PORT ANGELES — The site of a long gone pulp mill could be transformed into a “living community” of commercial, light industrial, residential, cultural, lodging, retail, convention and park uses nestled between a restored waterfront pier and upland wildlife habitat and urban farmland.
The “Salish Village” concept for the 75 acres owned by Rayonier Properties LLC is the brainchild of Jamestown S’Klallam tribal Chairman Ron Allen and a community design collaborative of architects, environmentalists, planners, residents and leaders.
The Blyn-based tribe first approached Harbor-Works Development Authority about being involved in the property’s redevelopment in June 2009, and reaffirmed its interest in being the lead agency for redevelopment in a letter to Gov. Chris Gregoire on Aug. 3.
Allen said last week that the tribe planned to roll out its vision for development on the property soon, and did so on Friday.
Rayonier recently has said it was no longer interested in negotiating with Harbor-Works, the public development agency formed by city and port governments in Port Angeles created to expedite the environmental cleanup of the property, now in its 10th year, and kick start its redevelopment.
Charlie Hood, vice president of public affairs for Rayonier, said Friday that the company had not discussed the design proposal with Allen or others in the community.
“We read the papers and find it interesting there’s a lot of conversation about what to do with the site, but we are often not part of the conversation,” Hood said.
The new design is the first concept for the site since 2003 when a developer from California and Oregon proposed a $120 million, seven-story, 322-unit timeshare condominium complex along with an exotic-fish aquarium and marine research center, a water-themed amusement park, a waterfront retail center and a decommissioned Navy aircraft carrier as a museum.
The developer, Jerry Ward, abandoned that project, citing concerns about financing and the potential for disturbing ancient tribal remains and artifacts at the former Klallam village site known as Y’innis.
The latest concept takes a strong turn toward sustainable “living buildings,” an architectural sustainable design step above Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED green-building standards.
Such “restorative design” buildings regenerate their own energy and waste for self-contained reuse.
“This attempt is designed to say to the community there is a way to develop a win-win proposition,” Allen said. “Everybody has their own ideas, of leaving it in its natural state to development.
“We’re just suggesting that we think seven generations down the road, looking into the 22nd century, and needing the latest development techniques.”
He described the concept as “a very dense development that allows light commercial and industrial kinds of activities that balance with the cultural site and the creek and estuary.”
Allen said the tribe has not gone past the initial design phase of the project to address cost and financing issues for such a project.
A small boutique hotel and convention center would be incorporated into the village, Allen said, and uses would be intended to “bridge” activity between the village and downtown Port Angeles’ commercial center, not compete with it.
The look would largely be Salish motif, similar to that used by the James S’Klallam tribal village at Blyn, much of which was designed by Gentry Architecture Collaborative.
The Gentry Architecture Collaborative designed the Jamestown S’Klallam’s Longhouse Market and Deli, community center and firehouse, all along U.S. Highway 101 in Blyn, along with the newly opened Lower Elwha Heritage Center in a former tire store in Port Angeles.
All utilities — power, water, storm water and waste water — would be contained and generated on-site by using the sun, tides and wind as energy sources, said Allen, who enlisted Port Angeles architect Mike Gentry and a newly formed Center for Community Design group to come up with a site plan for the next 100 years.
Gentry showed a mock-up of the Salish Village concept and a multi-view video of the proposal Friday night at the Center for Community Design — or C4CD — near his office in The Landing mall in Port Angeles, calling the center an “effort to educate the public for better process and urban design.”
Gentry hopes to apply the “C4CD” approach using community members to discuss ideas and help in planning and redevelopment of the waterfront and uptown neighborhoods of Port Angeles.
Allen called the Salish Village concept “an all-inclusive, contained community.”
Allen and Gentry on Friday unveiled color sketches of the densely situated Salish Village at the mouth of Ennis Creek, which would be built atop underground parking, raising the village 12 feet above sea level to protect it from high-water conditions.
The project is merely conceptual at this point.
The state Department of Ecology, Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and Rayonier Properties are investigating and planning cleanup of contamination left behind by 67 years of pulp production that include petroleum hydrocarbons such as hydraulic or fuel oil, polychlorinated biphenyls — or PCBs — from electrical equipment, lead, dioxins, furans and arsenic.
That is the most important undertaking ahead, Allen said, agreeing with Francis Charles, Lower Elwha Klallam tribal chairwoman.
Leaders with the two tribes have met twice over the Salish Village design plans, and some discussion has been made on where to locate a cultural center — at the Salish Village site on east side of Ennis Creek, where remnants of an ancient Klallam village now lie under 10 feet of fill, or the Tse-whit-zen village site on the other end of Port Angeles Harbor.
Artifacts and human remains found at Tse-whit-zen during digging for a state Department of Transportation graving yard led to the abandonment of the state project and the allocation of some of the Marine Drive land to the Lower Elwha tribe.
Allen called the Tse-whit-zen site “too industrial” for a tribal museum and cultural center.
Charles said the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe remains focused on placing the museum at the Tse-whit-zen site and is not considering another location.
“We have and will continue on with some government to government discussion with the [Jamestown] S’Kallam tribe,” Charles said.
Said Allen: “We agree with the Lower Elwha Klallam and the community that the cleanup and restoration of the site is the first step.
“But we need to look into the future to see what an opportunity this is to change the character, image and economic opportunity for the Port Angeles Harbor and our Peninsula.”
Jeff Lincoln, Harbor-Works executive director, said Friday the agency “is very excited about the vision that Ron [Allen] has put forth.
“We think it is very much in line with the community sentiments and represents a visionary approach.”
Lincoln and Allen said the project will take an extraordinary effort to accomplish and they hope the city, Port of Port Angeles the state will get behind it.
“We think the Native tribes provide a great resource to take care of the resources on the site,” Lincoln said.
Allen said that the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe would continue to work with Harbor-Works.
“This approach is intended to advance a common ground for all,” Allen said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
