[Vision2020] Moscow's Concern Not Meddlesome

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (January 22,2007) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with thanks to
Mayor Chaney -

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Moscow's concern not meddlesome 

Moscow has challenged Whitman County's vision for large-scale development
along the Pullman-Moscow corridor. Some have interpreted our remarks to mean
that we are somehow "against" our neighbors to the west. Nothing could be
further from the truth. I hold good wishes for Whitman and Latah county
communities. I have strong personal ties on both sides of the state line. 

Good working relationships and clear communication are critical to the
well-being of our region. Collectively, we all benefit from a broad, deep
and thriving regional economy. It is not meddlesome, self-interested or
dimwitted to include environmental concerns, sustainable practices and
principles of Smart Growth in multijurisdictional conversations. Quality of
life, public safety and natural resources like air and water are not
confined by political boundaries. 

Strip development in the Pullman-Moscow corridor has the potential to
dramatically and adversely affect the landscape, shared resources and
quality of life for all of us in the Palouse Basin, now and in the future.
That's why Washington's State Environmental Policy Act, Department of
Ecology and Whitman County's conditional use permitting process routinely
solicit comments from any potentially affected parties - including Moscow -
regardless of jurisdictional affiliation. 

Recognition that environmental, economic and social sustainability are
interconnected is not unique to government. Washington State University and
the University of Idaho, this region's largest employers and institutions of
higher learning, consider the concept as common sense today and a necessity
for our future. Increasingly, the idea is being integrated by successful
businesses too, including Boise's new Banner Bank, described as a "benchmark
for sustainable design, construction and operation." (See
www.hdrinc.com/13/38/1/default.aspx?projectID=406.) 

Environmental responsibility and economic well-being are not mutually
exclusive. Let's keep open the lines of communication and agree on certain
logical and ethical bounds to development, so that commerce and communities
across the Palouse Basin can thrive for generations to come. 

Nancy Chaney, mayor, city of Moscow

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Our first priority must always be to avoid excessive use of available
resources. 

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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

- Unknown