"Your town, your newspaper."  The McKinleyville Press deserves congratulations for outstanding coverage of local development issues, particularly regarding the proposed Eureka Wal-Mart as well as the McKinleyville Community Advisory Committee and the response triggered by its recent recommendations.
         We probably have more democracy here than in most other US cities and towns; our independent, locally owned newspaper plays a key role by providing a forum for all points of view in a community discussion.  Who among us can be heard in the national or even regional media?  With larger media (especially television) we often become passive consumers of information rather than active architects of our world.  To survive as businesses, large media outlets must report from within a world view that is at least broadly compatible with the needs of their major advertisers and underwriters.  This "slant" is so pervasive that--like the air we breathe--we come to take it for reality.
         The McKinleyville Press has recently featured numerous articles, letters, and
opinions regarding local development, including an entire report produced by a county supervisor-appointed committee regarding the probable effects of a Wal-Mart.  In most places, this discussion wouldn't happen; Wal-Mart would be erected without question.  By creating a weekly "town hall," the Press is helping us to consciously choose the type of community we hope to enjoy here in the future.
         Like many, I have my own views.  Personally, I'm glad Kentucky Fried went out of business, and I hope to see no more fast food franchises--I think they're ugly, they sometimes smell, they can create a litter problem, and we don't need the ill-health effects of more greasy food.  I hope we tell Wal-Mart to get lost; two K-Marts, Costco, Ray's, and Safeway are sufficient.  I hope we instead create more incentives for small, locally owned, skilled, and "value added" businesses.  I hope our planners design areas friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.
         These themes echo recent recommendations of the McKinleyville  Community Advisory Committee.  Many objections to these recommendations claim that they would violate property rights.  In my lifetime, you never could just "do anything" on your land--there have always been restrictions.  Something as simple as a fence or patio can require a city or county permit.  I certainly can't build a three story apartment building in my backyard.  A neighborhood group near my old home in San Francisco recently prevented a methadone clinic from locating there, fearing it would be a magnet for drug addicts from outside the area.  Three years ago, citizens of Blue Lake stopped the Ultrapower Company's plans for burning old tires to generate electricity.  I perhaps had a tiny part in creating this outcome, since I attended a couple Planning Commission hearings and wrote some letters.
         So restrictions on property use are nothing new.  The question is--what are the specific restrictions in a given area?  In a democracy, this ultimately depends on "the will of the people," which can be expressed through zoning ordinances crafted by our elected officials who--theoretically at least--are working for us.
         Zoning laws can encourage or discourage different types of development.  An
analogy to our tax system may be helpful here.  An accountant pointed out to me that the purpose of the labyrinthine IRS code is not just to raise money for the government; it is also to encourage some behaviors by allowing deductions, credits, or business expenses for them, and to discourage other behaviors by taxing them fully.  For example, in the 1970s a tax deduction was allowed for installing solar panels on your roof, stimulating this behavior.  This deduction was eliminated in the early Reagan years--in effect pushing continued reliance on fossil fuels.
         Similarly, zoning laws and accepted norms of development have since World War II created an automobile-centered culture throughout most of our country, bringing not only the wastefulness and cost of extensive car use, but also the loss of the "neighborhood" in which residential, work, shopping, and recreational opportunities could be in close proximity, enabling deepening connections among friends and neighbors and a strong sense of community.  The suburbanization of America helped create the conditions for the widespread social breakdown we are witnessing today.
         McKinleyville is not ruined yet, though some ominous steps have been taken in that direction.  "We the people" have a lot of say in what happens next.  If most people want more of the same kind of development, then so be it; but this should be a conscious decision of the community.  Whatever happens, we can be certain that some people won't like it.  Oh well, that's life.
         You may agree with me, you may not--but join the discussion if you haven't
already!  Talk to friends, write a letter to the editor, call or write the county supervisors or Planning Department.  Toss in your two cents!  In less than five minutes you can whip out a couple sentences, get the county addresses from the phone book, and drop it in the mail.  Do it!
         In the meantime, I'm thankful we have a newspaper that sheds light on these issues.  I'll be renewing my subscription soon.