April 6, 2015 · Exit133

West Slope Conservation District Comment Opportunity

The idea of creating a conservation district overlay zone in the West Slope neighborhood in Tacoma’s West End is moving ahead.

We first heard about the proposal to protect the character of the Narrowmoor neighborhood in the West End about a year ago. Narrowmoor is a neighborhood made up of single-family homes built between the 1940s and 1960s on large lots on Tacoma's West Slope. Houses are generally one story plus a daylight basement, and situated on their lots to maximize views of the Narrows.

Having failed to get a historic district designation several years earlier, a group of homeowners from the neighborhood brought a proposal to the City for a "conservation district overlay" that would discourage unneccessary teardown of existing homes and subject any new construction or significant additions in the area to a set of criteria designed to maintain the character of the neighborhood.

Restricting building height to that of existing rooflines, with no more than a main level and a daylight basement
Limiting building design to "consistent and compatible" with existing structures
Specifying roof pitch
Limiting building footprint to 25% of lot size
Requiring that lots be a minimum of 12,500 square feet
Prohibiting view-obstructing vegetation

The Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Planning Commission have been reviewing the request to determine the West Slope Neighborhood's eligibility for a conservation district and whether the proposed regulations are suitable for a conservation district. Last fall the LPC found that the district appears to meet the basic criteria for a conservation district.

Some of the questions that have come up include whether the proposal, especially with regard to large minimum lot sizes, is consistent with the City’s housing policies on affordable housing, since the area already has high property values. The recommendation was to remove the 12,500 square foot minimum lot size requirement, and stick with the 7,500 square foot minimum already in City code for single-family residential districts. The thought from the LPC is that provisions for lot design and siting of new houses can serve the function of preserving character.

Another concern arose over whether the City could or should create legislation related to neighborhood covenants that historically were racially discriminatory, as were the covenants originally governing Narrowmoor. The West Slope Neighborhood Coalition submitted documents showing that the discriminatory language had been redacted, and is no longer in effect, replaced by an organizational mission statement emphasizing social and cultural diversity as one of its primary objectives.

The LPC also removed regulations on vegetation, and provided further guidance on design guidelines.

Next up is a briefing today for the City Council Neighborhoods and Housing Committee meeting, followed by an April 8 public hearing by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on the proposal.

So, what do you think of the idea?

Previously from Exit133: West Slope Neighborhood Conservation District? and A Conservation District to Protect Lack of Density?

Filed under: Neighborhoods, West End, Historic Preservation

64 comments

Stu April 6, 2015

Great idea! Homes of this era and style are beautiful, and so is this neighborhood – worthy of protection from McMansionization and other visual renovation runamuckasses. Hope the proposal is accepted.
Stella April 7, 2015

It's deceiving that they always use the same picture in any article written. You just have to drive around the neighborhood and see how much change there has been since the 1950's. The small group of neighbors that have been wanting the district, want the City to take on the responsibility of enforcing neighborhood covenants, since there is no HOA for the area. That means everyone who lives and pays taxes in the City will be paying for lawsuits and staff to "preserve" their neighborhood. The racial inequality that the developer had envisioned for the entire area absolutely should be considered. There are so many wonderful things about Tacoma to preserve...why are we wasting the City's time on preserving the white only vision of a developer?
- Xeno April 7, 2015
  
  I agree, this is planning at its worst. Retired lawyers that have nothing better to do than harrang City staff on creating a laughable excuse of a conservation district to protect the most unconservation oriented development of the modern era supportive of multiple car garages, 75%+ area water intensive landscaping, and the like. This is an HOA in sheeps clothing and the City will be responsible for enforcement when someone uses the wrong pitch color on their roof. "Enclave Planning" is a problem in California where rich neighborhoods try to distinguish themselves in every way possible to be seperate themselves from affordable housing and multifamily housing. Expect nothing to ever get built here if they get this overlay. No one builds 1950's style ramblers on this much property anymore. I'm sure this is what they want.
- Jesse April 7, 2015
  
  I don't understand... Why is it a white only? I'm genuinely curious. As to the covenants, I can see why these homeowners are concerned. They paid for a view property and want it to stay that way. The views these people paid for have real monetary value.
  - stella April 7, 2015
    
    The area was developed by a guy who made his money off war time government contracts, was an accused blackmailer and used bribery to get his contracts. He put in the covenants and on the plat maps that no one would be allowed to live there if they were a person of color - unless they were a servant. Disgusting. I don't think this is what the people of Tacoma think about when they think of a Historical and Preservation Society. Also, there is already a view sensitive overlay (city code) that limits the height of anything to 25 feet.
    - JDHasty April 7, 2015
      
      "put in the covenants and on the plat maps that no one would be allowed to live there if they were a person of color" I'm not so sure about that. His sons are principals in Berger Abam and Concrete Tech. From what I have been told he was a big mover and shaker in Tacoma and Pierce County politics who commonly wrote checks for thousands of dollars supporting Democrat Party candidates. I guess anything is possible, but accusations of racism are not consistent with anything I have ever heard about the man.
      - Jesse April 7, 2015
        
        Remember that, before Reagan, there was such a thing as a Progressive Republican. It was the Southern Democrats who were the Conservative bigots pre-Reagan. Southern Democrats, in the old school way, are extinct. Reagan changed the definition of the Republican party to be mostly Conservative therefore pushing the old Southern Democrat guard into extinction.
        
        JDHasty April 7, 2015
        
        So what you are saying is that today's Democrat Party is the heir to the political philosophy of the progressive movement since its beginnings, through the last century and up to today and Republicans have not identified with the progressive movement since very early on? Is that correct?
        
        Jesse April 8, 2015
        
        I am saying that it was possible to have a Progressive Republican or a Conservative Democrat before Reagan re-defined the parties. Before 1980, a politician could be a Conservative Democrat (Southern Democrat), a Liberal or Progressive Democrat (Democrat), or a Conservative or Progressive (not Liberal) Republican. Remember that "Progressive" and "Liberal" have separate meanings. Ever heard of a "Reagan Democrat?" They were basically factions of the old Southern Democrats. As the Republicans got more Conservative and the Democrats more Liberal, it basically squeezed the Southern Democrats out of existence. Examples of Progressive Republicans include Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Abraham Lincoln. Some even say Nixon (a "crook") was Progressive - perhaps that's why a redefining candidate like Reagan came about.
      - Stella April 7, 2015
        
        This is from the original covenants which are on all plat maps recorded at the county. First Addition of the Covenants for the Narrowmoor Additions, recorded March 13, 1944 which states: “No part or parcel of land or improvement thereon shall be rented or leased to or used or occupied, in whole or in part, by any person of African or Asiatic descent, nor by any person not of the white or Caucasian race, other than domestic servants domiciled with an owner or tenant and living in their home”.
        
        thackerspeed April 7, 2015
        
        Huh? No mention of flamboyant types?
        
        Xeno April 7, 2015
        
        That is pretty amazing Stella. I guess everything about this reeks. I'm sure every neighborhood will want a conservation district and a $40k Historical Survey for how significant their neighborhood is.
        
        JDHasty April 8, 2015
        
        It impresses me that some here are focusing on that aspect of the covenants to inject race as a wedge issue. I don't personally see the correlation between recognizing this area as having unique and historically significant architecture with that particular covenant. But it is your argument to make and given Tacoma's affinity for racial identity politics, perhaps that is a winning issue for them. That being said, if you all are sincere, and not just trying to exploit past institutionalized racism, i.e. government sponsored racism, as a way to advance your current agenda, I would say there are bigger fish to fry. Right here in Tacoma we have a high school named after a virulent racist who occupied the White House and a man whose policies were actually responsible for subjugating minority populations. I would think that getting Woodrow Wilson's name taken off of one of our High Schools would take precedence over denying this neighborhood protections afforded to Conservation Districts based on past racially discriminatory covenants. Woodrow Wilson High School 1202 North Orchard Tacoma, WA 98406 http://www.academia.org/progressive-segregation/ much ink is spilled and many lectures devoted to his policies which many professors are enamored of, chiefly the progressive income tax at home and the League of Nations abroad. As Black History month draws to a close, we should highlight a Wilsonian trend in policy that is relevant to both his national and international outlook—segregation.
        
        JDHasty April 8, 2015
        
        “I do approve of the segregation that is being attempted in several of the departments,” President Wilson wrote in his first year in office. “I think if you were here on the ground you would see, as I seem to see, that it is distinctly to the advantage of the colored people themselves that they should be organized, so far as possible and convenient, in district bureaus where they will center their work.” Economist Bruce Bartlett unearthed the Wilson missive in his new book Wrong On Race: The Democratic Party’s Buried Past. “It is true that the segregation of the colored employees in the several departments was begun upon the initiative and at the suggestion of several of the heads of the departments, but as much in the interest of the Negroes as for any other reason, with the approval of some of the most influential Negroes I know, and with the idea that the friction, or rather the discontent and uneasiness, which had prevailed in many of the departments would thereby be removed,” President Wilson wrote in another letter that same year. “It is as far as possible from being a movement against the negroes.” As Bartlett shows, the NAACP heartily disagreed. “It realizes that this new and radical departure has been recommended, and is now being defended, on the ground that by giving certain bureaus or sections wholly to colored employees they are thereby rendered safer in possession of their offices and are less likely to be discriminated against,” read a letter from the NAACP board. “We believe this reasoning to be fallacious.” “It is based on a failure to appreciate the deeper significance of the new policy; to understand how far reaching the effects of such a drawing of caste lines by the Federal Government may be, and how humiliating it is to the men thus stigmatized.” Similarly, when U. S. forces entered the “war to end all wars,” President Wilson may have wanted to “make the world safe for democracy” but as commander-in-chief he did so with a segregated military. “World War I brought no improvement in Wilson’s policy towards blacks,” Bartlett writes. “They were put in segregated military units, mostly relegated to support positions, and kept out of combat.” “One reason was a fear of giving them training with guns, which they might use to defend themselves from racist attacks once the war was over.” The war won, Wilson’s attitude did not change. “At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Wilson fought measures that might aid black equality,” Bartlett writes. “The Japanese delegates to the conference, for example, were very keen on adding a racial equality clause to the peace treaty, which had strong support among Asian-Americans.” “But Wilson was warned by his close adviser Colonel Edward House that acceptance of the clause ‘would surely raise the race issue around the world.’” Although most Wilson aficionados sadly acknowledge this part of his persona, albeit with comparative brevity, they dismiss these policies and practices usually by pointing out that Wilson was “a southerner” and “a man of his time.” This explanation falls short when you compare him with another southerner stuck in a time warp—Robert E. Lee. Wilson wrote that “domestic slaves were dealt with indulgently and even affectionately by their masters” in 1893, nearly three decades after the Civil War ended. By way of contrast, Lee called slavery “a moral and political evil” in 1856, before the War Between the States began. Also, Wilson as president of the United States refused to speak out against lynching, as Bartlett relates. In comparison, Lee, in elderly retirement, would physically interpose himself between whites and blacks when the former meant to do the latter harm, preventing them from so doing, according to historians who have chronicled the general’s career.
        
        JDHasty April 8, 2015
        
        What's the matter, cat got your tongue? If you are going to make the racist element of this covenant a centerpiece of your objection to this application for Conservation District status, how can you not be at the forefront of getting the name of this virulent racist removed from the high school? When you consider that the school was named in honor of a virulent racist and published anti-Semite this isn't a difference in degree, it is a difference in kind. The neighborhood has a past and most of the people who live in that neighborhood don't even know about this covenant. The school was named after a known anti-Semite who is also exposed as a virulent racist by his own writings. If you want my opinion, I think you are exploiting racial identity politics in order to advance your own pet agenda. I may be wrong and you may be mustering a group of residents who will make it their mission to get this virulent racist's name off of that high school. Time will tell.
        
        JDHasty April 8, 2015
        
        Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921 and leader of the Progressive Movement.
        
        Xeno April 8, 2015
        
        Are you arguing with yourself?
        
        JDHasty April 9, 2015
        
        I am pointing out just how hypocriticalthose who are trying to make this issue about race are. They are attemptint to set this debate up in such a way as to give them the opportunityto point and claim that people who don't agree with them are racists.
        
        Jesse April 9, 2015
        
        I have always been told that when there's a covenants document in a neighborhood, and someone breaks the rules without anyone objecting, than those covenants are then broken. I mean, I'm no realtor or attorney but if the original ones had redlining rules drawn right in the rules, and any of those rules were broken, than that document isn't worth the paper it's written on. Tell me if I'm wrong... So can you see where the racist issues are issues today? If the old covenants were withheld, they contain racism. If there's new covenants, they have to get all the houses to agree on a homeowner organization. I mean, this is what I've always been told about these things. Maybe someone could clarify???
        
        thackerspeed April 9, 2015
        
        We live in a culture dominated by collective group rights.
        
        tartansky April 9, 2015
        
        Actually, I believe you are right. That HS name should be changed. How do you propose we do that? In the meantime, why perpetuate and enshrine other racist legacies by legitimizing them in a conservation district?
        
        tartansky April 9, 2015
        
        Actually, I believe you are right. That HS name should be changed. How do you propose we do that? In the meantime, why perpetuate and enshrine other racist legacies by legitimizing them in a conservation district?
    - Jesse April 7, 2015
      
      Wow. Thanks for the info. So, they "redlined" that neighborhood upon the start of construction. I bet you'd find a bigot at the helm of almost all construction companies before 1960-ish.
Jim C April 7, 2015

I think this is a unique neighborhood and applaud the people putting this proposal forward. Conservation doesn't just mean trying to preserve historic structures in neighborhoods that have already declined around them, does it?
- stella April 7, 2015
  
  What exactly makes the neighborhood unique? And, taxpayers shouldn't have to pay to make sure someones personal property view stays the same as it did in 1940.
  - Jim C April 9, 2015
    
    What makes this neighborhood unique, to me, is the way the lots and streets are terraced down the hillside and the abundance of midcentury modern style. The streets are narrow here so I understand the neighborhood's apprehension at having some developer come in and subdivide properties as has been going on lately. I don't believe their intent is to celebrate the original developer's racist legacy, as someone else pointed out on this page that argument could be made about pretty much anything dating back to the first half of the last century; institutional racism is part of our history whether we like it or not. Also, taxpayers have to pay for lots of things they don't agree with - it's part of life.
    - Terry April 9, 2015
      
      I happen to like the neighborhood as well, but here's my problem. If this goes though every block of the North End is going to apply to be a Conservation District.... and City lawyers will be fighting endless battles over any development that is ever tried, and no zoning changes will ever be possible. No thank you.
      - JDHasty April 10, 2015
        
        "If this goes though every block of the North End is going to apply to be a Conservation District" I would be in favor of that. Residents of these neighborhoods worked hard and sacrificed a lot to be able to afford to raise their families in these neighborhoods consisting of detached, primarily owner occupied, single family residences. That is how they want to live. If that is not how you want to live the government will even subsidize your lifestyle choice. If future residents want to live in neighborhoods that of detached, primarily owner occupied, single family residences that is their prerogative. If you get your way they will have no choice in the matter.
    - tartansky April 9, 2015
      
      What you describe makes the terra-formed TERRAIN unique, not the homes that populate it. Agreed that taxpayers often are required to fund things they don't agree with, but those things benefit the majority of the city and not just a few homeowners who are afraid of change. Also agreed that the explicit intent is not to celebrate the racist legacy; it's to protect THEIR views. They are just using one of the developer's names as a talisman to try and garner some "historical" value to their arguments. Sadly, he and his contemporaries were overtly racist. Can't they find better historical references to justify preserving THEIR views?
Terry April 7, 2015

Things change in a real city. I'm all for zoning enforcement, but there is no way I want city tax money paying lawyers to fight growth and progress because of some imagined conservation district. The condos are going up kids, just get used to it, it's not the same place it was in 1940.
- thackerspeed April 8, 2015
  
  Things change in a real city? I wonder how much we taxpayers are paying for growth and progress in other areas of Tacoma, for example Salishan, over on East Portland Avenue---Police, Fire, ATF Special Agents, Swat Teams. Does it really make sense to criticize the Narrowmoor Conservation District?
  - Xeno April 8, 2015
    
    Is that you Dr. William Mount?
    - thackerspeed April 8, 2015
      
      A lot of people misunderstand Tacoma, and life in general, because they've been misled by tabloids. I was born and raised in Tacoma. All things are not bad. All things are not good. All things are not equal.
engineer April 8, 2015

Terrible idea. If the homeowners there want a homeowners' association, then they need to band together and create one. The City needs to be encouraging urban density and native landscape, which both happen to be in direct conflict with this "preservation" proposal.
JDHasty April 10, 2015

@tartansky April 9, 2015 at 9:48 pm [quote]Actually, I believe you are right. That HS name should be changed. How do you propose we do that? In the meantime, why perpetuate and enshrine other racist legacies by legitimizing them in a conservation district?[/quote] I would think that this is something that one or maybe (hopefully) all of the advocacy groups purporting to stand for inclusiveness would advocate for. The fly in the ointment is that many such advocacy groups are not so much (if at all) concerned with advocating on behalf of the groups they claim to represent as they are simply pro progressive ideology front groups whose core mission is geared around exploitation of past and present injustices and using them as wedge issues to advance their own agendas.
- JDHasty April 10, 2015
  
  IMHO, the area in question doesn't impress me as being exclusionary int eh least. It impresses me as being an area with a certain character that would be an attractive neighborhood for all people, from all races, to live in. I live in a neighborhood that is characterized by single family, primarily owner occupied, detached residents and prefer to live among others who share that desire. I don't want to live in the shadow of buildings that are out of scale with the existing residences and I can appreciate the value of having a view of Puget Sound, Fox Island and the Olympic Mountain range and understand these people's desire to protect that view. Of course there are developers who are primarily interested in exploiting that same view for financial gain and could care less who suffers from lack of view should they build in front of them blocking their view. Unfortunately these scoundrels will find allies who will rely on the "politics of envy" and will cobble together a coalition opposed to the residents of this neighborhood desire to preserve the character of the West Slope. I would like to see them fail.
  - Tartansky April 11, 2015
    
    So, I'm sensing that you are in fact a resident of this neighborhood? Can you tell me what makes it unique from a historical perspective, and more importantly what is worth preserving for all of the other residents in Tacoma?
    - JDHasty April 12, 2015
      
      Not at all. The character of the neighborhood is worth preserving because some people would like to live in such a neighborhood. If you don't then live somewhere else, but stop trying to destroy what others enjoy. The opponents are trying to foment envy and that alone tells me what I need to know about their character.
      - tartansky April 13, 2015
        
        So you are able to make a character assessment because I ask you questions? BTW- you didn't answer my previous question; what is the benefit to the residents of TACOMA, not just the residents of the neighborhood? That is one of the requirements in establishing a conservation district overlay.
        
        JDHasty April 13, 2015
        
        Yes, I am able to assess the character of people who attempt to divide us through recourse to the bitter politics of envy. This unique neighborhood impresses me as adding to the diversity of the community by having a neighborhoods that appeal to differing segments of a community that is made up of residents with diverse wants. There is obviously a demographic that is willing to work hard and make the sacrifices necessary to raise a family in what appears to me to be a very appealing traditional neighborhood with a panoramic view of Puget Sound, the Narrows Bridge, Fox Island and the Olympic Mountains. I think that having the opportunity to live in a community that protects that option is quite valuable. I am not interested in living there myself, but over the years I have known a lot of people who bought in that neighborhood and each and every one of them gave as a reason for their desire to live there the very characteristics this Conservation District would protect.
JDHasty April 13, 2015

Yes, I can assess the character of people who attempt to divide us through recourse to the bitter politics of envy. This unique neighborhood impresses me as adding to the diversity of the community by having a neighborhoods that appeal to differing segments of a community that is made up of residents with diverse wants. There is obviously a demographic that is willing to work hard and make the sacrifices necessary to raise a family in what appears to me to be a very appealing traditional neighborhood with a panoramic view of Puget Sound, the Narrows Bridge, Fox Island and the Olympic Mountains. I think that having the opportunity to live in a community that protects that option is quite valuable. I am not interested in living there myself, but over the years I have known a lot of people who bought in that neighborhood and each and every one of them gave as a reason for their desire to live there the very characteristics this Conservation District would protect.
tartansky April 13, 2015

Wow. I seem to have hit a nerve. Please don't assume I am trying to divide anything except the fact from fantasy. I hear and understand your praises for how you appear to perceive the value of the neighborhood, but other than a questionable benefit to the property owners there please explain how the residents of South Tacoma or the Eastside benefit from a conservation district in that neighborhood? What are we preserving for them?
- JDHasty April 13, 2015
  
  It is transparently obvious that what you and your cohorts have been up to here, and in other places, is attempting to inculcate a sense of resentment and fostering envy. Don't play innocent with me, anyone reading the rhetoric here can see right through your BS and discern your motives.
- JDHasty April 14, 2015
  
  How about you explain how the residents of South Tacoma or the Eastside benefit from an extension of light rail that will serve 2-3% of Tacoma's population MAX. How about you explain how the residents of South Tacoma or the Eastside benefit from the City of Tacoma continuing to underfund existing municipal infrastructure maintenance while funding pet projects like ditch trails and such?
  - JDHasty April 14, 2015
    
    Or even better, how about you explain how the residents of South Tacoma or the Eastside, particularly those residents who need temporary shelter, benefit from the City Council contributing $1.5M to fund construction of luxury condo units that cost north of $275K/unit.
tartansky April 13, 2015

Can't answer my question eh?
thackerspeed April 13, 2015

The descriptive truth underlies the prescriptive truth. The value of this neighborhood stands in relation to the theoretical soundness of the design, and on its authenticity---socially and culturally the district has proved itself stable and influential, and the architecture is genuine to the historical period. There has always been, and always will be a demand for good, limited resources. The goal of man, according to the ancient philosopher Socrates, is to find out what the "Good" is. I understand that many people don't believe in such abstract concepts, so to them, there's no sense in looking for the "Good" since it doesn't exist. We live in a relativistic age. Some people seem to not want a point of reference. Some people seem to not want their world to make sense. The danger of a relativistic outlook, that all things are equal, is that it can lead to bad decisions. This neighborhood could be leveled and a different, novel neighborhood could arise. But if that were to happen then I think we could all agree that we would lose an important part of Tacoma's intellectual and cultural heritage. We would trade order for chaos. We would trade certainty for uncertainty.
- Tartansky April 13, 2015
  
  Well, that is another answer and certainly prosaic. Maybe you can define what makes this neighborhood part of Tacoma's "...intellectual and cultural heritage" because I am at a loss to see what it is they are trying to preserve and why the rest of Tacoma's citizens will benefit from it?
thackerspeed April 13, 2015

Tartansky, until you make an effort to understand Western Civilization, the basis of its system of principles and processes which guide and govern society, including Tacoma, then you will have no reason to defend or subvert the system. That's where a large part of Tacoma is today---Strangers living in a strange land. No point of reference. No compass. No convictions of the serious thinkers who have engaged in the pursuit of ideas and affairs which are rationally defensible.
- JDHasty April 13, 2015
  
  thackerspeed, This Tartanski et all are nothing but an Alinsky disciples who have but a few pages in their tattered and dog-eared playbook. So far we have seen an appeal to racism trotted out followed by appeals to resentment and envy. These are not individuals who are concerned one iota buy past racism on the part of the developers except as it might be exploited as a wedge issue used to advance the progressive agenda. If this were not the case they would be absolutely incensed that an unabashed, virulent anti-Semite and racist whose policies racially RE-segregated federal agencies and the US military is celebrated and honored by having a high school named after him. I have provided documentation sufficient to support my claim of this man's despicable agenda regarding racial segregation and if they want to validate what I have provided there is plenty more documentary evidence readily available online as well as at the library. If they want it they can go get it on their own, I am not going to fall into their trap of: show me this, now show me this, now where is this documented, now provide me with... ad infinitum. I am all too familiar with their tactics and they can go pound sand. They will never take me up on my challenge even to the degree of uttering a syllable in support of taking the name of Woodrow Wilson off that high school because Woodrow Wilson is considered a progressive icon. Their outrage is selective and is nothing but pretext for advancing their progressive policies nine times out of ten.
  - thackerspeed April 14, 2015
    
    Wilson High School has always been a hotbed of activism. That's somewhat understandable since part of the student population is comprised of the West Slope neighborhood. Prior to the 1968 Civil Rights Act, when the school mascot was changed to the ram, the administration was pressured to change the mascot three times. During the first ten years of the high school's opening, the symbolic names used were the Wilson Cotton Pickers, Wilson Rice Eaters, and Wilson Crackers.
    - JDHasty April 14, 2015
      
      The selective outrage is telling. To be outraged by something that does nothing today to define this neighborhood while simultaneously looking the other way when there is a high school that is named in honor of an avowed racist whose policies impacted millions of blacks and Asians, and a man who also hated Catholics is the height of hypocrisy and points to opportunism as what motivates them.
  - Stella April 14, 2015
    
    JD Hastey - Wow. Your conversation took a weird turn. I read through everything again, and all tartan asked was what is the value to people who live in Tacoma, and yet you couldn't answer. This has been my issue through it all: no one seems to be able to articulate what makes this neighborhood worth preserving using everyone's tax dollars. Unfortunately, there is no denying there are other examples of racism still around. But why does that mean we can't make things better when we see them happening now?
    - JDHasty April 14, 2015
      
      There is absolutely no connection between this ancient covenant that has not been enforced in decades prior to it being ruled unconstitutional and any racism (or anything else happening now) "happening now." This is a classic example of Aninskyite tactics being put into play as a wedge issue. What I am pointing out is the blatant and overt hypocrisy of those who are bringing this to the table. What the opponents object to is that there are people who do want the CHOICE of living in Tacoma in a neighborhood that consists of single family residences on fairly large lots and they would also like to be able to enjoy the panoramic views of Puget Sound, Fox Island, The Olympic Mountains and more. I don't live on the West Slope, but I most certainly support the resident's protecting the character of their neighborhood. If you are such a flippin' moron that you cannot read that and comprehend that I think that is worthy of preservation then maybe you can find a remedial class in third grade reading comprehension some where.
thackerspeed April 14, 2015

WTF! Who revised the district map? Now there's no White Street, WASP Lane, Aryan Way, or Master Avenue.
thackerspeed April 14, 2015

Did You Know?... For 74 consecutive years, the promoters of Ethnic Fest have refused to site their carnival on the West Slope.
thackerspeed April 14, 2015

At one time, Bill Cosby and Connie Chung planned to open a business on the West Slope. The neighbors protested. The venture was advertised as the Afro-Asian Tennis Club, "Where The Only Thing White Is The Ball." For unknown reasons, the partnership failed and Chung later alleged that Cosby slipped her a mickey.
- stella April 14, 2015
  
  Thanks Thakerspeed. ROFLMAO!
Xeno April 15, 2015

For true posterity maybe a mandatory monthly housing tour as a provision to the conservation district should be instated so the masses can enjoy these relics of the past? Maybe a rebuild/restoration of the Asiatic and African servants quarters with informative didactic displays for the children to take away how innovative this era really was? But who knows what the half-life of a 1950's mid century modern rambler is actually? Future generations may not be able to experience the marvels of seeing a Brady Bunch House (who cares if Alice was White) unless we completely encase the neighborhood in amber and build a temperature controlled environment over it. Only then would we have achieved a true conservation district and a museum more pointless than the LeMay. Godspeed champions!
- JDHasty April 15, 2015
  
  For true future posterity perhaps students at Wilson HS should be assembled once per month to have Woodrow Wilson's words regarding RE segregation read to them. And to place Woodrow Wilson in proper context within the Progressive movement the students could also be introduced to Margaret Sanger by having the speeches she and other "progressives" and Fabian socialists delivered to the Kinghts of the Klu Klux Klan advocating the near genocide of blacks, jews, Catholics, asians and others read to them as well.
  - JDHasty April 15, 2015
    
    At a March 1925 international birth control gathering in New York City, a speaker warned of the menace posed by the "black" and "yellow" peril. The man was not a Nazi or Klansman; he was Dr. S. Adolphus Knopf, a member of Margaret Sanger's American Birth Control League (ABCL), which along with other groups eventually became known as Planned Parenthood. Sanger's other colleagues included avowed and sophisticated racists. One, Lothrop Stoddard, was a Harvard graduate and the author of The Rising Tide of Color against White Supremacy. Stoddard was something of a Nazi enthusiast who described the eugenic practices of the Third Reich as "scientific" and "humanitarian." And Dr. Harry Laughlin, another Sanger associate and board member for her group, spoke of purifying America's human "breeding stock" and purging America's "bad strains." These "strains" included the "shiftless, ignorant, and worthless class of antisocial whites of the South." Not to be outdone by her followers, Margaret Sanger spoke of sterilizing those she designated as "unfit," a plan she said would be the "salvation of American civilization.: And she also spike of those who were "irresponsible and reckless," among whom she included those " whose religious scruples prevent their exercising control over their numbers." She further contended that "there is no doubt in the minds of all thinking people that the procreation of this group should be stopped." That many Americans of African origin constituted a segment of Sanger considered "unfit" cannot be easily refuted. http://www.blackgenocide.org/sanger.html
- thackerspeed April 15, 2015
  
  FOR SALE: Genuine Circa Mid-20th Century Tacoma West Slope Nobleman Essentials. "Eli Whitney" brand Cotton Gin Paperback guide: "How To Bid At Tobacco Auctions" Cash offer, or trade for healthy youth of African or Asian descent; trained to operate California Trimmer RL20 reel mower.
- thackerspeed April 15, 2015
  
  "For true posterity maybe a mandatory monthly housing tour as a provision to the conservation district should be instated so the masses can enjoy these relics of the past? Maybe a rebuild/restoration of the Asiatic and African servants quarters with informative didactic displays for the children to take away how innovative this era really was?"---Xeno DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY 6th Avenue Chapter Annual Teriyaki Chicken & Watermelon Luncheon for Freed West Slope Maidservants and Manservants May 1st, 2015, Titlow Lodge Emancipation Papers Required
  - JDHasty April 15, 2015
    
    Although it can be entertaining lampooning those who endeavor to inject race as a wedge issue into a discussion regarding creating a conservation district, what people should understand is that there is very little that is brought up for discussion these days in which a certain pernicious element does not try to play the race card. Unfortunately there will always those who engage in identity politics as a means to ends which they desire. There is nothing I can do about that, but I absolutely refuse to concede "good intentions" to individuals or groups who exploit past injustice in this manner other than to recognize them as scoundrels and opportunists of the lowest order and expose them by shining the light of truth on the rank hypocrisy of their position when it is applied to an institution they revere. In the case of having a high school in Tacoma Washington named after and thereby celebrate and honor a virulent racist, anti-Semite and an unabashed all around bigot like Woodrow Wilson, they are hamstrung by having their own tactics applied to a man progressives idolize and revere. To stand in front of others and make the case that an ancient covenant that has not been enforced in decades upon decades paints an entire community with a racial insensitivity brush and yet look the other way when a man whose policies re segregated the federal workforce as well as the US military is illustrative of the sincerity of their position on the former. Their "concern" simply does not pass the straight face test, in fact when viewed in this context all their phony baloney, plastic banana "concern" should illicit is a roll of the eyes and a sarcastic "yea right."