Hitchhiker's Guide to REQ Center Project Terms
Not sure what the PFD PDF doc about the REQ means? We thought we'd put up this handy guide to terms, abbreviations and acronyms that end up somewhere along the trail in our path to build The REQ. Good luck... and please avoid AAOS (Acute Acronym Overload Syndrome).
| REQ | Southwest Washington Regional Equestrian Center |
| PFD | Lewis County Public Facilities District - the special municipal body created by the legislation sponsored by Rep. Gary Alexander in 2006 to help seed The REQ project. |
| REP | (see above) Washington State Representative |
| Not to be confused with "PFD". Stands for "Portable Document Format" - a file format that is read by Acrobat Reader and compatible with most all computers. Most of the files we produce for public distribution are done in PDF format to make it easy for people to read. | |
| doc | Slang for "document", and derived from the extension for Microsoft Word (".doc") |
| EIS | Environmental Impact Statement - can also be used for (1) Executive Information System, or (2) electronic image stabilization, although we don't use it like that. Confused? So are we - that's why we have to hire a consultant to do our EIS. |
| SEPA | State Environmental Policy Act - A state policy that requires state and local agencies to consider the likely environmental consequences of a proposal before approving or denying the proposal. |
| Mitigation | As it applies to us, a process of replacing one type of wetland on the property you wish to develop with another type of wetland of at least equal size and type or more somewhere else in the watershed, according to state regulations. |
| Scoping | A process managed by the county where all of the effected state, local and federal agencies are brought to the table at the same time to determine the "scope" of the impacts of a project. |
| GMA | Growth Management Act - the RCW's (see below) that govern growth and development in Washington State. |
| RCW | Revised Code of Washington - Washington State laws. |
| UGA | Urban Growth Area - as defined in the GMA, an area where urban growth can occur; i.e., where urban services can be provided. |
| Urban Services | Basically, for our purposes, water and sewer, although the RCW is more complex than this. It means that you can develop something other than single family residential. |
| MPR | Master Planned Resort - a land use designation under the GMA whereby development can occur using urban services by creating a special type of UGA (see above). Urban services from the MPR to the surrounding rural area is not permitted to prevent unmanaged growth. |
| MOU | Memo of Understanding - a short agreement whereby parties agree on what to agree upon, short of signing a binding contract. |
| CSA | Conditional Sales Agreement - a contract that allows many conditions to have to occur before the sale is completed, but which binds both parties to agreed upon terms and conditions... sort of. |
| The Corps | No, not the Marines; the Army Corps of Engineers - but they're not the U.S. Army, not even a Corps, really. But the name is very intimidating, nonetheless. |
| CTED | Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development - they regulate growth management issues. |
| DOE | The Department of Ecology |
| DOT | The Department of Transportation |
| DOH | The Department of Health |
| DOA | Dead of Arrival - most of my crazy ideas |
| Ag | Agricultural Resource Lands - what you don't want to own unless you want to preserve your property intact for the next thousand years or so. "Ag land" is, however, great for horse owners and there is a lot of it in Lewis County not suitable for growing anything but scotch broom... and horses! |
| RDD | Rural Development District - This is a mixed-use zoning district that allows a number of different land uses such as single family residential, resource uses and limited types of commercial activity. |
| We will keep this list updated as we encounter more of these wonderful aberrations of the English language. | |