Robert F. Hintz Records, 1950-1969

Files of assistant planning director files Robert Hintz, hired as a principal planner in 1953. He was responsible for the technical sections of the staff, and supervised research and advance planning. Significant planning issues included in his records are zoning and high rise apartments, planning for the central business district, and transportation planning. Hintz' papers also reflect his work on the Comprehensive Plan. Included is correspondence with City Council, the Mayor, various city departments, and the public.

The largest volume of material relates to zoning and high rise apartments in the 1960s, covering density, height and proposed areas. Folders include information and correspondence relating to several public hearings held. Of note is a report done by Clark, Coleman and Rupekins and the response to it by the public.

Another significant topic within Hintz's records is transportation. Records from the early 1950s on thoroughfares relate to freeway planning and arterial thoroughfares. Hintz was also involved in regional transportation planning and his records cover joint meetings between the City Planning Commission and the County Planning Commission as well as participation on a Puget Sound Regional Planning Council. The Council was funded in part by the Washington State Highway Commission and worked towards conducting a survey and $1.6 million study in order to identify a transportation system for the area. Correspondence and minutes of meetings of the Puget Sound Regional Transportation Study, as well as progress reports, are included in the records dating from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s.

Records reflecting the Central Business District as a focus of research are included in Hintz's files, primarily from the late 1950s. The file on Mayor Pomeroy includes newspaper clippings about the beginning of his tenure and minutes of his weekly staff meetings with department heads. Other material of note relates to school planning, regulations relating to houseboats, and recreation.