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Editorial: The Ashland City Council has been making some competent decisions lately, and councilors deserve praise - as do the citizens who elected them. In one evening, the council said "yes" to civil liberties, "yes" to community theaters and "let's wait" to putting an increase in the city's meals tax on the May ballot. That last one may have been the toughest, since it puts the brakes on the creation of new parks in the city. For the past three years, parks supporters have poured their hearts into the creation of a new open space plan. A tax increase could fund the plan, but there are other priorities. Much of the best land for parks - level, accessible property - is also the best land for housing. Every square inch of property taken out of the potential inventory of land available for affordable housing means this city sinks further into the quagmire of Carmelization. Also, more pretty parks raise the quality of life in Ashland, leading to higher housing costs, which in turn leads to fewer kids, fewer jobs, less diversity, more well-heeled developers slavering over the little land left in the city, trailer parks bulldozed, schools shuttered, etc. Spurious logic? Maybe not. What happens when the people who are supposed to care the most about a city - firefighters, police, city workers, teachers (even reporters) - don't live in the city? That's not a community. Do parks benefit everyone equally or are they just ornamental municipal treats for the wealthy? Well, if you're talking about parks in Ashland - a city with a disappearing middle class and a marginalized poor - that question is honestly debatable. Should parkland acquisition and the city's sewer treatment plant be funded on the backs of the local eateries? No. You can't point to one industry and say, "There it is - the only industry in Ashland which benefits from tourism." There are plenty of ways to soak the tourists. Spread the pain around a little. It's never too late to look at an OSF ticket tax, or sharing the tax burden with retail stores, or finding private funding sources. Accordingly, the council will look into the issue a little more before advocating an increase in a tax that was unfair and ill-conceived in the first place. Only a few issues get top billing in the city. If the topic of parkland acquisition regains its old importance, that will be a day for either cheers or jeers, because it will mean the city has either solved its larger problems - or given up. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -