What is the normal course of progress? What does progress mean to you?

Ever since Peter's testimony last week, I have been thinking about the normal course of progress, and what it means in the context of the proposed Isthmus Building Height Rezone.

I am sorry, and with all due respect, I do not consider spending $50,000 in public money, on a study for a private luxury condominium development project (a development that has very dubious public interest merit) to be in the normal course of progress.

Okay - so the City spends $50,000 on a project that will of be of potential direct benefit to those who need it least. Meanwhile; regular, ordinary, average, normal Americans are losing their jobs and their home mortgages.

I don't consider spending $50,000 of public money on a private luxury condominium development to be good public policy. I don't consider the rezone proposal, the proposed Larida Passage, or the City's facilitation of the rezone to be anything like what I would consider to be the normal course of progress.

Also check out a poem I just weblogged: Empty Store Fronts.

- Whitlock

p.s. So then what is the normal course of progress, what would it look like? I am going to be thinking about that, and I'll get back to it. In the meantime, please discuss.

This story has been updated with the complete collection of videos posted here: http://olyblog.net/video-city-council-public-hearing-isthmus-building-height-rezone

Have you seen the video from last Tuesday's public hearing? It's 5 hours - but if you're interested in the rezone issue, this is a must-see (yes - all 5 hours.)

I was truly impressed by the depth and breadth of the public comments presented to the Council last Tuesday.

Video from the hearing is in four parts. The introduction is just under 30 minutes, parts one and two are a little less than 100 minutes and part three is a little over 50 minutes.

Here are the videos. The video and audio isn't synched perfectly (especially the introduction (-maybe it can be repaired)). But the video does seem to work (at least it does for me.)

Here they are:

Introduction:

Part One:

Part Two:

Video of the hearing is posted to the city website. It has been up since sometime last week, I think it was posted Wednesday or Thursday. Anyway, it's up there, and I think it's worth watching all 5 hours, if you haven't seen it yet. I am also going to work on downloading the video and posting it to the Internet for purposes of embedding and viewing right here on little old OlyBlog. (so stay tuned)

Here's the link to the City Government webpage where you can find a link to the video from the September 16th meeting, it's in 4 parts: Olympia City Council

Hope you're having a great weekend!

bert

I have a rezone proposal for the Isthmus and I am going to share it here. I hope that my proposal gets a $50,000 investment from the City, because it's worthy - and that's for sure.

Here's my proposal, and I am re-telling this from someone who testified at Tuesday's meeting:

Change the building zoning heights on the Isthmus to 10 feet. Yes, that's right. No new structures to be built on the Isthmus over ten feet.

I want to see the results of a $50,000 investment in that proposal.

Ten feet building height limit: now that's what I call vision for the Isthmus. What do you think?

(disclaimer: of course I would rather see the development of a public park.)

I started a new thread out of fear any posting I made would get lost in the volumes under your original post HERE.

I would like to thank you for all your hard work and dedication and ability to respond to all the negativity and opposition with dignity and respect.  Some posts directed at you seem as if to be cornering you in hopes of changing your mind or making you a fool but you are able to escape with your stance intact!

I agree in the opinions of and would like to join OLY 2012 in their efforts to improve downtown and promote growth. 

Again, thank you for speaking for those of us who agree with the stance and opinions of Oly 2012 and feel we don't have a voice or fear reprisal.

For those of you who disagree with OLY 2012 and my opinion, please show the same respect and dignity Peter has in any responses you may have here.

More than 4400 Olympia voters have signed the Capitol Park Foundation Initiative, well over the required number. Friends of the Waterfront and others will continue to gather signatures until Thursday, when the signatures will be submitted to the city. The last time a successful initiative petition drive happened in Olympia was over a half a century ago in 1955, when citizens rose up to block the logging off of the Olympia Watershed and to create, instead, Watershed Park.

Given how rare an occurrence a successful initiative is in the City of Olympia, I'm surprised the Olympian hasn't reported on this.  4400 is a lot of naysayers!

story moved: Isthmus Photos II

I just posted a story about the Isthmus rezone issue: Isthmus Meeting on Tuesday.

Do views of the Capitol Campus belong to the public? Is it appropriate for views of the Capitol Campus of State Government to be privatized? Can a denial of the proposed rezone be understood as acting in the public interest? - I think you know where I stand. - bert

Don't Wall Off the Waterfront! (Friends of the Waterfront)

20/20 Vision Olympia

Olympia Capitol Park Foundation (welcome page)

Legislative Building Dome and Temple of Justice seen from the base of 4th Ave Bridge (part of Percival Landing)

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.