View XML QR Code

Department of Community Development Director's Records, 1970-1991

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Community Development
Title
Department of Community Development Director's Records
Dates
1970-1991 (inclusive)
1976-1991 (bulk)
Quantity
32.0 cubic ft., (80 boxes)
Collection Number
1600-03
Summary
Working papers, correspondence, and subject files of Department of Community Development directors. Includes memoranda, notes, and reports relating to project and program development and City planning. Major issues covered include housing, economic development, neighborhood revitalization, urban renewal, and downtown planning.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
Return to Top

Biographical Note

The Department of Community Development (DCD) was established in 1969, assuming the responsibilities of the City Planning Commission staff and the Urban Renewal Program, previously a division of the Executive Department. Throughout its existence, DCD administered the City’s comprehensive planning and provided direction and support for the City’s physical and economic development through community planning. The Department was the City agency responsible for coordinating public and private efforts toward physical redevelopment and renewal in both residential and business districts. This work was based on the social, economic, and physical needs of the target community or district.

A very large portion of the DCD budget was realized from federal funds. This reliance on federal grants significantly impacted DCD's operational focus as certain types of federal funding dried up and other funding programs emerged. The administration of the Seattle Model City Program was moved to DCD in 1970, but funding ended in 1974. All but one of the City's Urban Renewal projects were closed out in 1977. And at about the same time, the Community Development Block Grant program, a federal pass-through program, was established. Other federal funding programs included the Neighborhood Improvement Program, Targeted Neighborhood Assistance Program, Neighborhood Development Program, and Urban Development Action Grants.

These changes in funding impacted the DCD's priorities and also led to several departmental reorganizations in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1972, the Department added economic development to its responsibilities in response to an economic decline in Seattle that had begun in the late 1960s. The focus was to provide information to businesses that were expanding or relocating in Seattle. At this point, DCD was managing planning and implementation of complex projects that had interdepartmental implications, such as development of the Central Waterfront, Freeway Park, Westlake Mall, Pike Place Market renewal, and the huge renewal projects in the Yesler/Atlantic, Northlake, and South Seattle neighborhoods.

In 1974, a Mayor's task force report recommended separating policy planning from development planning and implementation. While policy work went to the newly created Office of Policy Planning, DCD's focus turned to development and operational planning with added renewal projects in the Denny Regrade and International District, among others. With the addition of Community Development Block Grant funding, as well as other federal programs, DCD grew considerably in the late 1970s.

However, with the advent of President Ronald Reagan's administration, federal funding for Seattle was curtailed. In 1982, DCD's budget was cut by twenty percent and remained flat for the next three years. In 1986, following passage of the City's Housing Levy, the Department added a new function, administering the construction of new moderate to low income housing units. In addition, DCD was the lead agency working with the University of Washington in the late 1980s to promote Seattle, nationally and internationally, as a technology center.

Mayor Norm Rice, whose first term began in 1990, reorganized the City's housing, human services, economic development, and planning functions. DCD was abolished in 1992. Its programs were relocated in several City agencies, including the newly organized Department of Neighborhoods, Department of Housing and Human Services, and Planning Department.

Return to Top

Content Description

The collection consists of 31.8 cubic feet of working papers, correspondence, and subject files of Department of Community Development directors. Included are memoranda, notes, and reports relating to planning and project and program development. The records cover the major functional areas of concern to the Department: housing, economic development, neighborhood revitalization, urban renewal, and downtown planning. The files were generated by Paul Schell, James Hornell, Darel Grothaus, Evelyn Sun, Dean Mosier, David Moseley, and Linda Dupont-Johnson. Series are described more fully below.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Department of Community Development Director's Records, Record Series 1600-03. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

The records are arranged into ten functional categories:

  • Administration
  • Downtown Development
  • Economic Development
  • Environmental Management
  • Housing
  • Neighborhood Planning
  • Pike Place Market Project
  • Urban Conservation
  • Westlake Project
  • Zoning

Related Materials

The records of the Department of Community Development's first director, James D. Braman, Jr., are currently at the University of Washington. Braman was DCD's director from 1969 to 1974.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • City planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Community development--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Economic development--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Environmental management--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Historic preservation--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Housing--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Land use, Urban--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Pike Place Market (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Urban renewal--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Zoning--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Dupont-Johnson, Linda
  • Grothaus, Darel
  • Hornell, James
  • Moseley, David
  • Mosier, Dean
  • Schell, Paul, 1937-
  • Sun, Evelyn

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Community Development

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Finding aid prepared by Scott Cline and Julie Kerssen
2007

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...