The Balkanization of the Waterfront
The Balkanization of the Waterfront
I watched with horror the channel 10 viewing of the last Waterfront Advisory Group - or whatever they are now called. This group is reviewing the ongoing planning of the former G-P properties,
I watched with horror the channel 10 viewing of the last Waterfront Advisory Group - or whatever they are now called. This group is reviewing the ongoing planning of the former G-P properties, et al. The planning area includes Department of Natural resources land at its south end - just north of Boulevard Park, the site of G-P's old ramshackle tissue warehouse before they built the worlds largest in advance of their departure.
I'll admit that it does seem as though a little more "green" is creeping into the plan, however the bulk of it appears to be on the DNR land that is already green. I expect we may see portions of that site turned gray as things "develop". And of course the Port will probably follow the original plan to leave those areas too toxic to develop available for public access. So I started seeing that there is still hope, if we can keep wrangling the issues, to attain what the Port's first consultants, the globally acclaimed "Waterfront Group" recommended - a generous public waterfront. But that's when I became horrified.
Mayor Pike was asked about the progress of the City's PDA (Public Development Authority) and why the University was forming it's own instead of collaborating with the City. Mayor Pike said he wasn't consulted and didn't know, but presumed they had their own good reasons. John Carter, the Port's old and the City's new Finance Director, advised that the City's PDA might extend its authority much more widely to oversee other City development objectives as well. I guess we will all need to read that statue very carefully.
Then the Port's erstwhile front man, Mike Stoner, added that we could expect a number of such entities to emerge on the site. He waved his hand over the DNR property and said a multi-agency consortium would be deciding the fate of that piece, another wave and the University would be controlling another, another wave and the Marine Trades Zone might follow suit, and with a generalized wave, there could be several others oriented toward specific purposes. Mr Stoner then went on to advise that the last thing we want is one overarching authority that could slow things down.
Whoa! Time was that the argument was generally against adding multiple layers of bureaucracy, in favor of one comprehensive administration. I got to thinking of the latest trend in public meetings, where after the initial presentation and before a general dialog can commence, the group is divided into small groups to tackle predetermined subdivisions of the issue. It becomes more and more difficult to see the big picture, but easier and easier to control the agenda.
Speaking of agendas, it seems they had at least a couple of them for the meeting I watched. Members of the committee seemed a little confused with the proceedings. Of course Byron Elmendorf, former Bellingham Parks Director and an old hand at schmoozing small or large groups, knew and managed the group with skill. Only two members tried to break through the glossy feelings of camaraderie, both on the recurring theme that the public feels a little left out of the process. John Blethan tried to stimulate a discussion of creating subcommittees to receive and review alternative proposals, while Robin Dupre added a finer point - that the WAG needn't be concerned with folks that hadn't been coming to the meetings, but ought to at least make sure that attendees felt as though their concerns were being address. Hmmm. Good luck.
Well, if things unfold in the fashion imagined by Mr. Stoner, citizens that are concerned with the waterfront will find themselves with many, many more meetings to attend. Inevitably they will miss some. Will they and their ideas then be exiled from consideration?
Yes, I will be studying the statutes that enable PDAs very carefully. I expect the Port and University have already done so and discovered some little nuggets of advantage. The public would be well advised to discover their own.
Or perhaps an initiative will be necessary to protect citizens' right to self-determination in the process of investing unprecedented public funds. "Shall Public Development Authority board members of such authorities established in Whatcom County be elected by the citizens of the jurisdictions within which they operate, instead of appointed?"
I'll admit that it does seem as though a little more "green" is creeping into the plan, however the bulk of it appears to be on the DNR land that is already green. I expect we may see portions of that site turned gray as things "develop". And of course the Port will probably follow the original plan to leave those areas too toxic to develop available for public access. So I started seeing that there is still hope, if we can keep wrangling the issues, to attain what the Port's first consultants, the globally acclaimed "Waterfront Group" recommended - a generous public waterfront. But that's when I became horrified.
Mayor Pike was asked about the progress of the City's PDA (Public Development Authority) and why the University was forming it's own instead of collaborating with the City. Mayor Pike said he wasn't consulted and didn't know, but presumed they had their own good reasons. John Carter, the Port's old and the City's new Finance Director, advised that the City's PDA might extend its authority much more widely to oversee other City development objectives as well. I guess we will all need to read that statue very carefully.
Then the Port's erstwhile front man, Mike Stoner, added that we could expect a number of such entities to emerge on the site. He waved his hand over the DNR property and said a multi-agency consortium would be deciding the fate of that piece, another wave and the University would be controlling another, another wave and the Marine Trades Zone might follow suit, and with a generalized wave, there could be several others oriented toward specific purposes. Mr Stoner then went on to advise that the last thing we want is one overarching authority that could slow things down.
Whoa! Time was that the argument was generally against adding multiple layers of bureaucracy, in favor of one comprehensive administration. I got to thinking of the latest trend in public meetings, where after the initial presentation and before a general dialog can commence, the group is divided into small groups to tackle predetermined subdivisions of the issue. It becomes more and more difficult to see the big picture, but easier and easier to control the agenda.
Speaking of agendas, it seems they had at least a couple of them for the meeting I watched. Members of the committee seemed a little confused with the proceedings. Of course Byron Elmendorf, former Bellingham Parks Director and an old hand at schmoozing small or large groups, knew and managed the group with skill. Only two members tried to break through the glossy feelings of camaraderie, both on the recurring theme that the public feels a little left out of the process. John Blethan tried to stimulate a discussion of creating subcommittees to receive and review alternative proposals, while Robin Dupre added a finer point - that the WAG needn't be concerned with folks that hadn't been coming to the meetings, but ought to at least make sure that attendees felt as though their concerns were being address. Hmmm. Good luck.
Well, if things unfold in the fashion imagined by Mr. Stoner, citizens that are concerned with the waterfront will find themselves with many, many more meetings to attend. Inevitably they will miss some. Will they and their ideas then be exiled from consideration?
Yes, I will be studying the statutes that enable PDAs very carefully. I expect the Port and University have already done so and discovered some little nuggets of advantage. The public would be well advised to discover their own.
Or perhaps an initiative will be necessary to protect citizens' right to self-determination in the process of investing unprecedented public funds. "Shall Public Development Authority board members of such authorities established in Whatcom County be elected by the citizens of the jurisdictions within which they operate, instead of appointed?"
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