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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>Smart growth is not "no
growth." Smart growth is more like, "no growth, <U>as it has
been</U>." The free-market economy does mostly nothing to assist with
Community Development. Its focus is on ROI, not social & environmental
responsibility. Citizens are aware of this and are looking for
alternatives. There are processes that can provide a sufficient ROI as
well as provide social & environmental responsibile growth and develop
Community. Desire just needs to be applied to implement
them.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#808000>"If we want to be a bedroom community for Pullman, Lewiston and
Potlatch," warns Steve Busch, chairman of the growth-oriented Greater Moscow
Alliance, "then we can write regulations to secure that." <FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>Current (& past) regulations define the type of growth that
will happen. The public backlash is also defined by these very same
regulations. A level of adjustment is required to re-define land use
regulations that allow Developer and Community to be working towards a common
goal of Community Development.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Community Development is not a narrow
view of physically building homes and businsesses. It is the physical and
psychological constructs that assist citizens to live and work together.
The significant commonality is Common Goal. It is not one-sided, but
communal, and a level of Community commitment must be tangible for each
party. This has not been the case for decades and adjustment will
come. The sooner this adjustment (mutual understanding and resolution)
occurs, the quicker Community Development can occur to benefit the whole
Community.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If the free market is harming a
Community, then why allow it to occur? Self-destruction is generally not a
desired trait. Self-preservation is common. Self-improvement is a
noble goal. The whole Community should be striving for self-improvement -
and the process is not a one-sided approach. The opportunity is so
obvious, it's a wonder that those with the financial ability are so resistant to
it and the opposite pole is also too entrenched to even suggest it. It's
on the fringe of the free-market, not totally separate from
it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Mark</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:bau@moscow.com"><IMG
style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px solid; BORDER-TOP: 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: 0px solid; WIDTH: 109px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px solid; HEIGHT: 109px"
alt="baukunst\architecture Union"
src="cid:468562918@28012007-1fd6"></A> <BR><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">mark r. seman, architect</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">
v=928.925.7617</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">
f=928.776.9107</SPAN><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT size=2><BR>-----Original
Message-----<BR>From: vision2020-bounces@moscow.com<BR>[<A
href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com">mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com</A>]On
Behalf Of Tom Hansen<BR>Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 8:05 AM<BR>To: Vision
2020<BR>Subject: [Vision2020] Residents Squabble Over the Future of
This<BR>QuaintRural Community<BR><BR><BR>>From today's (January 28, 2007)
Lewiston Tribune
-<BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Residents
squabble over the future of this quaint rural community; The<BR>trouble with
growth Everybody, it seems, has an agenda, but the debate over<BR>the future of
Moscow boils down to one of economics versus aesthetics<BR><BR><A target=_blank
href="http://www.lmtribune.com/01282007/sun1ablurb.jpg">http://www.lmtribune.com/01282007/sun1ablurb.jpg</A><BR>Bruce
Livingston (left), president of the Moscow Civic Association, and<BR>Steve
Busch, chairman of the Greater Moscow Alliance are friendly neighbors<BR>who
just happen to be on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to
growth<BR>issues in Moscow.(Photo courtesy Steve Hanks/Tribune)<BR><BR>By DAVID
JOHNSON<BR>of the Tribune<BR><BR>MOSCOW -- On one side of the growth and
development issue, we have CAVE<BR>people and BANANAs.<BR><BR>On the other side,
there are PIMBYs and YIMBYs, not to be confused
with<BR>NIMBYs.<BR><BR>Translation: CAVE people are Citizens Against Virtually
Everything. They're<BR>often accused of teaming with BANANA types who want to
Build Absolutely<BR>Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.<BR><BR>PIMBYs are people who
blindly open their arms to development and shout,<BR>"Please In My Back Yard."
They sometimes declare, "Yes In My Back Yard."<BR><BR>NIMBYs, of course, have
long subscribed to the notion of Not In My Back<BR>Yard. But they can be on
either side of the growth issue, depending on the<BR>nature of the proposed
development.<BR><BR>Amid all this pejorative alphabet soup, there are also
people who exhibit<BR>what's known as DBM, drawbridge mentality. They're usually
rich rascals who<BR>move from mainstream America to places like rural Moscow to
soak up the<BR>amenities and then pull up the drawbridge to fend off others
seeking the<BR>same.<BR><BR>Few people in Moscow declare or admit allegiance to
any of these acronym<BR>camps, but many suggest that others are devotees. And
that, coupled with<BR>genuine concern about this university community's future,
seems enough to<BR>fuel the growth debate for some time to come.<BR><BR>This,
despite statistics that show Moscow has grown only slightly over the<BR>past
several years and Latah County has actually lost population. It's the<BR>same
story across the border where Pullman's population has grown a bit more<BR>than
Moscow's, but Whitman County has lost even more residents than Latah<BR>County.
(See related story.)<BR><BR>So the current debate seems to be more about
economic growth. Aside from the<BR>few who'll admit to being CAVE people or
BANANAs, most everyone within the<BR>fray say they want Moscow to prosper
financially. The contention starts when<BR>someone asks, "How?"<BR><BR><FONT
color=#808000>"If we want to be a bedroom community for Pullman, Lewiston and
Potlatch,"<BR>warns Steve Busch, chairman of the growth-oriented Greater Moscow
Alliance,<BR>"then we can write regulations to secure that."<BR></FONT><BR>"I've
been a little perturbed by attempts to label us as anti-growth,"<BR>counters
Bruce Livingston, president of the Moscow Civic Association. "We<BR>want the
community to grow in ways that don't change its character."<BR><BR>The two men
are neighbors who are happy to shake hands over the shrubs<BR>between their
yards.<BR><BR>"We had Bruce over for our Christmas open house," says Busch,
co-owner of<BR>Busch Distributing.<BR><BR>"I really enjoyed it," says
Livingston, a federal death row defense<BR>attorney.<BR><BR>Neither will call
the other a PIMBY, YIMBY, BANANA or CAVE person.<BR><BR>But their views on
growth and development, they concede, start on opposite<BR>sides of the fence.
Common ground, to date, appears to be a
narrow<BR>proposition.<BR><BR>Livingston's Moscow Civic Association was first to
become part of the growth<BR>glossary here. While he and other members blanch at
anti-growth labels,<BR>Busch and founders of the Greater Moscow Alliance admit
their organization<BR>was formed to counter the MCA.<BR><BR>"I don't know that
we'd back away from being called pro-growth," Busch said<BR>seven months ago
when the GMA was formed. Asked at that time if the alliance<BR>was an antidote
to the MCA, Busch said, "I don't think we'd admit that, but<BR>from what I can
see, they're well organized and have sincere beliefs about<BR>what they want to
do."<BR><BR>Sandwiched between these two citizens groups, is the Moscow City
Council, a<BR>seven-member legislative body (including the mayor) with a
political<BR>identity that's hinged greatly over the last five years on the
growth issue.<BR><BR><BR>In the last election, most observers agree, the
pendulum swung to the left.<BR><BR>The former council, headed by then Mayor
Marshall Comstock, a get-it-done<BR>construction company owner who touts free
enterprise, was considered<BR>business friendly, if not outright
pro-growth.<BR><BR>"The council when I was mayor was definitely more
pro-growth," Comstock says<BR>without hesitation.<BR><BR>The current council,
under the guidance of Mayor Nancy Chaney, a soft-spoken<BR>former nurse who was
endorsed by the MCA and leans "green" on environmental<BR>issues, is prone to
keeping a tighter rein on free enterprise, at least at<BR>the corporate
level.<BR><BR>"I don't think this council is anti-growth," says Chaney, who was
a council<BR>member under Comstock's administration, "but I think we can afford
to be<BR>choosy."<BR><BR>Enter Wal-Mart, the corporate behemoth that became a
touchstone for the<BR>growth debate here nearly two years ago when plans for a
super center were<BR>announced.<BR><BR><FONT color=#808000>"I'm not a Wal-Mart
defender per se," says Busch, "but I know we've had a<BR>free-market economy in
the United States that's worked pretty well for more<BR>than 200 years. And if
the business climate in Moscow is such that the<BR>biggest retailer in the world
wants to locate here, that's the way it is."<BR></FONT><BR>Livingston counters
that Wal-Mart in a super-size portion would mark the<BR>beginning of the end of
Moscow's small-town character.<BR><BR>"There certainly are some people who don't
want a Wal-Mart at all, but I'm<BR>not one of them," Livingston says. "However,
I'm not sure you need a super<BR>center."<BR><BR>The proposed site for the super
center and possibly other big-box stores is<BR>in the southeastern corner of
town, across State Highway 8 from the Moscow<BR>Cemetery.<BR><BR>"Over their
dead bodies," people organized against the Wal-Mart-anchored<BR>development
seemed to say. A "No Super Wal-Mart" group was organized, a<BR>required zoning
change was shot down and the big retailer at this time seems<BR>focused on
locating in neighboring Pullman where the city council, to this<BR>point, has
left the welcome mat out.<BR><BR>Meanwhile, members of the Moscow Planning and
Zoning Commission on Wednesday<BR>voted to recommend a 130,000-square-foot cap
on retail stores; a proposal<BR>that if adopted by the city council will
effectively prohibit most big-box<BR>stores. A public hearing on the matter has
been scheduled for Feb. 28. It<BR>promises to be an airing of ideas by PIMBYs,
CAVE people and everyone in<BR>between.<BR><BR>Busch and Comstock warn that
Moscow has an ever-growing reputation of being<BR>anti-business and Chaney
recently reinforced the reputation by writing<BR>letters of concern about
developments across the border in Washington.<BR><BR>"I think it's legal for her
to do that," says Comstock, "but I disagree with<BR>it. I think the mayor has
gone a little bit too far."<BR><BR>Chaney defends questioning the proposed
110-acre Hawkins Co.'s shopping<BR>center and an automobile dealership within a
mile of Moscow city limits as<BR>prudent, if not necessary. "I had the council's
full support to do that,"<BR>she says of her letters addressed to Whitman County
Planner Mark Bordsen.<BR><BR>Moscow Chamber of Commerce President Mike Nelson
last week sided with Busch<BR>and Comstock.<BR><BR>"We must commit to
eliminating any obstacles in the way of building true<BR>long-term regional
economic cooperation," Nelson wrote in a<BR>letter-of-concern to Chaney in which
he expressed "disappointment" with the<BR>mayor's cross-border
intervention.<BR><BR>Bordsen, after reviewing all of Chaney's comments, decided
none of them<BR>raised issues worthy of changing his initial approval of the
development<BR>plans.<BR><BR>Chaney, who holds a master's degree in
environmental science from the<BR>University of Idaho, suggests that growth and
development should be<BR>tethered, rather than given a free rein.<BR><BR>"I am
vocal and trying to make it clear that the green light is on for<BR>development
in Moscow within the principals of smart growth."<BR><BR>Jim Anderson, vice
chairman of the GMA, a local businessman and a former<BR>city council member,
doesn't buy Chaney's pitch. "What she's doing is making<BR>us look like a bunch
of jerks over here. I don't think she's stating the<BR>opinion of most people in
the city of Moscow."<BR><BR>Anderson also chastises a majority of the city
council.<BR><BR><FONT color=#808000>"They're quoting smart growth, which equates
to no growth. I think the<BR>present council has demonstrated that they're not
in favor of growth. I<BR>don't care what they say, that reputation is
there."<BR></FONT><BR>Bill London, a co-founder of the MCA and advocate of
smart-growth<BR>principles, says free enterprise of the kind that spawns
Wal-Mart super<BR>centers in town's like Moscow and shopping centers in farm
land is "stupid."<BR>He contends that residents have a right to work through
representative<BR>government to design and build "a unique community that
doesn't want
a<BR>Wal-Mart."<BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
round town, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow,
Idaho<BR><BR>***********************************<BR>Work like you don't need the
money.<BR>Love like you've never been hurt.<BR>Dance like nobody's
watching.<BR><BR>- Author
Unknown<BR>***********************************<BR><BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR> List
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