Concern for quality of life
appearing as a letter to Daily News 3/3/06
I want to thank the Daily News for its excellent coverage of the Feb. 22 night meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission to hear an application for a rezone of 77 acres in Moscow’s southeast corner. The applicant was asking for a rezone from agriculture/forestry to motor business.
CLC Associates seemed to present a picture of inevitability. Its mantra that Moscow is desperate for space for retail business seemed to contradict the fact that there are still 12 undeveloped acres zoned for business, including a seven-acre contiguous parcel. Is anything less than 77 acres really not good enough? Another of the applicant’s assertions was that Palouse River Drive is an “arterial.” Seems like calling Paradise Creek a barge canal. Sure, we can dredge it and widen it, but why, and who will pay for it?
They also tried hard to convince the commission that Moscow must be a major retail center for the region, as if we had a moral obligation to provide fast food and big-box stores for everyone in north central Idaho. Well, we can if we want to, but we don’t have to.
Most of the people in attendance were ordinary residents concerned for the future of Moscow’s quality of life. Many were concerned about downtown’s viability and issues of water supply and traffic flow. I hope and pray the P&Z Commission and City Council will not be intimidated by the rezone applicants.
The many residents who crowded into the council chambers deserve the commission’s serious consideration.
Margaret A. Davis, Moscow