Council will not proceed to vote on moratorium
Proposed delay would ban new construction in downtown Pullman
LUKE HUDSON | DAILY EVERGREEN ILLUSTRATION
The red boxes indicate potential areas of downtown where new construction would be delayed until the master plan was complete. However, the moratorium motion was not seconded so any new construction projects will be able to begin as soon as they are approved.
August 19, 2019
A proposed moratorium on the construction of new buildings in downtown Pullman failed during a city council meeting Tuesday.
City Councilmember Al Sorensen said he motioned to vote on a moratorium at the next meeting, but no other members seconded the motion. As a result, the council will not vote on the issue at the next meeting.
“I don’t know what their thought process was behind it,” Sorensen said. “There was some, if you watch the video, mentioned that they think it delivers the wrong message to developers, that Pullman is not open for business. Well that’s silly.”
Sorensen said a main reason for his proposal was that the city is spending $122,800 for a consultant to create a master plan for Pullman, which is supposed to be delivered to the council in January.
This plan is meant to define construction standards for the area so buildings fit the model of what citizens want downtown to look like.
The moratorium would not have affected ongoing construction, remodeling or projects involving existing buildings, only new construction.
He said that allowing any new buildings to be constructed before that plan is in place may result in inconsistencies in terms of what people want the city to look like.
The area the moratorium would have covered if passed is the downtown core business district. This includes part of Grand Avenue, Main Street, Kamiaken Street, NE Olsen Street and Paradise Street.
Sorensen said he was disappointed that the council chose not to put the decision to a vote and that it went against the public response to the proposal at the meeting.
