As city of Vancouver officials pursue visions of grandeur for the area near Evergreen Boulevard and Grand Boulevard, they must act quickly to put the transformation in motion. Limiting disruptions to local business owners and residents will be essential.
Sitting near the city center, separated from downtown by Fort Vancouver National Site, the area is ripe for development. It has been designated as part of the city’s Commercial Corridors Strategy, with the goal of creating a “20-minute neighborhood” that offers daily amenities within walking distance.
Considering that Evergreen and the nearby portion of Grand have seen little development in recent decades, the plan has merit. But even the best-laid plans often go awry.
Such is the case along Evergreen Boulevard. There, Don and Rachael Allen have seen their hopes for selling Allen’s Crosley Lanes, the bowling center they have owned since 1987, placed on hold by city officials. The Allens were close to beginning their retirement when the city informed them of a development moratorium in the area.
The moratorium came as a surprise. City officials explain that the process was kept under wraps to avoid a rush of land-use proposals from developers before it went into effect. “By design, there was not outreach before the emergency moratorium, and that’s really dictated by state law in Washington state,” City Attorney Jonathan Young said.
From a theoretical standpoint, that is understandable. But theory is not always the best approach for dealing with local residents and local businesses. “We had planned our retirement. We were picking out beaches,” Don Allen told The Columbian. After learning of the development ban, he told the city council: “I don’t expect you to change your mind on the moratorium. But I want to let you know that these decisions do impact people.”
Part of good governance is limiting that impact and communicating with citizens.
According to the letter received by the Allens, the moratorium will last for at least six months, and likely will be extended to 12 months. For the owners of Crosley Lanes — and perhaps other businesses in the area — the moratorium is life-changing. As Rachael Allen said: “There isn’t a developer in their right mind that would pay that much money for this big a property and not know what they can do with it. I wouldn’t blame anybody. That would be ludicrous.”
The proposal to target Evergreen and Grand for development is sensible. As Uptown Village north of downtown demonstrates — along with, say, Alberta Street or the Hawthorne District in Portland — areas with coffee shops, restaurants and small retail outlets can create dynamic, desirable neighborhoods that add vibrancy to a city while boosting the local economy.
Vancouver officials also are targeting sections of Mill Plain Boulevard, Fourth Plain Boulevard and the St. Johns/St. James couplet for their vision of a self-sustaining neighborhood. At the same time, they are finalizing big plans for the former Tower Mall site along Mill Plain Boulevard. It will take decades for those visions to be realized, but even the longest journey begins with a single step.
In the process, the city must find the proper balance between its vision for the future and the needs of current residents and business owners while communicating effectively. Admittedly, that can be difficult. But as the tale of Don and Rachael Allen demonstrates, even the most pristine vision has reverberations that echo among the people of Vancouver.
