vision2020@moscow.com: No to Cameron Farms, and yes to what?
No to Cameron Farms, and yes to what?
Priscilla Salant (salant@wsu.edu)
Thu, 1 Feb 1996 13:46:55 -0800
Last night I attended the County Planning Commission's town meeting
on rural residential zoning. Almost all of the others who attended were
new faces to me. That means they weren't the same ones who came to the
Cameron Farms hearings, and so strongly voiced opposition to 16 5-acre lots
north of Moscow.
The Planning Commission is trying to develop a new zoning ordinance
that will guide where and how new housing is built in open areas of Latah
County. It's intended to solve problems created by the old -- supposedly
stopgap -- ordinance, which limits density to one house per 40 acres.
Few people seem to like the one-per-40 rule -- so volunteer
commission members are holding 5 public meetings around the county to hear
what the public wants instead. Agreement that something should be done is
close to unanimous.
But what?
At the meeting last night, people who live in rural parts of the
county said they want more flexibility in how they use their land. Not one
of them, nor any of the rest of us, seem to know what zoning system we *do*
want.
The commission members truly seem to want our ideas. And I don't
think they should have to figure out how to balance private and public
interests all on their own, which is what this amounts to.
My question: How do we get more people thinking about the possibilities
... instead of the endless criticisms?
Priscilla Salant
Department of Agricultural Economics
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6210
(509) 335-7613
(509) 335-1173 FAX
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