City should impose sea level rise moratorium

In May 2017, the City, LOTT, and the Port of Olympia started a $250,000 process to develop a Sea Level Rise Response Plan to “analyze options for protecting the downtown area and develop recommendations, and emergency response approaches. …” See, olympiawa.gov/sealevelrise. The plan is to be completed in August 2018.

The planning maps and supporting materials show dramatically that the isthmus will flood even under the most conservative scenarios. We know that the isthmus is the critical transportation tie between west and east Olympia. Imagine flooding on both Fourth and Fifth avenues, making the Isthmus impassible. Measures to keep Fourth and Fifth avenues open will be required to keep Olympia viable.

Currently, the city also is reviewing a permit request to expand the “mistake-by-the-lake” into a major development.

This development can significantly impact and limit measures needed to protect Fourth and Fifth avenues across Olympia. Viable and rational options that the plan would otherwise recommend can disappear or be rendered costly beyond the city’s means because of the new development.

Common sense tells us that the city’s review and possible approval of this expanded development is premature while it and other stakeholder partners are actively developing realistic Sea Level Response strategies.

Rationally, the city should impose a permit moratorium in the study area until the Response Plan has been completed, reviewed, and adopted. Any other action is a waste of taxpayers’ money and just plain short-sighted. Good planning makes for the best futures for our community and State Capital.

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 2:08 PM with the headline "City should impose sea level rise moratorium."