Chelan, WA

The City of Chelan is hosting its first Sustainability Steering Committee meeting on January 27, 2010 at 4pm at City Hall.

Sustainability is generally defined as meeting the needs of this generation without compromising the needs of future generations. The Sustainability Element and Action Plan will guide the City in fostering sustainability and a sustainable community.

The City's Comprehensive Plan is a legal document that the City Council has adopted to guide the future physical development of the community. It is used by the Council, the City's Planning Commission, private firms, individuals, and City staff when making decisions about land use development or changes, capital improvements, and changes to development regulations and related growth management legislation. The Comprehensive Plan also supports the goals of the State's Growth Management Act.

The proposed Sustainability Element is scheduled for adoption in 2011. The Sustainability Committee has identified 11 focus areas to be addressed in the element and the action plan:

• Climate
• Energy
• Natural environment
• Economy
• Building and development
• Transportation
• Government operations
• Waste reduction and recycling
• Environmental quality
• Micro-agriculture
• Sustainability education and awareness

The Sustainability Element will include goals and policies for each of the focus areas. The action plan will list action items-things the City can do-to improve sustainability in each area.

From the International Builders' Show and PF Waterworks, a drain trap that is claimed will never clog.

The drain's shape produces turbulence that propels debris through the pipes. The drain is made of clear plastic, so anything that does get lodged in it can be seen. A dial provides a way to dislodge objects that get stuck. That's innovation.

Here is a report on homes that sold, on Lake Chelan only, with waterfront for 2009. This report doesn't include Columbia River waterfront homes, homes in the area on other lakes nor condominium marina slips.

Here are the homes that sold in 2009 that are on Lake Chelan. I removed things like sales of marina slips and Columbia River waterfront homes and homes that sold on other area lakes. These are only Lake Chelan waterfront sales for 2009:

For a bit more detail and (more)

The Knight Foundation and the Gallup organization undertook a study to figure out why people become attached to their community and how it can impact a community. The poll was conducted in 26 communities and involved asking 28,000 people from all over the US how they feel about their communities.

The study found that a community's social offerings, physical beauty and openess to new and different people are the most important aspects of creating love for the community with its residents. Those factors outweigh the economy in their ranking of what is important.

Would you have guessed that aesthetics were ranked higher than public safetyor highways or freeways? Vibrant social cores, dense areas where diverse groups can socialize and interact that are fun and vibrant are more important than even aesthetics in why people love their communities.

The number one trait that was identified as decisive in determining residents' attachment to a community was its "openness." It may be that the most important trait is also the most difficult to measure or improve. It is a fascinating study, you should have a look at it at www.soulofthecommunity.org

While the real estate market at Lake Chelan is getting warmer, there are still outside influences that can impact us. Actually, with so much of our market driven by outside buyers, we are beholden to what is happening in the world around us when it comes to Lake Chelan Real Estate.

If you have business to get done in real estate, buying or selling your Lake Chelan home or property, I think now is a good time to get it done. If you check the history of this blog you will see that is not a statement I make lightly. Also, when I say you have business to get done, I don't mean in the next five years, I mean in the next year or less.

From the link in the first paragraph, you can see that we are seeing relatively healthy sales volumes right now. It is not clear that the trend will continue or for how long it will continue. The tax breaks and govenment interventions in finance are scheduled to run out before our seasonal summer busy season. What does that mean? There might not be a "busy" summer season this year.

Here are some thoughts from the Wall Street Journal:

The outlook for 2010 is uncertain, at best.

On the bright side, housing markets stabilized in 2009 as the Federal Reserve's policies drove mortgage rates to 50-year lows for much of the spring and fall. Home prices posted six consecutive months of modest gains through October. The supply of foreclosed homes for sale has declined, in part the result of an ambitious program the Obama administration launched in February designed to keep at-risk borrowers in their homes.

But the underpinnings of the positive trends are fragile. The Fed brought down mortgage rates by committing to purchase up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. That program, already extended once, is set to expire in March.

Rates could rise by a full percentage point after those purchases end... - WSJ

So, if you have Lake Chelan real estate business to get done, give me a call. Don't talk to me next year and say somebody should have told you to act earlier!