History, politics, people of Oly WA

Category: Olympia future

Renters are nice people and other thoughts on the demagoguery of the Missing Middle

Missing Middle from AIA Austin

Right now the Olympia planning commission is considering a list of recommendations about the so-called Missing Middle. These recommendations would hopefully increase density in Olympia’s least dense neighborhoods by allowing duplexes, townhomes, courtyard apartments and ADUs in the mostly the upper elevation swaths of single-family homes neighborhoods.

As you would expect, there are a bunch of people who are not fans of this idea. And as you might expect, they belong to existing neighborhood organizations in well established (but I would argue not traditional) residential neighborhoods. As Whitney Bowerman argued in this excellent email she sent to the planning commission, these organizations represent mostly older homeowners who want to preserve the low-density character of their neighborhoods.

This testimony to the planning commission I think almost perfectly encompasses this attitude.

First off, she makes a point that we shouldn’t follow the example of Seattle. Implying that by increasing density you don’t do much to decrease housing costs. The fact is that rents and housing costs have started to decline in Seattle, mostly because of all those cranes on the skyline are starting to make a dent in demand.


Renters are not bad, I’m a renter

About two minutes into her testimony, she starts to get into a caricature of homeownership. “For generations, working people have dreamed of owning a house,” she said. Specifically a house, and in her mind, a detached single family home. Which is also a specific type of home that hasn’t been historically accessible to many people or even now.

“It is not just a financial investment, it is an emotional investment and a social investment as well,” she said. Apparently, when you own a home, your emotions should matter more and your memories are deeper and richer.

“Outside those walls and over the fences, they (homeowners) create social networks,” she said. “Perhaps not in the days of old when someone was home and could build social capital in the neighborhood, but people do participate in Nextdoor, attend annual meetings… they are literally invested in their neighborhoods.”

This is all a slam on the nature of renting a home. Personally, I’ve done both. I’ve rented in almost every quadrant of Olympia and owned two homes in East Olympia. Currently, I rent an apartment in Southeast Olympia and hope one day to own again, but not a single family detached home. My goal is a townhouse with as little yard as possible.

But this belies the philosophy behind this anti-density testimony. The neighbor I had that called me a piece of shit while I was outside with my toddler owned his home. He still owned it when the police arrested him for waving a gun at his wife. I’m sure he had memories in my neighborhood, but they weren’t more meaningful because he paid a mortgage.

I’ve also had a series of neighbors that have quickly moved in from out of state, bought a home and relatively quickly moved out without making a dent in my community. They were not literally invested in anything and their presence, while pleasant, did not have a deeper impact on the neighborhood.


It isn’t about renters vs. homeowners, it’s about density and affordability

I agree the research indicates that homeownership by-in-large means better things for a community.

The testimony is also moving the ball from a debate on increasing density in Olympia’s low-density neighborhoods to a debate over the value of homeowners vs. renters. At least in the examples of townhomes and possibly courtyard apartments, the Missing Middle will be the only actual path to homeownership that some people can ever use. And, the option of duplexes and ADUs will possibly allow some folks, who would like to set down permanent roots in a neighborhood, stay in a neighborhood.

Imagine for a moment a single mother who got a late start on retirement. She has an addition in her small home that she can easily transition into an ADU if it was allowed by the city. That would keep her in her home past retirement.

Currently, a lot of neighborhoods in Olympia fail the test of liveability in two major ways. They are too low density to really be considered walkable. Even if a small neighborhood center like Wildwood did want to located inside some of these neighborhoods, it wouldn’t survive because single-family neighborhoods simply aren’t dense enough.

Also, we fail in terms of variety of housing types, especially in the car-dependent SE neighborhoods. A good neighborhood ensures that multiple generations of the same family can live in the area, that people from a variety of backgrounds can come together. Large swaths of single-family homes, while protecting the nature of a neighborhood, does not promote diversity.

Beautiful Olympia sea level rise design

Sea level rise has been a doing discussion in Olympia for the last few years, and to this point, we seem pretty clear on the implications. At some point, the last century of working towards reaching towards the deep water will be reversed in Olympia. Much of Olympia’s history has been defined by expanding our shorelines, slowly replacing 4,000 foot long wharf with dry land.

A map of map of sea level rise implications in Olympia…

Looks a lot like a historic map of our shorelines:



The most facinating thing I’ve read about the future/past of Olympia’s shorelines has been a master’s thesis from a student in California. It really is a beautiful thing.

The thesis by Brenda Lorene Snyder in urban design at University of California, Berkeley is fascinating.

Snyder does a great job laying out the natural and built history of Olympia and Puget Sound. But, the meat of the thesis, the picture of Olympia after a century of sea-level rise starts here.

Off the top, she assumes the restoration of the Deschutes River estuary. Despite some city maps that imply saving the lake, her vision simply allows for an open estuary with little if any discussion.

Here is Snyder’s map of post sea level rise Olympia:

I’d suggest reading the entire thing, there are more than a few beautiful nuances to appreciate. Here are a two of my favorites though:

  • Aqua blocks. Snynder proposes creeks running through several current alley ways to deal with stormwater runnoff.
  • Replacing the historic long warf with an extended Capitol Way with artisan structures over water.
She also gives a walking tour of the new Olympia downtown:

After perusing Creek Street we turn right onto Legion Way SE, headed towards Olympia’s historic town square, Sylvester Park. Significant growth has occurred within the downtown neighborhood over the past decades and Olympia has been able to manage this growth to its own benefi t. Strategic infill has strengthened the continuity of its human scale walk-able blocks. Through thoughtful design and attentiveness to the scale and style of historic structures Olympia has been able to maintain and strengthen the character of livability it’s become known for – a cozy yet lively village tucked away along the shores of the Puget Sound.

Despite the birds eye view seeming like this is a proposal to walk back from the impacts of nature, the closer in look shows a much more balances approach. She does propose a long berm (hidden as a new urban street) to protect downtown blocks. But, at the same time, she proposes using urban design techniques to provide clean water. She also protects our deepwater port.
But, this certainly isn’t slapping up bare earth berms and hard walls to protect the blocks we have now.
This may not be exactly what we end up doing, but this is the kind of beautiful urban design we need to approach the hard questions we’ll have to answer in the next century. We have to be able to see the solutions before we make them happen.

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