[Vision2020] Naylor Farms

[Matt Decker]

Wow no kiddin. Why are we not protesting in masses against this site. This 
farm has stated it will use millions of gallons of water a year, yet only 30 
or so show up against Naylor. In the mean time hundreds show up for a big 
box ordinance that will keep any store over 40 k sq ft out of the cow.

Come on Moscow wake up

Matthew


>From: "Daniel Foucachon" <daniel at lyonministries.com>
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: [Vision2020] Naylor Farms
>Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 19:16:33 -0700
>
>Here's a letter that my father wrote concerning Naylor Farms. Please
>consider writing the county commissioners, requesting them to reject this
>CUP!  Thanks.
>
>Naylor Farms: It's about Zoning--the Reasonable Kind
>
>*Naylor Farms Open-Pit Mine Zoning Request, Moscow, ID*
>**
>It's about zoning--the reasonable kind that protects the welfare of people,
>the kind that would protect you if a nuclear disposal site business was
>about to be established adjacent to your residence or right outside your
>town limits.
>
>I'm a strong advocate of individual property rights, but there are limits 
>on
>what an individual can do with land that he owns. He is called to give up
>his rights when they infringe on the rights of his neighbor. The justice of
>this principle is easy to see in areas of life other than property rights;
>an example is the issue of smoking in public places. One person's right to
>smoke in the presence of his neighbor takes away the neighbor's right to
>breathe clean air; the smoker needs to defer to the non-smoker. When it
>comes to property, it is not right for one person to do something on land 
>he
>owns that will negatively affect his neighbors. Air space (of which peace
>and quiet are a part), the condition of the soil in an area, view, and 
>water
>are all shared resources. One person can harm his neighbors' use of these
>gifts by what he does with them on his land.
>
>The land between Moscow and Moscow Mountain is a beautiful, peaceful part 
>of
>the Palouse. The Naylor Farms property lies in this precious strip of land,
>and is actually one-and-a half miles from Moscow itself. It's unthinkable
>that there should be an open pit mine so close to the town and in an area
>where there are residences. The planned mining operations on the Naylor
>property would involve excavations with tractors and other digging vehicles
>that would be the source of LOTS of noise and that would, in the beginning
>phase alone (according to the presentation given at the public meeting on
>June 21), launch 50 round-trips per day of trucks going in and out of the
>site.
>
>Aesthetically, the effects would be terrible. The gravel mining near the
>entrance of Pullman gives a little idea of the ugliness of such endeavors.
>The residents of Moscow Mountain would look right down into these pits. The
>Naylor Farms people say they want to return the land to farming and
>agriculture when they are finished with their excavations--but they have
>presented a 60-year project that will take away from the town of Moscow and
>from the surrounding residents the beauty and peace of the area for more
>than an entire generation.
>
>I possibly would not be aware of the issues surrounding the Naylor Farms
>application for a Conditional Use Permit if I were not in the process of
>buying a house on Foothill Road, directly across from the Naylor Farms
>property. I was horrified when I went to the hearing on June 21 and 
>realized
>the magnitude of the operation that is proposed and the obvious enormous
>amount of money that these people have put into making this happen through
>the hiring of legal help and specialists to testify. I am not a no-growth
>person; I am for the growth of business and the creation of jobs. However, 
>I
>believe that it is a matter of common sense to see that this area of the
>Palouse is not an appropriate place for an open-pit mining operation. There
>are many more remote places where the mining would not bother anyone, nor
>take away from the peace and beauty that near-by residents and the town
>itself enjoy. The area could support less invasive businesses --but not
>noisy mining in an area where the slightest noise is carried far by the
>wind--not unsightly gravel excavations in an area that people move to and
>drive to for the priceless visual beauty of the hills and the mountain.
>There obviously has been thought given to protecting this region, because
>restrictions already exist that limit the number of houses that can be 
>built
>on the land (one house per 40 acres. Even if someone disagrees with the
>letter of the restrictions, he can easily see that the proposed mining
>business would certainly violate the spirit of the current thinking about
>the area.
>
>There are many people who are strongly against the granting of a 
>Conditional
>Use Permit to Naylor Farms on grounds other than the ones I have mentioned.
>They have done extensive research that brings to light serious concerns 
>that
>the proposed mining could create health hazards caused by the breathing of
>the fine particulates sent into the air by the extensive dust that the
>excavations would cause. On the night of the hearing, two physicians spoke
>to me about their health-related concerns. Soil pollution caused by harmful
>elements leeching into the ground is also an issue. Another huge issue is
>the effect on the aquifers of the region in terms of quantity as well as
>quality of the water.
>
>Conditional Use Permits are granted when the requested activity will have a
>positive effect on the surrounding neighbors and area. This is certainly 
>not
>the case in this instance. In addition to the most serious considerations 
>of
>health issues, of environmental, noise, and aesthetic pollution, and of
>water issues, there is the significant issue of Real Estate values
>plummeting if this mining operation takes place.
>
>There are three factors that determine the value of real estate; they are 
>1)
>location, 2) location, and 3) location. The real estate that is located in
>the region of this proposed mining operation would drastically lose its
>value. After attending the Public Hearing on June 21, my wife and I
>considered backing out of the purchase of the house we had chosen on
>Foothill Road, and actually forfeiting our large amount of earnest money. 
>As
>we heard the description of the Naylor Farms proposal, in our minds we 
>heard
>the noise of trucks, back hoes, and tractors during the proposed 4 AM to
>midnight operational hours. What a nightmare this noise would be at any 
>time
>of the day! From Foothill Road, you already hear the traffic from Highway
>95. How much more would the noise carry from this land that is between 95
>and Foothill Road.
>
>However, we have decided to go ahead with our plans to buy the house,
>trusting that those who have decision-making power will exhibit plain 
>common
>sense and deny Naylor Farms this Conditional Use Permit. We ask the
>residents of Moscow and the surrounding area to communicate to those who
>have authority in this matter that they need to deny the requested CUP for
>an open pit mine on the Naylor property.
>
>--by Francis Foucachon.


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