New Voice for Growth Says Pacific Can Have It All: Well-Planned Subdivisions and More Retail Stores

By Pauline Masson – On the Saturday before the 2022 municipal election one sure winner says no matter who voters select to run the city next week Pacific can have both well-planned subdivisions and more retail stores.

Good planning and good government is not all flowers and strawberries as one candidate recently said. Good planning, our newest alderman says, is a good marriage of citizen dreams and government practicality.

Subdivisions that fit the neighborhood where they are built not fill buildings site with as many rooftops as possible can be built. And new retail development has a pattern to follow in the renaissance taking place in Old Town Pacific.

Scott Lesh, the unopposed candidate for ward three will take his seat on the board of aldermen after next week’s election. He brings a new voice to city government and it is a lot more inclusive than you might expect.

It was the controversial – and he believes overbuilt – subdivision Manors at Brush Creek that is beginning to take shape on Lamar Parkway that prompted him to seek a seat on the board. But in the weeks since he learned the he has already won he has focused on how he, as only one alderman, can influence the future of the city.

Lesh has lived in Pacific since elementary school – long enough, he said, to have seen the big box retailer Walmart run all the mom and pop shops that once dominated downtown out of business.

In recent years he watched as city fathers became enamored with subdivisions in the hopes of adding rooftops that could lure big box stores back to Pacific. But Lesh said this quest for rooftops that has pitted city fathers against the romantics who want retain the small town vibe has ignored the spontaneous redevelopment taking place in downtown Pacific.

It is time to stop looking at the future as a pro-growth, no-growth battle and focus on what both sides agree on.

The recent development in downtown Pacific has proven that the big box culture has not killed off Pacific’s small community vibe. 

“Look at the businesses that have returned to downtown,” Lesh said. “The Little Ireland coffee shop, G’s Barbershop and Brown Jerry’s Blues Brews and Barbecue have restructured 1870s buildings and created successful businesses that rely on local customers. 

“First State Community Bank turned an aging grocery building into a state of the art bank. An event venue spot is planned for the Royal Theater building. A boutique hotel is planned for the old Pacific Public School building. This is what we should be looking at as the best hope for the future.”

Once he takes his seat on the board, Lesh said he will use his voice to try and persuade his fellow aldermen that they can build subdivisions that fit the neighborhood where they are built and do not pit the citizens against city hall. And city legislative efforts can focus on zoning practices that encourage entrepreneurs to fill the rest of the downtown buildings with going businesses.

He decided to place his name on the ballot, Lesh said, because the city was not hearing what the voters wanted. He decided to add his voice to city government when 900 people concerned about uncontrolled growth were ignored.

Pacific is not just an older community. Generations have lived here and they stay here. Young and adult citizens want to live in a nice small community. They do not want to change the character of the town. They do not want a community that is jamb packed.

As a new alderman he said he said his focus will be on city revenue, to determine what is possible. He will look a the citizen committees to determine their role in bringing out the wishes and worries of the citizens. 

“I’m betting on the future,” Lesh said. “I would like to see Pacific grow but there needs to be a tiered local review of things. I’m going to work with the other aldermen looking for consensus, but at the same time looking for growth that fits the community.”