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Letters: City council needs to listen to valid points It's painfully apparent to anyone watching our City Council in action that no attention whatsoever is paid to what citizens have to say. Sure, there's pious talk about public participation, but in terms of listening the members might as well have concrete in their ears. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the Big Box amendment deliberations. Bill Street, an articulate observer who has followed the process very carefully, made a number of constructive suggestions, any of which, if incorporated, would have helped preserve the historic size and character of our downtown. But they were ignored. Not even an "I disagree." Nothing. Talk about benign neglect: he might as well have been invisible. Conversely, when a Federal Agency promulgates a regulation, the Administrative Procedures Act requires a response to all the properly submitted comments. Not to each one, as many are redundant (small business organization members routinely flood the docket with similar letters), but to each valid point raised. If not, the Agency can be taken into court. Agree or not, the comments must be acknowledged and addressed in a substantive manner. Clearly something like the Administrative Procedures Act is needed in Ashland. Jack Hardesty, Ashland LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | 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 -