Mayor wants to stick with vision

I feel it is necessary to correct the impression your article of April 17 gives of my feelings about the Target store planned for South Sound Center.

I have for the past year led a community wide effort titled Lacey Downtown 2000. Our goal, in part, is. to create a vibrant, attractive, prosperous destination for Lacey residents and visitors. The work began with a market analysis and continued with a community visioning process that resulted in a plan for what the residents of Lacey want their downtown to be.

Since October 1997, a steering committee comprised of citizens and business and city representatives has been working to make the vision become a reality I believe in the process we've undertaken, and I strongly support the community-created vision for our downtown.

I made a decision recently to delay Planning Commission work on proposed zoning changes for South Sound Center because of concern expressed by the business community that the proposal should be reviewed by the Downtown 2000 steering committee. I concurred. It is important to me that the city not circumvent the process we've put in place for creating our downtown.

As the article correctly reported, the proposed zoning changes could not have been moved through the required adoption process in time to have any impact on the plan submitted by Capital Development Co.

Your article stated that I will welcome the Target store if it comes and will push for pedestrian-oriented improvement elsewhere. This is not what I said when I talked with reporter Larry Miller. What I said was I would welcome a Target store at South Sound Center if it is in the context of the vision for our downtown.

That vision includes retaining the current indoor mall and the recent improvements made by CDC. In recent discussions with Bob Blume, he told me he also supported that vision.

City Manager Greg Cuoio was right. The citizens of Lacey "deserve" an indoor, pedestrian mall. Those citizens have for the past 30 years supported Bob Blume and South Sound Center by spending their money at the mall. I would like them to continue to have that opportunity. As a community, we will continue our Downtown 2000 efforts regardless of the outcome of the most recent plan for South Sound Center.

Nancy Peterson, mayor/Lacey