THE CITY THIS WEEK An occasional view from a citizen...

["Linda Pall" <lpall@moscow.com>]

THE CITY THIS WEEK: AN OCCASIONAL VIEW FROM A CITIZEN

February 25, 2002, to March 3, 2002

from Linda Pall, Moscow Citizen

Okay, I couldn’t resist. While it has been great to reclaim anywhere from 10 to 40 hours per week that had previously been going to City of Moscow activities and preparations and I surely appreciate the gracious comments of Council Member Peg Hamlett in a message to this forum, I continue to be interested in what’s happening on the civic front. They don’t return my calls nearly as quickly… how rapidly we forget! Still, the City of Moscow has a lot going on right now that we might want to take a serious look at.

Thanks, Jack Hill, and Council for another look at Setbacks!

Oh, yes, I can practically hear the yawns! Setbacks? Whaaa???

A little proposal slipped through the system last week for a decision to reduce the setback required for residential dwellings on streets with 80 foot rights of way. In most of the older parts of our community, particularly in the Fort Russell Neighborhood National Register Historic District, streets have 80 foot rights of way. This means that the public owns 40 feet from the center of the street each way. That puts public ownership halfway into my front yard. If we ever need a freeway, my silver maples are toast.

The proposal went through Planning and Zoning, largely because requests for variances had routinely been approved. There haven’t been very many requests.

The problem with the proposal is that it would have a very unfortunate, presumably unintended consequence: in historic neighborhoods, part of the community design is directly related to the line of the houses on the street, i.e., the distance from the street that homes have formed, thanks to the 80’ right of way and the required setback from the street.

Change this line and you change the historic character of the neighborhood. Take a look at my house, for example, on the corner of A and Jefferson. If I could extend the front of my house south with a remodeling project (say a new mobile home module) toward A Street, it would destroy the relative symmetry of my neighbors’ homes and the historic character of the street (besides being butt-ugly).

I am very pleased that this proposal has been slowed down by the Administrative Committee under Jack Hill’s leadership to receive information from the Moscow Historic Preservation Commission.

The meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission to consider this setback question will be March 6 at 5 P.M. in the conference room on the second floor of City Hall. The existing procedure of requesting a variance makes a lot of sense because neighbors get notice and the historic character can be evaluated. Status quo can’t be bad in this case!

C and Adams Street Zone Change Follies One More Time…

Check it out this coming Wednesday, Moscow Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing - 8:00 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers: Rezone at 416 N. Adams Street.

For those of you who haven’t heard about this, tune into the continuing saga of "I want to put more apartments in a tiny little neighborhood that really is not equipped for streets or public facilities for any more intensive residential use."

The property owner wants to tear down an historic older home and build yet more little boxes at Moscow’s most dense multi-family residential zoning limit. This is in a limited access area at the bottom of a steep hill at C and Adams Street. There already are too many multi-family units on these gravel streets. Nobody's against making money but surely there is a more appropriate place to make it with additional apartments!

Any decision to rezone to more intense use will almost REQUIRE the City Council to force a Local Improvement District, a major paving and street/sidewalk construction program in this area to be funded by present residents as well as the property owner who wants to make the bucks off the new apartments. This is a prospect that the residents, who have lived comfortably for years in the shadow of ‘Deadman’s Hill,’ will not appreciate.

Who will pay for all this ‘improvement?’ Existing single family homeowners and every apartment dweller in their new leases. The owners of the multifamily projects will just factor those costs into the rent structure and the higher rents will take care of the higher costs that the new paving would bring. Dig a little deeper in your pocket, folks.

Give us a break: this idea has not improved with time. Leave the neighborhood in peace and find another property to buy and build the uninspired boxes!

Be there Wednesday, 2/27, at 8 P.M. to let Planning and Zoning know what you think of this warmed-over leftover! And there will be follow through activities before the City Council so stay vigilant.

Thanks for the Memories…

The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival just gets better and better. I am so pleased the Chamber and the Festival have joined forces to let us all know of the financial impact of this annual jam session. It is at the top of our regional offerings: a great event, pulled off each year with panache and pizzazz! Are we luck or what?!?

Downtown… things are just great when you’re DOWNTOWN…

Can you hear Petula Clark? No? Go get that oldies album… things ARE just great downtown. My travel agent is swell, Moscow Florists continues to dispense spring on a daily basis, Bookpeople keeps my mind buzzing and my lips in a smile, thanks to those cheery yellow walls… the Prospector serves a great cuppa and eggs just to my liking and then there are the potato pancakes at the Breakfast Club and the lunch specials at the Old Peking… Otto’s and Wheatberries continue to be purveyors to the Citizen: let’s hear it for pumpernickel and lemongrass!

As the first phase of our downtown revitalization project comes to a close, I can hardly wait for phase two and look forward to all kinds of opportunities for making those exciting new strategies come to life!

Making money can be fun and profitable…DOWNTOWN!!! Keep the City Council informed and supportive of these efforts, along with the University. We’re in it together and that’s for sure!

Good news for the Paradise Path…

At an all-time best attended meeting in months, the Paradise Path had a great meeting in February and is looking to a similar turnout and excitement level in March. We are getting grants for pieces of the path, we have potential for public/private partnerships for pieces, and there are chances for planting projects coming up. We are working cooperatively with the Latah Trail folks and looking forward to citizen planting/weeding days as spring finally makes its appearance. Roger Blanchard, Parks Director, is a great staff support for this terrific group.

That’s All, Folks…

A personal thank you to anyone who has read this far. Zap it if you’d prefer. I hope these comments may be of interest and information to you.

All the best,

Linda,

Citizen