Community Connection
Kittitas Valley, Washington
What concerns do the volunteers of these civic groups and non-profit organizations have?   Plenty!


In January of 2005, some 75 interested community members attended the second quarterly potluck Community Connection meeting at Hal Holmes Community Center.  The attendees were seated at round tables in small groups.  Each table prioritized their concerns.  These were then presented to the whole group.  A summary of these issues is below.


1.    STREET DESIGN
        - safety, comfort, beauty, slower traffic, pedestrian and bike friendly, benches

2.    ART IN PUBLIC PLACES
         - maintain art and history

3.    PRESERVATION OF GREEN SPACES
         - link with green belt

4.    ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION
         - bike paths, bus, train to West Side

5.    CONTROL URBAN SPRAWL
- spur development downtown & support local shops
- collaborative interchange with downtown shop owners regarding hours, items still not available in town, etc.

6.    PROTECT AGRICULTURAL ZONES

7.    DEVELOPMENT CONSEQUENCES
- wildlife and habitat displacement
- over-emphasis on water-based landscaping
- building in woods yet expect fire protection

8.    RESTORE BEFORE BUILDING NEW
- no new interchange
- Bowers Road before Bender Road
- Train depot – center for restored train traffic

9.    BUILDING VARIETY
- architectural diversity
- sustainable living structures
- high density clusters - business nodes, neighborhood centers

10.    FORUM TYPE COLLABORATIVE VEHICLE TO PRESENT OPINIONS
- community bulletin board (on line) for upcoming events, successes, contact lists, brochures
- information tables at community events
- self-forming groups on different topics form fluidly (not fixed)
- can add to agenda on line before quarterly meetings

11.    PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT – MORE OUTREACH

12.    WATER
- over-allocation, safety, drought
- xeriscape landscaping? – zoned, regulated

13.    LAND USE – mixed

14.    INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

15.    ISSUES OF ON-GOING IMPORTANCE LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY   
- end of oil
- sustainable agriculture
- global warming
- conservation

16.    PARTICIPATE IN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PROCESS

17.    STAY INVOLVED

18.    COMMUNITY CONNECTION BECOME WATCHDOG GROUP
- ensuring government officials remain accountable such as follow through with zoning code revisions
- make sure zoning revisions are acceptable.


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