🚀 go-pugleaf

Here is a copy of another letter submitted to GT by another resident of SW
45th street.


Another annexation in southwest Corvallis, so soon?  No, in fact
Corvallis voters are being presented with two annexations - an
industrial park and a subdivision of 31 homes.  Why do we need
another 83 acres of industrial land, when there are well over 400
acres of vacant industrial land already within the city limits?  

Why should we add 5.37 acres of land for residential development,
when there are about 1,300 acres of such land inside the city
limits?  In fact, city approval to build on many of these parcels
has been obtained by developers, but they have chosen to delay
construction.  The demand and need for housing is obviously not
as great as some claim, or these lands would not still be vacant.

Annexations for large subdivisions seem endless in west, and
southwest, Corvallis, yet this corner of the city has been
seriously shortchanged when it comes to parks.  The existing
Comprehensive Plan notes a shortage of neighborhood and community
parks, and includes a policy that land for parks should be
acquired in advance of urban growth and development. 
Nonetheless, the City Council approved all these annexations
without seriously addressing the matter of parks.  

In the City's opinion, this area is adequately served by Starker
Arts Park and Sunset Park. I am not convinced that three softball
fields comprise any kind of a "park," in the normal sense of the
word.  As for the Arts Park, while dandy for rock concerts, it
has none of the usual amenities of the better city parks,
although it does have five picnic tables, two portable toilets
and a duck pond with water unsafe for swimming or wading.

Let's defeat both these annexations, and hope future
developments, under the new Comprehensive Plan, will address the
needs of current residents.