Downtown Enhancement Plan, City of Enumclaw, WA



Enumclaw is the regional service center for the plateau area of Southeastern King County. Growth has enlivened interest in enhancing the historic downtown as a community gathering place and retail and service center. Property owners, merchants, city officials, and other community leaders formed the Downtown Partnership and designated the downtown a Main Street^TM area. BHC Consultants worked with the City of Enumclaw to prepare an action plan for the revitalization of the downtown. We managed a team of planners, urban designers, landscape architects, and engineers to assess the physical, historical, and political character of the community and define actions for “jump-starting” initiatives that would position the city to meet the economic opportunities ahead. The work program included design charrettes and public outreach via newsletters, web page and public television leading to strategies for public and private investment. As a result of the plan, the downtown street improvements were initiated and other strategies employed to work towards the vision.

 

 

South Downtown is a very diverse area with a wide range of land uses, people, cultural and historic resources, and an important role regional entertainment and recreation. The neighborhoods anchoring the southern edge of the downtown urban center are home to industry, small retail and service businesses, and market rate and subsidized housing and human services, in addition to serving as a hub of regional transportation infrastructure. It is an important part of the Mayor's "Center City Seattle" strategy for housing and economic growth within Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. There are at least five identifiable sub-areas including Pioneer Square; Chinatown/International District; Little Saigon; the industrial area south of Chinatown; and the "stadium transition area".

 

Over the next 20 years, the Pioneer Square and Chinatown/I.D. neighborhoods are targeted for a total of approximately 5,500 new jobs and 2,000 new housing units. Additionally, the industrial portion of the study area outside Downtown is targeted for roughly 200 new jobs. The Livable South Downtown Plan is focused on creating even greater opportunities for growth and development through increased building heights, incentives, and other strategic actions.

 

BHC Consultants, in association with Property Counselors, assisted the Seattle Department of Planning and Development in evaluating South Downtown development potential and identifying issues to be addressed in the formulation of alternatives and the subsequent environmental review. We interviewed key stakeholders including developers, business owners, service providers, and constituent organizations. The interviews and our review of the early planning analyses produced recommendations for further analyses as part of the plan refinement and EIS. Scenarios for zoning “envelope” changes were created and tested through pro forma analysis to estimate the market suitability for future residential and commercial development projects.

 

The Comprehensive Transportation Plan is the 20-year blueprint for long-range transportation system improvements in Monroe. The Plan evaluates the existing system by identifying key assets and improvement needs. This produced a needs assessment, which informs the direction the City will take in developing the future transportation system to match growth and development. This Plan is multi-modal, addressing all forms of transportation in Monroe to include the street and highway network, non-motorized travel, and transit. Evaluating all modes uniformly enables the City to address its future network needs in a more comprehensive and balanced manner. Since funding is limited, the City must select among competing needs and prioritize the improvements it would like to make.

 

BHC Consultants assisted Mirai Associates in the planning process, including formulation of alternatives; assessment of growth projections; and preparation of the supplemental EIS that led to the final plan, which was adopted by the City Council in 2006. We also assisted in public involvement and facilitation of the City’s Transportation and Planning Commission’s deliberations. 

 

BHC was part of the team that provided economic development strategy assistance to 5 Snohomish County small cities. The objective of the initiative is to promote local business growth and attract new business to Monroe, Sultan, Granite Falls, Lake Stevens, and Snohomish. The team was responsible for providing analysis and strategies to help the communities define the characteristics of development "readiness" of land suited for economic development. The team also made recommendations to the cities and property owners on marketing those properties. BHC provided land use and development feasibility analyses.