I want to make it so crystal clear. That there is a chasm between “Friends” vision for our township and that of our elected officials. Come election time it should be so completely obvious that voters will have a crystal clear choice…. I think I’ll repost again “friends’ smart growth policy suggestions that we’ve been promoting for nearly 2 years that have been largely ignored. Please share with your friends and neighbors if you think these solutions for the township makes more sense then the road we’re on.

What Friends supports:

1. Infill development with a focus on Mixed Land Use and Traditional Neighborhood projects.
– Focus on maximizing taxpayer return on investment on our existing infrastructure.
– To encourage this we support creation of Mixed Use ordinances grounded in smart growth principle.

2. Exploring conservation easements to conserve our remaining Green fields.
– Easements are the only effective way to truly preserve farmland that has come under market pressure to develop. It’s also the fairest mechanism for private landowners.
– To identify funding mechanisms and prioritize land to conserve we support the re-creation of a township farmland and open space preservation board.

3. Requiring complete cost benefit lifecycle analysis of all new development.-Including impact on services, maintenance of infrastructure, impact on the EPSD, impact on our tax base.

4. Encouraging community collaboration development decisions and making them predictable, fair and cost effective.

5. Fostering a strong sense of place by connecting our disconnected subdivisions through a complete street network.
– Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe, attractive, and comfortable access and travel for all users, including cars, pedestrians and bicyclists and users of all ages and abilities.