Tumwater needs good growth plan

• Published November 13, 2007

Tumwater officials have embarked on a year-long effort to assemble a cohesive plan for future growth and development.

It's a worthwhile effort because the strategic plan and economic plan will outline strategies for development and revenue sources to meet growth demands.

Success will be measured in actions by the Tumwater City Council. Will the council have the courage to follow through with their goals, even when those goals draw public opposition?

Tumwater doesn't have a stellar record in that regard.

The City Council zoned the area around Littlerock Road and Trosper Boulevard for large retail development. The city welcomed Costco and Albertsons, Home Depot and Fred Meyer. But when the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, announced plans for a store in the same area, city officials began backpedaling. By a 6-1 vote with councilman Neil McClanahan casting the lone negative vote, the council — without public notice — voted to impose an emergency moratorium on big-box retailers.

Wal-Mart submitted an application before te moratorium took effect, so it was exempt, but that didn't stop the City Council from its knee-jerk reaction — a reaction that cost the city other development opportunities. Council members wisely retreated from the moratorium 19 months later.

Tumwater residents must hold their council members accountable to the new strategic and economic visions that will be developed through the next year. And Tumwater residents, not just council members, need to be integral in shaping those plans.

The city will pay Seattle consulting firm Berk & Associates $128,000 to help draft the five-year strategic plan and the long-term economic-development plan.

"The more proactive the city is in directing development, the more it can control the environment," said Kapena Pflum, one of two Berk & Associates staff members to speak to the City Council and members of the city's planning commission at a joint meeting.

"A good strategic plan will be a unifying force in the community," Pflum said. "It allows the city to become less reactionary and more forward-looking."

For years, Tumwater has been in a defensive posture. It's been a quiet bedroom community to the capital city and rapidly growing Lacey. Tumwater has struggled for its own identity ever since Interstate 5 was constructed in the 1950s. The freeway literally divided the town in half. Without an identifiable downtown, Tumwater rallied around the Olympia Brewery, a source of community pride that brought thousands of visitors into Tumwater's city limits and its strip malls. The brewery's last few years was death by a thousand cuts with one owner after another ignoring their Tumwater investment. The brewery's ultimate closure in June 2003 was a terrible blow to the city. The city is still in a reactionary posture, hoping to draw new development to the site.

A strategy for the brewery property will be a key component to Tumwater's new vision, a vision that cries out for citizen involvement. Mayor Ralph Osgood said he will encourage as much public participation as possible.

But this planning process is on a relatively fast track. The Berk & Associates schedule calls for the strategic plan to be done by late April and the economic-development plan to be completed by the end of next year. After adoption, the Tumwater City Council must have the political will to follow their own plan.