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Show location for a city park, and had the governing body possessed the foresight to act on the offer, they would be hailed today as visionaries. Venice had the vision, but the city didn't The city did nothing. The City Council heard of the offer but none of the councilmcmbcrs would even make a motion to debate the idea. Ultimately, a frustrated Venice Denny sold the land to a private speculator who sold it three years later for triple his investment, and today the land is about to be turned upside down by graders and dozers. No local governing body in this county will probably ever have the opportunity to be visionary again. Inflated real estate prices preclude it. But the blunders made here must surely be a lesson for other small towns that are about to feel the same growing pains that started in Grand County almost a decade ago. And the lesson is: don't wait too long to be a visionary. Carpe diem...Seize the day, while you can still afford it. So long to the Petersons You might notice that this column docs not cany the Charlie Peterson this issue. And the backbone of the Zephyr and vice president in charge of subscriptions and grounds maintenance, Jan Peterson, has disappeared from the staff box on page two as well. I am still trying to come to grips with the fact that Charlie and Jan loaded up their possessions last month and moved to a new home in Montrose, Colorado. Charlie and Jan, in addition to being an integral part of this publication, are two of the best friends I have in this community. I can't say enough how much I'm going to miss them. For the last two years, Jan completely removed the nightmarish burden of the bulk mailing from me. All I had to do was deposit the papers on her porch and Jan did the rest. I knew she'd put it together a hell of a lot better than I would have, so my worries ended on press day. And she did all the typing that was needed for each issue. When I was out of town, she stopped by regularly to see how the cats were doing. And when Jan thought my yard was looking a little weedy, she tried to make herself grounds maintenance manager as well. I had to explain to her that I like weeds. As for Charlie, despite his strange interludes and his reputation as The Anecdotal Man, his columns this year (after a two year stint as a county councilman) provided insights and observations and the courage to speak them that are sorely lacking in this community. He will be hard to replace. If not impossible. But as much as I'm going to miss these guys, both professionally and personally, I can only wish them the very best in Colorado, but with a little touch of envy as well. Take care. bi-li- ne Mill Creek Pueblos. And what might have been. They always sound so lovely, don't they? Solano Vallajo. Orchard Villa. And now Puesta Del Sol and Mill Creek Pueblos. They are all subdivisions and condo developments that have recently been built or are about to be. Puesta del Sol has been approved by the county council and will add 138 units to the growing condo city near the golf course. And Mill Creek Pueblos will obliterate one of the last green spaces in Moab City. It's a horse pasture right now and has been for a very long time. But as early as next month, that pastoral scene will finally come to an end. It will be replaced by 48...what...pucblos, I guess. "Affordable housing" starting at about $79,000. In most of these developments there has been very little the governing bodies of the city and county could have done to prevent their construction. If a property owner wants to develop his land and he meets all the requirements, no one really has the right to stop him. It's sad to sec, but it's life in the 90s in Moab, Utah. But the land along 400 East, across from Dave's Corner Market, is different. Five years ago, the then-ownof the property made an offer to the city that should have been too good to turn down. Venice Denny offered to sell the land to Moab City for $125,000 because he did not want to sec his horse pasture and creek bottom land turned into a subdivision. It was a hell of a deal, even then. And it wasn't some extraneous piece of land...it nestled along the banks of Mill Creek, across from the Mill Creek Parkway which was at the time still in the planning process. It was a perfect Future site of the Mill Creek Pueblos But sometimes, something goes righL..thanks to the Nature Conservancy While much of Moab's remaining green space gets dozed, paved and condo-e- d, one of the loveliest Edens in all of southern Utah has a chance to be spared. Over the years rumors have run rampant about the ultimate fate of Dugout Ranch, the little piece of paradise that lies along the road to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Movie stars and supermodels were among the would-b- e buyers; high rent condos and high price resorts were suggested as possible replacement uses for the land. But if the Nature Conservancy can raise $4.6 million by this time next year, the ranch will change very little. According to an agreement hammered out between the v a , " er right-of-wa- y, Dugout Ranch n is&ohn's. Books - Maps - Trail Guides BL 78 S. Main Street (801)259-266- 5 Full selection of parebacks Top 10 New Releases Computer - Self Help - Business Sports - Postcards - Children's Cookbooks - Magazines -Books on Tape - New Arrivals Daily WE SHIP National & International newspapers WORLDWIDE. SE! J3ki Every year Stiles draws me in this ridiculous Santa outfit, and then pay him money. So PLEASE help me defray the cost of this ad and do your Xmas shopping right here at Moab's full service book store. I Vx. ? 'v 'iSsE' |
