CITY PLANS TO DEFINE DOWNTOWN SEQUIM

By Evan McLean
Staff writer

What is downtown Sequim?

    City staff is working with the Sequim-Dungeness Chamber of Commerce to answer that question. An updated downtown Sub Area Plan (SAP) is in the works and the Chamber has compiled results from a recent survey to provide the city staff with business owner feedback.

    Chamber of Commerce President Hattie Dixon said that responses were low but feedback was good.

    ?We hand delivered the surveys to 60 random downtown businesses and e-mailed it to 300 chamber members,? Dixon said. ?We received 18 responses which was less than a 5 percent.?

    She said that it could indicate trust in the city to create plans for downtown but is concerned that it may mean people aren?t familiar with the sub area planning process.

    Capital Projects Manager Frank Needham said there will be huge opportunities for citizen input at public forums likely to occur in January and February. The forum dates have not been set but will be available with plenty of warning, he said.
    ?It is essential for both the community at large and downtown businesses to help us scale the uses and density of downtown,? Needham said. ?We want the community heavily involved since this plan affects them the most.?

    Downtown landowners and business and residential tenants may want to bring their opinion of SAP?s future as it will act as a mini comprehensive plan for the downtown core, Planning Director Dennis Lefevre said.

    ?The plan will have goals and policies and we?ll probably have to address bulk and dimensional issues among other things,? Lefevre said. ?We could see this as a guiding regulation with some sort of zone for the downtown core.?

    City staff does not have a draft of the plan drawn up yet. However, it will have some working form to bring to the citizen forum to establish dialogue.

    ?We?re not walking in with a blank page, but it will be close,? Needham said. ?We will have certain items stressed like infrastructure and a pedestrian friendly atmosphere but ultimately we?re ready to listen.?

    So the future of downtown Sequim is up to the public. Survey responses were very similar to previous ad hoc committee meetings for the city comprehensive plan, Needham said.

    ?The trend of concern was for parking and traffic issues,? Dixon said of the survey. ?Another repeated issue was the desire to create a theme or identity for Sequim?s downtown since we?re in a bit of a mish mash right now.?

    About 67 percent of the respondents agreed that the downtown area should be an amorphous body with loose boundaries.

    Needham said the original boundary was from Bell Street north to Cedar Street and from Sunny Side Avenue to Third Avenue. New boundaries have not been put forward but changes in these lines are a possibility from the SAP public forums.
   
Susan Parsons, owner of Foxgloves and Smith, said that downtown Sequim has a lot more potential. Parsons was one of those who returned the Chamber survey. Among calls for community events and festivals to occur downtown, she wanted mitigation of traffic problems.

?For my traffic and parking concern I would like to see Washington turned into a one-way street with diagonal parking,? she said. ?I believe the change would make it safer for pedestrians too.?

    City staff will compile and regard suggestions like these at the public forum even before the plan reaches the Planning Commission or City Council.    

Needham also pointed out that downtown Sequim services a population broader than just the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.

    ?Sequim will be the center of financial, commercial, retail, cultural, educational, recreational and medical services and activities on the northern Olympic Peninsula, while maintaining its friendly small town and rural atmosphere,? as stated in the vision statement of the City of Sequim.

    So looking beyond the downtown core may be beneficial in planning its defined historic attributes, according to Professional Real Estate broker Ron Gilles.


    ?It is neat to see the older houses on Bell and Cedar turning into businesses,? Gilles said. ?We think the plan should focus downtown to its historic core giving it viability to contribute to Sequim?s retail base.?
 
   Gilles has met with both the Chamber and the city to discuss preliminary options to bring to the public. He said downtowns historic flavor will draw foot traffic and possibly more business.

    ?I think we need to provide incentives for businesses or investors to come in and renovate some of the traditional downtown Sequim buildings,? he said. ?We have rentals on Bell and we live on Cedar, so we?ve enjoyed the improvements businesses have already made once they located to downtown.?

    For public forum dates in January and February keep reading the Gazette or visit the city website for updates at www.ci.sequim.wa.us.

Chamber of Commerce Sub Area Plan survey results:
- 18 of the 360 surveys were returned ? less than 5 percent
- More environmental issues addressed ? 72 percent
- Pedestrian friendly                - 94 percent
- Pocket parking lots            - 83 percent
- Need for a cohesive identity        - 89 percent