Barely five years ago, Everett citizens were proud to learn that our leaders had submitted an application to the federal government and received confirmation for the Hewitt Avenue National Historic District. A great deal of effort and pride were invested by this city’s volunteer historical commission and supporting staff to get it done.
It took taxpayer dollars for a highly qualified outside historic architecture firm to accomplish the inventory and application, as well as for the sign replacements, but many felt it was worth the cost for the ongoing effort to add new and attractive amenities to our central downtown.
How things have changed!
On Feb. 3, Herald reporter Noah Haglund first broke the news of an alarming plan to resolve the city-county parking spat, which Snohomish Tribune writer Melanie Russell then confirmed and elaborated on last week. This plan involves a new parking garage which will destroy several heritage buildings on Hewitt’s south side, inside Everett’s new Historic District.
What a city! Our leaders no sooner apply for, receive, and post the signs for Everett’s Hewitt National Historic District, 2010-12, but now they’ve dreamed up this clever plan to destroy and throw into the landfill historically contributing buildings on the south side of Hewitt between Oakes and Rockefeller. Why? To make peace with the county gang trying ever so hard to build a new courthouse?
Not only does this totally inappropriate plan violate the city’s own comprehensive plan, which states that high respect be paid to Everett’s historic resources, gleaned from surveys of Everett citizens, but it also swiftly and permanently kills the hard-earned historical district for which these same citizens saw their tax dollars spent for outside consultants and major resigning of Hewitt. No wonder our leaders never got the I-5 exit signs erected for “Historic District!”
They were just kidding us all along. I see no humor here; how about you?
Dave Ramstad
Everett
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