Re: Moscow-Pullman Corridor Issues

["bill london" <bill_london@hotmail.com>]

JM-
Throughout this corridor debate, the best source of real information has 
been your comments to the V2020 list.
Thank you very much for your candid appraisals of the political scene.  I 
found them not only accurate but enjoyable reading.
I hope you continue to send info our way.
BL


>From: "John Murray" <jbiggs50@hotmail.com>
>To: vision2020@moscow.com
>Subject: Moscow-Pullman Corridor Issues
>Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 10:07:58 PDT
>
>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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