Isthmus Update

author : Janet Blanding topic : waterfront | city council

by Janet Blanding

As the city council moves towards enacting an upzone of the isthmus between Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake, with a final vote expected on December 9, citizens in opposition have continued to resist this unpopular proposal. Friends of the Waterfront, Oly Vision 20/20, People for a Participatory City and the Olympia Park Foundation are all continuing to make plans and deliberate on strategies for preserving Olympia’s character despite the current city council’s disregard for the will of the public.

The successful city initiative , which requires the city to conduct a feasibility study of public acquisition of the unoccupied portions of the isthmus, does not seem to have deterred the council from moving ahead with the rezone. The initiative was signed by more than 5000 people in little more than a month; although the city is making plans to conduct the feasibility study, the council is nonetheless forging ahead with the zoning change, a move which is disappointing and appears unwise to many rezone opponents. As the economic climate worsens and the housing market collapses, many people wonder if the project will ever break ground. Jeff Jaksich, former planning commissioner and treasurer of the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation, recently called the city council’s decision to proceed “imprudent,” stating that “it’s unwise given the credit crisis that exists out there that these condos would ever be funded.”

Yet rezoning the isthmus will immediately raise the value of the land, regardless of whether or not the Larida Passage project can be funded, making the public acquisition of the land more unlikely. Although councilmember Joe Hyer mentioned at a recent council meeting that an assessor told him that the rezone would not dramatically change the value of the land, many people dispute that assertion. Using information provided in the city’s Environmental Impact Study, the rezone will enable Triway to construct 171,000 square feet of housing and 77,000 square feet of commercial space; the current zoning would allow Triway to build only 83,000 square feet of commercial space. “If you look at the numbers, there’s a minor reduction in how much commercial they can build, and in return they’re getting 170 thousand square feet of housing,” said Thad Curtz of Friends of the Waterfront. “It’s hard to imagine that doesn’t represent a very large economic bonus, the ability to build that extra 170 thousand square feet at the cost of only 9 thousand square feet of commercial.”

The tax exemption that was the subject of so much public objection may in fact not apply to the Larida Passage project after all; at a recent meeting of the city’s land use committee, committee members Joan Machlis, Rhenda Strub and Karen Messmer discussed the possibility of excluding the isthmus from the downtown areas subject to the exemption. Although this does remove one significant objection to the project, most people remain opposed to it. It has been suggested, however, that removing the tax exemption may serve to soften up the already weak opposition to the project that exists on the city council.

Concerns have also been voiced about the council’s lack of regard for how this rezone will impact the relationship Olympia has with the state government. “They know state officials are opposed to this,” said one concerned Olympian who asked not to be identified, “but it’s not having any impact.” The state recently unveiled plans for the $220 million Heritage Center slated for construction on the Capitol Campus. The Heritage Center features large decks, designed to take advantage of the view of the Olympics to the north, views which will be blocked by the 5 to 7 story condos proposed by Triway Enterprises. The Heritage Center project, designed by the Seattle architectural firm of SRG Partnerships, also features a north-south oriented glass atrium, designed to preserve views to the north through the building. “The future of that building could in fact be determined by whether they vote for the rezone – it could get killed,” says Jaksich. “The city council seems not to understand that it has real implications for this community that are very significant.”

Jaksich reported that the Olympia Capitol Park Foundation has begun to collect pledges with the aim of acquiring the land, with the ultimate aim of donating it to the state for use as a park. An affiliated group, the Olympia Isthmus Park Association is monitoring the progress of the feasibility study mandated by the recent successful city initiative; this feasibility study must be completed within five months. Jaksich, along with many other people engaged with this issue, are surprised and disappointed that the city council is moving forward with the upzone before the feasibility study is completed.

As the city of Olympia struggles to balance its budget as sales tax revenues decline, the prospect of expensive litigation if this upzone passes looms. Several attorneys are on board with rezone opponent groups, and pro bono legal research by experts in the Shoreline Management Act is currently underway. Olympia resident hali panneton remarked that “In these tough times, the last thing Olympia needs is to foot the bill to pay for lawsuits to enact something that eighty percent of our citizens don't want anyway, something that just benefits a wealthy developer. How dare the city council do this to us!”

At a recent Friends of the Waterfront meeting, attendance was as strong as ever, as activists discussed possible strategies for preserving Olympia’s waterfront views. Although some people in attendance felt that the current city council was impervious to the broad public pressure which has been manifested by the large turnout at public hearings, overwhelmingly opposed to the rezone, along with the remarkable success of the initiative, others were more optimistic. Jaksich maintains that the city council is “open and reachable,” and that it is still worth the effort to communicate with them. “The public needs to reach out to them and share their concerns on a personal level, because in a formal setting they don't seem to be hearing what the public is telling them.”

Others involved in this issue expressed less faith in the city council to behave in a manner responsive to the public, calling them “unbudgeable.” Some are already looking to the future, planning to support candidates for the elections in 2009 when the council seats of Joe Hyer, Jeff Kingsbury, Karen Messmer and Joan Machlis will be up for re-election. “I don't think there’s a politician in Olympia that missed how we feel about this issue,” said one observer. Let’s hope some candidates step forward who understand and value Olympia the way it is, who are ready to truly represent their constituents, will step forward to serve the public, instead of the interests of a rich developer.