2008/06/17 Council Agenda Packet

When evaluating local and regional examples where cities have been successful in revitalizing their urban centers,one finds a strong relationship between proactive parking management and the health of their retail and business communities. On a regional level, Everett can learn from Boise, Idaho where annual downtown sales have doubled since 2003 due in part to the city's investment in public parking garages and the creation of a Parking Advisory Committee to help manage parking resources (article attached). Locally, Everett can learn from Tacoma's example, where leaders committed to invest $15 million in high-capacity parking facilities to keep Russell Investments in its downtown core (article attached). If Everett is truly serious about promoting retail and business development in its downtown core, the City must have a plan for creating and managing parking-especially now,given deteriorating economic conditions. Since many of us participate financially in the Business Improvement Area (BIA),we have asked our Downtown Services Manager, Sue Strickland, to post this petition and supporting information on the Downtown Everett Association's web site, and to raise awareness of our petition via the newsletter that is published monthly. We have a reasonable expectation that our request will be honored as it stems directly from the Downtown Everett Association's list of priorities,which include the following: Downtown Everett Association Priorities ❑ Create a safe and clean environment ❑ Keep members educated and informed ❑ Provide representation to media and government ❑ Enhance quality business and commerce ❑ Encourage residential development ❑ Support long-term parking solutions We request that the City of Everett provide a written response to our petition that outlines what actions will be taken with regard to the four key parking recommendations we cited in our previous communication to you. We also request that the City's response be addressed to Sue Strickland so she may post it on the Downtown Everett Association's web site in order to keep interested downtown stakeholders informed. Finally, we request that copies of our petition and accompanying materials be shared with officials in the Office of Economic Development so they may become better informed about the importance of parking and its impacts on the long-term success of downtown Everett. Sincerely, Dowlntoww everett staleelioLoters Enclosures: List of Petition Signatories Idaho Statesmen-Article Dated June 14, 2008 Puget Sound Business Journal-Article Dated June 5, 2008 Page 2