Message from Councilmember Ben Thomas

April 2, 2025
 

The Voice of 10,000

I’m curious to see what you would write down on a list of what makes Port Townsend unique or at least special in some way. How much would my list overlap with yours? Is there any one characteristic that would make all of our lists, if all 10,000 of us did this exercise? Do we count our quirks and imperfections as special? Certainly being surrounded by beaches with public access on three sides, having well-preserved buildings well into their second century and hosting a high number of arts and cultural festivals are special, but is being perhaps the most pot-holiest town on the coast considered special as well?

I ask these questions because going through our decennial comprehensive plan process we come to many crossroads that seem to lead us toward extremes of either clinging to the past or becoming Anywhere, USA. I believe most of us, given access to the controls and omniscient understanding what each action or inaction might yield, would choose a path between the poles that doesn’t fix what ain’t broke, but balances out our deficiencies and embraces enough change to ensure a healthy economy and provide working people and those in need with housing and a chance to build toward a future of modest abundance and a good quality of life.

Many of us who grew up here would likely do what it took to bring back bygone centers of activity like the bowling alley and skating rink that you newcomers are most likely sick of hearing us wax on about. We might also pull the lever that brought more public art that we’d be proud to show off to visiting family. Almost all of us would choose to improve the streets given that we all use them no matter our mode of travel. Some, no doubt, would focus on large capital projects with world-class appeal, others would prefer to stoke local ingenuity to solve problems in a more pennywise and organic fashion, even if the results might be a bit piecemeal and unorthodox.

Land use and housing probably bring the most contention in these town-wide discussions, and are therefore the most important topics to engage in. Do we drift from conventional zoning where predictable land uses are dictated by City government according to existing standards and instead focus more on the interface of how neighbor impacts neighbor no matter how they use their land? Do we seek to prioritize certain land uses in certain areas of the town, or do we focus on diverse integration in which every neighborhood might have a bit of everything, from housing to light industrial, and from parks and wildlife to farms?

It’s important that as many of the 10,000 of us weigh in as can do so, both those inclined to complain and those who default to silence. Do not let your City leaders make this decision on our own. We seven on Council may have access to the context for what factors affect the other moving parts, but we are not wiser or more thoughtful or more visionary than most of you. Frankly, our best trait is that we’ve made a commitment to listen to you and not make decisions for our personal gain. If you’re so inclined, please make your own list of what you think makes our town special and share it with us at citycouncil@cityofpt.us. I know we’d learn a lot by reading them. And please follow the link for chances to engage in the comprehensive plan process below.

pt2045planning.org