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I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the Landing project and I am very anxious to see it get built.
Because I want this to get done, I think we need to understand any weak areas in our plan that would expose us to our own citizens serving as parties of record in the Westfield lawsuits. Rather than attempt to dismiss these citizens concerns out of hand, I think we need to understand them, and work them, and make sure we put our best foot forward in court when the time comes.
I’ve suggested in my blogs below on the Landing that I think our goofs in the highlands created some citizen distrust that spilled into the Landing project. Let’s get to the bottom of this, but without censoring the comments.
For me, this is like having a tooth drilled because I want the Landing to go in so bad. Still, it has to be done. Let’s chat…
From Inez Petersen to Mr. Taylor
Dear Mr. Taylor:Short cutting EISI am one who believes that the City of Renton should not short cut its obligation to do proper Environmental Review for projects such as The Landing.The City has a habit of making environmental decisions based on convenience and the old good ol’ boy system, not facts and data. That is why the Kennydale blueberry bog is going to be a developer’s project soon. That is why a nearby creek was upgraded to a seasonal trickle and by the stroke of bureaucrat’s pen is now of no environmental consequence.That is why the nearby neighborhood of the Highlands with 4-6 units per acre is being zoned to 80 units per acre if the mayor gets her way. And I could go on with more examples.WHY is more important than WHOMr. Taylor, your banging on the Westfield “bad guy” drum is getting a little old. I submitted a SEPA Appeal on the Highlands Redevelopment because of obvious environmental impacts from bonus 80 units per acre. This was in response to a Determination of No Environmental Impact from Renton’s Environmental Review Committee, comprised of the mayor’s department heads. And the hearing examiner looks to the mayor for his paycheck too, so go figure how fair that hearing could be. I made an honest grass roots attempt to elicit environmental responsibility from the mayor of the City of Renton and her Economic Development staff.I am sure that the citizens who filed the SEPA Appeal against The Landing also have legitimate concerns about environmental impacts. The mayor’s motivation to get this project completed and open within 13 months I believe is based on her next political compaign, which would be on the same timeline. But I believe her LipstickGate will derail that campaign. Check out that story on http://www.randycorman.comSo, remember there is always “another side to the coin,” and don’t you, as a businessman, want Government to be environmentally responsible?I live just north of the proposed Landing site. I’d like a shopping center there too, but not at the expense of sound environment procedures.Taxpayers bearing the financial burdenI don’t want to pay to build the structures in your picture. Isn’t that picture 2003 vintage? And the whole flavor of the shopping center has changed because you couldn’t get a variety of businesses to sign up? It has ended up as a “big box” haven when that was not the original vision. I can remember Alex Pietsch, the director of Renton’s Economic Development Department saying if Harvest Partners couldn’t produce the signups for the variety of shops he wanted, he’d find some other company that could. But then he run up against the schedule and settled for “big box,” just the opposite of what was originally planned. And to keep the theater happy, we taxpayers must now foot the bill for the theater’s parking garage. I hear that will be in the neighborhood of $20 million plus.Proceeding to sell over $20 million in bonds to expand the streets before the Appeal is settled is bad financial management in my view. $20 million here, $20 million there, what does it matter: taxpayers have bottomless pockets.You wouldn’t run your business finances that way. You wouldn’t run your family finances that way. But you expect us taxpayers to be happy that the City of Renton is running its finances this way?I hope people look not at WHO is financing the Appeal but WHY the citizens filed the Appeal. We don’t want a business version of “Love Canal.” And we taxpayers don’t want a heavier tax burden that we already have; we are living in one of the highest taxing cities in the State of Washington. You aren’t helping matters.
Not Mr. Taylor’s fault
I admit that city could have managed some things better in some areas, but this is the case in all complex human pursuits. I want to fix any remaining errors, and get the Landing built. But our errors are not Mr. Taylor’s fault. He is simply working to promote business in Renton, to prevent Renton consumers from leaving town. That’s his job, and I feel he is doing it well. In fact, I feel he and the Chamber have taken the high road by promoting new business in our city, when each member of the Chamber (business owners themselves) could have been focused on protecting their own turf. Any weaknesses in the SEPA, or the funding plan are our fault at city hall. So let’s get back to picking on the politicians on this…we are the ones that ask for it anyway! 🙂
from Inez
Randy,
You are so “right on” regarding your comments about mistrust surrounding The Landing because of the Highlands debackle. The 13-month turn around for The Landing was based on the mayor wanting this opening to assure her re-election.
But the writing is on the mirror, I mean on the wall: She’s going to miss her schedule. Had she taken the high road to begin with and updated the EIS, we wouldn’t have an Appeal on the table.
No doubt, The Landing would be configured a little differently, but we’d still be moving forward, instead of stalled. The stall is all due to her management style and to bad advise from Alex Pietsch–my opinion, of course.
You are out there speaking your mind, telling us what you honestly think. That’s what we elected our Councilmembers to do, because that’s how you represent us: Tell us what you think and we tell you what we think, and a compromise, if needed, is worked out.
Silence is as bad as saying something silly. But you are making a whole lot of sense, and I hope you run for mayor, I really do.
If you do run for mayor, I won’t need to spend any time pointing out that the city is being run by a queen. I can sit back and enjoy my retirement, knowing that the mayor will be working with the City Council in total openness. Maniuplation will be a thing of the past.
And the best part, when you are mayor, you won’t be wearing lipstick.
You know who I think is the Lipstick Zorro, and I bet she’s sorry she ever pulled that stunt. It will haunt her no matter how many Q&A’s she writes; it will haunt her until she takes that lie detector test. Now her latest Q&A will spawn more letters and it will be easy to point out the fallacies in her logic–fallacies that make her look guilty as hell.