ZONING PROBLEMS Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. A stretch of agricultural lands with a rich history in the Walla Walla valley are the focus of a review by County Commissioners that would allow RV lots and more if the zoning laws are changed.
Frenchtown Historical Foundation president, Sarah Hurlburt says this land is sacred tribal lands intended for producing food …
HURLBURT … “We’re talking about 10 miles of bottom land fields, historic sites, key water habitat, and the commissioners are thinking about turning it into a strip mall.”
Hurlburt says the historical and agricultural value are
equally important …
HURLBURT … “What people might not realize is that this corridor that they want to dot with RV sales lots was the location of Cayuse winter villages. The Cayuse still have treaty rights to gather food and medicine here. The Hudson Bay Company planted crops here for the first time 200 years ago. How many other locations in the Pacific Northwest can claim a heritage going back that far? This is an important place.”
This, Hurlburt says would be a mistake …
HURLBURT … “Zoning is about planning for the future of an entire community over the long term. This is something that is generationally important. It’s not about the short-term interests or the individual interests in a community. So, this kind of change could be irreversibly damaging. Once you’ve paved over paradise, you don’t get it back.”
Hurlburt says this is not a pressing need or something the Walla Walla community is doing without.
