Announcement from Jerry Reilly, of the Olympia Isthmus Park Association:

Dear Friends,

Our campaign to protect and perfect the most spectacular Capitol site in America entered a new phase on Tuesday, December 31, 2008 when our Attorney Allen Miller filed a complaint in Thurston County Superior Court to block the isthmus rezone that was recently approved by the Olympia City Council.

We are asking that the court set aside the rezone until completion of the Park Feasibility Study required by our successful citizens' initiative. We believe that the eventual acquisition of the isthmus for development as a Park will be made more expensive by the rezone approved by the city. We are also concerned that an applicant may file a development permit that could confer upon the applicant a "vested" right to build a project under the rezone even if the rezone is later set aside during the review process. Although they likely could not build in this situation, we are concerned that they could still extract a higher than appropriate price for the land by asserting their ''vested'' right to more intensive development.

At a preliminary hearing before Judge Wickham on Tuesday, the judge set a hearing date for our motion for an injunction for Friday, January 16th.

Joining the Isthmus Park Association as named complainants in this litigation are Ralph Munro, Professor Norman Johnston, Heritage Park Architect Mike Hamm, Robert Jensen, and Friends of the Waterfront.

We are also gearing up to comment to the Department of Ecology as they review the proposed rezone under the Shoreline Management Act.

None of this would have been necessary if the City Council had done the right thing and deferred its decision on the rezone. But they went ahead with the rezone so we must now proceed to exercise all of our due process rights. Because of the need to pursue litigation and other appeal avenues, we have temporarily de-emphasized fund raising for Park acquisition to concentrate on fund raising for our legal effort. Our Attorneys are working "pro bono". This is an enormous cost savings, but we do have an urgent need for funds to pay for filing fees, transcripts, and expert witnesses. If you are able to contribute please send to our Isthmus Park Association Treasurer Jeff Jaksich at 812 San Francisco Avenue, NE Olympia, WA 98506. Make checks payable to the OIPA. Contributions to the legal fund are NOT tax deductible.

Thank you for your continued commitment to this important effort.

Best regards,
Jerry Reilly (360 561 4212)

Ralph Munro was Washington's Secretary of State, 1980-2001; Norman Johnson's professor emeritus of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington and the author of the definitive history of the State Capitol, Washington's Audacious State Capitol and Its Builders (University of Washington Press, 1988); Robert Jensen's a former member and chair of the state's Shorelines Hearing Board.

Best,
Thad