new announcement system for city projects

[bill london <bill_london@hotmail.com>]

It seems to me that the system now in place in Moscow for announcing 
building projects or rezoning efforts is insufficient.

Now, all projects--from your neighbor's plan to add a garage to the building 
of 200 new homes on the 51 acres on north side of Moscow--are treated the 
same.  All those projects are announced to the public (as I understand it) 
with one of those unintelligible legal notices at the back of the Daily News 
and the posting of flyers at homes within 300 feet of the project.  The idea 
is that in that way the public is alerted and can respond to the Planning 
and Zoning Commission, etc, with concerns.

What we need is a way to announce major projects that have a significant 
city-wide impact in a different way--a way that really lets the public know 
that something important is happening.  And let's us know early in the 
process.

I spoke with Dale Pernula at City Hall (883-7008).  He said that what his 
department needs is a consistent policy that is not arbitrarily applied.  If 
there was, first a new system that established a reasonable threshold for a 
wider announcement, and second established what that wider announcement 
would be, he would find that acceptable.

I am hoping that we can come up with some ideas for such a new system.  then 
perhaps we could change the city policy and be better prepared for proposals 
with significant impact on this city.  So there are the two basic questions 
that Dale asks:

First, what is the new threshold--what is the minimum level of size or 
whatever that would classify a project as significant?

Second, what additional notice would be required?

I am hoping that there will be suggestions and ideas offered to the 2020 
list about this--not to my address only.  I do have a few preliminary ideas 
to get the ball rolling....

First, a project is significant if it involves: 1. any commercial 
construction, 2. any citywide ordinance (like the sign ordinance), 3. the 
building of more than two dwellings (one duplex, two houses, or one 
apartment building).

Second, the additional announcement would be to forward a summary of the 
proposal (like the legal notice) to an email list of interested 
persons--which could include media, 2020, others.

BL


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