Unplanned Growth

[PhilCooper@webtv.net (Philip Cooper)]

Fellow visionaries -- while I've pretty much been away from my hometown
(Moscow) in the military for the past 15 years, it's great to listen
(and sometimes participate) in on the dialogue that focuses upon Moscow
and the surrounding community.  I'm glad to see so many concerned people
exploring very real issues.  I'm currently living in Brandon, FL which
is a town to the east of Tampa.  We have had a massive increase in urban
development (and I do mean massive) just in the 1.5 years I've been
stationed here at MacDill AFB.  Shopping centers, housing developments,
you name it -- springing up overnight.  It is distressing because it
appears there is very little planning -- inadequate road systems,
increased pressure on water sources, and depletion of vital habitat for
local wildlife (I see many critters dead along the roads as a result of
being forced out of their homes by the bulldozers -- no place to go and
very sad) all of the things that go hand-in-hand with unplanned growth.
While Latah county and Moscow are certanily not in that category, I'm
glad to see you monitoring and influencing Moscow in the proper
direction of "planned growth".  South Florida is fast becoming what
Southern California became starting the the 70's.  Moscow is a great
place to live.  I had heard recently about a signficant amount of prime
agricultural land to the northeast of Moscow being sold in 40 acre
pieces.  I also heard a lot of those folks wanted to parcel those
40-acre lots out and build housing developments.  Does anyone know if
that is still the plan or if the county put a halt on further division
of those 40-acre lots?  I'd be interested to know.

PC