January 20, 2005
A Letter of Support and Response
Today I received a letter in the mail (REAL mail, how quaint!) saying thank you for the city council presentation on Monday. The letter came from two people I admire very much and I was very heartened by their
statement: "Your research and clear explanation exemplified the need of every citizen to closely observe the direction that our elected officials are going with public land and funding".
Here is an edited portion of my response. After writing this I realized that this plea should go out to all:
Dear XXXXXX,
Your letter of support heartens me and I thank you very much.
This is a heady time for those of us who love our town. Much has been
revealed about deals made in city hall between our ambitious city manager and developers.
Very soon enormous condo projects are coming to Planning Commission in huge violation of height and density codes and ordinances. All are trade-offs with promises from the DDA, which gets the tax millions these projects generate, and none of it passes the proverbial smell test. ZBA will have to be convinced to turn them down and Council will need to know that we have no more tolerance for ordinance flushing. Council needs to know that we believe these are outrageous developments that threaten the essence of our beautiful town.
All three wards have a council seat vacating this year. A new mayor will also be elected.
This is a tremendous opportunity…or a tumble into disaster. We need candidates.
Please consider this yourself and/or ask around to your friends of like mind. This is a desperate and important hour.
Please also consider lending your important name and person to a letter to the editor to both Tribune and Herald Palladium, emails to city council (all available on the city’s website) and a statement of your concern at the inevitable public hearing. Read the latest information and consider becoming a contributor on my “Our Town” blog at www.shwatchdog.org. Spread the questions and the information. We must be in this as a formidable, collective voice.
If you would like to be on my ongoing email update, drop me an email at elaine@yeltonmanor.com.
Thanks again for your kindness and support.
Posted by Elaine at January 20, 2005 12:03 PM