Res-2018-177 Distressed Sales and Use Tax Cle Elum

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In 1918, a major fire destroyed most of the original downtown. When rebuilt, the downtown was oricoted in an east-west direction along an approximate five-block area of First Street, between Oakes A venue and Peoh A venue. First Street, paralleling the Railroad, then became the major commercial street. Over time, as ties to the Northern Pacific Railroad weakened and the importance of the automobile increased, First Street/SR903 became the major highway through town. Commercial (and some industrial) development spread, in strip fashion. along the full length of First Street. This strip development consists of both older residential uses converted to oommercial use and new construction. Construction of Interstate 90 with its associated interchanges at each end of the City and partial interchange at Oakes Street reinforced the existing linear development pattern. Highway-oriented commercial uses then also developed around the interchanges at each end of the city. Industrially zoned land which is mostly vacant, occupies the area between the Railroad and Intestate 90; however development is constrained by limited access, lack of utilities and its location in a floodplain. Most of this area is not suitable for building due to flooding. The older areas of Cle Elum are platted in a traditional grid pattern, with lots generally fronting the east-west streets. Most commercial lots are 25-feet in width x 120-feet in length, and most residential lots, SO-feet x 120-feet. Ten to twenty.foot wide alleys bisect the bJocks in an cast-west direction. Properties at the east and west ends of the City were subdivided later and included a mix oflot sizes with a Jess rigidly developed street pattern. Streets within the original downtown are generously wide -First Street, Oakes Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue. Harris Avenuet and Bullitt Avenue have 100-foot rights• way. Second Avenue, Billings Street, Wright Avenue, and Peoh Avenue have 80-foot right-way. Many of the existing, older commercial and residential structures show signs of age and "historically inappropriate" techniques and materials have been widely used in maintenance and repair. Revitalizing the City's character and chann will require special attention to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of these existing sbuctures in the CBD. To that end the City is reluctant to zone additional lands within close proximity to its Historic CBD "commercial''. This Comprehensive Plans Land Use Analysis d~onstrates that ample opportunity exists within the CBD for development/re-development. A challenge ofparamouot importance to the City is to integrate the pressures of new development with our historic commercial and residential core. Characteristics of Existing Land Uses/Land Use Inventory The Orowth Management Act requires the preparation of a Land Use Element that identifies the existing general distnl>ution and location of various land uses, and the approximate acreage and density of existing land uses. The inventory of existing land uses can be used to gauge the proportion of total land area that the city may need to devote to specific uses in the future. The existing proportions and distribution ofland uses may be adjusted for shifts in the desires and needs of the community, or to accommodate projected future needs. Table J below provides the City of Cle Elum -Land Use Plan 6