Locating up to 1.5 MILLION square feet of big box retail space at the eastern entrance to Moscow will permanently change the character of our community.

Family-owned local businesses, employing hundreds of local workers, will be in competition with low-wage corporate discount chains carrying low quality goods. When these stores are forced to close, we will lose the diversity of goods and services available to us now.

After payroll and property taxes are paid, the rest of the money spent at big box stores leaves the community forever.

Supplying the needs of big box stores with water, sewer, police protection, and other services will severely tax Moscow's already strained infrastructure. Costs to the city to provide those increased services will be far greater than the additional tax revenue.

Increased demand on our fragile aquifer and loss of open spaces to parking lots will have a negative effect on our environment.

Traffic problems along the Troy highway, particularly at the intersection of Mountain View Road, will become even worse. Increased traffic will be dangerous to users of the Latah Trail.

Sprawling big box development is the exact opposite of Smart Growth principles as supported by the New Cities study of Moscow residents’ vision for our community.

www.moscow.id.us/council/NewCities/NewCities01_06.pdf
www.idahosmartgrowth.org/