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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>My understanding is that the Moscow Comprehensive Plan was
amended last June to change the designation of this property from "low
density residential" to "extensive commercial," by a 3-3 vote with Mayor
Comstock breaking the tie. I could be wrong though, as I am unclear on the
difference between passage of the "proposed reasoned statement" as
described above, and an immediately preceding 5-1 vote to approve a
resolution amending the Comp Plan. I thought maybe the minutes were
wrong and the 5-1 vote was to cut off debate on whether to approve the Comp Plan
resolution. Perhaps City Staff or one of the Council members
could explain what happened at the June 6, 2005 meeting. BDL</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The minutes of City Council's June 6, 2005 meeting reflect
the following:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Times-Roman size=3>
<P align=left>3. Public Hearing Thompson Annexation & Comp Plan Amendment –
Joel Plaskon</P>
<P align=left>The Thompson family has requested annexation of 90 acres of their
property on the southeast edge of the city. The property is bound by SR 8 to the
north, S. Palouse River Dr. to the south, and S. Mountain View Road to the west.
The application also requests amending the Comprehensive Plan Map for 78 acres
of the subject property, including 3.8 acres on the west side of S. Mountain
View within the city limits. The existing land use designation is Low Density
Residential (LR) and the request is to change to Extensive Commercial (EC). The
Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing and recommended
approval of both requests.</P>
<P align=left>ACTION: 1) Approve Annexation Ordinance under suspension of the
rules requiring three complete and separate readings and that it be read by
title only; or reject Ordinance; or take such other action deemed appropriate.
2) Approve Comp Plan amendment; or reject Comp Plan amendment; or take such
other action deemed appropriate. </P><FONT face=Times-Roman size=3>
<P align=left>Plaskon presented the issue as written above and explained the
zoning of adjacent lands. There is a six month window where the P&Z
Commission can forward a recommendation to Council. He said there is very little
undeveloped land in the City to accommodate EC. He displayed pictures of the
subject property and said staff recommendation is to approve the annexation and
Comp Plan Map amendment. The P&Z also recommended approval. Mack
disclosed that she has a family member that owns property adjacent to this area
but it will have no bearing on her decision. Plaskon said approval of ITD would
be required if access from Hwy 8 was requested. </P>
<P align=left>Mayor Comstock explained how the public hearing would be conducted
and opened it at 9:01 p.m.</P>
<P align=left>Shelley Bennett, 2279 Moser Court, representing the Thompson
family, said the comunity is always in a state of change. She said the Thompson
family owns most of the property surrounding this proposal and the parcel from
an annexation standpoint makes sense. The Comp Plan states that there is a need
for Extensive Commercial and can be located near Hwy 8 and Hwy 95. This site’s
infrastructure allows for division from other areas and is bordered on three
sides by arterials. Palouse River Drive currently acts as a bypass for the area.
All City services are at the property or not far away. The City of Moscow has
many concerns regarding water and a comparison of a five acre parcel in
Residential Zoning has more water use versus a Commercial Zone. It has been
years since Moscow added any commercial property. Whitman County has been
working to increase their tax base by encouraging development in the corridor so
the City of Moscow needs to provide areas for existing and new businesses to
thrive.</P>
<P align=left>Ted Thompson, 1024 Pine Crest Road, said his family has been
involved in farming in the area since the 1930s. The development that the family
has worked on has been a result of the needs of the City of Moscow. It is close
to other commercial venues and a good place for this type of development.</P>
<P align=left>Evan Holmes, 125 N. Garfield St., said this type of development
makes sense and is probably overdue. There won’t be commercial development on
both sides of Highway 8 and it doesn’t contribute to the east-west traffic
development. The cost of maintenance will be shared by the State. This will help
Alturas as well which will help tax payers.</P>
<P align=left>Sarah Rawl, 2448 Blaine Road in Moscow, said she is not against
development. However, she is wondering about the EC designation and if it could
be a lower designation because the bike path goes through the development and
she worries about safety in the area. She thinks this type of development is
more appropriate on the other side of town.</P>
<P align=left>Kelly Moore, 1025 S. Logan, said there is already a big box store
sitting there empty. Businesses change often in the Mall and the malls are not
full. Businesses don’t care if they leave a big empty box. He said the City
shouldn’t bring this type of thing as a single unit and one decision rather than
separating the items. He would like to look at it in a more organized fashion,
annexing the land and then looking at the designation.</P>
<P align=left>Aaron Ament, 523 Veatch, agrees with the annexation but doesn’t
agree that the City needs space for commercial development. The rest of Alturas
will be going in and Tidyman’s is open and the old Sears building in the Mall
has never been filled.</P>
<P align=left>Evan Holmes, 125 N Garfield St., said we do need to sustain
development through leakage from other places. Pullman has done a wonderful job
in the last three years plugging that leakage, as they plug leakage, they hurt
Moscow. The benefit we have received from previous leakage is disappearing.
</P><FONT face=Times-Roman size=3>
<P align=left>In rebuttal, Shelley Bennett, said the Eastside Marketplace did a
survey and the leakage situation is correct. She said additionally, Palouse
River Drive would have to be improved with this project. She said the retail of
today are box stores that are much larger because the public wants discount
retailing. The only designation that makes sense based on the land and district
is the EC. There are 20,000 cars on the intersection per day. There are
approximately 4000 cars per day coming in from rural areas. Moscow lacks density
of a certain kind of retail to get other types of stores such as Old Navy and TJ
Maxx. Dickinson asked about renting space that needs to be remodeled. Mayor
Comstock said the focus needs to be on the annexation and Comp Plan not on
development.</P>
<P align=left>Pall asked about having EC behind Tidyman’s rather than this area.
Bennett said residential is more appropriate for that area.</P>
<P align=left>The public hearing closed at 9:25 p.m.</P>
<P align=left>Mack said the infrastructure is there and any development would
include development of the arterials. Mack moved and Hamlett seconded approval
of the annexation Ordinance under suspension of the rules requiring three
complete and separate readings and that it be read by title only. Roll Call
Vote: Ayes: Unanimous. Nays: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. Mayor
Comstock read Ordinance 2005-17 by title only.</P>
<P align=left>Pall said she has concerns about this because the area was zoned
low density residential to prevent strip development on State Hwy 8. The
development of the Latah Trail came about and there was a reason why the
Extensive Commercial was not put in. She is not convinced that the plan should
change. This is going to be a Commercial zone. She would like this to come back
in about a year. She sees this in conjunction with the University’s proposal.
She would like to reopen the public hearing on this matter on the 5</FONT><FONT
face=Times-Roman size=1>th </FONT><FONT face=Times-Roman size=3>of July and
continue the conversation at that time. The motion died for lack of a
second.</P>
<P align=left>Mack said the issues are not the same as with the University. It
fits every criteria and although we may not have seen EC in this area, it does
make sense and it is one of the few relatively flat areas. It could be some
other business besides retail that go in here. It is up to the Council to
approve the development plan. Mack moved and Kimberling seconded to approve the
Resolution 2005-04 amending the Comp Plan Map. As this property is developed,
some feasibility studies will be done, this will not go flying up, it will take
time. There was similar discussion about multi-family housing. </P>
<P align=left>Dickinson said the Comp Plan Map amendment changes from Low
Density Residential to Extensive Commercial which seems like a large change.
This is a large amount of land to convert to a completely different use and will
be incompatible with the low density uses. There are arterials but one would
require ITD approval for access. He said it is a mis-statement to say there will
be easy access on all sides. He is concerned that it will be land for large
stores to go in which is another issue.</P>
<P align=left>Chaney said the wave of the future is larger stores. There is a
need for inviting business to the community and it makes sense to invite it
somewhere. We are in the process of rewriting the Comp Plan. She said on the
citizen survey, 64% of the population thought growth was a problem and 41% said
business and retail growth were too slow and others thought the City didn’t plan
well for growth. This zoning is for something major to go in this area. The land
owner is currently using the land for farming. The Committees are beginning to
address the issue of box store development standards. This is probably an
appropriate use for this property but she won’t support it at this
time.</P><FONT face=Times-Roman size=3>
<P align=left>Pall said the Thompson family has been a good developer within the
City of Moscow. The desire for further discussion about this is nil so she is
recognizing the inevitability of it and would like to have discussions about
development standards in the area.</P>
<P align=left>Chaney said this is premature until the Comp Plan has been done
and she is concerned about the EC amendment without big box development
standards in place.</P>
<P align=left>Roll Call Vote: Ayes: 5. Nays: Chaney. Abstentions: None. Motion
carried.</P>
<P align=left>Mack read her proposed Reasoned Statement and moved to adopt it.
Hamlett seconded the motion.</P>
<P align=left>Roll Call Vote: Ayes: Mack, Kimberling, Hamlett. Nays: Pall,
Chaney, Dickinson. Abstentions:</P>
<P align=left>None. Mayor Comstock voted Aye to pass the motion.</P>
<P align=left> </P></FONT></FONT></FONT>
<P align=left></FONT>----- Original Message ----- </P></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 23, 2006 11:30
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] P&Z
meeting</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>What does the Moscow Comprehensive Plan Map say about the
parcel at issue?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>W.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=jeanlivingston@turbonet.com
href="mailto:jeanlivingston@turbonet.com">Bruce and Jean Livingston</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 23, 2006 11:15 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] P&Z meeting </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>So what happened after press deadline?
BDL</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>From today's Lewiston Morning Tribune:</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<H1>Moscow rezone finds few friends</H1><!--End Headline--><BR><!--Start Byline-->
<ADDRESS>By DAVID JOHNSON<BR>of the Tribune</ADDRESS><!--End Byline-->
<P><A name=story><!--Start Story--></A>
<P>
<P>MOSCOW -- Nobody mentioned Wal-Mart. But a steady stream of people voiced
their opposition Wednesday night to a proposed zone change that could open the
door for the world's largest retailer to build a super center here.
<P>One man warned that "the nose of the camel is in the tent" and urged
members of the Moscow Planning and Zoning Commission to recommend denial of an
application to rezone 77 acres on the southeast corner of town to motor
business.
<P>Four people spoke in favor of the rezone.
<P>By press time, commissioners were still listening to opposition testimony
at the public hearing and it remained unclear whether a decision would be
reached.
<P>"This is our home and we want to defend it," Chris Norton of Moscow said,
testifying against the proposed zone change.
<P>"This location for a motor business zone makes sense," said resident
Shelley Bennett, a local Realtor.
<P>The land is owned by the Gene Thompson family and is currently being
farmed. It's located directly across from the Moscow City Cemetery adjacent to
State Highway 8 and was annexed last June as an extensive commercial site.
<P>Shortly after, Wal-Mart announced intentions to build a super center on the
site. A conceptual plan filed with the city shows, in addition to the Wal-Mart
Supercenter, the potential for two additional big box retailers and upward of
a dozen smaller retail stores on the site.
<P>Jim Demeerleer, whose Furniture West business lost it's retail site on the
west side of town amid expansion of Tri-State, said he welcomed a new place
for motor business. "Give businesses an opportunity to expand," he urged the
commissioners.
<P>But Bill Parks, a downtown businessman, said a large motor business complex
on the east side of Moscow would all but kill the central business sector. He
likened Moscow's downtown to a garden dependent on a steady flow of vehicle
traffic that would be siphoned away by a large scale retail development.
<P>More than 100 people crammed their way into the hearing, held in the Moscow
City Council chamber. Many people sat on the floor, or stood in the hallway as
testimony was heard. Chairman Jerry Schutz pounded his gavel a number of times
to quiet the crowd or admonish them to not react to testimony.
<P>Schutz also let it be known that the business at hand had everything to do
with a proposed zone change, and nothing to do with the possible arrival of
any big box retailers. The commission will forward its decision to the city
council for final consideration.
<P>John C. McCullough, a Seattle attorney representing Spokane-based CLC
Associates, spoke on behalf of the Thompson family. He's the same attorney who
-- through CLC -- represents Wal-Mart's attempts to build super centers in
neighboring Pullman and in Spokane.
<P>McCullough told the commissioners that the proposed zone change is in
accordance with the city's comprehensive plan. "This is not an application for
any particular development or use," said McCullough. "It's ideally located for
a motor business zone."
<P>Joel Plaskon, the city's community development director, recommended that
the commissioners approve the motor business zone change, at least for part of
the 77 acres.
<P>Members of a group called No Super Wal-Mart have vowed to fight
construction of a super center not just at the zoning level, but throughout
any development proposal. Unlike neighboring Pullman, Moscow has a so-called
big box store ordinance that would require conditional use permits for any new
retail store over 45,000 square feet.
<P>Wal-Mart Supercenters usually surpass 200,000 square feet. Moscow Mayor
Nancy Chaney has said the city council may also consider the question of
placing a size cap on big box stores. All retail stores currently in town are
under 100,000 square feet, according to officials. </P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<P>
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