Good evening Mayor and Council. My name is Rosemarie Ives, former Redmond mayor 1992-2007, and I am here to provide comment and some history relating to the Town Center Amendments on tonight’s agenda. Although I would like to comment on Tree Regulations, four minutes is hardly enough time for such important issue. Such a full agenda precludes the public from giving any substantive testimony on more than one item. I hope that Madam Mayor would consider my making a few remarks after testimony from others is concluded.
I was on the Planning Commission when the first conceptual plan for Town Center was presented in preparation of the annexation of the beloved, treed 120 acre property into the City and the heart of our downtown. The Planning Commission worked for 18 months in 1986-1987. I was an opponent of “the enclosed mall that was initially proposed while the late former councilmember Richard Cole was a proponent. Once the land use decision was made, together Mr. Cole and I authored the 39 conditions that constituted a compact with the community and that were eventually placed on the development. In 1987, Mr. Cole and I were elected to City Council….Together we led the council through much of its process of deliberation over the next two years. In 1992 when I was elected mayor, Town Center owners proposed a new open air, pedestrian and downtown oriented design incorporating the 39 conditions encouraging redevelopment and revitalization in the adjacent downtown. that was approved in 1995 in Development Guide Amendment 94-004. Construction began in 1996.
After reviewing the documents presented to the council on March 1 and those of the Planning Commission as well as listening to the Planning Commission process which was limited in scope. I did extensive research on Town Center documents, the 2011 Comprehensive Plan update and Development Guide Amendments and ordinances spending more than 20 hours in the past few weeks. I contacted former councilmembers Nancy McCormick, Pat Vache and Jim Robinson about what I heard, learned and about was being recommended. It was quite clear to me from the materials as well as comments made by staff, that there was misinformation, conjecture and opinion and misunderstanding expressed as facts and that there was little if any knowledge of Town Center’s development history. It was evident that not all pertinent documents had been thoroughly researched, read, reviewed, considered or analyzed by staff.
In addition to three staff members stating to the planning commission that the master plan expired in 2005 which is not true and has not been documented, In fact, several times in the 2011 Comp Plan update there is stated that TC development is controlled by the masterplan. One blaring example of staff’s mindset is their rationale for abandoning significant elements of the master plan was about Sound Transit’s arrival in downtown in 2024 and thus there was a need for additional density. Sound Transit’s arrival in two years is old news—the present alignment was adopted by the council over 16 years ago in 2006 and was reflected in deliberations in 2006-2007 in the Overlake update that included parallel discussions about downtown at the same time. The 2011 Comp Plan update in 2011, more than ten years ago now, anticipated Sound Transits arrival in 2024. There are other examples of poor staff work but time will not allow it tonight.
For these serious reasons, I am recommending that the council postpone any discussion tonight and remand these amendments back to staff.
The development of Town Centers 120 acre parcel has a long history. It was THE controversial issue for at least 15 years with extensive public involvement for the 12 years preceding its construction in 1996. Town Center is the largest development in all of downtown. These amendments are significant changes that need to be vetted with the public. They have implications not only for Town Center but can influence and impact other decisions in downtown. These amendments need to be processed after the 2050 vision work is completed. This will give Staff time needed to study the extensive body of Town Center documents.
Bringing these amendments to the PC before their work on 2050 was premature. Though the Planning Commission reacted to what was presented to them by staff, there is a major absence of information and analysis that needs to be done before any of the applicants proposed amendments is considered. Eventually the Planning commission is the appropriate first forum for the history to be explained and for complete contexts with data, metrics and rationale for each amendment to be provided resulting in robust analysis by staff before discussion, deliberation and recommendations by the Planning Commission.
All the former elected officials along with lots of citizen activists and the public invested years in how Town Center would be developed. These amendments are significant so I am heartily recommending that the council postpone any discussion tonight and remand this back to staff for further work by the Planning Commission.
-- Rosemarie Ives, 4/52022
I remember arriving in Redmond in 1992 when RTC was an important subject of discussion and opinion. How to keep the wild elements, how to avoid draining the livelihood of the main streets of downtown, whether people would shop outdoors in the rain, and, of course, traffic concerns.
ReplyDeleteAs a long time resident now, I see the need for density of housing as well as plenty of parking near the light rail. However, I agree with our former mayor that any changes should take into account all the previous planning that was done with much input from citizens. It won't hurt the developers to wait for a thorough review process.