. -- V "A ' w.v.v.y.w.'.v.sW s vs citizens of the Moab community, have system that combines the best from all three. We, as shown a preference for building new developments in the county rather than the city because the county is less likely to tell us what we can or can't da The primary problem related to growth and development of our Moab community has been Moab City's unwillingness to keep pace with demand. As a result, five development catch-u- p (and not pressure was put on Grand County and the County has been playing sets two have we of planning playing it very well) ever since. So, in our little community and zoning, two sets of development rules, two sets of enforcement, two sets of everything except order and common sense. Developers have been able to play one set against the other to the benefit of the developments and the detriment of the community. Now comes the latest wrinkle and it seems we have learned very little from the past The latest ploy is if you don't like the rules, regulations, and policies of either the County or the City, you just start your own township. Make no mistake. The reason the north end development crowd want their own rules isn't to benefit the community. It's purely to benefit themselves. I ike I say...Moab is a reflection of what its citizens want, and if what we want are three sets of development codes, then so be it The Code of five West With apologies to Zane Grey, Montrose County, Colorado, Grand County's neighbor to the southeast has just adoptei what it calls the "Code of the West". The publication seems designed to warn newcomers that life is not all roses out in the countryside. It starts out Upstate Nonsense (cont.) Have you been following Salt Lake's story lately? If not, prepare yourselves to embark upon Utah's biggest ever ($1.5 billion) public works project. will be completely rebuilt from "a hunnert and eight hunnert south to Sixth North and will be finished three The men end women who came to this pert of the country during the westward expansion of the United Stales were bound by an unwritten code of conduct. The values of integrity and self reliance guided their decisions , actions , and interactions. In keeping with that spirit, we offer this information to help those who wish to fallow in the footsteps Of these hardy individuals by living in rural Montrose County. Some quotes from the text of the "Code": is important to know that life in the country is different from life in the dty. .it "Scenic vistas are often of special concern to property owners. -- Views are not protected 15 1--15 months before the 2002 Winter Olympics. What this means for Moab is more than just having to listen to four years of whining, displaced, SLC commuters. It means precious little UDOT funding for any other roads In Utah. If you live in SLC, you're well aware that mass transit is not for the masses. It's always for someone else; not for the common commuter. Far be it for me to change the commuting habits of Salt Lakers, but what really seems out of whack to me is the very purpose of Does the T stand for Interstate or Intercity? What's interstate about traveling twice a day between Sandy and downtown SLC? I have no objection to my federal highway taxes paying for federal interstate highways, but I strongly object to that money being used to shuttle city dwellers around their city. If I were king, Interstate highways would be reserved for interstate travel. How many times have you seen a desperate SLC commuter jump on change lanes eleven times, and then exit 34 of a mile after getting on? You ought to be able to get on in Salt Lake. You ought to be able to get off in Salt Lake. But you ought not be able to get on and off during the same trip. We've corrupted the meaning of "interstate". 1-- 15 15 Bt, All That Yon Can Be Several years ago, when I was involved in county government, I naively thought that a community can be anything it wants to be. And you can define "community" however you will, but I extended ours beyond Moab's boundaries to at least all of Spanish Valley and maybe even including our parttime visitors. I believed that a group of citizens who lived together, worked together, played together, and yes, fought together or fought each other, could collectively create a better place to live by subsuming individual wants to common needs. Of late. I've tempered my beliefs to the past tense and grown more than a little cynical Moab has become what it wants to be. Whether by intention or by default or by accident, the community of Moab is a reflection of what its citizens want. In an earlier column I quoted Mammy Yokum and got away with it, so this time I'll quote Pogo Possum: "We have met the enemy and he is us". d restaurants and big motels if you don't want to be Don't blame the owners of d a community of restaurants and big motels. Don't blame the builders of billboards along the highway if you don't want to be a community of billboards. Don't blame developers of inappropriate subdividing of raw land if you don't want to be a community of oddball subdivisions. Don't blame truckers if you don't want Interstate X running down Main Street. In short don't blame those who merely do what is allowed by local regulation...we are what we allow. And if we don't like what has happened, that's our fault not the fault of those who merely take advantage of our own regulations. Those of us who live here have made a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) that Main Street will be more friendly to semi's than to bicycles. We have decided that we will have drive-u- p businesses (and I mean banks and service stations as well as the d eataterias) in the middle of town. We have decided that we prefer a ubiquitous stretch version of a shopping district that requires automotive transport to get around and that will soon spread over the top of Blue Hill We've demonstrated that we would rather have a three-wa- y fight between teachers, parents, and school board, than an educational fast-foo- fast-foo- fast-foo- by zoning or subdivision regulations in Montrose County. "Trees are beautiful and usefuL They can be a danger toa "Soil stability varies widely... "Flash floods can and do occur. "Wild animals are a part of the rural landscape. "Chemicals are one tool that are often used in growing crops...with aerial and ground spraying, there is the potential for...drlfL..be aware of this drift potenfiaL. "Feedlots...and other farm animals can have an odor. "Fence out, not in! In conclusion, the Montrose County Commission states that it encourages newcomers "...to research and examine all aspects of country living so you will enjoy five country and not have any unpleasant surprises. What was kind of funny about all this is that when the "Code" was first proposed several months ago a couple of realtors visited the commission and objected to the tone of it So it has been a source of controversy and rewriting and publicity, but despite objections, it has now been adopted and will hopefully cut down on all of those silly newcomers' requests for county services like roads and education and fire protection and . electricity. The Birth of an Environmentalist Oh no, not another damned anecdot-ehigh school senior My first very own vehicle was a Jeep. I was a seventeen-year-oland the year was 1953. My father had earlier driven me into Arches National Monument on the old Willow Springs dirt road to the Windows. My high school had driven en masse to Moab to play GCHS in a state quarterfinal football game. I would shortly take half a day to drive a crummy dirt road from near Green River to fire place called Dead Horse Point I absolutely loved driving to places no one had ever driven d before. I was a teenage hydroplane racer. I participated in early Canyon Country River No Marathons as well as the Friendship Cruise. traffic Confluence no to direct boat Canyonlands Park; upstream; no park rangers at the SUWA to try to slow me down. I absolutely loved powerboating to remote places. And so, of course, I also came to love Lake Powell as it started to filL Floyd Dominy was right-m- ore recreation for the masses was a lot better than lonely floats for the select few. You could camp anywhere cm shore them it was dean; the water was rising on pristine places; it was great I did fed a little strange boating around all those dying cottonwoods and trapped beavers and I did feel a little anxiety that what I was enjoying was about to be inundated forever, but wasn't this progress? I'd heard about a particular scenic feature called file Cathedral in the Desert; so I found it on a map and powerboated myself and my friends up that particular side canyon of the ovemlght-at-Anderson-Botto- m 1234: OWN MOAB'S FINEST DINING ESTABLISHMENT IN CENTENNIAL, HISTORIC BUILDING WITH OUTDOOR SEATING, WINE CELLAR, AND LOVELY 3 BEDROOM HOME. AMBIANCE GALORE! Call Ludean. 1194: 1270 aq. ft. home in LaSaL 3 bdnn, 2 bath with fenced yard on a 37 acre lot. Price: $60,000. 1115: MAIN STREET PROPERTY WITH 1620 SQ. FT. BUILDING IN C--3 ZONE on acre lot 9605: 21 ACRES NEAR WETLANDS with water rights and excellent views. 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