City should watch that parking spat doesn't overheat

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published November 06, 2009

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The city of Olympia has declared a private home in the South Capitol neighborhood a public nuisance because more than six commercial events or parties have been held there in the last year in violation of state law.

City officials must move cautiously on this issue because the relationship between South Capitol neighbors and state government officials can turn on a dime and get real ugly, real fast.

Longtime residents will remember the spring of 1989 when neighborhood residents got tired of lobbyists and other Capitol Campus visitors taking up all the on-street parking spots all day, every day. They asked the city’s parking enforcement officers to crack down and start writing tickets.

City officials complied, touching off an uproar that nearly cost Olympia its capital city status.

Really!

Lawmakers were hopping mad that lobbyists and constituents were getting parking tickets while conducting state business. They struck back quickly.

Members of the House of Representatives drafted a bill that would have allowed state officials to move their offices outside Thurston County. Imagine the economic blow to this county had state government — the major employer — pulled up stakes and left the community.

Lawmakers summoned Olympia Mayor Holly Gadbaw to committee hearings. Her defiance caused a backlash that resulted in the punitive legislation passing the state House of Representatives. Luckily, the legislation died in the state Senate, thanks in large part to the efforts of a Republican state senator from Lewis County.

The close call shows how tenuous the relationship between city and state officials can be and how easily relationships can explode over an issue as simple as parking.

While the parking issue has subsided, South Capitol neighborhood residents have grown increasingly upset over the sale of homes to lobbyists who use them as offices within walking distance of the domed Legislative building.

“The Castle,” a stately brick home at 1601 Sylvester St., has come under a microscope because of the number of events held there — parties and other gatherings that draw a significant number of people to the neighborhood, once again taking up all the available on-street parking.

Last week, city officials issued a code-violation notice to owners of the home, T.K. and Anna Bentler, claiming that they have held more commercial events and parties in the turret-graced home than the six allowed by city law per year. City officials said the home functions as a business office.

“I’m not sure I have too much to say about it,” said T.K. Bentler. “I have an X on my head because I’m a lobbyist.” He knows neighbors are keeping close tabs on what happens at “The Castle.” “I guess I’m tired of people going through my underwear drawer in the South Capitol neighborhood.”

Residents of the South Capitol Neighborhood Association said they are simply trying to draw a line between the state Capitol Campus and the abutting residential neighborhood. Homeowners rightfully object to their neighborhood being turned into business offices for lobbyists.

The association filed a complaint with the city saying “The Castle” was used to host at least seven business-related parties this year.

Jean Marie Thomas, vice-president of the neighborhood association, said, “The problem is, the entire corner of the neighborhood has been converted to business use. That is the problem. It is not any longer residential.”

By her estimate, more than a half-dozen homes in the two-block area adjacent to the Capitol Campus are converted for nonresidential uses during legislative sessions, and some sit vacant at other times of the year.

Steve Friddle, community services manager at the Department of Community Planning and Development, said “The Castle” owners have a history of violating the code. The city fined Bentler three times in 2005 for lobbying-related activities at the home, and it had issues with previous owners going back to 1995, Friddle said.

The Bentlers can “abate” the nuisance declaration and avoid fines by pledging not to have excessive numbers of parties or business activities that are beyond the limited home-occupation level, Friddle said.

The owners also could seek a special permit for extra parties through a city process that evaluates the effects on neighbors — who would likely object.

The owners also could challenge the city’s finding, which would require paying a $1,000 fee for an appeal to a city hearings examiner.

City officials must keep close tabs on this situation, proceed with caution and follow the law closely. Cool heads must prevail.

What the capital city does not need is another lobbyist-fueled explosion that threatens to turn Olympia into a ghost town haunted by empty state office buildings.