Well... I got back from two weeks in Montana, mostly off the grid, to find another new group in town about to start running an actual initiative campaign about exploring putting a park on the isthmus (apparently the first ever in the city??) I'd like it better if the content were more like a levy, so people were actually signing or voting about paying for it, but apparently there are a lot of legal limits on what you can actually do by initiative in Oly. (In particular, you can't levy any taxes, and you can't amend the comprehensive plan, etc.)

The petition and instructions are at:

http://groups.google.com/group/olycapitolparkfoundation/web/welcome

There's also a press release with a little more information.

Nearly a half-century ago, activist Jane Jacobs wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a book often described as the most influential ever written on the subject of Urban Planning.

Jacob’s book was an “attack” on modern orthodox urban planning, and in particular, on Le Corbusier’s Radiant City model, which called for monolithic residential skyscrapers studded across the natural landscape and interconnected by elevated high-speed transportation corridors – an ultra-modern utopia promising spiritually-enriching open space and views for the masses!

Le Corbusier’s model heavily influenced HUD’s Urban Renewal movement in the 1950s and 1960s. However, its pitfalls became immediately evident, ultimately inciting Jacob’s 1961 salvo: Too much open space amidst the urban landscape inhibits society’s ability to self-govern – or – limits the number of “eyes upon the street”. Today most of the towers and parks built in the Radiant City tradition have been either razed, or remain as habitat for some of America’s worst infestations of crime, poverty, disease and drug use.

Many in favor of turning the isthmus into a park seek the same populist benefits promised by Le Corbusier. But, like Le Corbusier, they overlook the inevitable outcome of such land use. On the other hand, cradling Heritage Park and Percival Landing within residential, retail and commercial activities – which is to say the everyday activities of citizens – would sew these two great public spaces deeper into the fabric of our downtown, nurturing a sense of safety, function, vibrancy and civic virtue in and around them.

PRESS RELEASE

Olympia, July 21, 2008

In response to widespread public interest in finding an alternative to the proposed increase in height limits on Olympia’s downtown isthmus between Capital Lake and Budd Inlet, a new group has formed to investigate the feasibility of acquiring the area of the proposed re-zone AND the Capital Tower Building for eventual incorporation into Heritage Park.

The new group called the “Steering Committee for Public Acquisition” is comprised, in part, of former Olympia Planning Commissioners who believe that the current height limit on the isthmus of 35 feet should not be increased to 90 feet as recently proposed.

The group also believes that as part of the current discussion of the future of the isthmus that the City Council and the State needs also to carefully consider the option of public ownership, with just compensation to present owners, for the area from the twin bridges to Water Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues. This option would not change the status of Bay View Market, the Olympia Yacht Club or the Oyster House.

If sufficient community interest exists, the Steering Committee plans to create a non-profit association for the purpose of thoroughly investigating the ways and means to bring about the de-development and preservation of the isthmus as a great public space for the benefit of all. Their goal is to develop a public-private partnership to bring this about.

The Steering Committee will host a public meeting on August 4 from 7 to 9 pm in Room 2004 at the Olympia Community Center (222 Columbia St. NW) to link up with others who are supportive of this concept.

For additional information contact Jerry Reilly at jerryreilly@msn.com (360 561 4212) or Jeff Jaksich at eastbay4@comcast.com (360 352 2735).

A really clever animation that John Leisenring (JCL Animations in Olympia), did for Friends of the Waterfront. Click picture to start animation:

Download it (It's a 3.2 MB Quicktime file, if you have a slow connection...)

Best,
Thad

Here's the entire meeting for your viewing pleasure.

There is a proposal, brought by developer Triway Enterprises, to rezone the building height limits for the area of the city between Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet. The area, commonly known as the "isthmus," is a focal point of the city. High-rise buildings would (and one already does) obstruct the existing corridor between the River/Lake and Budd Inlet/Puget Sound.

go to original

...

Friends of the Waterfront has been calling for a comprehensive community-wide visioning process to determine the shape of our waterfront area. The general public should determine how this vital area will be used to support the high quality of life we all want to continue to enjoy in Olympia.

The next step in the city's consideration of the isthmus rezone proposal is the public hearing before the Olympia Planning Commission at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24, at the Olympia Center. Tentatively, people will be able to sign in starting at 5:30 for a slot to testify.

Meantime, we seek Letters to the Editor in support of our position. We also have yard signs, and window signs available for distribution.

Please visit our website (www.friendsofthewaterfront.org) for all the information on this proposal and links to city files and letters to the editor. See the Images section of the website for interesting commentary on the proponents' misleading graphic depictions.

I came across the following argument in a book called Home From Nowhere (circa 1994), written by new urbanist pundit, James Howard Kunstler. It, of course, brought to mind the current issue of condos on the isthmus and got me thinking about how having a difference mix of classes living in downtown would affect Oly's poorer classes. I should probably point out that this excerpt is from a long chapter about the importance of civic life/civic interaction to the health of American civilization. In it, Kunstler argues that suburbia and the automobile have been destroying civility in America for the majority of the last century.: