Larida's Passage

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LARIDA’S PASSAGE

Foreword.

I have chosen the Larida Passage project as my first essay here in an attempt to promote a full and rational discussion of a controversial local issue. I have made no secret of my support for this project. By way of full disclosure, I would note that I am a former employee of Triway Enterprises (although Larida Passage was not my project). However, I would also note that my support for this project stems not from my employment at Triway but from 30+ years of experience as a planner, and from my lifelong advocacy for quality downtowns.

Triway President Tri Vo has consistently stated that his primary goal in proposing the mixed-use Larida Passage development is to create a “signature project” as a catalyst for development in downtown Olympia. This statement is fully consistent with his publicly-stated desire to create “signature projects” for each of Thurston County’s three major cities. Absent the current economic climate, it is likely that each of the three projects that have been proposed would be in advanced stages of development.

Intro.

Larida Passage is proposed to be developed as a 5 – 7 story, mixed-use building on the “isthmus” located in downtown Olympia. The proposal calls for retail uses on the first floor, offices on the second floor, and residential condominiums on upper floors. The top floor features a publicly accessed viewing platform, with the possibility of a restaurant. The interior of the building is a parking structure designed to exceed the site’s minimum parking requirements.

Brief Regulatory Summary.

At the time of application, the height limit allowed by the City of Olympia was 35 feet, although the city had previously granted approval for a 3-story, 42-foot-high office building for the site. The approval for that office building remains valid.

In 2008, property owner and developer Tri Vo of Triway Enterprises requested a zoning variance to permit the construction of the mixed-use development described above. The variance is necessary because the zoning of the property limited building heights in this portion of downtown. When the Olympia Comprehensive Plan was drafted in the early ‘90s, the ‘isthmus’ area was the only part of downtown Olympia where heights were this strictly limited. One of the arguments for the variance request was to make the height limits and permitted uses in this area consistent with the remainder of downtown. Following extensive and well-attended public hearings before the Planning Commission and the City Council, the Council granted approval of the variance, subject to conditions.

Following the last City Council election, the Council voted to restrict height limits within the area to 35 feet. However, despite these recent height restrictions, the project appears to be vested under the approved variance.

The property also requires site plan and design review approval from the City of Olympia, and shoreline development from the State of Washington Department of Ecology.

Arguments Against the Development.

Opponents to the project have argued that:

1. A 5 – 7 story building will significantly limit views. Opponents cite a 1911 Capital Campus study that purports to limit development between the Capital campus and the water, in order to preserve views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains from the Capital.
2. The variance constitutes an illegal “spot zoning” that would grant preferential treatment to the developer.
3. The “market-rate” housing proposed for the site would not be affordable.
4. The project will create too much traffic.
5. The plan doesn’t provide enough parking.
6. Six former governors oppose the idea.
7. The site is better suited to become a public park.
8. Tri Vo can’t be trusted.
   

As to the “views:” I’ve actually read the 1911 Wilder and White Capital Campus Study. It does, indeed, call for the preservation of a very specific view corridor. That corridor runs directly north from the Capitol Building, across the fountain and the building that houses Traditions Café. The line of the view corridor is east of, and does not include the Larida Passage property. The project application included an exhaustive view survey. That survey took more than 2,000 pictures from every possible angle. All of those unedited photos were made available to the City Council. Among the conclusions of the study:

• A total of less than four percent of views of Puget Sound from the Capital Campus would be impacted.
• No mountain views from the Capital Campus would be impacted.
• No water views from any residential property would be impacted.

This last finding is important because a specific part of the state’s Shoreline Management Act requires “minimal” impacts on views from residential properties. In previous cases (and one specific 2008 case from Bellingham), the Shoreline Management Hearings Board determined that a 10% reduction in views from a residential property met the requirement as a “minimal impact.

As a planner, I have dealt with the issue of “spot zoning” in many venues across the country. Spot zoning occurs when a single piece of property benefits from the granting of a zoning designation significantly different than the designation of surrounding properties. In the Larida Passage application, four properties were included. And the application requested that these four properties be granted the same zoning status already enjoyed by other downtown properties. The application meets no definition of spot zoning that I have ever encountered.

Much has been made about the proposal for “million dollar condos” and market rate housing, when opponents clearly indicated that they would prefer affordable housing to be a component of the project. According to publicly-available information, downtown Olympia is made up of two census tracts. Within those two tracts, fully 95% of the housing stock is either subsidized or below-market-rate (source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, bureau of the Census). So, the question that needs to be asked is, how much “affordable housing” is enough? To some project opponents, it appears that “enough” is something more than 95%.

It is true that any development on this site will create traffic. And given the site’s location at the west entrance to downtown, this is a sensitive issue. The observation I would make is this: Triway submitted a traffic study that, with mitigation, met with the city’s approval. In addition, the traffic study clearly indicated that the Larida Passage project would result in less traffic than would be generated by the three-story office building that was already approved for the site.

With regard to parking, the project’s opponents steadfastly refused to acknowledge that which the city staff noted: the project provides significantly more off-street parking than what is required by ordinance. In other words, people wishing to visit Percival Landing or Capitol Lake would be able to take advantage of the additional parking to be provided on this site.

And the opposition of the six former governors begs the question: why didn’t any of them take action to protect this property while they were in office?

The public park argument is interesting in that it has captured the imagination of many. It hasn’t garnered any money, mind you, but many imaginations. One of the things that makes the argument interesting is that the subject property has been on the market twice in the past dozen years or so. And each time it’s been on the market, its availability has been brought to the attention of city and state officials. And each time, both the city and the state have passed on the opportunity. In short, the property had no value to the public, until it had value for development. Funny how that works.

To those who say they can’t trust Tri Vo I can only say, that has not been my experience. I have found Tri to be an honorable man. Is he a tough negotiator? Absolutely! But in the time I have known him, he has stood by his word.

More About the Opposition.

One of the driving forces behind the opposition to Larida Passage is former Olympia Mayor Bob Jacobs. Jacobs has a long history of opposing any development downtown, with the exception of subsidized housing. He was especially energetic in his opposition to the Farmer’s Market. The ‘flying pig’ weathervane on the roof of the Market is a testament to his infamous quote, “We’ll build that Farmer’s Market when pigs fly!

The Chicken or the Egg?

Like many business leaders in the community, Tri Vo has contributed to many causes. His contributions have included donations to the campaigns of many local political leaders in city and state government. Some have argued that campaign contributions to members of the City Council “bought” their support for Larida Passage. In light of the way that political campaigns are funded in this country, I find these arguments troubling. They suggest that members of the City Council are incapable of independent thought or action when dealing with a development proposal submitted by a campaign contributor. I believe that if we were to demand recusal of any member of a governing body on the basis of prior campaign support, virtually no action would ever be taken. The issue begs the “chicken or egg” question: do individuals contribute to candidates whose positions they agree with, or do candidates agree with the positions of the individuals from whom they receive contributions?

Author’s Note: I have not personally made a contribution to the campaign of any current or former member of the Olympia City Council. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I will note that I have made past contributions to Capital Playhouse. The most recent contribution was in 2008, within a few days of the vandalism that occurred there as a result of Jeff Kingsbury’s support of the Larida Passage project.

In Closing …

Preparing this material has been an interesting process for me. I love downtown Olympia. I am excited by the renovations being done to Percival Landing. I’m looking forward to the Farmer’s Market reopening in the Spring. There are some great shops and restaurants downtown. BUT there’s one critical element missing: residents with disposable income. Sure, it’s good that so many state office workers and others are there during the day. And it’s great when the Washington Center, Harlequin, or Capital Playhouse bring people out at night. But we need people living there to make downtown Olympia an “eighteen-hour city.” We need the kind of night life that only happens when people live downtown, and the folks living in the subsidized housing just aren’t doing it for us. I believe that Larida Passage can be the catalyst to start that process.

I have not been associated with Triway Enterprises for more than two years. During that time, the economy that caused my departure from Triway has gotten significantly worse. Most of the trusts created for Triway development projects have been foreclosed upon, and Triway has filed for bankruptcy protection. However, this same fate has befallen many, many other builders and developers in Washington and across the country.

It may seem naïve, but I remain hopeful that Larida Passage will someday be built. I’ve worked in the field of planning and development long enough to know that these economic conditions happen in cycles, and that things will eventually change. I am very much looking forward to that.