"We call it the 'Development' Department, not 'Planning' because they seem to be
We hear this kind of thing ALL THE TIME. No doubt there are good people serving on the Planning Board and working for the Concord Department of Planning and Land Management. But the current internal politics does seem to make many of us wonder if the above sentiments aren't actually closer to the truth than we'd like.
After all: developers are an intent bunch good at working for what the want, while the rest of us are often too busy to be paying much attention. So the Concord Magazine Blog is issuing a two-fold challenge to both the Planning Board and Department, AND to citizens.
1) To the Planning Board and Department: Here is an excellent opportunity to show clearly that you're not serving any one group's interests. The proposed Formula Business Restriction Bylaw that is having its first public discussion at the Planning Board this Tuesday (11/24) at 7:30 PM is important for deciding the direction of West Concord for decades to come.
Don't push this Warrant Article aside. Instead, help facilitate a genuine, depthful, and many-months-long discussion, fact-finding and educational effort during which Town Meeting members become knowledgeable enough to make a truly informed decision at the 2010 annual Town Meeting. Let the townspeople decide the fate of West Concord after a many-sided, fair examination of this planning tool.
2) To the people of Concord: We need to pay attention here! A Formula Business Restriction Bylaw could be a powerful and effective tool to help keep West Concord the village that we love. Allow this to be shot down or gutted of all teeth, and we'll get exactly what it's clear we DO NOT WANT: the type, density, and ugliness of re-development that will render West Concord foreign. Without such a restriction, rents could be driven so high that only large, standardized or formula businesses could afford them. If that happened, we would lose the very independent businesses and small-town feel we so value.
The people can get what we have expressed that we want, but we're going to have to pay attention, engage, and become educated. Turn out for meetings, let your voice be heard. Organize support, demand a fair and open process, and bring others into the discussion. Yes, it's going to mean devoting some time and energy. But if we don't, we'll end up with whatever yields the most profit for developers.
pro-development all the way." ... "The Planning Board is totally
on the side of the developers. Why do they get so much
more consideration than the rest of us?"
on the side of the developers. Why do they get so much
more consideration than the rest of us?"
We hear this kind of thing ALL THE TIME. No doubt there are good people serving on the Planning Board and working for the Concord Department of Planning and Land Management. But the current internal politics does seem to make many of us wonder if the above sentiments aren't actually closer to the truth than we'd like.After all: developers are an intent bunch good at working for what the want, while the rest of us are often too busy to be paying much attention. So the Concord Magazine Blog is issuing a two-fold challenge to both the Planning Board and Department, AND to citizens.
1) To the Planning Board and Department: Here is an excellent opportunity to show clearly that you're not serving any one group's interests. The proposed Formula Business Restriction Bylaw that is having its first public discussion at the Planning Board this Tuesday (11/24) at 7:30 PM is important for deciding the direction of West Concord for decades to come.
Don't push this Warrant Article aside. Instead, help facilitate a genuine, depthful, and many-months-long discussion, fact-finding and educational effort during which Town Meeting members become knowledgeable enough to make a truly informed decision at the 2010 annual Town Meeting. Let the townspeople decide the fate of West Concord after a many-sided, fair examination of this planning tool.
2) To the people of Concord: We need to pay attention here! A Formula Business Restriction Bylaw could be a powerful and effective tool to help keep West Concord the village that we love. Allow this to be shot down or gutted of all teeth, and we'll get exactly what it's clear we DO NOT WANT: the type, density, and ugliness of re-development that will render West Concord foreign. Without such a restriction, rents could be driven so high that only large, standardized or formula businesses could afford them. If that happened, we would lose the very independent businesses and small-town feel we so value.The people can get what we have expressed that we want, but we're going to have to pay attention, engage, and become educated. Turn out for meetings, let your voice be heard. Organize support, demand a fair and open process, and bring others into the discussion. Yes, it's going to mean devoting some time and energy. But if we don't, we'll end up with whatever yields the most profit for developers.
