I'm delighted that some of the Latah County comp plan materials are
now on the internet. It's time we acknowledged the electronic media as one
very important way to reach people in this community and to involve them in
the decision-making process. Good work!
Now -- can we get the city to endorse the web as a way to distribute
city planning information? As many of you know, I started an unofficial
Moscow planning homepage several months ago at the address:
http://www.uidaho.edu/~joelh/moscow/planning.html
So far, in spite of my occasional needling, there has not been any move by
the city to endorse such an approach -- let alone to devote any time or
resources to actually doing it.
Some of you may also know that I am presently teaching in Beijing,
China. (I will be here until early December.) Obviously I will not be
devoting much time to a Moscow planning home page while I am here in China.
I would like to see Vision 2020 take on the project of encouraging
the city to sponsor an official homepage. Is there anyone who knows how to
do homepages that would like to work on this? Can Moscow.com provide us
with space? Even while I am in China, I can provide encouragement, ideas,
technical suggestions, and access to the materials that I put together
earlier. If anyone has ideas, send me a message.
I would like to see a web site where the current comp plan, zoning
ordinance, and other relevant documents can be accessed, along with maps,
and drafts of any proposed revisions being considered. It should also
display agendas of meetings, and summaries of what happened at the meetings.
It could have areas for materials from the parks commission, the bike
commission, etc. Other ideas?
While I am in China, the best way to contact me will be by e-mail at
the address: lead21@eastnet.co.cn. I will also continue to occasionally
check for messages at my usual UI e-mail address.
Keep the Vision 2020 discussions going. It's my source of news for
what's really happening in Moscow. I alternate between feeling that Moscow
is an awfully long way away -- and being amazed at how close it is through
media such as e-mail and the web.
Joel Hamilton
Moscow Planning & Zoning Commission
China Agricultural University
Beijing
lead21@eastnet.co.cn