Zoning laws protect rural space
A recent guest contribution in The
Register-Guard from Bill Moshfsky of
"Oregonians in Action" was hard for
me to read. All through his essay 1
searched for some mention of
Oregon's
mountains' -
slopes, our
wild flowers. I looked for some refer
ence to the quality of life so many of us
treasure: a walk around the block, the
view from Mt. Pisgah, the great music
around town. I couldn't find any.
Instead 1 saw the objective to pre
serve open space described as being
"under the guise of preserving farm
and forest land." It's not a guise, it's
what the land use laws do. And what
is wrong with people wanting to pre
serve open farm and forest land? I
want to be able to go out of town.
And so do most of the people in Ore
gon. We want to say, "Those woods
are the same woods I played in as a
kid, back in '03." That has real value
to very many of us.
beauty: our
diverse
wildlife, our
GUEST
COMMENTARY
And part of that is keeping the city
in the city. It gives the city value, too. I
live in a house in back of another
house. This house was "infill." It's qui
et back here. Things are close, my part
ner rides her bike to work downtown,
we shop close by, we're part of a
neighborhood. And sometimes we
can go to the country.
1 Iigher urban densities help create
a lot of things — more concentrated
markets for retailers and restaurateurs,
exciting environments for work and
play, tight-knit neighborhoods and
better mass transit that reduces traffic.
It's all the cars coming in from far
flung development that create much
of the congestion. Remember all the
studies done about West Eugene's
proposed new wetlands highway? All
of them said the new road would not
reduce traffic, but increase it.
Throughout his essay Mr. Moshofsky
addresses only one value: economic val
ue. Perhaps some people lose control
over their land's development resulting
in economic loss. I'm sorry. I hope the
survey his group is preparing asks how
mudi economic gain people have real
ized due to planning rules, as well. After
all, innovative business people play by
the rules and learn how to win with
them, instead of opposing them.
There are a lot of us humans. We
need regulations so we aren't getting in
each other's way all the time. 1 don't
want my neighbor to turn his yard into
a feed lot for example. So zoning laws
say he can't — my home is safe. I want
my representatives in government to
help keep the things I value safe from
people who don't value them. When
another's desire for "economic gain" or
"productivity" tries to trample the things
I value I call out to my friends, to repre
sentatives and to those people them
selves. Even in hard economic times,
there are still values beyond money.
All of us — rich, poor, in-between
— value the great view from our car
window on Highway 58, the smell of
the ocean, the taste of fresh corn
grown down the road. There really are
things more important than econom
ic value. And I bet Mr. Moshofsky
knows it, too.
Tim Mueller lives in Eugene.
LETTERS
continued from page 8A
... places that we might have once
loved and are appalled by now."
It appears, though, that Meisner sees
no connection between his "concern"
and his actions as a city councilor. For
how else do you explain his vote, with
the pro-development majority, for the
West Eugene Parkway. Or, how else do
you make sense of his decision to side
with that same pro-growth majority
and do only the minimum necessary
to preserve Eugene's natural resources?
"Legal eagle" Meisner would likely
retort that he made his decisions after a
good deal of thinking and analysis.
Maybe so, but the truth is Meisner sim
ply votes with die majority the majori
ty of the time. Perhaps, dien, he de
serves our sympathy rather than our
disgust. For his obviously chronic need
to curiy favor with his council vote and
with shameless pieces of self-promo
tion like your recent article strongly
suggest that the boy just can't help it.
Robert Emmons, D.A.
1974 University graduate
And they were all yellow
I didn't think it was possible, but
the Oregon Ducks have done it! Last
year I complained bitterly about the
Ducks' blackish, green-on-green uni
forms. I thought they looked like
ducks caught in an oil spill.
Well, you know, I had decided dur
ing the summer that they weren't so
bad, and hey, the helmets look good.
Besides, it could be worse. And it is!
I flicked on the television, not know
ing what was on, and there it was — the
Oregon-Mississippi State game. You
know, a person needs preparation for
these kinds of things. Man, all YELLOW
... I'd be embarrassed to get into that
uniform. Hey, if we play HC-Santa
Cmz, we'll be the Unripe Bananas vs.
the Banana Slugs (their official name).
And, we can make Col dp lay's "Yellow"
the official song at game time (if they
don't file a court injunction to block it).
No self-respecting team that expects
to get into a bowl game of any kind
ever, ever, pulls on a uniform where the
LIGHT color is the predominate shade
Especially when it is the ugliest uni
form ever paraded on a football field.
And that includes the Beavers'.
Erik Walker
San Francisco
ASUO is nonpartisan
As the recognized voice of University
students, the ASUO Executive serves to
improve the lives of students by doing
such things as placing students in deci
sion-making bodies on campus and
going to Salem to lobby legislators on
key issues that affect students. On the
latter, a recent letter to the editor
("ASUO must include Republican
voices," ODE, Aug. 14) and guest com
mentary ("Republican voices make
message stronger," ODE, Aug. 20) have
stated that the Executive did not con
tact student groups on campus, specifi
cally the College Republicans, to ob
tain a bipartisan cross-section of
students for the Aug. 11 lobby day.
By law, the Executive is a nonparti
san organization; therefore, when the
Executive lobbies on behalf of stu
dents, it must lobby on behalf of all
students, regardless of political party af
filiation. When the Executive plans to
lobby legislators in Salem, it informs
students through the normal channels
and invites them to participate.
The Executive invites any and all
students to participate in each of its
events and encourages students to
contact any Executive staff member
to voice opinions or inform the Exec
utive of an issue that affects them,
lire Executive also has an internship
program for students who are look
ing to get more involved; please con
tact ASUO Intern Coordinator Erika
Brakken at 346-0619 for more infor
mation on the internship program.
Eddy Morales
ASUO Vice President
senior
Spanish; planning, public policy
and management
017063
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