[Vision2020] Council Far From Anti-Growth

Wed Mar 15 14:35:34 PST 2006

Thanks to John Dickinson for his frank response and interaction with the community again. 

  I have to agree on some level with Kit that the Moscow City Government  has had a long standing reputation as being anti-business, even with  more traditionally conservative members on the council . It is unfair  to paint this City Council as the instigator of it, they are simple  perpetuating it.  I do disagree that the reputation is not well  deserved. 

 Moscow has less than a 5% vacancy rate in  housing, which means, technically, when you count people moving, we  have no vacancy in housing. This drives up prices and makes quality  affordable housing in Moscow unattainable for many. Low income housing  in this city is a joke. Most of the one bedrooms low income housing  units in Moscow start at a rate of $480 a month (about what you can get  house for in Deary or Potlach)--and that is the person qualifies.

  Most of the new housing let in by Moscow is either, low income units,  which students do not qualify for and sit with a 25% vacancy rating, or  multi-hundred thousand dollar homes that the majority of households in  Latah, which make less than 35K a year, can ill afford. 

 If  Moscow let in more businesses and allowed for the construction of more  housing it would stimulate competition and balance the tax load. This  would reduce the cost of living in Moscow.

 John wishes us to  do a shopping spree in Moscow to support local businesses. I think he  should do that today, particularly with locally owned businesses, but  what he does not realize is that majority of households in Moscow make  $35K a year or less. With basic housing taking 50% of their income, no  wage competitive jobs, and having to spend 20% more for retail and  consumer items, they just do not have the resources to go on shopping  sprees in Moscow. 

 90% of what I spend is in Moscow. I would  like to spend more in Moscow. But Moscow does not sell everything that  I need and often what it does sell is at a price I can afford. 

  When I think of planned growth, I think of the city coming together to  meet and plan for the future growth of Moscow based on the future needs  of Moscow residents, not just what would be nice, or fit the community  desires of those with the most wealth and means. 

  Moscow does not have a planned growth policy, it has planned no growth policy.

  Take Care,

  _DJA

  PS, I look forward to seeing you in your next play John. 

Craine Kit <kcraine at verizon.net> wrote:  As someone who is born and raised in Moscow (and been around much  
longer than Area Man), I’ve heard the claim that Moscow is anti- 
business and/or anti-growth for decades. That includes the last 16  
years when we had conservative, Republican mayors. So I don't think  
the labels have any meaning when applied to the current council,  
which only been in charge for a few months.

As long as I can remember, people have gone to Spokane or Lewiston to  
shop. Sometimes it's for a better selection or a better deal. Others,  
it's an excuse to get out of town for a while and see the big city.  
Does that make the city government unfriendly towards business or  
growth?

Perhaps--instead of just claiming unfriendliness due to government or  
regulations--we should ask:

a) Is Moscow really unfriendly or is that just a nasty rumor?
b) If there are factors outside the city that influence the  
perception of friendliness?

I have a suggestion to start a conversation on b). Once-upon-a-time I  
had a conversation with a businessman who had considered locating his  
company in Moscow. He decided not to because--in his words--YOU CAN'T  
GET THERE FROM ANYWHERE.

Kit Craine

On Mar 15, 2006, at 8:51 AM, John Dickinson wrote:

> Visionaries—
>
>
>
> When I talk with businesses about Moscow and friendliness, the  
> conversations are more about where people buy things. I have had  
> several business owners tell me that they thought Moscow was not  
> especially friendly because so many people travel to Lewiston or  
> Spokane to buy a car or use the internet to purchase books, CDs, or  
> clothes. The benefit of either sales or property taxes is dwarfed  
> by the effect of buying local. Being business friendly is a  
> community issue, not simply a government one. Buy something today  
> in Moscow.
>
>
>
> I am sure that no members of our community would like a City  
> Council that rubber stamped everything that came before it. To  
> question proposals is an important function of the council. For  
> example, the proposed development just across the state line is  
> very large. It would essentially double the commercial space in the  
> Moscow area. I don’t believe that growth of this magnitude is  
> planned growth. If we doubled the number of houses in Moscow, or  
> doubled the number of students at UI, or doubled anything overnight  
> – we’d have significant problems.
>
>
>
> I enjoy reading V2020; perhaps the next V2020 social activity could  
> be a shopping spree from one end of town to the other.
>
>
>
> John Dickinson
>
> Your city council member.
>
>
>
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020- 
> bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
> Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 7:38 AM
> To: g. crabtree; Tom Hansen; Moscow Vision 2020
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Council Far From Anti-Growth
>
>
>
> Gary brings up an excellent point! Moscow's city government has  
> been very anti-business. It has opposed businesses wanting to  
> develop in the East, and West. It has opposed Walmart, Home Depot,  
> and other businesses coming into the area. It has done nothing to  
> help many local businesses that are going under. But not only does  
> it oppose businesses in Moscow, it is also fighting efforts for  
> jobs and businesses developing in Latah and in the Pullman/Moscow  
> corridor on the Pullman side.
>
> The only place Moscow allows a business to be located in downtown,  
> which does not have enough parking for many types of businesses, or  
> in an already existing location which is not properly suited for  
> the business.
>
> _DJA
>
> "g. crabtree"  wrote:
>
> I think that it's fairly safe to say that when a council meddles  
> wit! h how
> many square feet a business can be, by what percentage it may  
> expand, and
> what sort of a "living wage " it will pay, it's no friend to  
> business. While
> I am reluctantly willing to take Mr. Stout at his word that he's  
> pro growth
> and pro business, I sure haven't seen or heard anything from him or  
> the
> council as a whole that makes me believe it to be the case. To say  
> that
> you're pro business as long as you pay a given wage, sell the correct
> product from the approved country,are just the right size in  
> exactly the
> right location, and are owned by the proper people is to encourage
> development a mile or two across the border in Whitman county.  
> Perhaps those
> are the people our McC(A)ouncil and mayor represents.?
>
> G. Crabtree
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom Hansen"
> To: "Moscow Vision 2020"
> Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 4:01 PM
> Subject: [Vision2020] Counci! l Far From Anti-Growth
>
>
> > >From today's (March 13, 2006) Daily News with a special thnks to
> > >Councilman
> > Robert Stout -
> >
> >  
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ----
> >
> > Council far from anti-growth
> >
> > I have been somewhat surprised by the amount of false information  
> being
> > propagated about the new Moscow City Council's attitude towards  
> growth and
> > development in our community. The mantra describing our efforts  
> seems to
> > be
> > "no growth" and "anti-business". As far as my personal attitude,  
> that
> > couldn't be further from the truth. I recognize the benefits of  
> having a
> > thriving business community and will always foster that. However,  
> I also
> > recognize such things as a living wage, some regulations on  
> business and
> > developments, and supporting growth that protects Moscow's  
> quality of
> > life.
> >
> > When individuals in our community repeat the no-growth rhetoric  
> there is a
> > negative connotation that does not help our community thrive and  
> prosper.
> > The new council has been in office for about 60 days. We have not
> > approved
> > any ordinances that could reasonably be construed as anti- 
> business or
> > no-growth. The concept of the recently passed large retail  
> ordinance has
> > been in the works for quite some time. The premise of this  
> ordinance is
> > not
> > to discourage large retail establishments from locating in our  
> community,
> > but rather bring them in as an equal partner in protecting the  
> quality of
> > life of our city.
> >
> > I was not elected to represent any one interest in this community. I
> > wasn't
> > elected to represent the realtors, the MCA, the chamber of  
> commerce, the
> > University of Idaho community, or downtown business. I was  
> elected to
> > represent our community as a ! whole and make informed and fair  
> decisions
> > that
> > will keep our community economically and socially sustainable. I  
> intend
> > to
> > do that and hope you will join me in my efforts.
> >
> > Robert C. Stout
> > Moscow
> >
> >  
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ----
> >
> > Thank you, Councilman Stout.
> >
> > Instead of alleging fault where no fault exists, I challenge the  
> people of
> > Moscow to support and evaluate our city council openly and fairly.
> >
> > If it is felt that the council could improve in certain areas,  
> provide
> > constructive criticism. At the same time, if it is felt that the  
> council
> > is
> > performing their responsibilities in an exemplary manner, tell them.
> >
> > It's an old adage, people, and it has worked for limitless  
> generations:
> >
> > "Don't tell me why I can't. Tell me how I can."
> >
> > Seeya round tow! n, Moscow.
> >
> > Tom Hansen
> > Moscow, Idaho
> >
> > "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it  
> to change
> > and the Realist adjusts his sails."
> > - Unknown
> >
> >
> > _____________________________________________________
> > List services made available by First Step Internet,
> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> > http://www.fsr.net
> > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> > ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
> >
>
>
> _____________________________________________________
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> http://www.fsr.net
> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
>
>
>
>
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> _____________________________________________________
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

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