Fwd: William K. Medlin

[Ken Medlin <dev-plan@moscow.com>]

Subject:     William K. Medlin
Sent:        7/7/19 3:43 PM
Received:    7/7/99 9:53 PM
From:        BRUCE EGGLESTON, Beggleston@pobox.ci.boise.id.us
To:          dev-plan@moscow.com

William K. Medlin       [Note to Visionairies:  I commented on a 
"SmartGrowth" -- Boise based -- initiative recently, 
                                      to the effect that time for civic 
activism to halt Boisie's march, under developers' banners,
                                       toward the urban-sprawl model, is 
past and that precious little room for citizen influence is               
     
Dev-plan associates        left. The response below, from a well 
qualified participant, confirms my analysis. Lest we
930 Kenneth Street         in the Moscow-Pullman region fall into the 
same trap, the time for a major drive to organize
Moscow ID 83843          citizenry into a responsible, power-wielding 
body is NOW. Thanks for listening. Ken M. 
208/892-0148                 PS: The issue is not whom one supports, but 
what social values guide us into the future.]

Dear Mr. Medlin:
I can only prove you right about the development trends "of Boise, 
especially west toward 
Caldwell, tells me that the game is already over. There will be no 
playing time or field for movements like Smart Growth. The dye is cast."
I am a comprehensive planner for the City of Boise and a citizen activist 
in Canyon County, where I live. 
The best evidence of your assessment that I see in Canyon County is the 
proposed doublespeak-named "Agricultural Harmony Zone" that is in the 
public review process now. It is slated for public hearings before the 
Planning and Zoning Commission in October of this year. 
The proposed "Ag. Harmony Zone" would allow a rezone to "AH" without the 
requirement for linking a development plan to the rezone. Given the 
rezone to "AH," the landowner would then be able to create any number of 
one-acre single-family dwelling units without public review, that is with 
planning director approval only. In theory, the large landowner with, 
say, 3,000 acres, would be able to subdivide some 2,500 dwelling units 
without the benefit of public hearing. All of this would take place 
within the prime-ag areas of the county if they could demonstrate that it 
was not Class I or II ag. land. All this could be done with no concession 
to "agricultural harmony" whatsoever. 
This proposed ordinance was written almost exclusively by an attorney, 
Susan Wildwood, representing the Snake River Builder's Association, Alan 
Mills, a small-time realtor, and Darrin Taylor, another lawyer 
representing realtors and developers, at the behest of the Canyon County 
Board of Commissioners and the Planning and Development Department. I 
have served on the sub-committee for the last 18 months that was charged 
to create this proposed "Ag. Harmony Zone." I am here to witness that the 
final draft was the work of the development interests in the County, and 
there was little to no surviving influence in the draft from those not 
associated with the development industry. Specifically, there was very 
little influence in the writing from the agricultural sector. Lord knows 
I tried to steer the process toward something more harmonious with the 
agricultural industry, but the die was cast, as you said, by those 
"parties (who) are pretty much 'bought and sold' by the money-changers 
fulfilling their masters' will." 
There is a smattering of public involvement in this issue, but certainly 
not enough to counteract the damage already done by the development 
community. The adoption process is being manipulated by the County 
officials to obscure the tremendous death-blow that this will render to 
the agricultural industry in the County. Viable farming  in Canyon County 
will be gone in a generation, or less, if this ordinance is adopted. I 
bitterly refer to it as the developer's welfare ordinance, and it is 
fully greased to become just that.
C'est le guerre in Canyon County. 

Bruce Eggleston, A.I.C.P.
beggston@micron.net 
208-455-3241

P.S. Please don't forward this to the SmartGrowth list with my name 
attached to it. It would damage my credibility as a planner in Boise 
City. I prefer to stay out of the public eye in anything concerning Ada 
County or Boise City for professional reasons. 
Thanks,
B. E.



------------------------
William K. Medlin
Dev-plan associates
930 Kenneth Street
Moscow ID 83843
208/892-0148
dev-plan@moscow.com