Charlie, Gloria and I went running in the foothills a couple weeks back when Charlie saw a sign that read something like "privately owned land in jeopardy of being developed". Charlie was pretty concerned about not being able to hike and more so about what the animals would do if houses were built. The sign directed us to a website where we could learn more about the issue--Hillside to the Hollow. When we got home we checked out the site. Charlie was pretty impassioned about the issue, so he wrote a letter to the editor as suggested. Cole wanted to add his two cents as well. Cole's letter was published on February 24 in the Idaho Statesman and Charlie's letter was published on March 1. I'm really proud of the boys for voicing their concern. The letters are linked, but I also copied them below. Check out the comments.
"FOOTHILLS
Boise Already Has Enough Houses (March 1, 2010)
I was taking a hike with my mom and my dog Gloria recently when I saw a sign that said land could be developed (Hillside to the Hollow). I thought it was sad to see that houses might be built on this land. I have been hiking on this land for five years and I want the land to stay just how it is.
I go on hikes in the Foothills every week with my parents, my brother Cole, and my dog Gloria. Gloria likes to run really fast up and down the trail and say hi to other dogs and play with other dogs. I have seen lots of animals on my hikes, like bunny rabbits, mountain bluebirds, a fox (just one time), ground squirrels, beetles and deer. If houses were built, all the animals would die because they would have no other shelter or food. There's already enough houses in Boise. Please don't build houses on this land so we can keep using it, because it's fun to have a place to hike so close to my house.
CHARLIE TAYLOR, 7 years old, Boise"
"Skunks, moles, exercise keep 4-year-old happy
I like running in the Foothills. I like seeing animals. I like to walk with Gloria and my family. I like to see skunks. I like to see moles. I feel happy when I exercise in the Foothills.
COLE TAYLOR, 4 years old, Boise"
Online Comments:
"The kooks are out in force in today's letters. Except for you, CHARLIE TAYLOR. Great letter!"
"Yep, too bad Charlie wasn't around 10-12 years ago when I first tried to see about preserving some trails in that area. At that time it appeared that nobody cared about the area and all is now pretty much lost to development. You go Charlie, I'm with you all the way!"
"...Now if you want to see a smart cookie read Cole Taylor's letter above."
"Cole rocks."
"Dear Charlie and Cole,
Thank you very much for your e-mail letting us know how important the foothills are to you and your family. I am the Planning Director for Boise and Mayor Bieter has asked me to write to you and let you know what the City is doing to save the foothills.
We understand how important the foothills are to families and children in Boise. The City and its citizens spent many years writing a plan, called the Foothills Plan, that will control how land is developed in the foothills. This plan requires developers to place most of their development on a small part of their land and save the rest as open space for wildlife and recreation. If the Hillside to Hollow area is someday proposed for development, they will have to follow this plan. While some new homes would be built on some of the property most of it will be left very much as it is today. We will also ask the developer to allow people to continue to use the trails that exist on the property.
I think we would all like the open land that we have around our city to stay undeveloped as it is, forever. But in most cases, other people own that land and paid money for it with the intention of someday building houses or schools or stores on it. We are not allowed to take that land away from those people without paying for it. In order to be fair to them, we have written plans like the Foothills Plan that allows them to have some development but also requires that they set some of it aside for wildlife and open space. We also try to buy land when possible, but there is far more land available than the City has money to buy it with.
Beautiful and successful cities like Boise find creative ways to allow people to have new homes while also preserving open space for both the new and existing residents to enjoy. It is concerned citizens like yourself who have helped come up with these plans by expressing their ideas for how the city should grow.
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us and I hope you get to hike on trails in the foothills for many years.
Sincerely,
Hal Simmons
Boise City Planning Director"
No comments:
Post a Comment