Moscow-Pullman Corridor Issues

["John Murray" <jbiggs50@hotmail.com>]

September 1, 1999

TO:	Vision2020
RE:	Moscow-Pullman Corridor

On August 30, the Whitman County Commissioners adopted the Pullman-Moscow 
Enterprise Zone; a zoning change that would allow limited development within 
the corridor.  The adoption of the zone changes the previous zoning of most 
of the land between the ridges of the Paradise Creek area.  All activities 
currently existing within the corridor are grandfathered.

Some topics of discussion:
1. The Corridor Zone may be modified in the future.  The Whitman County 
Planning Commission comments over the past six months reveal that the 
Commission expects future change to elements of the zone.  This could 
include addition or deletion of allowable land uses within the corridor.  
This could also include changes in conditions on land use.  The vote 
approving the recommendation of the zone was not unanimous.  At least one, 
probably two, planning commissioners will resign within the next year.  The 
local (Colfax and the unincorporated county) property owners association has 
become politically active, and these were the folks that were very vocal 
about loosening restrictions on development.  At least two members of the 
property owners association own land within the corridor, and this is a 
county that doesn’t have a good track record concerning elected official’s 
conflicts of interest.  In short, the current corridor zone is tenuous.
2. The Washington DOT has released tentative design for the Highway 270 
upgrade.  The media has virtually ignored this issue.  The draft design for 
the highway expansion has greater impacts on both cities and the Paradise 
Creek than any concepts for development so far.  Projected right-of-ways for 
the highway project will gobble up the Chipman Trail, though the trail will 
not change location, and extend up the northern hillsides.  Access roads 
within the center of the corridor will be within 75 feet or so of parts of 
the trail.  Any future development will likely occur along the proposed 
access roads.  DOT must go through the SEPA process, and comment periods are 
expected to continue through next year.
3. The Corridor Zone was developed and adopted without review by a 
politically active joint area task force.  Yeah, organizations exist within 
both communities.  Yeah, local representatives talk to each other.  But, the 
Planning Commission was pretty much on its own in development and adoption.  
Until an organized group of locally involved people steps up to the plate 
and takes a few swings, development will represent individual concerns over 
community concerns.
4. Availability of water and sewage disposal will be an important issue in 
corridor development.  The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee did not recently 
comment on the zoning change.  Washington State law allows just about anyone 
to drill a well on their property and withdraw up to 5,000 gallons a day 
before having to apply for a water right.  5,000 gallons per day is a lot of 
sewage, and probably couldn’t be approved on compacted soils.  That limits 
the kinds of development that could happen.  Lots of options exist for 
regulation of local aquifer extraction, yet not many are discussed within 
the local public arena.
JM

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