[Vision2020] Council items

[Steven Basoa]

I was hoping that there would be more response to the "Large Scale 
Retail Development Regulations and Permit Process" subject.  These big 
boxes will have a definite impact on our town, possibly more negative 
than positive.  I think there should definitely be separate development 
standards for large stores and, yes, we should have some sort of stop 
gap measure in place until these standards are developed.  Perhaps a 
temporary moratorium on large scale development could be put in place so 
that the city council doesn't make hasty decisons that could negatively 
impact the town and it's citizens.  The turmoil in Pullman over the 
super Walmart should serve as a warning sign to all that this is a 
situation that needs to be carefully assessed and dealt with. 
Personally, I do not want the Pullman and Troy Highways to look like 
Spokane's Division and Sprague streets or Lewiston's 21st street.

Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention and asking for input.

-Steven


John Dickinson wrote:
> Visionaries-
> 
> Here are a couple of items on Monday?s council agenda that I?d like some 
> comments on.
> 
> 9.   Large Scale Retail Development Regulations and Permit Process ? 
> Joel Plaskon
> 
> Because of the possibility of large scale retail developments for 
> Moscow, discussions have begun regarding development standards and 
> process requirements regulating large scale retail developments.  The 
> Moscow Zoning Code currently does not contain maximum floor area ratio 
> (FAR) requirements, lot coverage requirements, or maximum building 
> square footage limits.  With the national trend toward large retail 
> warehouse-type stores and in light of Moscow?s growth and economic 
> climate, it is probable that Moscow will see such a development proposal 
> in the future.  These types of developments, because of their large 
> scale, have traffic, economic, and visual impacts which may be deserving 
> of their own development criteria. 
> 
>  
> 
> There are two questions that I?d ask everyone ? 1) should there be 
> separate development standards for stores above a certain size, and 2) 
> if development standards are a good idea they may take a while to 
> create, so as a stop gap measure should we modify our current process so 
> that a public hearing is required for every application for a building 
> above a certain size (one way to do this would be to require a 
> conditional use permit for larger buildings)?
> 
> John Dickinson
> Moscow City Council
> 
>  
> 
> 
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