Daily Score Blog

Reading Alan’s series, The Year of Living Car-lessly, has left me grappling with car questions: Could we do it? Could we kiss our only car good-bye? How would it change our financial picture? How would it change our daily lives in Seattle?

We’ve got a few things in our favor. First, we already ditched one car—my husband’s. Martin hated driving to work anyway, but part of his inspiration for becoming car-free was learning about Seattle’s “One Less Car” study. He says that his decision was easy, especially since we now share my zippy little Volkswagen GTI. But truth be told, he rarely drives. He commutes to work by bicycle around the north end of the lake—28 miles each way—or he rides the bus across the 520 bridge. When it comes to errands and entertainment, we tend to walk.

Second, we live in the complete, compact community of Capitol Hill (a neighborhood in Seattle) where our walkshed index is 445—that’s 445 businesses within a mile of our front door. We live only four blocks from our local co-op grocery, a great local coffee house, our local video store, a used book store, a locally owned music store, a not-so-locally-owned drug store and countless tasty restaurants. Plus, we’re only two blocks from medical care and two blocks from our yoga studio. For what more could we ask? There is no real reason for us to drive except to gather with friends and get out of town.

Property Wrongs is Sightline's new report on what other states can learn from Oregon's experience with Measure 37. It tells six stories of communities that got stuck with the consequences.

Here's the fifth of six stories...

There's a small neighborhood of 85 families outside of Salem. They jointly own a small lake that adds value, as well as scenic beauty, to their neighborhood. And each home draws its water from a common aquifer.

But Adjacent to the neighborhood is a new Measure 37 claim for 82 new homes--each with their own well--on 215 acres currently zoned for farming. Because the county can't pay $18 million to prevent the landowner from developing, the claim has been approved. Now the neigbhorhood is worried that if the water level drops in the aquifer, they may face big expenses for new wells, or a new water system; and if the springs and streams that feed the lake dry up, their property values could take a hit.

“There really isn’t any land use planning in the state right now with Measure 37. There isn’t a local jurisdiction that’s got an extra $500, let alone $500 million,” resident Don Dean explains. “I’m not an activist. I don’t campaign on issues . . . but there needs to be some kind of regulation to help control growth in certain areas.”

Read the rest of the story.