I read the article “City eyes 2 options for service facilities” (Oct. 9, The Columbian). There are two options — Option A and Option B. Of the two, the first option would make it much harder for any service facility that helps with human services to locate or even relocate to a larger site. Option A would require “conditional use permits and performance standards.”
My questions are:
Who would be the final arbiter on the proposed performance standards? Would there be a separate list of performance standards for neighborhood and community centers that is different from human service agencies? What would be the cost to acquire a conditional use permit? Would all of our human service agencies now have to spend thousands of dollars for a land-use attorney to get approval to relocate a few blocks to a more efficient space to provide the same services, as was the case for a local food pantry two years ago?
If the council sees fit to move forward on these changes, I am opposed to Option A.
