HomeMy WebLinkAbout081115 Walker, Scott - Pre-scoping - VI
From:Judy Surber
To:Amber Long
Subject:FW: Comp Plan Lens
Date:Tuesday, August 11, 2015 10:44:51 AM
Hi Amber - Please enter this into the Comp Plan written comments log. - J
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Walker \[mailto:walkers@olympus.net\]
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 9:57 AM
To: CityCouncil
Cc: Monica MickHager; DB Jahnke; Lance Bailey; Judy Surber; David Timmons
Subject: Comp Plan Lens
Hi all,
Please forgive me for the length of this email.
I wanted to offer a few comments to you regarding last night’s discussions about which desired community goal
should become the organizing issue for the comp plan update.
The first is about finding what prevents the community from realizing our original comp plan goals. It is well worth
taking more time on. The elephant in our community is our continued attachment to the car as our pinnacle
organizing element. Please take time to consider what I write since NOT ONE of the 5 goals can ever be realized
without putting the car back in its place. It has, it does, and will continue to completely undermine every one of the
goals. I will take them one at a time.
Affordable housing can never be met by low income residents as long as they also must spend dearly on car
ownership; owning a car is a requirement in a community so lacking in dependable and convenient transit.
Affordable housing can also not be met when policy requires such a large land area and expense for both the roads
to travel on and the storing of cars at the curb as well as in the homes. An investment in an excellent and
dependable transit system is our best investment for creating more affordable housing and living, and for putting
more money in the pockets of residents- the better for them to spend it. An excellent transit connection to the Tri-
area is without doubt the best investment for low-wage workers to access the of center of the county. Millennials do
not want cars the way we did when their age; a walking, biking, and transit rich community is an attractant for
them.
The jobs/economy goal is a little trickier to explore, but remember that the commercial area which generates the
most income, the most tax revenue, and the most jobs, is the area that has the least amount of parking per area of
building. We are only short of land for commercial and industrial development due to not managing for its
productivity, but instead by assigning exorbitant amounts for parking that could be used for revenue generation. An
investment in an excellent and dependable transit system is our best investment for creating more revenue
generating lands, and for putting more money in the pockets of residents- the better for them to spend it.
Additionally, a dependable transit connection to the Bainbridge ferry is our community's best investment for bring
more visitors to town.
Addressing the climate change goal of reducing our GHG’s to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 can ONLY be met if
we reduce vehicle miles travelled, or VMT. As well as continuing to invest in walking and bicycling facilities, an
investment in an excellent and dependable transit system is our best investment for addressing our contribution to
climate change. It is only a matter of a short time until a state-wide or national carbon cap is implemented. A
community that has already invested for being more walkable, bikable, and transit rich, will be miles ahead of
other’s land uses as well as continuing to be a desirable visitor destination. Additionally, an excellent transit
connection to the Tri-area is without doubt the best investment for preventing the DOT from implementing their
plan to alleviate traffic on Rhody Drive by building a 4-5 lane “improvement”.
PC-14
It seems a no-brainer that there can be no quality of life if we continue to organize our community based on the
needs of cars. Cars bring danger, air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, loss of native habitat, sprawl,
climate change, and an unhealthy life-style along with other ills.
I will end this with a plea. The only organizing principal available or necessary so to realize our shared community
goals is that of transportation, both of investment and policy. It is time to retire the car from its pinnacle and get
back on our feet. You all know that. What you have to do is take the lead and become a model for other
communities. We are going there whether we choose to or not so it’s best to get there early.
Most sincerely,
Scott G. Walker
PC-14