Important Meeting on Monday March 31st - 3/28/08

Important Community Plan Meeting on Monday 3/31/08

Official Notice. Nearly two months ago every Illahee resident was sent a postcard notice that the community was developing a community plan and asked residents to attend an open house.

Open House. The Open House was the beginning of a community public process.

Monday Meetings. Following the Open House began a series of every-other Monday meetings, with the next one being on Monday 3/31/08. All the meetings are from 6-8 pm and are at the Unitarian Church, except for the April 16th meeting that will be held at the Library.

This is an Unofficial Update. The county is in charge of the process and they are the ones providing the official reports. Many of you have asked that we continue to provide you with unofficial updates, so that is what this update is, unofficial.

Meeting Progress. So far the group has agreed upon a vision statement similar to the one developed earlier and the same boundaries that were developed for the draft community plan. The county is working on preparing a community questionnaire.

County Experts. Beginning with Monday's meeting we will be having county experts coming to the meetings to help explain the county's position on items such as zoning, transportation, storm water, wastewater, aquifers, wildlife corridors, and other issues.

Important Issues Being Discussed. On Monday we will be getting into the first substantive issues of the Draft Community Plan, which is Chapter 3 "Zoning and Development Regulations." This chapter covers legacy lots, view protection, building height limitations, zoning (Urban Restricted 1-4 or 1-5 units per acre, Urban Low 5-9 units per acre, Urban Medium 10-18 units per acre, and Mixed Use commercial).

Others are Attending. Last week we had two members of the Planning Commission attend and an employee of Team Four, the engineering firm that worked the Illahee Outfall project for the MT Illahee Corporation, and is working on the Timbers Edge project.

We Need More Attendees! Frankly, it would be nice to have more community members in attendance as the decisions being made at these meetings are what will end up in the Illahee Community Plan. The county is using the draft plan that was prepared as a starting point for discussions, but the plan we will end up with is based on the decisions that are made during these Monday meetings. That is why it is important for community members to attend so their voices can be heard.

Draft Community Plan Copies. One of the advantages of having the county in charge of the process is they have printed up copies of the Illahee Community Plan. On-line copies are also available on our Illahee community website, illaheecommunity.com --- (Monday's topic - Chapter 3) and on the county website.

Please Pass This Information On. We are aware of many Illahee residents who don't have email or do not have a computer. If you have neighbors who are not aware of these meetings please advise them of what is happening with the community plan.

Questions. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me at 479-1049,

Jim Aho