To Each Its Own Good Judgment

Election outcomes in Denver and Seattle on Tuesday reflect the fact that the two western cities are on opposite sides of economic cycles. Business is decidedly cool in Denver, hot in Seattle. In both places, however, the voters made sensible decisions that seem to symbolize an underlying confidence in the future of their regional economic centers.

Denverites approved construction of a new $2 billion international airport 17 miles northeast of downtown. With a 62.7% yes vote, they overrode objections that the depressed economy does not warrant such a massive investment. Gov. Roy Romer and Mayor Federico Pena promoted the airport as the economic booster shot Denver needs. Even if the the project does not translate into instant economic renaissance, it is a prudent investment that will benefit the entire West.

In Seattle, 62% of the voters approved an initiative measure that provides a reasonable check on downtown construction. Topped by the 76-story Columbia Center, Seattle already has the West’s most impressive skyline. Opponents argued the proposal would stifle Seattle’s economy, or drive development to the suburbs. But voters seemed less concerned about that than they did about preserving some of the distinctive flavor of the city’s downtown. The plan caps new structures at about 38 stories and limits new office space to 500,000 square feet a year through 1994 and 1 million square feet annually through 1999. That will give Seattle some breathing room, and sufficient office space, while the city develops a long-term growth management plan.

In Denver, one opponent complained that sponsors were trying to saddle the world’s 430th largest city with the world’s most expensive airport. But the existing Stapleton is not an adequate airport for the present, let alone the future. Storms limit operations to a single runway, triggering flight delays throughout the West. The new facility will have six runways, four of which can operate in bad weather. Denver will survive and outgrow the whims of the energy industry. As the economic capital of a vast inland empire, the city needs a modern, efficient airport.

In Seattle, growth-management advocates correctly noted that new business does not move there just because it is a financial center and builds airplanes, but because of a variety of physical and cultural amenities. No longer does Seattle need more, ever-taller buildings to convince itself of its economic security. The result will be a better Seattle.