An answer to the question

I've got a possible answer to the question below. Maybe if we came together as a community, had a party, and sat down and discussed with each other what we want our town and the surrounds to look like, now and in the future, we could short-circuit the current way of doing business. That is, we allow our local, state and federal government to deal with property owners and developers one at a time, within strict limits which favor the owner or developer, with token input from the community. The system is tilted in favor of each individual land owner maximizing his or her profit on their land. Is that any way to run a town?

There are some precedents, even in Astoria, of community workshops to determine the future of a particular part of a town, or even the whole town. Unfortunately, these usually happen only when things are not going so well. When we really need them is when things are going all too well.

Let's get together and plan out our future, for the benefit of all of us. Maybe that wouldn't mean a $2 million condo on the waterfront, or an LNG terminal in Warrenton. Maybe it would mean pitching in and revitalizing the downtown core, and building additional civic facilities like a community center, parks, and a new library. There are so many things we could do to improve the lives of the people who live here. Let's do it. Now.