2022 AIA Communities by Design Reimagining Petaluma SDAT - Report - Page 55
Petaluma DAT
Case Studies in Community-Led
Development
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington provides an example of how
to inspire pride in change by creating a truly public
revitalization process. Their success has been built
around involving everyone in the process. In 2009, Port
Angeles hosted an AIA team to focus on downtown
revitalization and waterfront development. Port Angeles
had suffered declining fortunes as the result of mill
closures and reduced productivity from natural resource
industries. It also lies at the gateway to America for
people entering from Canada, and at the gateway to the
Olympic peninsula and its national parks. Historically, it
was home to dozens of indigenous peoples as well.
The approach that Port Angeles took to implementation
opened up broad participation from the entire
community. “Just two weeks after the SDAT presented
more than 30 recommendations, the Port Angeles
Forward committee held a public vote and unanimously
agreed to recommend 10 of those items for immediate
action,” said Nathan West, the City Manager. “Public
investment and commitment inspired private investment,
and, less than a month later, the community joined
together in an effort to revamp the entire downtown,
starting with a physical face-lift. Community members
donated paint and equipment, and residents picked
up their paintbrushes to start the transformation.” An
immediate idea came directly from the community.
Volunteers banded together to give 43 buildings
downtown an immediate face-lift, and the momentum
was born.
This effort led to a formal façade improvement program
that extended the initiative exponentially. The city
dedicated $118,000 in community development block
grants for the effort, which catalyzed over $265,000 in
private investment. The city also moved forward with
substantial public investment in its waterfront, which
had a dramatic impact in inspiring new partnerships
and private investment. Within 5 years, Port Angeles
had over $100 million in new investment downtown,
including an award-winning waterfront that draws
people back to the downtown. In June 2012, Port
Angeles was recognized with a state design award for its
waterfront master plan. The city completed construction
of phase 1 in 2014, and launched phase 2 in 2015. Today,
major new public facilities are found on the waterfront,
including an arts center and a cultural center dedicated
to the indigenous peoples of the area and their history.
Helper, Utah
Helper City, Utah was incorporated in the late 19th
century as a result of surrounding mines and the
railroad, which runs through town. It developed a
thriving local mining economy in the early 20th century.
The town got its name from the ‘helper’ engines that
were stationed at the mouth of the canyon to assist
trains in reaching the Soldier Summit up the mountain.
The natural resource economy began to suffer economic
decline over the past 20 years, and in 2015 the Carbon
Power Plant in Helper was closed. It had been in
operation since 1954. The economic impact resulted in
de-population and increased poverty, putting a strain
on resources and capacity. The population of the town
is 2,095, and the per capita income for the city was
$15,762, with almost 13 percent of the population living
below the poverty line. In September 2017, Helper City
hosted an AIA Design Assessment Team to build a
community-driven strategy for its downtown. Over 200
people participated in the process, which produced a
53-page report with recommended implementation
strategies that focused on strengthening the public
realm, activating the downtown and enhancing the
historic fabric. At the conclusion of the process, one
citizen stood up and declared, “You’ve given us hope.”
In the first year of implementation efforts, the town
of 2,000 mobilized hundreds of volunteers in a
grassroots effort to remake the public realm and activate
downtown. Citizens were involved directly in a series of
hands-on projects that included the redesign of Main
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Street, pop-up retail stores, redesigned public parks,
restoration of the riverfront, and other initiatives. They
also enhanced programming downtown with successful
arts festivals and related events. The impact has been
transformational, stimulating private investment and
momentum for positive change. Helper City Mayor
Lenise Peterman notes that ‘”The plan created from
the SDAT event is driving continuous improvement in
Helper City. By giving voice to the community, we have
also given it hope in creating a sustainable environment
which is respectful of our past, values our environmental
assets and maximizes the opportunity for community
engagement.”
Recently, Carbon County leaders hired a consultant to
do an assessment of the entire jurisdiction. Regarding
Helper, he had this to say: “I have never seen a
community like this. You guys are the poster child for
how to get things done…We really believe Helper is
setting the Gold Standard for Utah.” That sentiment is
felt locally as well. The Mayor and Steering Committee
wrote that “The three-day immersion by the DAT
team has impacted, and continues to impact, our
community on a daily basis. People in our community
have something they haven’t had for some time, hope
for a sustainable community. Key tenants of creating
that sustainability include replenishing human capital
(drawing young families to our city), caring for our
environmental assets, and finally recreating an energybased economy to a destination based one. And we are
doing just that – everywhere in Carbon County people
say it’s happening in Helper” – and it is!” Helper is living
up to its namesake and living its motto, “The Little Town
that Can.” As one local report noted, “Within the last 18
months, all but one of the available buildings on Main
Street has been purchased and has undergone some
degree of renovation.”
In 2018, Helper was recognized with a Facilitation
Impact Award for its revitalization efforts. As Mayor
Lenise Peterman wrote, “The SDAT program was the
catalyst for what we have done and is the road map
for what we will do to create our best version of a
sustainable community. The community, at the final
presentation during the SDAT visit, literally cheered.
And we are delivering on the vision in lockstep with our
citizens. A community with hope is unstoppable – I can’t
imagine being where we are today without the support,
guidance and expertise the SDAT program afforded a
small, struggling rural community in Utah.”
