My Third Email from Oly2012

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My Third Email from Oly2012

Submitted by jlw on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 3:46pm.

As I mentioned in another thread, I signed up on the Oly2012 mailing list. I love downtown Olympia, and care about how it evolves. As I mentioned in that other thread, no one at Oly2012 asked me what my opinion was, but I did get emails from them. The first email encouraged me to contact the city council and urge them to approve the new Children's Museum location. The second alerted me that they had taken a position on downtown housing development and linked me to their website where they made their case for rezoning the parcels on the isthmus that Tri Vo owns and would like to develop. Here is the text of the third email:

CALL TO ACTION!

The first of many opportunities to show your support for the overall OLY 2012 vision is the proposed Urban Waterfront Rezone. An amendment to the City's Comprehensive Plan has been proposed that would rezone nine parcels of property on the isthmus from Urban Waterfront to Urban Waterfront Housing.
As described in our larger vision for downtown, OLY 2012 proposes a compromise approach that supports a contingent rezone for two of the nine parcels. If you have any questions about our proposal please send them to oly2012@oly2012.org.
The first step in considering the rezone amendment is a hearing before the Olympia Planning Commission. The Commission will then make a recommendation to the City Council for action in October.
BE THERE! SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR OLY 2012!
Olympia Planning Commission Public Hearing
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Olympia Center, 222 Columbia Street NW
Please arrive by 5:30 to sign in.
Get your OLY 2012 sticker at the door.
Sign in to testify if possible, and bring your testimony in writing.
AND… Spread the word about OLY 2012. Send an email to your friends, neighbors, and colleagues asking them to "Get Involved" by joining the OLY 2012 mailing list, which provides information on upcoming actions.
Write a Letter to the Editor of the Olympian
The Olympian P.O. Box 407 Olympia, WA 98507
Click here for The Olympain's [sic] on-line form for submitting letters.
Contact your City Council with your thoughts
900 Plum Street SE
Olympia, WA 98501
360-753-8569
citycouncil@ci.olympia.wa.us

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jwl Ya beat me to the post

Submitted by Laurian on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 4:30pm.

May I paraphrase Green Day

Don't want to be an American Idiot

Don't want a nation under the new mania

Say can you hear the sound of hysteria

Calling out to Idiot America

Welcome to a new kind of tension...

Accelerated Evolution

Submitted by OlyDowntowner on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 5:03pm.

As I recall, Oly2012 didn't have a position on developing the isthmus when they formed a few months ago. Then they studied the question carefully, and came to the conclusion that it would make sense, for the good of all of us, to rezone just those parcels owned by a developer who is pushing very aggressively to rezone so he can build high rises. Then, quicklike, because only municipal nihilists drag their feet, they endorse the limited rezone wholeheartedly! (In language very similar to the language used by the developer when he sends out postcards to people, asking them to pull together and show up at the Forum at 5:30 -- just a coincidence, I'm sure, that's just the kind of a common language you use if you care about what's good for the future of downtown.) PLUS THEY START SHOUTING! Which is a nice, grass-roots, newbie touch. Grass roots. Human. Clumsy. Kind of rude. People like us. Yeah. You can bet I'll be there.

I Hope

Submitted by Ehver Green on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 5:10pm.

The people that attend with no intention of supporting OLY2012 show some class.

I hope they show some class

Submitted by OlyDowntowner on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 5:24pm.

I hope they show some class struggle.

Masks and rocks again?

Submitted by security_six on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 6:48pm.

j/k

"Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun."

Personally, I find words

Submitted by OlyDowntowner on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 9:44pm.

Personally, I find words most effective, although I suppose there are inarticulate people who must rely on rocks and guns as their source of power.

I choose words

Submitted by security_six on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 9:48pm.

As my first tool as well. At any rate it was meant to be a joke.

"Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun."

I love jokes as much as the

Submitted by OlyDowntowner on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 10:01pm.

I love jokes as much as the next guy, but I have trouble identifying them when they're not funny.

Funny is subjective

Submitted by security_six on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 10:19pm.

And I did make an effort to include the "j/k" disclaimer.

"Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun."

It wasn't meant to ONLY be a joke.

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 10:02pm.

Fess up boyo.

Oh,

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 10:05pm.

and my car has killed far fewer people than the average gun.

Define average?

Submitted by security_six on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 10:17pm.

Show me some stats on how many people the "average" gun has killed. What is the "average" gun?

I'll bet money it turns out to be some sort of semi auto .22 rifle used for informal plinking and hunting.

"Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun."

My family, both immediate

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Fri, 06/06/2008 - 6:24am.

My family, both immediate and extended-on-both-sides, along with all members who are no longer with us, must've been way above the average.

You can blow out a candle / But you can't blow out a fire / Once the flames begin to catch / The wind will blow it higher

That's a pretty rude characterization of people

Submitted by Guglielmo on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 9:59pm.

who aren't in lock step with the Oly 2012 (Olympian, City Council, and TriWay) vision thing.

Two questions

Submitted by libby on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 5:21pm.

I'm just beginning to look at this issue. For those of you who are better apprised, I have two question at this point:

1) The city is currently tearing up a bunch of downtown streets. A friend -- who owns a downtown business -- told me the city is tearing up the streets in order to install the main water lines intended to supply the proposed isthmus condos. Is this true?

2) If the members of the City Council and the Planning Commission have already made up their minds about the waterfront rezone, do we as residents/ citizens actually have any meaningful recourse?

(Please say yes.)

which streets?

Submitted by Katherine on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 5:32pm.

The Legion Way improvements are for bulb-outs. It's part of the city's commitment to improving pedestrain access to downtown. They also slow traffic. And, they take away parking spaces.

This guy was not specific

Submitted by libby on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 8:27pm.

This guy was not specific about which streets and where he got his information about the water lines for the condos. And he's not a person I have a lot of contact with. So, now I'm realizing that I should have had something more solid to offer before posting that comment.

this is a good thing

Submitted by enpen on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 10:29pm.

Some people on OlyBlog know about widgets while some know about what streets are torn up right now and why. I think this is an excellent place to clear up social rumors.

"In principle, I am an anarchist. Kurt Vonnegut once said he was an agnostic who respects Jesus Christ. I am an anarchist who loves democracy." - Kenzaburo Oe

right on enpen!

Submitted by chad360 on Fri, 06/06/2008 - 11:55am.

great comment =)

on downtown:

-with all the hubbub downtown, I'm curious if anyone has a vision of downtown without cars?

How far is too far to walk when downtown?

I keep coming back to the value of buildings versus streets, and I see a vibrant, legible downtown as a pedestrian-only kinda place that is easier for folks to navigate on foot (esp. the elderly and folks that utilize mobility assistance technology like those electric chairs)

...leave the streets and alleys for human-powered vechicles, quiet electric carts, and weekday deliveries...any thoughts?

no cars and cross town

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Fri, 06/06/2008 - 12:16pm.

How do you jive your no cars desire with cross town traffic? Keep the main arterials open, close down the other blocks?

The road

Submitted by Just another voice on Fri, 06/06/2008 - 4:25pm.

If it isn't legion way then it must be on Columbia between 4th and State. That is NOT for water lines but is for gas lines. It has nothing to do with the proposed housing but is to give new gas meters to area businesses. It has been in the works for a few months now.

But I am Just Another Voice

I thought it was about trees

Submitted by jlw on Fri, 06/06/2008 - 4:43pm.

Because I read this. I distinctly remember reading that something like $350,000 of Oly's yearly Community Develpment Block Grant would go to plant trees on Legion Way, rather than going to fund social services agencies (like the Tenants Union), as most of the money has in the past. I drove by some new trees on Legion Way yesterday, and wondered how those trees could possibly cost that much money. And I also wondered who in their right mind would find such a project more compelling than funding social service agencies.

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