[Vision2020] Residents Should Have Final Say

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (June 1, 2006) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special thanks
to Jana Lien of Poulsbo, Washington.

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Residents should have final say 

Wal-Mart has dangled the tax revenue carrot in front of the city and it
salivates – but tax revenues in this instance come at a heavy cost. 

The Pullman City Council’s motto boasts the “highest quality of life,” but
city staff seems to have forgotten that quality of life comes from more than
the availability of cheap goods; it starts with basic planning and
foresight. 

One can see examples of the lack of an effective planning code in Pullman
without much effort: the monstrous church on Grand Avenue, its
disproportionate size to the neighborhood is nearly laughable, if it weren’t
so unsightly; allowing a nonretail use of a former theater in the downtown
retail core despite the pleadings of existing retail business owners in the
area; the cookie-cutter housing developments at the city’s entrance;
allowing people to donate land for a park and name it after themselves; and
now, the proposal of a supersized Wal-Mart, with no recourse. It’s all very
Pottersville. 

It’s troubling that, despite the large number of residents opposed to the
Wal-Mart, the city didn’t organize opportunities for formal input on the
issue during the development of the project and no promise has been made to
update city codes to ensure that residents have a voice in future projects. 

As a former 25-year resident of Pullman, to some, my voice may seem
irrelevant to this issue, but I care about the welfare of my hometown.
Pullman’s residents should take action now to ensure the city’s codes
provide for public review and input, and that they protect the aesthetic
balance and quality of life that Pullman’s residents expect. As it stands,
Pullman’s city code gives corporations the power to transform the town
however they choose – but it should be the residents who have the final say.


Jana Lien, Poulsbo, Wash.

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And an additional special thanks to our city council and those with
foresight enough to speak out.

And yet a quote from Ms. Lien reflecting Pullman's pains are much like our
own:

" . . . if it weren’t so unsightly; allowing a nonretail use of a former
theater in the downtown retail core despite the pleadings of existing retail
business owners in the area;"

It's like déjà vu all over again.

Thoughts, Moscow?

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown