The Second Street Stand-Off
Property owners in early Kennewick push back against municipal street paving, citing hard times and 'over-improvement' concerns.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Objections of property owners to the improvement of Second street from Washington to Pacific were filed at a special meeting of the city council Monday evening. Formal written protests were filed by eight property owners whose holdings total 525 feet frontage. For the most part, dull times and poor financial conditions were assigned as the cause for protest. In some instances, the owners argued that the nature of the improvement was only temporary, and that it would be sounder business policy to delay until conditions warranted permanent paving. One such objection came from C. E. Williams, who owns the building at Second and Tacoma occupied by Sherk Co. Stanley Coffin, writing for his firm, mistakenly directed his protest against paving in general, citing Pasco as an example of an 'over-improved' town. The council received the protests and placed them on file, but indicated that an ordinance ordering the improvement would likely be introduced at the next regular meeting.
“He contended that present conditions did not warrant such improvement and cited Pasco as an example of an 'over-improved' town.”
Local disputes over infrastructure costs and the pace of development are as old as the town itself. The 1915 debate over paving Second Street mirrors contemporary struggles in Kennewick as the city manages the tension between essential growth and the financial burden placed on residents.
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