(updated at 6:10 P.M.)
City of Newcastle, WA -- Planning Commission meeting of January 16th, 2013
City of Newcastle, WA -- Planning Commission meeting of January 16th, 2013
Planning Commission Leadership: "We Like the Bedroom Community Aspect, But We're Not Going There."
As the Planning Commission works on the new Comprehensive Plan for Newcastle, a state obligatory vision of the physical and economic development of a municipality that is set every 8 years, the commissioners discussed various aspects of their vision for Newcastle. Former Planning Commission Chairman (but now just in the rank-and-file), Rob Lemmon, just about bowled over at least one other commissioner and N.P.R. with the astounding admission that he thought Newcastle was too urbanized and he firmly placed himself on the side of those in the community who thought Newcastle should go back to its bedroom community roots, as if the city was no longer a bedroom suburb. Lemmon suggested that the small-town community aspect of Newcastle is what attracted a lot of Newcastlers to the city in the first place, and implied that he wasn't fond of all the apartments in the downtown core -- and one would have gotten the impression anyplace else in Newcastle. Commissioner Tom Magers apparently disagreed with Lemmon as he didn't deny that he rolled his eyes at Lemmon's comments when Chairman John Drescher made this observation of Magers. Drescher, himself, nonetheless, concurred with Lemmon's points, at least generally, as did Vice-Chairman, Allen Dauterman, but both suggested that reminiscing about a bedroom community was off-point, or as Dauterman put it, "diverges from the master plan."
Lemmon had earlier in the meeting gave his "vision" for Newcastle and questioned, in so many words, whether the vision of the founding fathers of incorporated Newcastle worked, and would people still want to live here had they been able to foresee what the future had wrought. After Commissioner Karin Blakley pressed Lemmon to be more specific about what he was talking about, Lemmon seemed to suggest that apartments cast the biggest pall over Newcastle. Lemmon's version of "1910" (more about the year 1910 a little later) seemed inconsistent with his statement that Newcastle needed more economic development for revenue purposes, but N.P.R. is not certain whether that was more a question than a statement, or perhaps both. Magers counteracted Lemmon's comments in a jovial way by saying this isn't 1910. Magers also said that Newcastle didn't really have a wide variety of small businesses, but is seeking a wide variety. N.P.R. chuckled at Mager's reference to 1910, not the least because that's the year that the editor's late maternal grandmother was born.
Blakley asked, generally, whether we (Newcastle) wanted to attract more businesses or be more of a bedroom community, apparently not convinced that the bedroom community era was already a part of a bygone era, but there seemed to be no concensus among the commissioners of what the definition of "bedroom community" was, not that anybody attempted to give a flat-out definition. If there was the slightest hint of a definition, it was that "bedroom community" meant low density and the fewer the apartments the better as opposed to high density and more economic development. However, there seemed to be some tension as to whether low density and economic development could go hand-in-hand, and the indications at the meeting, especially by the leadership (Drescher and Dauterman), were that they could not, even though they seemed to wish that they could.
The comments by the Community Development Director, Tim McHarg, were about the development of a new school and the redevelopment of Mutual Materials (a brick plant), among other things. McHarg seemed to think that both were coming along as planned -- no hitches. Associate Planner, David Lee, spoke about the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update.
Mayor Rich Crispo, who was in the audience, spoke from the public podium, and noted the difficult job that the Planning Commission had in relation to setting the Comprehensive Plan, but he cautioned the Commission to be ambiguous enough so that the Plan could adapt with the times, including the possibility that there could be a different Council than the present one in a couple of years.
Councilman Gordon Bissett, also speaking from the public podium, gave his "2 cents" about the bedroom community business, adding that Newcastle couldn't just do whatever they wanted in regards to housing, reminding the Commission that the city was once sued by the City of Renton for not providing enough affordable housing.
Council candidate, Mark Greene, also spoke, and said that he was dismayed by some of the comments at the meeting (referring to the bias against apartments expressed by Lemmon, and implied by others) and emphasized the word "city" in the City of Newcastle as opposed to a village. Greene also expressed his vision of Newcastle as that of the city one day becoming a green energy center.
Blakley asked, generally, whether we (Newcastle) wanted to attract more businesses or be more of a bedroom community, apparently not convinced that the bedroom community era was already a part of a bygone era, but there seemed to be no concensus among the commissioners of what the definition of "bedroom community" was, not that anybody attempted to give a flat-out definition. If there was the slightest hint of a definition, it was that "bedroom community" meant low density and the fewer the apartments the better as opposed to high density and more economic development. However, there seemed to be some tension as to whether low density and economic development could go hand-in-hand, and the indications at the meeting, especially by the leadership (Drescher and Dauterman), were that they could not, even though they seemed to wish that they could.
The comments by the Community Development Director, Tim McHarg, were about the development of a new school and the redevelopment of Mutual Materials (a brick plant), among other things. McHarg seemed to think that both were coming along as planned -- no hitches. Associate Planner, David Lee, spoke about the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update.
Mayor Rich Crispo, who was in the audience, spoke from the public podium, and noted the difficult job that the Planning Commission had in relation to setting the Comprehensive Plan, but he cautioned the Commission to be ambiguous enough so that the Plan could adapt with the times, including the possibility that there could be a different Council than the present one in a couple of years.
Councilman Gordon Bissett, also speaking from the public podium, gave his "2 cents" about the bedroom community business, adding that Newcastle couldn't just do whatever they wanted in regards to housing, reminding the Commission that the city was once sued by the City of Renton for not providing enough affordable housing.
Council candidate, Mark Greene, also spoke, and said that he was dismayed by some of the comments at the meeting (referring to the bias against apartments expressed by Lemmon, and implied by others) and emphasized the word "city" in the City of Newcastle as opposed to a village. Greene also expressed his vision of Newcastle as that of the city one day becoming a green energy center.
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