Back in the old days when I worked for the Department of Neighborhoods (yes, it’s true!) as a Neighborhood Development Manager implementing 8 neighborhood plans, I had a very simple rule when it came to working with neighborhoods: never say the word, “no.” My rule was that all things are possible with enough thought, planning, engineering and funding. A City employee telling a neighborhood group that their dream project isn’t possible would simply make the City part of the problem, not the solution. I worked hard to get numbers for every proposal neighbors pushed for, scoured every public and private source for funding, and pushed departments to stretch their thinking to find ways to make projects happen. Those days are gone, and and a recent meeting of neighbors about planning, and a reorganization of the City’s planning efforts are reminder that we need to look back to move forward.

Today, however, we have stories like this one from KIRO TV about the rainbow crosswalks painted on Capitol Hill to celebrate the city’s LGBTQ community and the recent Supreme Court Decision upholding marriage equality:

The idea has been discussed for some time, but was delayed by logistics and cost. It was initially said that the colorful crosswalks cost about $6,000 for a total of $66,000 for all 11. The money comes from fee that developers pay when they block streets and sidewalks to build projects, not other safety money.

Great! An example of how development “pays its fair share right?”  That’s not how the rainbow crosswalks are being pitched. Here’s what a City staff person said about the crosswalks:

The crosswalks were a huge priority for the community after all the hate crimes on Capitol Hill and came out of a recommendation from the LGBTQ taskforce the Mayor stood up a few months ago. The same community members have been experiencing huge construction fatigue due to the larger projects in the Pike Pine corridor . . . and how the new influx of development and people is changing the character of the neighborhood.

He cited a Crosscut article about the pace of growth and how upset many people are in the neighborhood about what they perceive as change that is ruining the neighborhood. The article featured a local upset about new construction. 

It’s hardly a secret that construction is a nuisance for business, especially retailers. But to hear the owners speak, this period goes beyond nuisance. Sweatbox Yoga owner Laura Culberg has been in business for 14 years. Her sales peaked at $323,000 in 2011, just as the economy was finding stronger footing. But since construction surrounded her business, that number fell to $268,000 in 2014. Culberg is convinced this loss is a direct result of construction, saying the noise and smells are a huge deterrent to customers. “It should be growing,” she says of her business, pointing to the other yoga successes around the city. “That’s the trend for our business.” But, she says, if she were the sole breadwinner in her home, she’d have to close up shop.

I feel for Culberg. She’s a small business owner. But so are most of the builders and contractors that are building housing on Capitol Hill. Even large projects by larger developers employ dozens of small contractors that are of the same scale as Culberg. And they pay the street use fees that funded the rainbow crosswalks. 

Here’s my hope. I hope we can return to the days when I worked at the Department of Neighborhoods and the City, developers, and neighborhoods worked together to create and recognize the public benefit that comes from private development. Instead of seeing the rainbow crosswalks as a kind a reparation from wrongs done, it should be seen for what it really is, the benefit of the value created when we build more housing that creates tax revenue, fee revenue, jobs, and, in the end, more customers for local businesses.

One practical thing that the City could do is recreate the Neighborhood Development Manager position. We had six people who’s entire scope of work was facilitating progress on neighborhood plan implementation and that meant working to take advantage of the benefits of new growth by helping departments communicate better with each other, neighborhoods, and private builders. The gold at the end of the rainbow can be there for all neighborhoods if we can find a way to work together rather than seeing each other as enemies. Reinvesting in the neighborhood planning process could help move us toward positive results instead of trying to tax and stop a good thing, more new housing.