Thanks to all those that made the choice to spend the beautiful evening at this event discussing the challenges and promises of historic preservation.

The discussion ranged from the promise of development, the role of community action and representative government officials in directing policies, our individual connections to the area’s past, the practical costs and compromises associated with preservation, and the intangible sense of pride preservation projects generate in community.

For me the forum registered some primary points.

As Tacoma grows, we face the challenge of not just preserving buildings from the past, but also telling the stories of Tacoma’s past that generate pride of ownership and teach the value of preservation. We have longtime residents who are just happy to see Tacoma finally moving forward that preservation takes a back seat to development. We also have new residents who cherish our brick and mortar past and see opportunities to build and grow but have trouble integrating with and understanding their surroundings.

The Tacoma School District has done some good work on behalf of tax payers in the renovations and enhancements at Jason Lee Middle School, Stadium High School, and their investment in new facilities. Such public foresight will do much to build the reputation of Tacoma schools and the identity of our city. The district needs to seek out ways to add ciriculum that builds on this investment and connects students to the buildings and the past.

There was discussion on envisioning and planning our future. Julie Anderson brought forward the Council’s interest in funding an Urban Designer(s) on city staff to identify opportunities within the city and advocate for our public and private investment beyond the mentality of a public works engineer or developer bottom-line. We are far beyond the point that we can meet our challenges without better planning and improving design review. A point was made that civic leadership and community involvment will be critical in steering the future of the Brewery District. The historic fabric of this neighborhood with the confluence of city development and regional growth make for rich possibilities. The City and Tacoma Public Utilities own historic properties in this district and are stakeholders and potential catalysts for inspiring this change.

We have some neighborhoods, buildings, and ideas that have strong community support and oversight but a good many more that slide under the radar.

We have the stewardship to see things forward and the responsibility to not just comment on what we don’t like, but give vision and solutions. The night’s forum was a great opportunity to add our voice to the story and direction of preservation locally.

That’s my biased account of the evening. BTW, great desserts!

Julie Anderson brought forward the Council’s interest in funding an Urban Designer(s) on city staff to identify opportunities within the city and advocate for our public and private investment beyond the mentality of a public works engineer or developer bottom-line. We are far beyond the point that we can meet our challenges without better planning and improving design review.

Great idea. We have some great people working for the city.

However, we need someone who knows how to design an attractive downtown and adjacent areas and how parking, streets, building design and other building codes relate to the urban form. Strip malls are not “urban villiages.”

Tacoma still is holding onto a modified suburban building code which they are trying to implement downtown and in our urban areas and getting substandard building results.

Also, the mixed use business centers are being modified throughout the city. Now is the time to do it. We want them to look more like 6th Avenue than Westgate.

Fortunately, there are alot of architects, planners and other professionals who know how to bring this about.

Do you have your resume handy dizell?