The Original Donato Document

This is what the Donato Document was before Dot sat down with Natalie to revise it. The background is this. Dot called me and apologized for her hiccup vote. She said that wasn't what she meant to do. She said what she meant to do was take advantage of the broad citizen participation to work out something that would broadly address the destination and tourism aspects, which would also include bio-friendly business. I thought her ideas sounded good. I agreed to work with her to develop this document. She and I emailed back and forth and came up with the document below. However, after one iteration, she sent back a new draft, the one which I posted as The Donato Document. This is the draft before it was changed. Is it my imagination that these two documents have a dramatically different intention? (See the Donato Document DRAFT to compare.)

The Original Donato Document

Destination and Tourism Industry Strategic Plan
Given:
1. Our Comprehensive Plan includes competing objectives
2. We have Economic goals, Preservation of the Rural Nature goals, Service to existing citizens goals, Property Rights goals, Environmental goals
3. These goals tend to conflict, which would cause confusion and inconsistency when we ask our Planners to form tactics for zoning and other ordinance formation.
4. Further guidance and development is required in the Comprehensive Plan, to show leadership for the county and promote and advance our precious lifestyle, while moving the county forward economically, and incorporating inevitable change.
5. A consistency in the Comprehensive Plan requires resolution of these competing objectives for economic advancement, preservation of the rural nature, and environmental awareness.With these challenges in mind, I

Move to appoint:
A nucleus of visionaries who are diverse in talent and who are, by intellect, experience, or position, aware of the challenges and obstacles defining Page County. This ad hoc citizen committee will work in concert with and integrate the objectives found in the Economic Development Strategic Plan, the EDC, the Tourism Council and Chamber of Commerce, the local and regional hospitality industries and incorporate the goals and objectives of the river and recreation groups. This committee will address policy, ordinance, and objectives found in the Comprehensive Plan but which need specific focus on the impact on our internal citizenry and the tourism industry. Its composition will include representative citizens from a wide range of community interests. It will submit its work directly to the BOS.


A document will be delivered to this BOS which recognizes the physical attributes, the environmental considerations, the recreational potential and the cultural aspects that will be declared as representative of Page Valley. Our vision can then be publicized very specifically in brochures and distribution materials.

Prologue:
We are an island (a unique travel location) destination. Beyond the caverns and the National Park, the recognition of Page County as a destination lies in the vision and language we choose to project. This can be an asset or a stumbling block. Potential travelers read the paper, study the area and search for information on the internet. Our county’s roads isolate it from the surrounding communities, making it difficult for our citizens to work in nearby counties without driving more than an hour over a mountain. If we can take advantage of that tourism to bring jobs to our citizens, we have accomplished multiple strategic objectives in parallel.

The Tourist as Participant

Tourists are much more than spectators. Tourists are you and I coming HERE for the first time. I seek out the music, you may seek out the conference or the river or the caves. They see what we offer, they go where we suggest they go…but for the most part they see themselves “inserted here”. Whether they respite from an illness, retreat from the day to day, pause from their worldly travels or simply leave the traffic and pollution from the city they are “us” on a holiday. Tourists are artists, writers, doctors, scientists, geologists, tradesmen, investors and teachers. They hike, canoe, hunt, and fish. They breathe in our clean air; they wonder as they stand by a spring bubbling fresh clean water from under a rock. They feel healthier just being here. Many become part of the process and bring with them ideas and attitudes. Who comes is, in many ways, still up to us. I recently met a scientist counting dead fish. He moved here and his intelligence is part of our network now. When we project a goodness and welcome and invite their individual participation they want to know us. We become a very desirable destination.
They might have seen the world but they feel a sense of belonging. Whether they stay longer, come often or choose to relocate here, our economy grows with their choice.

Impact and Direction

A Plan is the work that needs to be done in advance of their visit. The Comprehensive Plan recognizes the need to promote tourism and we need to study closely the cause and effect of policy. Many of the rental cabin owners and the riverside property owners want to participate in this work. Additionally, our community consists of a wide and diverse body of people, all of whom desire to be included in the direction of the county. A Plan should contain, not only the reasons for supporting the efforts of tourism, but must include the fundamentals. Issues will be addressed to include suggested Land Use particulars, zoning requirements (including necessary restrictions and variances as in overlay districting), services, safety, recreation specifics, visitor welcome areas, special needs “help” and much more. Any decisions will be made with consideration to the local citizenry and with their active participation and understanding. Also included will be the cooperation with the Town’s Comprehensive Plans. A promotion of synergy for cottage industries and local shops to benefit from visitation should be encouraged. Promotional ideas, designs and concepts might be included in the documentation forwarded to the Board for consideration.

The Bio-Valley Hub

This valley has the potential for being recognized as a global leader, incubator and study area for new and innovative environmentally-focused technologies. Consistent with our desire to remain a rural area, with agriculture and tourism as our main industries, we can also be a hub for bio-fuels, green building, recycling, renewable food sources and a gathering place for the innovators. For example, a university group initiated a low cost fertilizer project for some ravaged and poor area in Africa. The result of higher yield and renewable crops was extremely successful. Page County not only has the chicken farming knowledge but has the bi-product export. Government grants are available to pursue environmental businesses. Page County has a need for jobs, an expanding population of talented, retired professionals, and the potential to become the hub of environmental research. This attraction of environmental businesses would:

• Provide much needed jobs for our citizens
• Increase the attraction of tourism, as tourists would visit the cutting edge facilities
• Address the concerns of citizens on both ends of the spectrum, environmentally concerned and economically concerned

Preserving our Precious, Rural Lifestyle

There is much concern in the County that growth will ruin our culture and destroy our lifestyle. There is a temptation to interpret that concern as a need to restrict the rights of property owners, devaluing land by adding restrictions to it, so that we can be assured that “nothing will change.” But that response overlooks the fact that the forces of the market are forces of nature. To fight forces of nature by attempting to restrict them, will result only in a spiral downward in our economy, and a growing population of poorer people who need more services and have less to offer the tax base. Our only chance to preserve our lifestyle, while serving our people, is to embrace the market forces, accept the inevitable influx of retiring Baby Boomers, and let the county become a hub of a specific “type” of business, by actively seeking out grants and opportunities in the environmental industry. By planning in advance for this growth, we can shape it in a way that satisfies the potential new citizens without displacing our current rural nature. We can provide jobs for our citizens that will raise their standard of living. Tourists will love it, it will provide the tax base our community needs, and the community can support it on multiple levels.

Community Vision
We have so much to offer visitors who then, in their life work, might change the future. We simply require the determination to Prepare Ourselves, Write the Documents for grants and to encourage business, and invite the world (for a visit). We already have 500,000 visitors a year. Let’s turn those visitors into tax revenue, provide stable incomes for our resident citizens, and preserve our rural lifestyle all at the same time. With widespread community representation from all “factions” (long term residents, farmers, townspeople, environmentalists, business proponents, riverkeepers, river property owners, tourist cabin owners, and any other faction that self selects), we can unite this community behind a vision and build a county that truly reflects what we all know this county already is.

Conclusion
There is community support for a determined effort at this time. A milestone report could be delivered tothe Board with significant fanfare before the November elections. This Board can be seen as the Board with Vision and Leadership for this county. This is the time to have these discussions and to suggest the options. We are not Silicon Valley, we are not Napa Valley. But we can be uniquely Page Valley.What Valley do you see?

Respectfully submitted,
Dot Donato, Page County Planning Commissioner, 5th District

Endorsed and supported,Alice Richmond