes the use of the automobile a choice, not a necessity.

Build a Parking Garage

City Council recently voted 7-0 to establish a parking enterprise which will attempt to accomplish many of these things, beginning with managing parking so that it is more accessible to the auto-based consumer who wants to shop downtown.  A key project of this enterprise will be the eventual construction of the city’s first parking garage.  We enthusiastically support this important step.

Work with existing downtown tenants and the development community to ensure parking garage success

Not only will a parking garage help provide better access to downtown for consumers by “putting the right cars in the right spaces”, but it will also provide a level of infrastructure needed to spur residential housing development and make locating a business in downtown more viable.  One of the biggest cost barriers to residential development is parking.  A public parking garage could help mitigate the costs of well-designed, dense residential development by enabling developers to satisfy the market’s demand for long-term parking by leasing garage space for their tenants.  Likewise, in order for downtown office and commercial space to be viable for many businesses and organizations, dependable parking options must be readily available to employees and clients.

We encourage the city and its parking enterprise to mitigate the risks of investing in a parking garage by working with existing downtown residential and commercial tenants and with the development community – both of which have substantial interest in a successful garage.

Build a more robust public transit system

Longer-term, a more robust public transportation system will mitigate the need to use the automobile.  We envision a downtown in the future where people live, work and play without the need to own a car.  Access to more frequent bus routes, free shuttles in key arterials, and a regional rail improvements are important steps towards achieving this vision[v].

But this will take time, patience and substantial public dollars.  In the meantime, we must make meaningful efforts to better accommodate the automobile in our urban core as a bridge to this future vision.

Economic Vitality

Housing and parking will be two large components to achieving economic vitality in both the retail and commercial arenas.  But there are other steps that should be taken as well.

Work more closely with the state, the port and the private sector

We encourage the city to look hard at its assets and its relationships with the state, the port, and the private sector.  The city owns property in the urban core that can be strategically used to attract the right kinds of development.  Just as the Port is in the process of doing with its East Bay development project, the City of Olympia should take renewed look at developing its own real estate.  Where it makes sense, we encourage the City to consider land swaps and other exchanges of strategic assets with the Port, the State, and the private sector to help stimulate the right kinds of investment in the core.  We applaud the City Council’s recent effort to consider contracting a private sector consultant or broker to more forward on this issue.

Continue to pursue Capitol City District

We continue to support the concept of a city-state tax revenue sharing program through the formation of a Capitol City District.  Currently, the City of Olympia’s revenue base is inordinately funded by sales tax dollars because the city’s largest employer and land owner – the state – pays no property tax to the city.  A Capitol City District revenue-sharing program would help Olympia become the model capitol city that our great state deserves.

Improve regulatory barriers to development

The city must also look hard at its regulatory barriers to development to ensure that it is creating the right kinds of incentives and avoiding the wrong kinds of obstacles.   It is imperative that the city be viewed as an amenable place to do the right kinds of development.  The days of the development community being wary of doing business in our city simply must come to an end.

Capitalize on industrially zoned real estate in the downtown core

Further, the city should make the most of its industrially zoned properties.  With the economy retooling itself for the green era, downtown Olympia has the assets to become a model urban core that accommodates and embraces the industrial segment of the economy – not just the residential and commercial.  We envision a downtown that provides more wage level jobs in the non-service sector of the economy.

The working Port of Olympia and the LOTT Alliance are good examples of how downtown real estate can be used for purposes other than housing, retail or office space while co-existing alongside other uses (LOTT will be adjacent to residential and commercial development planned in the Port’s East Bay development).  We encourage more of this kind of balanced use of areas of downtown.

Aid and support local businesses

We support the efforts of Sustainable South Sound and its Buy Local campaign as well as the efforts of the Olympia Downtown Association and the PBIA to help existing local retailers – many of which are in the downtown core – thrive in a struggling economy.  We also encourage the city to look into public financing programs and tools to further aid small local businesses.

Enhance Olympia’s creative and knowledge-based professions

We encourage Olympia to maintain and enhance its reputation as a tolerant community that encourages creativity and supports education.  This is key to supporting artists, musicians, and performers in our already vibrant arts community as well as to attracting new talent, including more professionals in knowledge-based sectors of the economy. The city and downtown community must embrace both the private sector and the higher education institutions to accommodate more of these kinds of jobs in Olympia.  Attracting more creative and knowledge-based professions to its core will be an important component in developing a vibrant downtown economy for the twenty-first century.[vi]

Arts & Entertainment

Provide better access to shorelines

As we stated in our Vision paper from last year, the waterfront is Olympia’s most prized public amenity.  The City of Olympia and the State of Washington have set aside significant public space and public access on Capitol Lake, West Bay, East Bay, and almost all of the downtown Olympia shoreline except the working port.  While residents and visitors now have access to much of the waterfront, they will eventually have free access to almost all of the shoreline and its water views in downtown Olympia.

But we must not take this for granted.  Percival Landing and its underlying sea wall need repair or replacement.  West Bay needs to be developed from its industrial past to its future that includes a mix of commercial and residential uses as well as public parks and trails. These projects – including Rotary Point Park – will take considerable public funds to complete and deserve our support.

Create new, appropriately-scaled public spaces in concert with new development

In concert with the development of structures and buildings, we must ensure that new public space is created as well.  While downtown has plenty of open park space in Sylvester Park, Heritage Park and Percival Landing, we encourage the continued development of outdoor public spaces appropriately scaled to the new built environment.  Wide sidewalks for sitting and dining, enclosed plazas, and modestly-sized parks that are woven into the daily comings and goings of downtowners will help create an appealing downtown environment.  We support the efforts of H2Oly to create a park to accommodate an Artesian Well, a unique natural amenity in downtown.

Preserve downtown’s rich culture and character

We also must support Olympia as a cultural and artistic center.  Downtown Olympia has long been recognized as home to a richly unique and diverse culture with an internationally-recognized music scene, four theaters, and scores of independent coffee houses, galleries and book and record stores.  We don’t want this to change!   It is vitally important that downtown retains its character, and supporting the arts community is critical.  We encourage the support of Olympia’s long list of non-profit arts organizations and events.

Support Hand’s On Children’s Museum

Finally, the successful development of the new home for the Hand’s On Children’s Museum is absolutely imperative to our vision.  The Museum is a hallmark of our community and its new facility will be a hugely important anchor to The Port’s East Bay development.  We whole-heartedly encourage all forms of support to this project.

Conclusion

It is under the banner of these four items – housing, parking, economic vitality and arts & entertainment – that we will focus our time and energy in the year ahead.  We encourage the community to rally behind our mission and help our already wonderful downtown become even better than it is today.  As always, please contact us if you would like to receive information about how you can help us accomplish our mission of taking downtown from dreams to reality.

–

[To download a pdf version of this paper, please click here.]

[ii] Source: U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/census/historic/values.html

[iii] Leinberger, Christopher B.  The Option of Urbanism:  Investing in a New American Dream, Chapter 5, pp. 86-112. (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2008).

[iv] Leinberger, Christopher B.  The Option of Urbanism:  Investing in a New American Dream, Chapter 7, pp. 138-144. (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2008).

[v] Leinberger, Christopher B.  The Option of Urbanism:  Investing in a New American Dream, Chapter 1, pp. 12-30, Chapter 8, pp. 163-171. (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2008).

[vi] For more about the theory of the creative class and economic development, we highly recommend reading the definitive work of Richard Florida: The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2002).

New Study Calls for More Market Rate Housing!

A new study commissioned in 2008 by a $75,000 CTED grant to review all past downtown studies and make recommendations for future downtown development was unveiled in early June.  It concluded that downtown needs more market rate housing!  In particular, it suggested that the city partner with the private sector on a mixed-use project with housing located at the corner of Fourth & Jefferson.

Council Likes Barney & Worth Development Study

The Olympian – June 1o, 2009

Barney & Worth Study Concludes 4th & Jefferson Ideal for Mixed-Use Housing
The Olympian – June 7, 2009

Port Chooses Terragon To Develop East Bay Property

In late May, The Port of Olympia publicly presented the three top proposals from its RFQ process relating to its East Bay development.  Two of the three proposals were heaving on housing and mixed-use space, including one that envisioned a hotel & conference center, apartments, condos and townhomes surrounding the Hand’s On Children’s Museum.  On June 22, the Port announced it would go with the developer Terragon.

Port picks East Bay developer
The Olympian – June 23, 2009

Port meeting will focus on East Bay redevelopment
The Olympian – May 20, 2009

Olympia Ranked 6th Best Place to Live by Kiplingers

Kiplingers, a national magazine about business and personal finance, ranked Olympia as the 6th best city in the U.S. to live.  Other cities rounding out the top 10 included Washington D.C., Austin, TX and Raleigh, NC.  The article described Olympia as “cultural diamond in the rough of the Pacific Northwest.”

Olympia Ranked 6th Best Place to Live by Kiplingers
Kiplinger’s – July 2009

Intercity Transit Named Best Transit System in Nation for Its Size

In 2006, Intercity Transit officially set its vision to be a leading transit system in the country, committed to enhancing the quality of life for all citizens of Thurston County.  Three years later, that vision is realized.  The American Public Transportation Association has named Intercity Transit the best transit system in the nation for its size.

Intercity Transit named best transit system in the nation for its size
Press release – June 2009

City Unveils New Downtown Parking Strategy

On May 13th, the city approved a new parking plan that should bring some much needed changes to the way our downtown accommodates the automobile.  Chief among the changes will be the replacement of free 90 minute parking with paid parking accommodated by a credit-card enabled pay booth on each block.  Revenue from the new system will help fund the eventual construction of the city’s first parking garage.

Council approves higher parking rates
The Olympian – May 13, 2009

EVENTS CALENDAR

STEERING COMMITTEE NEWS

Since our last newsletter, the OLY 2012 Steering Committee has been busy participating in Mayor Mah’s Percival Landing/ Capitol Center Building ballot measure process and is hopeful the concept will go to ballot this year.

We’ve also been working hard on our 2009 Vision for Downtown Olympia – an update of our 2008 Vision paper. Please keep an eye out for that paper in the next week or two!

We have also been spending time studying the Capitol lake/Estuary issue, meeting with the Port to better understand its East Bay redevelopment process and working on Economic Development and Restructuring issues in cooperation with local downtown stakeholders like the Olympia Downtown Association.

CALL TO ACTION

We would like to know what you think are the important issues facing downtown.  What are the issues that should be calling all of us to action?  What are the remaining hurdles to making downtown better?  What are your priorities?  Where can we collectively make the most difference?  Please write to us at oly2012@oly2012.org.

OPINION/EDITORIAL

OLY 2012’s 2008 Year In Review

By the OLY 2012 Steering Committee

When OLY2012 first formed in the fall of 2007, never could we have imagined how exciting and eventful our first year in operation would play out.  Though our group took on several important issues, including The Capitol City District, The Hands On Children’s Museum, and House Bill 1016 (a bill which would have placed the Mayor of Olympia on the capitol campus design advisory committee), it was, of course, the The Isthmus Rezone that took by far the majority of our time.

On one hand, this highly public and polarizing issue allowed us to demonstrate our approach and establish credibility as a new voice in the community.  On the other hand, the controversial nature of the rezone issue polarized citizens and, thus, undermined our initial objective of “building a broad-based and well-informed network of community support to realize the potential for a beautiful and unique downtown between now and 2012.”

As we move into a new year, we continue to embrace our mission of building a broad, grassroots coalition of people who want to move downtown in a positive direction.  But we recognize that achieving that objective will take patience, persistence, and be accomplished only over time.  We have confidence that as less polarizing issues and ideas come up, the value of our organization will appeal to an increasingly broad segment of our community.  We will continue to recruit support for our organization and its mission as we move ahead on those issues.

In the meantime, our steering committee will continue to pursue issues the way we did in our inaugural year: by working closely with citizens, groups and officials throughout the community; by writing position papers and opinions on specific issues; and by taking direct action as a steering committee at hearings and other public forums.

We would like to thank all those in the community who supported us over the course of our first year.  Here’s to working towards a better tomorrow for our wonderful downtown in the years ahead.

–

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Newsletter Purpose

OLY2012 is a volunteer organization dedicated to helping decision-makers significantly improve downtown Olympia before 2012 by mobilizing an active network of well-informed citizens.  The Oly2012 Steering Committee distributes this periodic newsletter to Oly2012 mailing list subscribers in order to encourage people to get involved with downtown issues.   If you do not want to receive these newsletters and want to unsubscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list, simply send an email with your request to: Oly2012@Oly2012.org.

The Legislature adjourned last week.  It’s been a long 105 days and several issues of importance to Oly2012 and Olympia citizens committed to revitalization of our downtown have been settled…at least for now.

Senator Karen Fraser and Representative Sam Hunt introduced legislation to override the Olympia City Council’s decision to amend their comprehensive plan to allow mid-rise mixed-use development on the isthmus. Oly2012 testified against these measures in both the House and Senate committees.  Oly2012 believes the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) clearly gives authority to local governments to make zoning changes that are consistent with their comprehensive plans while allowing appeals to the Growth Management Hearings Board and then to Superior Court to ensure consistency with the GMA.  The bills ultimately failed.  We want to acknowledge the Olympia Downtown Association, the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce, our City Council members, and all of you who testified in committee, wrote letters, and made phone calls to oppose these bills.  Thank you!

It’s now time to move ahead to the eventual acquisition and removal of the Viewpoint Tower building and the remaining buildings on the fountain block, as proposed in our May 2008 “Vision” statement for downtown improvement.  Oly 2012 stands ready to participate in discussions with the City Council on a potential ballot measure to raise the public funds necessary to accomplish these goals and to fully rebuild Percival Landing, as proposed by Mayor Doug Mah.

Unfortunately, a bill that would have established a downtown Capital City District, intended to retain one cent of the state’s sales tax generated in the district for the purposes of downtown economic development, failed to pass due to the fiscal crisis facing the state.   Oly2012 remains committed to creating the District, and will support efforts to pass legislation in 2010.  While the economy certainly took its toll on all of the state’s budgets, downtown Olympia was fortunate to receive capital budget funding for several important projects as mentioned in the News Updates Section.

As we move forward, the need to create housing opportunities for all ages and income levels in downtown Olympia remains our highest priority.  We desperately need people living, working, and enjoying our restaurants, theater, and shopping in downtown.  The city’s comprehensive plan has not been implemented and must begin to meet its goals of absorbing population growth – as a better alternative to rural housing tracts.  Creating density where infrastructure already exists is the environmentally right path and one that Oly2012 will continue to support.

We want to urge you to share in Oly2012′s vision and to encourage your friends, neighbors, and colleagues to sign up for our newsletters and alerts.  Ultimately, your voice must be heard to make downtown Olympia a truly wonderful place.

• Senator Karen Fraser’s multiple attempts to pass legislation that would limit building heights on the isthmus were not successful in the 2009 session.  In other isthmus news, the feasibility study conducted for the City concluded that an isthmus park “may be feasible but is not without significant challenges.”  The feasibility study estimated the cost to purchase the two City blocks (located west of Sylvester Street and between Fourth and Fifth Avenues), demolish existing structures, and construct a park would be on the order of $30 million.  Following the publication of the feasibility study, Mayor Mah proposed that voters should consider raising property taxes to pay for a $33 million package that would include purchasing and demolishing the nine-story Viewpoint Tower (one of the two blocks considered in the feasibility study), rebuilding Percival Landing, and expanding the Heritage Fountain Park.  The owners of the Viewpoint Tower have indicated that they may be willing to sell the property to the City and demolish the building for $16.5 million.

• A number of critical downtown environmental cleanups are moving forward, setting the stage for important urban renewal projects.  The City recently completed the soil cleanup at the new City Hall site.  The Port also recently completed a portion of the Cascade Pole cleanup, which resulted in the creation of a shoreline trail and marina parking lot that will serve further NorthPointe development.  The Port will begin construction and cleanup activities in May at the East Bay Redevelopment site, which is one of the largest urban-renewal projects in Olympia’s history.  In July, the City will begin soil cleanup activities at a former industrial area that will become part of a 17-plus-acre waterfront park along West Bay.  The City is also planning to cleanup property next to the Olympia Transit Center later this year for possible use as a parking garage or mixed-use development.

• The State’s capital budget includes funding for important local projects such as preliminary replacement of Percival Landing pilings, construction of the new Children’s Hands On Museum, renovation of the Harlequin Productions theater, and construction activities at a variety of State buildings near the capitol campus.

• Holly Gadbaw, who recently retired from the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, has joined the Oly2012 Steering Committee.  Holly Gadbaw was a member of the Olympia City Council from 1982 to 2001 and was Olympia mayor from 1988 to 1990.

Call to Action

We would like to know what you think are the important issues facing downtown.  What are the issues that should be calling all of us to action?  What are the remaining hurdles to making downtown better?  What are your priorities?  Where can we collectively make the most difference?  Please write to us at oly2012@oly2012.org

Public Meeting Calendar

What is the Steering Committee Up To?

In the past two months, the Steering Committee has primarily been supporting our legislative agenda for 2009.  For instance, the members of the Steering Committee provided testimony in late March at the House committee hearing on the isthmus building height issue.  The Steering Committee also issued an endorsement of Mayor Mah’s isthmus proposal, which is similar to the compromise position proposed by Oly2012 in May 2008 (although it relies on a different funding mechanism).

Opinion/Editorial

2009 Legislative Wrap-up

By Enid Layes

The Legislature adjourned last week.  It’s been a long 105 days and several issues of importance to Oly2012 and Olympia citizens committed to revitalization of our downtown have been settled…at least for now.

Senator Karen Fraser and Representative Sam Hunt introduced legislation to override the Olympia City Council’s decision to amend their comprehensive plan to allow mid-rise mixed-use development on the isthmus. Oly2012 testified against these measures in both the House and Senate committees.  Oly2012 believes the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA) clearly gives authority to local governments to make zoning changes that are consistent with their comprehensive plans while allowing appeals to the Growth Management Hearings Board and then to Superior Court to ensure consistency with the GMA.  The bills ultimately failed.  We want to acknowledge the Olympia Downtown Association, the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce, our City Council members, and all of you who testified in committee, wrote letters, and made phone calls to oppose these bills.  Thank you!

It’s now time to move ahead to the eventual acquisition and removal of the Viewpoint Tower building and the remaining buildings on the fountain block, as proposed in our May 2008 “Vision” statement for downtown improvement.  Oly 2012 stands ready to participate in discussions with the City Council on a potential ballot measure to raise the public funds necessary to accomplish these goals and to fully rebuild Percival Landing, as proposed by Mayor Doug Mah.

Unfortunately, a bill that would have established a downtown Capital City District, intended to retain one cent of the state’s sales tax generated in the district for the purposes of downtown economic development, failed to pass due to the fiscal crisis facing the state.   Oly2012 remains committed to creating the District, and will support efforts to pass legislation in 2010.  While the economy certainly took its toll on all of the state’s budgets, downtown Olympia was fortunate to receive capital budget funding for several important projects as mentioned in the News Updates Section.

As we move forward, the need to create housing opportunities for all ages and income levels in downtown Olympia remains our highest priority.  We desperately need people living, working, and enjoying our restaurants, theater, and shopping in downtown.  The city’s comprehensive plan has not been implemented and must begin to meet its goals of absorbing population growth – as a better alternative to rural housing tracts.  Creating density where infrastructure already exists is the environmentally right path and one that Oly2012 will continue to support.

We want to urge you to share in Oly2012′s vision and to encourage your friends, neighbors, and colleagues to sign up for our newsletters and alerts.  Ultimately, your voice must be heard to make downtown Olympia a truly wonderful place.

Want More?

• Email us your questions or comments
• Subscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list

Newsletter Purpose

Oly2012 is a net-roots organization dedicated to helping decision-makers significantly improve downtown Olympia before 2012 by mobilizing an active network of well-informed citizens.  The Oly2012 Steering Committee distributes this periodic newsletter to Oly2012 mailing list subscribers in order to encourage people to get involved with downtown issues.   If you do not want to receive these newsletters and want to unsubscribe to the Oly2012 mailing list, simply send an email with your request to: Oly2012@Oly2012.org.