[Vision2020] In Support of Alturas Park

[Mike Curley]

<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>Robin Woods, BJ Swanson, and Greg Mann have written notes to which I respond:

Greg:  i didn't even know your business was in Alturas.  Guess I wasn't specifically 
referring to you in any prior post.

BJ:  you chastised Bill London for misstating the purpose of Alturas.  You said it was 
designed to provide jobs and make the economy less dependent on the U of I.  Maybe 
you have a different document than I have used for my reference.  The Zoning Code 
says the RTO zone (Alturas being the only area so zoned) is "created to take advantage 
of technology developed and expertise available at the University of Idaho and the 
transfer of technology to the private sector...  Permitted uses include but are not limited 
to those directly involved in research and development, manufacture [or tech 
products], and a limited range of office uses that could provide services to the research 
and development functions or could be converted to research and development uses as 
the market for such space warrants."  


Among the permitted uses are "Professional, executive and clerical offices intended to 
support the research and technology purposes of the zoning district."


So, I'm not sure BJ that judged by that language you can properly accuse Bill London of 
misstating the facts when he talked about "failure of the initial idea of the business 
park."  Clearly from those statements, the initial idea was a research and technology 
park with supporting businesses allowed.


Robin, and others:  The question that I raised in this iteration of "Alturas--the Saga 
Continues" was very simply whether the city was doing the right thing to expand the 
types of businesses that could locate in Alturas--a <underline>publicly-funded technology park.</underline>  It 
did not raise any issue with Anatek or any other tech/research business currently 
located in the park or that may want to locate there in the future.  And frankly, there is 
only one issue that makes me care about what businesses can locate there--the public 
bonds, and diversion of taxes to pay for them, from <underline>non-tech</underline> businesses.  There is one 
lot remaining in Phase 1 of Alturas.  Will there be are request of the Urban Renewal 
Agency for another bond for Phase 2 or will all the financing be private?  If the latter, 
then I don't really care who we let into the RTO Zone.  We can call phase 2 the Moscow 
Business Park and expand significantly the permitted uses and ease restrictions so that 
businesses do not need to have a tech-supportive function.  That way, if lawyers, 
accountants, and engineers move there, the property taxes they pay will (continue to) 
go to the city rather than to retirement of bonded indebtedness.  THAT is the issue.  It 
isn't about downtown.  As someone has pointed out, it's about the entire community.  If 
an existing Moscow business moves to phase 1 of Alturas (and I think there is no 
disagreement that this has happened), the taxes that business previously paid to the 
city are now going to retirement of the bonded debt.  I have NO PROBLEM with Anatek 
doing that;  no problem with businesses that could otherwise not have gotten a start 
without that public bonding of the park, but I do have a problem with an expansion of 
non-tech/research businesses locating in Alturas UNTIL after the bond is paid or Phase 1 
is full and Phase 2 is opened without a public bond.


And while it seems fashionable to demonize everyone who even asks a question about 
Alturas and the RTO zone as "anti-business" and/or "anti-growth," the truth is that by 
trying to maintain the original intent of the zone (as stated in the zoning code rather 
than from BJ's memory), one may actually consider that s/he is keeping the rest of the 
city a viable place to locate/continue a business.  And is giving other landowners an 
incentive to develop their commercial property privately.  


In the not-too-distant future the bond on Phase 1 will be paid.  Let someone tell us there 
will be no need for the URA because we are expanding Alturas to a business park and 
won't use publicly-funded bonds to develop it, and the opposition to expanded uses will 
go away so long as the park is not disadvantaging other economic interests, businesses, 
and landowners in town.


Thank you for your consideration.


Mike Curley