June 7 community meeting to discuss City of Edmonds Creative District application

Creative District stakeholders meeting. (Photo courtesy City of Edmonds)

Citizens are invited to participate in the City of Edmonds’ planning effort to become a Creative District in the state of Washington. A community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 7, in the Brackett Room on the third floor of City Hall.

Annette Roth, Creative District Program Manager for ArtsWA, the state agency charged with administering this program, will offer an overview of the Creative District program and answer questions. Attendees will be invited to submit input and suggestions for the five-year plan.

During last year’s session, the Washington State Legislature created the program, which will designate select communities in the State as “Creative Districts” in recognition of compact, walkable districts containing a rich mix of businesses, nonprofits, venues, programs and activities within the “creative sector.”  Going far beyond traditional arts and culture activities and venues, the creative sector can include creative technology, printing shops, florists, restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, distilleries, and travel companies.

In addition to the existing concentration of such creative-sector establishments and activities in downtown Edmonds, other key accomplishments in recent years will help qualify Edmonds for this designation, including the Community Cultural Plan, the Fourth Avenue Cultural Corridor plan, and the Economic Impact Study of the Arts and Culture Sector, among other things.

“As one can see, Downtown Edmonds seems to be a prime candidate for this new Creative District designation,” said Economic Development and Community Services Director Patrick Doherty.  “Yet there is more to the application process than merely recognizing our existing assets and accomplishments.  We must also develop a five-year plan to take the community even further in its creative sector endeavors, as well as grow the economic activity associated with this sector.”

For this reason, the city has engaged a diverse set of approximately 25 stakeholders, representing a wide array of businesses, non-profits, venues, activities, and programs, which  will help the city draft the required five-year plan, Doherty said.

The stakeholder group will meet again in June to synthesize the input received from the community meeting with their ideas and the program requirements to offer their final recommendations to City staff regarding the five-year plan.

City staff intend to submit the Creative District application in July during the existing open application period. Decisions are expected later this year.

Creative District designation could bring to Edmonds additional marketing cachet, attracting both new creative-sector businesses and employees, as well as an additional tourism draw, the city said. In the future, grant monies may be available to Creative Districts to help with implementation of their five-year plans.

For questions or more information, contact Patrick Doherty at patrick.doherty@edmondswa.gov or 425-771-0251, or Frances Chapin at frances.chapin@edmondswa.gov.

 

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