SEQUIM – As another crop of big boxes takes shape on the edge of the city, planners are focusing on downtown’s health, and envisioning ways to bring more business to a smaller “sub-area.”
The draft Town Center Sub-Area Plan, despite its somewhat drab name, includes a slew of fresh ideas, presented Tuesday night during the Sequim Planning Commission meeting.
Imagine living downtown, up high.
Walking wherever you want, or catching a free shuttle bus to a cafe.
Such is the vision of Sequim’s city planners, as they look for ways to keep the city core charming.
“Costco, Home Depot, Wal-Mart: Those are the things that contribute to blight,” said planning commissioner Susan Lorenzen.
Historic buildings and businesses, by contrast, give a place personality.
“I love going to towns where the shoe store that was a shoe store 100 years ago still is,” she said, adding that she hopes Sequim can arrest development of more multinational chain stores.
The major chains and quaint downtown shops can coexist, countered Freedman.
“The sales tax from the large boxes is part of what’s going to make downtown [redevelopment] possible,” he said.
“And I don’t know that there are going to be any more big boxes coming in.”
