A letter to the editor in the last issue continues to rehash last fall’s Olympia City Council election. He chides the old Council members for not doing what their constituents wanted. He says that “We just got tired of the old Council members saying “No” to what most of their constituents kept asking them to do.” The question I have is how much accurate information or analysis of the issue, or awareness of the land use, transportation, housing and environmental goals and policies in the Olympia Comprehensive Plan, these folks had. It’s interesting that the vast majority of people (the Olympia Planning Commission and City Council) who did have to study the issue and consider all the goals and policies ended up supporting the rezone action.
Most of the fall’s campaign focused on the isthmus. But having a catchy campaign phrase that appeals emotionally to many and motivates them to work hard for a slate of candidates pledged to undue an action is relatively easy. Developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for a growing community is much more challenging.
We are growing and will continue to grow. Between now and 2030 our state will grow by 1.7 million residents, and our county by some 120,000. That’s the equivalent to two new cities the size of today’s Olympia! Where are we going to put these new residents? Will there be opportunities for some of them to live closer to where they will work – offering less car dependence? Are we going to increase densities within our cities or are we going to continue to unsustainably sprawl into suburban and rural areas?
The City of Olympia has planned to put 2,500 new units of multifamily housing in our downtown since 1996. Success would mean that at least some of the 20,000 employees that come to downtown to work each day would have an opportunity to live there. Less than 400 units have been built in downtown over the past 15 years. The fact is we will need every piece of land possible to be used for additional housing since 20 whole blocks of 5-story projects would be needed to accommodate even 2500 units. We don’t have the option to “just say no” as some suggest. We need creative solutions that recognize both the challenges of accommodating the growth we are going to get and the consequences if we fail.
Finally, consider the fact that about 13,000 new housing units will be build in Olympia by 2030. If 2,500 of these are successfully built downtown, where will the remaining 10,500 be built? Look around your Olympia neighborhood or beyond and consider the options those households will – or won’t – have for less car dependence and more sustainable use of the land, then consider the consequences of that.
- Mike McCormick
Too many letters about stuff you don’t care about? Not enough about stuff you do care about? Change that. Email your letter to olympiapowerandlight@gmail.com