Developers, Property Investors and Business Special Interests Have
Been Shopping for Candidates for the University Place City Council
University Place is a city with a rising profile. Our success following incorporation, the Town Center development, and the selection of Chambers Bay as the site for the US Open have all contributed. Along with our rising profile has come an increase in outside attention towards our governance. The parties on the left and right are both furiously vying to “get control” of the University Place city council, and they are putting their money and hand picked candidates behind it. But it isn’t just politics that is at play. Business special interests see an opportunity to back a candidate that will serve their financial interests.
Which one of these candidates are you certain will always put the interests of University Place residents ahead of non-resident special interests? Linda Bird has a 20-year track record demonstrating her commitment to University Place. Javier Figueroa has only words, a deceptive resume, and a pile of money from businesses that have their own interests in mind. Keep reading to learn about what kind of changes you can expect if Figueroa’s backers get control of the city council.
Zoning
One of the driving factors behind the incorporation of the City of University Place in 1995 was to give residents local control over zoning issues. After cityhood, the city council established a comprehensive plan and zoning code, which defined the areas of the City where commercial development was appropriate. This prevented commercial expansion from spilling into our neighborhoods. On a case-by-case basis, property developers can petition the city council for a change in the zoning of their land from residential to commercial. Such changes in zoning are almost always against the interests of residents who enjoy the residential character of their neighborhoods and want to keep it that way. Figueroa is financially backed and endorsed by developers who want the city council to grant petitions to rezone residential land as commercial.
Sign Code
Have you noticed? Something feels different as you drive along Bridgeport Way. Enormous signs, which once rose 30+ feet in the air, have been “right sized” and brought down to street level. Views of the skyline, flower baskets, towering pine trees and mountains are now unobstructed. Until now it may be something you’ve never thought about, but sign codes are a hallmark of fine communities all across the west.
Only In the last year did the City begin full enforcement the sign code we established 12 years ago. The delay in enforcement was to allow businesses, with signs built before the code, time to bring their signs in to compliance. Now with the imminent arrival of the US Amateur tournament at Chambers Bay next year, and the US Open soon thereafter, the City is preparing to put its best face forward.
While approximately one thousand signs in the city are now compliant, a few stragglers remain. Some appear to be using administrative delay tactics to put-off fixing their signs. Have they have calculated that it is cheaper to get Javier Figueroa elected then it is to correct their signs? Businesses that are fighting our sign code are supporting Figueroa.
Town Center
While residents of University Place are anxious to see progress on Town Center, non-resident developers and property investors are anxious for another reason. Town Center has the potential to be regional shopping destination that will draw shoppers and retailers from across Pierce County and beyond. Local restaurateurs are getting skittish about what the influx of new dining options will mean for their business. The prospect of new competition has some businesses scrambling for an ace in the hole. Developers, property inventors and business special interests that want to “kill” Town Center are endorsing and giving money to Figueroa.
Traffic Impact Fees
This issue exists under the surface of almost every other controversial issue the city council faces. This is remarkable because it is an issue that relatively few residents know exists, and yet it is a powerful driver in the politics in the City.
Each new or improved development in the City impacts the traffic on our roads. The cumulative affects of development, and the added traffic they bring, will eventually necessitate that major arterials and intersections are improved to handle a higher level of traffic. The traffic impact fee is the means through which the City ensures that it will always have the money to fund these improvements when they are required.
Before a developer can begin a project it is analyzed, using objective metrics, to determine how many daily “trips” it will add to our roads. The “cost” of these trips is calculated and the resulting figure is the traffic impact fee that a developer must pay to cover his fair share of the added traffic.
Using these means to ensure that new development pays its way is not unique to University Place. The University Place traffic impact fee of $5,223 (for a single family residence) is less then the average fee of $5,803 for surrounding cities in the area. But to some developers that is still $5,223 too much.
Unable to muster any popular support against the fees, developers have adopted a lower profile strategy. Their efforts are organized. Their goal is to make members of the city council who support traffic impact fees pay a political price at the ballot box. They do this by fomenting controversy on almost every other issue that has widespread interest, whether it is Town Center, sewers, road construction or parks. They slander members of the city council and the city manager. But all of this political theater would be for naught unless they can replace the council members who support traffic impact fees with council members who will eliminate them. Developers who oppose traffic impact fees are financially supporting and endorsing Figueroa.
Can they really do this?
If Figueroa is defeated then the answer is NO. At least not for two more years and the next election cycle. With Linda’s re-election there will remain a majority on the council that can resist these changes. If Figueroa is elected, and the other three council races fall in a way that will give him majority control, then the answer is YES. If he is elected without control of the majority then the answer is MAYBE. His coalition will have demonstrated that they can raise enough money and apply enough external influence to defeat any candidate that opposes their agenda. That alone may be enough to intimidate the council and get the votes they want.
Is University Place business friendly?
Given all the controversy, this is something that must be addressed. University Place is a GREAT place to do business! Business revenue in University Place has increased by 7% a year for the past 5 years. A recent survey by Seattle Business Monthly recognized University Place as the best suburb in Pierce County to do business and ranked it thirteenth in the Puget Sound region. Our low crime rate, low taxes, fine residential neighborhoods, and attractive consumer demographic draw small businesses from across the state.
In many aspects, the things that make University Place attractive for businesses also make it attractive for residents. But this is not always the case. Where the quality of life interests of residents diverge from the financial interest of businesses, Linda has always sided with residents. She is committed to preserving the residential character of University Place and to the pursuit of sensible and complimentary business development.
Keep Linda in the Fight
Linda has been fighting for University Place for two decades. She knows the issues that affect the City on a block-by-block basis. She knows the issues that matter to your family. Send Linda back to the city council for four more years. Send Figueroa back to his financiers with the message that the University Place City Council is not for sale.