Tonight at 6pm the Columbia River Business Alliance hosts an event at the Blue Scorcher Bakery talking about the effects of very large retail stores on nearby communities. The discussion is to focus on ways to hold mega-stores accountable for calculating their economic impacts according to an email sent out by Laurie Caplan.
Caplan says that a representative of Onward Oregon will talk about the proposed Oregon Informed Growth Act which is designed to give Oregonians more information about the potential impact of box box development on local communities including effects on local business, jobs and local government services and, she says, provide a means for local communities to prevent development determined to have a significant negative impact.
This discussion is timely. While the state of the economy has slowed the pace of big box store deals here there are more projects on the way. Particularly in the Warrenton area where Clatsop County has parleyed a large section of the North Coast Business park into just such a mega-store development. The new Costco is taking shape there and I'm told will be open for business by November. There is room for more of the same.
The question is whether these developments help or hurt. That often depends on whether or not services like police and fire can handle the new development. It also impacts all those small businesses that lend character to a small community depending on the nature of the mega stores that might open here. On the upside these developments do provide significant jobs under construction and require a medium sized workforce to operate them. They also pay property taxes unless local government cuts them a break.
Isn't this just like the no on everything gang's tactics. I'm sure Caplin will continue her theme that big stores are bad and should be banned. She and her gang take this route for two main reasons: first, because they believe any progress is bad. And,second, because they realize that if things progress as they are now, Astoria will soon simply be a bedroom community to Warrenton, and probably Seaside, which will lower Astoria's status considerably. Also, if Oregon ever gets a sales tax, Warrenton rich and Astoria will be ruined. That is bad of course because the Warrenton city fathers rightfully pay no attention to the likes of Caplin while the Astorians bow to them.
ReplyDeleteA fellow at the last Commissioner meeting said very briefly that the people who seem so opposed to the LNG efforts don't seem to stand FOR anything, but find just about everything to stand AGAINST. Yet undoubtedly they voted for Hope & Change. Why not just come out of the socialist closet, People, and stop pretending otherwise? Then we can more openly discuss the merits of your arguments rather than having to fight proposal by proposal. Seems like a more efficient way to get at the bottom of our differences.
ReplyDeleteWell said, ArtH. This anti everything gang seems very unusual here, expecially since two of its leaders used to run the Astoria Chamber of Commerce and are from California. Maybe this is just a political exercise that keeps them occupied in what, to them, must be a boring community. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteSo for Rocka who used to run the Chamber...look how well that went....NOT GOOD!!!and then there was his wife Jan who headed up the Lewis & Clark Bicentenial....look how well that went....NOT GOOD!!! I predict the same for their hate campaign against OUR county government....what a waste of time and money this latest venture of theirs is, oh yea, that's right THEY aren't paying the bill, WE are...haven't these people and their followers sucked enough out of this community? Pretty bad when a town as big as Fresno gets sick of you...
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