Port Angeles urged to cooperate and renovate to accomplish downtown vision

PORT ANGELES — The hurdles to creating an active and attractive retail and social center in downtown Port Angeles include more cooperation and communication between downtown “stakeholders,” as well as increased community involvement and regular community meetings.

That’s one of the messages National Main Street program officer Sheri Stuart delivered to a group of about 50 people Tuesday on the second night of a “downtown visioning session” sponsored by the Port Angeles Downtown Association.

Working together, Stuart said, means increased communication and cooperation between business groups, city officials and merchants, renovating downtown buildings and open spaces, retaining and recruiting unique retail businesses and promoting the downtown to residents as well as tourists.

“The first step is to build relationships,” Stuart said.

“You can let change happen to you — or you can be directing that change.”

‘Draft vision statement’

Stuart presented a “draft vision statement” for the city’s downtown Tuesday based upon comments gathered during a four-hour work session held Monday

The statement was intended to lay out how residents want the downtown to “look, feel and function” in 10 years, she said.

The vision statement included making the downtown an “active and attractive” place that serves as a “gateway to adventure” to provide tax revenue for supporting the entire community.

Attendees also envisioned a year-round tourism season based upon the area’s historic, cultural, environmental and maritime assets that tie together the city’s downtown and waterfront.

Then Stuart listed goals for achieving that vision, organized by the four points of the National Main Street Downtown Revitalization Program — design, organization, promotion and economic restructuring.

More in News

Joseph Prince takes a photo of a hoodie jacket on Wednesday on a small hill overlooking the entrance to John Wayne Marina near Sequim. Prince, a member of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, said the weather was ideal for adding items to the catalog of his online vintage clothing business. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Vintage clothes

Joseph Prince takes a photo of a hoodie jacket on Wednesday on… Continue reading

Gateway Visitor Center to be hub for transit options

Link to be created to ferry services

Business association says DNR violated its legal responsibility

Argument could be grounds to file lawsuit against state

The Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce honored four citizens during a luncheon at Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course. Volunteer events photographer Ron Stecker, left, was named Citizen and the Year and philanthropist George Brown, right, was presented the Bill & Esther Littlejohn Humanitarian Award. Clallam County Fire District 3 volunteer Blaine Zechenelly, second from left, and Sequim Wheelers founder Nicole Lepping, second from right, were among the Citizen of the Year finalists. (Emily Matthiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim chamber names Citizen, Humanitarian of Year

Winners for 2024 announced at annual awards luncheon

Annual Home Show set for this weekend

KONP will host its 40th Home Show from 9… Continue reading

Sailboats jam up going around the first mark during a race on Port Townsend Bay on Saturday. After being delayed a week due to stormy weather, 30 boats took to the calmer waters of Port Townsend Bay for the 34th Shipwrights’ Regatta hosted by the Port Townsend Sailing Association. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Shipwrights’ regatta

Sailboats jam up going around the first mark during a race on… Continue reading

Lawsuit is filed against Strait View Credit Union

Alleges discrimination, hostile environment

Joint meeting for public safety facility to come in April

Design still being finalized; grant on tight timeline

PASD highlights career, tech education

Program offers more than 40 classes, director says

Demonstrators gather on the lawn of the Clallam County Courthouse on Tuesday in protest of the foreign and domestic policies of the Trump administration. Upwards of 100 people took part in the event. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Protesting policies

Demonstrators gather on the lawn of the Clallam County Courthouse on Tuesday… Continue reading

Stewart Cockburn from New Dungeness Nursery in Sequim explains landscaping ideas to Steve Sodorff and his wife Patti of Port Townsend while attending the annual Jefferson County Home Builders’ Association Home Show on Saturday at Blue Heron Middle School. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Landscaping ideas

Stewart Cockburn from New Dungeness Nursery in Sequim explains landscaping ideas to… Continue reading

A portion of U.S. Highway 101 closed Monday for the next 80 days as crews work on culvert improvements. Heading east on Highway 101 just past Fairmount, traffic is diverted onto the Tumwater Truck Route to go through Port Angeles and connect back with Highway 101. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Highway 101 closes

A portion of U.S. Highway 101 closed Monday for the next 80… Continue reading