Improving quality of life in growing community

A Spectrum by Howard Bess

Growth in the Valley is inevitable. As growth intensifies, land-use problems multiply. Land owners expect to be treated fairly, and they have very legitimate self interests. So also do the landless residents of the Valley. Everyone's quality of life is at stake. Our sense of community is being put to a stress test. Is there any solution and if there is, how do we find those solutions?

Recently Mary Psenek authored a Spectrum piece for the Frontiersman. Mary's concerns are legitimate and her message needs to be heard. Friends of Mat-Su is a growing force among the opinion makers in the Valley. Their concerns about the environment need to be heard. Racetrack owners are a part of our community. They, too, need to have a fair hearing by the public. The popularity of their sport demands that their interests be taken seriously. Along come the advocates of zoning and want us to believe that they have the answer to all the problems.

If Mary had her way, the Valley would be chaos. If FoMS got its way, disaster would follow. If racetrack owners were allowed to operate without regulation, the result would not be pretty. If I got my way, no one would want to live with the result. But the greatest disaster would be if the advocates of zoning got their way.

Dismiss the situation as unsolvable, if you wish. I maintain that the growth of our Valley can be guided in such a way that Mary's concerns are addressed, FoMS' concerns are addressed, racetrack operators are satisfied, farmers are protected, and the common good served.

Development can be reasonably orderly, and the Valley can continue to be a beautiful place to live and work.

We have an urgent need. We need a vehicle that helps us find answers that satisfy all and that produce the best possible place to live. Governments are notoriously inept in this role. So also are chambers of commerce, service clubs and special-interest organizations. But there is a way to develop a plan that is being used more and more across the country. It is called a charrette.

A charrette is a democratic process. It is highly localized. It can be very specific to a particular community. A charrette is a concentrated planning workshop that produces solutions that are acceptable to every legitimate interest.

Charrette is a French word that means "little cart." The word is used most often in the world of architecture, but is finding an application in community planning. A charrette brings together all the parties with special stakes in the development of a community.

Representatives of business, government, church, education, community agencies, even lawyers, environmentalists, economists and engineers are invited to the table. Obviously the charrette should be planned by and led by a professional person who knows and understands the process.

A typical charrette lasts about a week. There is no time off. Eighteen- to 20-hour days are not unusual. Eat on the run and sleep sparingly. The end result is a written document that lays out a plan that addresses the concerns of all and, most importantly, a plan for the creative development of the area.

Enough communities across the country have gone through this process to show that charrettes work.

To have a charrette in the Mat-Su Valley there must be an initiator. The city of Wasilla? The city of Palmer? The Mat-Su Borough? A joint effort of the Wasilla and Palmer chambers of commerce?

At the present rate of population growth in our valley, we do not have much time to get our act together. Someone needs to take the lead quickly.

Howard Bess is a Valley minister and sometime political candidate.