Looking at that picture on the front of today's Local section in the Bulletin of Redmond's urban planning made me think of Disneyland.
"An Ambitious Plan," says the headline.
To say the least.
Reading about the financing made my eyes blur. O.K. I'm just not that wonky about public policy. But what I seemed to be reading was: An Urban Renewal District would raise revenue by renewing the urban landscape and increasing land values. They would do this by investing. The money they would invest would come from ....
Oh, hell.
It's magic. Money for nothing. Land values would increase -- because....they would improve the land. Land would be improved because land values increase. A perfect fusion machine. A perpetual motion money raising machine that would cost us nothing.
If I may be impertinent, I'd like to ask a couple of questions.
1.) Are you going to raze all the existing structures all at once to create that parklike zone?
If not, how will a piecemeal tearing down and replacing affect existing businesses, who are trying to make a living now, today, and tomorrow? (Have you ever tried to conduct a profitable business while the streets and buildings next to you are torn down?)
2.) If you don't even have the money to fix up existing buildings, what makes you think you'll have the money to build brand new ones?
Are these pie in the sky schemes a Central Oregon phenomenon?
Plans are fine. Ambitious plans are....O.K. as a guideline. But really. One step at a time, One REALISTIC step at a time.
"An Ambitious Plan," says the headline.
To say the least.
Reading about the financing made my eyes blur. O.K. I'm just not that wonky about public policy. But what I seemed to be reading was: An Urban Renewal District would raise revenue by renewing the urban landscape and increasing land values. They would do this by investing. The money they would invest would come from ....
Oh, hell.
It's magic. Money for nothing. Land values would increase -- because....they would improve the land. Land would be improved because land values increase. A perfect fusion machine. A perpetual motion money raising machine that would cost us nothing.
If I may be impertinent, I'd like to ask a couple of questions.
1.) Are you going to raze all the existing structures all at once to create that parklike zone?
If not, how will a piecemeal tearing down and replacing affect existing businesses, who are trying to make a living now, today, and tomorrow? (Have you ever tried to conduct a profitable business while the streets and buildings next to you are torn down?)
2.) If you don't even have the money to fix up existing buildings, what makes you think you'll have the money to build brand new ones?
Are these pie in the sky schemes a Central Oregon phenomenon?
Plans are fine. Ambitious plans are....O.K. as a guideline. But really. One step at a time, One REALISTIC step at a time.