Olympia to Declare Homelessness a Public Health Emergency

Above: An encampment on the corner of State and Washington Streets, across from Intercity Transit, on a recent Saturday morning in downtown Olympia. On any given night in Olympia, approximately 130 people can be found sleeping in doorways and on the street within an 81 block area of downtown.

The main causes of homelessness are related to economic and family stability

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The homelessness situation in Olympia has reached crisis proportions.

At its July 17 meeting, the Olympia City Council is expected to present on first and final reading an ordinance declaring homelessness as a public health emergency. 

Doing so will allow the city to move forward on financing and other efforts to tackle the issue.

The ordinance outlines how the experience of being unsheltered is traumatic and endangers public health. Individuals living out of doors are exposed to harmful weather conditions, communicable diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, respiratory illnesses, malnutrition, and violence.

Medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma are exacerbated because there is no safe place to properly store medications or syringes.

When a person’s health is continually compromised by unstable conditions, health care services are rarely effective. Inpatient hospitalization or residential drug treatment and mental health care rarely have lasting impacts when the person is returned to a homeless environment.

The cities of Seattle and Tacoma, Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles have already passed similar resolutions in order to provide expedited emergency services and shelters for unsheltered individuals, families and unaccompanied youth.

Above:  From a parking lot near Intercity Transit on Saturday morning, volunteers with Joyful Hands Ministries make pancakes and other breakfast items to serve street dependent individuals and others in need in downtown Olympia.

Street feed coordinator Dee Hampton said that close to 300 people were fed. “For this time of the month, that is about average. We have seen over the last year or so such an increase in our homeless population,” she said.

“My heart is always overwhelmed by how many of our families love to give donations to help us continue feeding them even though they give a dollar or 50 cents. They give what they have because they are so thankful we are there for them each week. That is a story that I want to share…the thankfulness and love we receive back from our homeless community,” said Hampton.

Olympia, Thurston County Statistics

Anna Schlect, City of Olympia housing program manager, discussed the most recent Thurston County Point in Time homeless census data with Little Hollywood. 

Each January, Thurston County conducts a “point-in-time” count to capture the number and characteristics of people living without a home. The census began in 2006.

The 2018 Thurston County Point in Time census conducted in January identified 835 homeless persons. 

The definition of homelessness includes people living in emergency shelters, transitional housing and substandard housing.

Of that number, 320 were unsheltered individuals, living out of doors, in cars, under bridges and highway overpasses and other places not meant for human habitation. This number marks a 56 percent increase from 2017.

According to a Point in Time homelessness related survey, the top four reasons for homelessness are job loss and unemployment, eviction and loss of housing, family rejection, and domestic violence.

Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed said they lived in Thurston County before becoming homeless.

Rent Increases

Not all people experiencing homelessness sleep outside. 

“Oftentimes, people blame homeless individuals as though it’s their personal failing that causes their homelessness,” said Schlect. 

“Looking at the data, homelessness rises and falls with the economy. It shows that homelessness rose to a high point in 2010, which was also the high point of the recession in Washington State, and that it started dropping with the recovery. But in the last couple of years, it started spiking up sharply again, in sync with rent increases.

“In a parallel study called the Assessment of Fair Housing, we did a survey of nearly 1,200 people. Of those who are renters, half said they experienced a rent increase of an average of $100 a month in the past year. So that’s a very significant pressure on low income households,” Schlect said.

Little Hollywood recently met an employed Olympia woman who is paying $925 a month for a poorly insulated, two bedroom apartment on Olympia’s westside. A stable and responsible tenant, she and her pets have enjoyed living there for five years.

Unexpectedly, her landlord recently raised the rent $575, for a total monthly rent of $1,500, starting August 1. She is unable to make that financial leap.

Reflective of the data, her story is not unique.

Next Steps

On July 18, the council’s Finance Committee will present an oral report on estimated costs and funding for the ordinance. That meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. and be held at Olympia City Hall, 601 4th Avenue East.

The ordinance would stay in effect until June 2021, at which time the city council would determine if conditions warrant keeping the public health emergency measures in place.

Little Hollywood often writes about homelessness issues, past Point in Time census events, and unsheltered, street dependent, houseless individuals. For more information, go to Little Hollywood and use the search button to type in key words.

Indigenous Occupation Continues at State Capitol

Above: Dakota Case, Puyallup, and Eva Ingram, Santee Sioux Niabrara Nebraska, start Tuesday morning with a blessing on the grounds of the Washington State Capitol Campus. Ingram, left, is one of seven women staying in a tarpee overnight outside the Legislative Building.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Drumming, singing, prayer and ceremony, along with the burning of sage and cedar, continued on day three Wednesday as several indigenous women occupy the land and spend nights in a tarpee on the Washington State Capitol Campus. Supporters are always present. 

At about 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, a second notice was delivered to occupiers to vacate the grounds or face arrest. 

Everyone was respectful as two Department of Enterprise Services representatives handed out the notice, explaining that they just wanted consistency in the application of the rules. The notice cites Washington Administrative Code regarding the prohibition of camping and a process for obtaining a permit. 

According to the notice, the Department of Enterprise Services is open to issuing the group a permit to erect their structures and displays on a nearby location that doesn't damage Capitol grounds.

Robert Satiacum, Puyallup, and others spoke with the representatives and showed them a copy of the Medicine Creek Treaty. That interaction was videotaped on a live Facebook feed by Angie Spencer.

On Wednesday, they were served another notice and were told it would be the final one. The announcement was made that everyone would be subject to arrest, but the order was unclear as to where observers could stand and not be arrested. 

As of Wednesday evening, there was no police presence.

Eva Ingram, Santee Sioux Niabrara Nebraska, of Seattle has been sleeping in the tarpee. She runs her own company, Independent Two Spirit Media, and explained why she was there to Little Hollywood.

“We are here so we can pray over this land – as indigenous people we look to our women as life givers and life bringers. You as women teach our young ones the ways that we should live, and bring them up that this land is for you, and you are to respect it, the four-legged, the two-legged...and that’s the power that the life bringers and life givers hold. It’s more power than any male will ever understand. So that’s something that we needed here. There’s never been in history seven women to occupy a tarpee or teepee or any kind of structure in front of a Capitol Building in the world. No matter what happens, we made history,” she said. 

Ingram and supporters say 2018 is the time for action against the climate crisis. 

The occupation is also to bring awareness of the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) plant being constructed by Puget Sound Energy at the Port of Tacoma on Puyallup Tribal land. The plant, which will serve natural gas customers and maritime transportation needs, does not yet have all the proper permits. Authorities say the permits will continue to be obtained until it is scheduled to open in 2019.

Dakota Case, Puyallup, explained how the LNG will further threaten the Puyallup tribal way of life.

“We live there, right at the mouth of the river. The Tacoma City Council allowed PSE to do their own environmental impact statement and the site is on top of a 70 acre solvent plume – a Superfund site - that’s over an aquifer...I don’t know how they got the dirt samples clean enough to present them…it’s on top of a leaking arsenic site and they’re trying to figure out how to clean it up. How they got past everything is beyond me….

“The toxic air pollutants will emit 81 pounds of ammonia a day at peak, but they only did the environmental impact statement at 50 percent…It goes up into the air and will come back down right into our water. The air quality in the City of Tacoma is so polluted that we have one of the highest cancers rates in the State of Washington.”

He says that in four more years, there will be no more salmon.

“Our elders are coming forward and saying it’s a salmon estuary, that’s stated in the land claim settlement. The pH balance is already off in our water – our fish are having a hard time accumulating at the mouth of the river before they head up stream. They’re not able to spawn so we have to gut them to get the eggs out of there and fertilize the river manually instead of them letting them do it the natural way….Only twenty five percent of our salmon run is original, the rest is imported. The fish farms and the LNG are a threat to us so we’re trying to set up a government to government to negotiate. 

“Enough is enough – we’re protecting our part of the Salish Sea....”

As our interview concluded in the still of night, the rhythmic sound of rain and indigenous drumming and singing got louder.

Case encouraged Governor Jay Inslee to come out from his office or the nearby Governor’s Mansion to talk with them, hoping the drumming and singing was loud enough for him to hear.

Above: The Washington State Capitol Building and tarpee occupied by several indigenous women on Wednesday evening.

Native Women Occupy Washington State Capitol Overnight

Above: Seven Native women peacefully occupied the Washington State Capitol Campus in front of the Legislative Building in Olympia on Monday night. After being told to disperse, a representative for Governor Jay Inslee told them that they would be allowed to stay. Negotiations with a federal representative will occur on Tuesday.

Interview with Water Protector Janene Hampton

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The first day of the Washington State Legislature’s 60 day session in Olympia on Monday began with a climate justice rally organized by 350.org and other climate action groups and ended with the overnight occupation of the Capitol Campus by seven Native women.

Major themes for the morning rally were stopping Puget Sound Energy’s liquid natural gas facility which is being built at the Port of Tacoma on Puyallup Tribal land, encouraging renewable energy, an end to fish farming, and protection of the 76 remaining Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound.

While the rally was underway, a Native encampment with several “tarpees” occupied the strip of grass located between the Legislative Building and the Temple of Justice. 

Tarpees are portable shelters made out of tarps and not to be confused with teepees.

Above: The Native encampment occupied the Washington State Capitol Campus in Olympia on Monday.

An unexpected situation for Capitol Campus facility staff occurred when they approached the camp at about 4:40 p.m. and requested that the “tents” be taken down, saying they were in violation of Capitol Campus grounds rules. 

According to policy, the structure could be there but they would have to put a wood floor down, remove the stakes and not have anyone in it overnight and move it every five days. 

One tarpee was occupied by seven indigenous women, including a 12 year old, who were threatened with arrest for trespassing.

When they did not leave, representatives for Governor Jay Inslee came out and delivered a message to say that the Washington State Patrol could be called to clear the camp.

A civil discussion of the issues ensued between Native camp representatives and Inslee’s staff. Inslee was working on his State of the State address, which he will deliver Tuesday at noon.

The land that the Washington State Capitol Campus occupies is Medicine Creek Treaty Land. 

After it was clarified that the Medicine Creek Treaty supersedes the State of Washington, a representative for Inslee came out and said that although they were trespassing and the occupation was unpermitted, the Washington State Patrol would not do a sweep of the camp as long as there was no danger or violence. 

The women were expected to spend the night on the Capitol Campus grounds in front of the Legislative Building. Negotiations with a federal representative will occur on Tuesday.

A live feed posted on Paul Cheoketen Wagner’s Facebook account chronicled the drama as it unfolded.

When Wagner requested that Governor Inslee call a federal government agent who deals with treaty rights, Inslee’s representative asked Wagner, “How long do you want to stay?”

“Fifty-nine days,” replied Wagner. “It’s not so much to ask - we’re on our own land!” Wagner laughed.

Saying that the LNG terminal violates all the treaties and cultural genocide is being delivered, Wagner said, “We’re here…we’re going to be here and exercise our treaty rights…and make sure they know that we’re doing this work, and they need to do this work too.…The luxury of time is gone. The luxury of weak decision making and decision making for the corporations and profiteering – that era is over and we need to realize that we are in a different era today and the choices are limited if we want to have a future....Celebrate the victory we have tonight – for future generations.”

Above: Paul Cheoketen Wagner, Saanich First Nations of Vancouver Island, who is credited with creating the tarpees used at Standing Rock, spoke earlier in the day at the climate justice rally on the Capitol Campus. Elizabeth Satiacum, Quileute, in purple coat, holds up a copy of the Medicine Creek Treaty.

Interview with Water Protector Janene Hampton

The night was quiet at about 9:00 p.m. when Little Hollywood interviewed Janene Hampton, Colville and Pentictan Indian Band, one of seven women spending the night in the tarpee.

A massage therapist and mother of three grown daughters, Hampton says she closed her massage practice to go to Standing Rock and stayed for six months. 

She now works at a spa in Bellevue that is supportive of her being in Olympia. She told them that she may need 60 days off, she says, laughing.

While the Washington State Patrol patrolled the area, the conversation turned more emotional as Hampton described how indigenous people have always known that they are supposed to protect the water.

“...The womb itself is water, the uterus, where the spirit goes from the spirit world into the human form...that is why we are water protectors. The men are the fire keepers but we are the life givers.

“Three hundred Tribes gathered to try and stop the Dakota Pipeline. There are 700 pipelines in the United States, and we are fighting the LNG in Tacoma. It is on a fault line….We have the right to our way of life, so we’re here because we want to be heard. Even today, when we were in [the opening ceremonies for the House and Senate], there were chants - ‘It’s not an Evergreen State if you don’t take care of the water.’ We are literally fighting for our culture not just for us but for everybody and not just here in Olympia.

“I have to talk like you in order for you to listen and that hurts because I’m losing my tradition. This is my family. It’s a sacrifice. It’s not easy. I worked double shifts so I could be here and not fundraise and ask for money. To me it’s really important to be self-sufficient...You don’t want to be a burden to the movement. You want to be able to help. 

“We have until noon on Tuesday and a federal agent will come...I honestly think they [Capitol Campus grounds staff] were stumped as to where they stood legally. I’m in traditional dress and I think they respect me more when I’m dressed traditional. I’m representing the people...I have to be pure of heart and do things in a good way. I cannot be violent, I cannot engage with them. This is a mentality that we got from Standing Rock...[law enforcement] were paid to try to make us engage so that they could fire upon us…and so, that’s the way that I walk, gently, so that I don’t put lives in danger. I am literally in ceremony.”

“When you’re in ceremony, you’re not supposed to draw attention to yourself...people take pictures of you all the time, you’re in a spotlight, you still have to represent the people. Just because I’m out here doesn’t mean I want to look broken. There’s a standard that you want to put out there because people look at us like we’re dirty and uneducated, they just don’t have respect. A lot of people don’t even know we exist. They think we’re in history books….

“I do educate people when I give massages. They’re on the table for an hour, so they’re like, “So, how long have you been here?” I’m like, “Well….” 

And then Hampton laughs again.

Above: Robert Satiacum, center, holds a copy of the Medicine Creek Treaty on the Capitol Campus on Monday.

Amtrak Derailment Spurs Appeal for Blood Donations

Above: Lynette Manning, donor service recruiter at Bloodworks Northwest in Olympia, answers questions from Amos Wood, who arrived to donate blood in response to the Amtrak train derailment near Olympia on Monday morning.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The public response for blood donations in the aftermath of the early Monday morning Amtrak train derailment near Olympia has been overwhelming but much appreciated by local blood donor centers.

There continues to be a special need for O-type blood and AB plasma and platelets.

At 5:00 p.m., donor service recruiter Lynette Manning at Bloodworks Northwest, 1220 Eastside Street SE in Olympia, was busy. She said the office had accepted about 200 donors on Monday. 

While the office was still packed with dozens waiting to donate blood, potential blood donors lined up outside but were not turned away. Instead, Manning was busy scheduling appointments for donors to come back throughout the week and fielded a lot of questions about donating blood.

Amos Wood arrived and scheduled an appointment for Saturday. 

At first he wasn’t sure he could donate blood because he has a fresh tattoo, but Manning assured him that as long as the tattoo was done in a licensed facility in Washington, Oregon, Idaho or California, there was no problem. 

“The rules have changed about that,” she added.

A woman said she just had a biopsy that day and wondered if she could donate blood. Manning questioned her. Did you have blood drawn? Did you receive tissue from someone else? The woman said no to both questions, so Manning told her it wasn’t a problem.

Little Hollywood asked Manning what she wants people to know about donating blood.

“With tragedies like this, although it’s very sad and a surprise, it’s helpful for people to do this on a regular basis because a lot of the blood that’s being used for today’s patients is blood that we collected days and weeks ago. It’s great we get this kind of turnout but it’s really important to get consistent donations coming in. We need about 800 donations a day in order to keep up with the needs for Western Washington. Bloodworks Northwest is the sole provider for blood for over 90 hospitals,” Manning said.

Bloodworks Northwest has donor centers from Bellingham, Washington to Eugene, Oregon.

According to news sources, the train derailment resulted in at least three deaths and more than 100 injured. Thurston County first responders were involved at the scene and the injured were taken to local hospitals.

Blood donor appointments can be made online at schedule.bloodworksnw.org or by calling 1-800-398-7888. Information about center locations and times can be found at bloodworksnw.org.

Olympia’s Sea Level Rise Plan Begins with Port, LOTT

Above: At the southernmost tip of Puget Sound, Budd Inlet surrounds downtown Olympia. In the distance is the Washington State Capitol Building. At far right, the vacant nine story Capitol Center Building. Photo taken at high tide on March 10, 2016.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Collaborating for the first time on a sea level rise response plan, the City of Olympia authorized its city manager to sign an interlocal agreement with the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance at its regular Tuesday evening meeting.

The three entities will work together to focus on the development of a sea level rise plan and provide recommendations for capital projects, funding needs, implementation schedules, and emergency response protocols.

An engineering firm, AECOM, has been chosen to develop the project’s scope of work. AECOM has assisted other communities in sea level rise response planning, particularly in the San Francisco Bay area.

City staff will report back to council in mid to late May with a detailed scope of work and public outreach plan. Overall, the process is expected to take 18 months to develop.

How the collaboration and conversation will unfold at the Port of Olympia and LOTT Clean Water Alliance is uncertain.

Rachael Jamison, environmental program director for the Port of Olympia, was present at the meeting, but did not address the council. 

Jamison told Little Hollywood that the Port has tracked the city’s research and work on sea level rise issues and port commissioners have received sea level rise reports in the past.

“Independent of commission meetings, the Port is going to provide opportunities for the public to participate in a way which will be clear once we have a plan. We recognize that there are vulnerabilities and we have to work together,” she said.

No representatives of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were present at the meeting Tuesday night.

The City of Olympia has acknowledged and responded to sea level rise concerns since 1990.

Since 2007, staff has provided city council and the community with annual updates on current climate change and sea level rise research.

Illustrating their information with Olympia specific inundation maps, city staff gave council the most sobering sea level rise report to date at a study session in February 2016.

According to the National Research Council, four and a half feet of sea level rise is expected worldwide by 2100.

Andy Haub, City of Olympia’s director of water resources, gave a sea level rise report to the community on February 8, 2017 at the Olympia Center.

As he has reported in the past, a one foot sea level rise means flooding would occur 30 times a year in downtown Olympia.

Two feet of sea level rise would flood downtown 160 times a year, and four feet of sea level rise would flood downtown 440 times a year, which is more than once a day.

The city set a policy in 2010 to protect downtown and that is reflected in the goals and policies of its Comprehensive Plan.

Above: Susan Clark, City of Olympia senior city planner, will act as project manager for the city’s sea level rise plan. She has a long professional history with planning and water related issues.

Susan Clark, a senior city planner with the City of Olympia since early January, is taking the lead as the city's sea level rise project manager for day to day issues. 

Andy Haub and Eric Christensen, City of Olympia's water resources planning and engineering manager, will continue to be involved and play a major role.

Interviewed by Little Hollywood on Tuesday, Clark discussed her background and her new job. A graduate of Timberline High School in Lacey, Clark now lives in Tacoma.

Clark is responsible for planning activities related to Olympia’s drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater utilities, and is working on the completion of the city’s storm and surface water utility plan.

Sea level rise is a new, additional responsibility to the position.

Clark started her professional career in 1990, helping to develop Pierce County’s Growth Management Act Comprehensive Plan. She later transferred to the Public Works Department, where she was responsible for drinking water issues, including participation in watershed planning.

After spending 15 years with Pierce County, Clark worked with Tacoma Water as their water resources planner. She also processed water rights at the state Department of Ecology and worked at the state Department of Health as a regional planner with the drinking water program.

Multiple downtown Olympia development projects by the city and the port are underway in precisely the area destined to be first impacted by sea level rise.

These vulnerable areas, built on fill, are well within the historic shoreline of Budd Inlet.

Asked about her interest in sea level rise issues, she said she has visited Annapolis, Maryland, and has studied their issues.

“They have an old downtown, right on Chesapeake Bay. Other communities have aspects of their plans that we can learn from….As a professional planner, I am very interested in the opportunity, and feel honored, to assist a community with this relatively new area of planning. Throughout my 25 plus year career, I have learned that a planner is a generalist, bringing organizational skills and a different way of thinking to the table,” said Clark.

Little Hollywood regularly writes about downtown Olympia sea level rise issues, shoreline management, and related development. For more information about the city’s reports, including the February 8, 2017 report and the February 2016 report, past high tide events, photos, and community concerns, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search button.

To stay up to date with the city’s sea level rise plans, go to www.olympiawa.gov/SeaLevelRise, or contact Susan Clark, senior city planner at sclark@ci.olympia.wa.us or (360) 753-8321.

Tumwater Passes Brewery Property Ordinance

Above: The five story RST Cellars Building at 240 Custer Way is part of the planned action land use ordinance passed by the Tumwater City Council on Tuesday evening. Built over a period of years starting in 1966, the industrial building housed large beer cooling tanks and is not historic. It is located near the historic Schmidt House. In promotional materials, Falls Development has marketed it as a possible hotel with retail on the ground floor. Recently, it has been suggested as the location for a craft brewing and distillery center. It could also be a structured parking garage. Falls Development has said that the redevelopment of this building is one of its first priorities. Photo taken April 16, 2016.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“We’re on our way, for better or worse,” said City of Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet, after the Tumwater city council voted 5 – 2 on Tuesday evening in favor of a planned action land use ordinance that includes the site of the Old Brewhouse.

Councilmembers Ed Hildreth and Joan Cathey voted no.

The action concluded a lengthy public hearing and finalized a land use plan three years in the making for the 32 acre area currently owned by developer George Heidgerken and Falls Development LLC.  The area is roughly bounded by Custer Way to the south, the Deschutes River to the west, Capitol Lake to the north and the railroad to the east.

Out of three land use alternatives offered by the city, the modified ordinance was a compromise of sorts, landing somewhere between a do-nothing approach and a maximum redevelopment build out. 

The council did not give Heidgerken his desired full build-out, instead opting for an alternative that limits a new parking garage to 625 stalls. Parking for a new building, a residential component, would be within that garage.

It also limits any new building within the planned action area to a maximum elevation of 126 feet, which is the ground level in the immediate vicinity of the Schmidt House, to preserve views from the house.

Offering a flexible design, the types of development and square footage of new development may be shifted between land uses, but the total of new PM peak hour vehicle trips can not exceed 306 trips.

The planned action ordinance will be reviewed again in five years by the city’s State Environmental Policy Act official, at which time it could be amended.

On April 5, the City of Tumwater approved a letter of agreement between the city and Falls Development LLC to acquire the six story, historic tower. The acquisition would also include easements to access the property and construct trails.

The tower is currently owned by Heidgerken, who has not yet signed the letter of agreement. He has until April 30 to do so.

During public comment time on Tuesday evening, concern was expressed by a member of the public that Heidgerken may back out and not sign the agreement if the council did not give Heidgerken his desired full build out.

Anthony Hempsted, a new hire of Falls Development LLC, spoke to that concern, saying it has taken partnership and vision to get this far with the city.

“Clearly, the city and Falls Development are in a long term relationship….In no way, shape or form would we walk away from it,” said Hempsted about the letter of agreement.

He praised the council for a transparent website, saying he had reviewed videos of past meetings.  

Regarding the ordinance, he said that Falls Development does not think it is perfect and would have preferred a full build out and more parking, but is willing to work with the city in good faith and the ordinance as written.

He said Falls Development will work on the first phase as soon as possible, the RST Cellars building, saying it could be a great craft brewing and distillery center, and would be a natural catalyst for future development.

The second phase would be the historic site.

“We have not done extensive work on what that would look like in the future. Any development would have to fit within the guidelines of the Historic (Preservation) Commission and we will certainly not do anything to infringe upon the historic nature of the four buildings.…”

Redevelopment of the area includes preservation or restoration of the historic buildings within the planned action area, which are the Old Brewhouse, the east and west warehouses, and the keg house.

Several individuals spoke in support of the ordinance.

Michael Cade, executive director of the Thurston Economic Development Council, admitted this was not an easy site, but spoke in support of the planned action and mentioned other successful planned actions he’s been involved with such as the Southwest Everett Environmental Impact Area and the Bellingham Waterfront District.

Mariella Cummings, chair of the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce, also supported the ordinance, saying the Chamber recognizes the importance of the brewhouse property as a critical jewel in our community’s character. She commended the council, as did others, for the creative, deliberative, thoughtful approach the city has used to get this far in the process.

David Nicandri, a member of Tumwater’s Historic Preservation Committee, the group that will ultimately decide whether or not to issue Heidgerken the required Certificate of Appropriateness for his projects, if they are ever submitted, spoke in support of the planned action. Nicandri is also the former longtime director of the Washington State Historical Society.

Speaking at length as he did at the April 5 public hearing in support of the city’s acquisition of the historic tower, Nicandri likened the city’s challenge regarding the Old Brewery to the City of Tacoma’s revitalization of the Old Union Station into a district courthouse.

Explaining that it was a former Superfund site, he said that every development project has its limitations and opportunities. The Union Station had outlived its usefulness as a station and the only way it was going to be saved was if new development filled in around it. Ideas for its purpose were bantered around. He said the city did the necessary planning and was ready to go when the creative energies of the community finally mobilized around the project.

“So it is possible, with solid design criteria… to do significant infill and do it sensitively, as was done in the case of the Tacoma Union Station project.”

Adding that the Old Brewhouse site is not a pristine, environmental preserve, he continued, saying that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was urban Tacoma. He said this property, when fully built out in 10 to 20 years, could be nationally recognized.

Others expressed concerns or spoke in opposition to the ordinance.

Krag Unsoeld, president of the South Puget Environmental Education Clearinghouse (SPEECH), expressed concerns about sea level rise for this area and that all the environmental impacts of developing the hillside, removal of the artesian springs, and widening of the road to access the site have not been taken into consideration.

He also expressed concern about the city’s questionable business practice of entering into a hefty financial commitment to restore the tower, and asked how the city is going to follow through if it does not get grant money.

He said the situation was like a tragic comedy.

“…There is some belief that none of this (redevelopment) will ever happen….If you believe that Heidgerken is not serious (about his plans)… then don’t rely on him backing out in hopes of getting what you hope to attain.  Just draw the line and say no, that’s not appropriate, it’s not environmentally appropriate….”

Ryan Carlson said he supports the idea of redevelopment at the site but that the ordinance went too far in scope and scale.  He said that because the brewery is in a historic district, the bar for redevelopment should be set higher, and urged the council to maintain the integrity of the site. Specifically, he said the mitigation plan for the hillside’s stability would require significant re-engineering and the integrity of the site would be lost in the process.

Speaking of diminished integrity, Carlson said he grew up on Tumwater Hill, and noted that the once spectacular Overlook Park, which had allowed for a 360 degree, panoramic view of the city and the region, was reduced to the size of a postage stamp.

Others who spoke in opposition to the ordinance included former Olympia Mayor Bob Jacobs.

“It is ironic that at the same time Olympia is working to eliminate its 'Mistake on the Lake,' Tumwater seems determined to have one of its own,” he said.

The vote was put in the form of a motion by Councilmember Neil McClanahan who said everyone has done their homework. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Tom Oliva.

Councilmember Nicole Hill said that while this was the hardest issue she has considered since she’s been on the council, she was pleased that details have been tightened up in the last few weeks.

Councilmember Joan Cathey expressed concern that the council is not in control of the “sweet spot” –  the balance between responsible development and protecting the environment.

Councilmembers were influenced by the thoughtful comments made by the public and all appreciated the high level of civil discourse demonstrated by the public and councilmembers.

Councilmember Tom Oliva, choking up, said the issue was surprisingly hard to talk about, and reminisced how, 20 years ago, he saw the tower, was immediately intrigued by it and wondered why it was dark.

Saying the planned action ordinance was “a little bit overbuilt, in my opinion,” Oliva said he was hopeful and confident that this last opportunity to preserve the buildings will work.

For more photos and information about the planned action, the Old Brewery property and historic tower, George Heidgerken, Falls Development LLC, Tumwater, the brewery district planning efforts and related issues, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com.

For more information about the Planned Action from the City of Tumwater, go to www.ci.tumwater.wa.us.