Responsible Development

PARD's goal is to address concerns over development of the city of Pullman. We want to see local businesses thrive, the environment to be clean, our streets clear of traffic, and crime to remain low. These issues boil down to controlled, sustainable growth; what we call "responsible development."

A city needs to meet the needs of those who inhabit it. It needs to be a safe and pleasant place to live. A city also needs to grow for its economy to remain strong. To do that, thoughtful planning of a city must be achieved.

Development in our community is left to a small handful of people who have extraordinary decision-making powers. We object to this style of city management, as it does not always account for the needs of the community as a whole. Opportunities for public input are usually buried in the obscurity of city bureaucracy, when many would like input early in the decision-making process of important projects.

We want to have a voice in the development and planning of our city; we don't want to see problems from urban sprawl arise when they could be easily avoided with some thoughtful consideration of the community members. This means that development must be planned beyond a set of laws and building regulations; it must address the needs of those who will live near it and use whatever is being developed.

What Exactly Constitutes Responsible Development?

What constitutes responsible development must ultimately be decided on a case-by-case basis, but here are some of the principles that PARD believes go into responsible projects:

1. The project benefits more than one element of the community. This means that a project that benefits the University but not downtown, or a project that benefits store owners but hurts workers, or a project that profits some but pollutes others, is not a responsible development.
2. The project is economically and environmentally sustainable over time. Projects that make short-term profits at the expense of long-term economic development, or projects that represent significant environmental damage or stress, are not ultimately healthy and responsible. In Pullman, the aquifer and water quality, are particularly urgent concerns.
3. The project should help diversify the local economy. Just as a personal financial portfolio should be balanced and diversified, so too should a local economy. Too much reliance on any one sector -- industrial, professional, educational, retail, housing, etc. -- is not healthy. The exact mix of these elements should be part of long term planning that is relied upon for evaluating individual projects. Within each sector, there are also dangers when diversity is lacking -- over reliance on one retailer, or one industry, or one educational institution.
4. The project should maintain or enhance the best qualities and values of the community. This is the broadest category because it subsumes all the others, and adds to them. For all of the above serve to maintain community, while violation of them undermines community. But there are also intangibles that relate to the particular kind of town we have and want. Do we wish to be more like every other rural transition community, or do we want to maintain and enhance unique qualities?

Local Examples of Responsible Development

We applaud the work of Duane Brelsford; specifically his new, three-story structure, development project where the Pizza Pipeline used to be at the turn off from Main onto the road to Reaney Park. This project will have a restaurant on the bottom with office space and apartments above. This new project links the campus and downtown Pullman to the benefit of both.

PARD is also very favorably impressed with what we know of the plans by Edmund Schweitzer to bulid homes and a small retail mall for Schwetizer Labs employees. We salute the Planning Commission for granting this project the leeway to proceed. Such a development is just the kind of neighborhood style combination of housing and retail we believe Pullman needs. Such projects are pedestrian friendly and spread the traffic around, in contrast to the congestion and safety issues that emerge when a single store like Wal-Mart dominates the retail landscape.