Taking Downtown From Dreams To Reality

Archive for September, 2008

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

In Position Papers on September 7, 2008 at 12:10 am

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Position: Rebuttals to Arguments Opposing Isthmus Rezone

In Position Papers on September 7, 2008 at 12:05 am

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.  Read the rest of this entry »

Opinion: Show Me The Money!

In Opinions on September 5, 2008 at 12:05 am

By Maureen Morris

As we see budgets of schools and other local public services cut, we need to support improving the local tax base.  The current Tri Way proposal for condos and commercial space on the isthmus would increase the assessed value on two small parcels by about $150 million.  Property tax revenues on those parcels would grow from $17,000 to $1.4 million.  Initial sales of condos would generate $1.6 million in real estate excise tax to fund infrastructure projects.   Building and furnishing condos and commercial spaces should generate about $8 million in sales tax.   Condo re-sales and commercial activity would generate other taxes.  This will help fund school, library, city, county and transit services.

If the rezone fails, the site will be filled with an office building already approved for the site.  In addition to adding less value to the tax base, we will have another building in the heart of the city that is empty most evenings and weekends.   Instead of condos stacked on two small blocks, we’ll have more Street of Dreams mega houses replacing acres of forest.

The rezone does not block off the waterfront.  Almost all downtown waterfront is publicly owned.  What is blocking off the waterfront is the lack of a tax base to repair the boardwalk, build the parks and trails for the waterfront we already own, and to purchase waterfront in other areas of the community.

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© Copyright 2009 by OLY 2012. No redistribution without prior written consent.

The Oly2012 Newsletter Issue #2 – September 5, 2008

In Newsletters on September 5, 2008 at 12:00 am

News Updates