Developing this land is a long and complicated process. The subdivision is just another step in the overall process. Remember, the appellants were already successful in challenging the zoning change that would have laid the groundwork to allow hundreds of acres of previously protected farmland to be developed with millions of square ft. of warehouses, strip malls and tract housing. The subdivision is another step that divides the larger tracts into smaller tracts for sale.
I take issue with some characterizations made by Jaindl attorney Joe Zator. Specifically and I quote from the hearing:
“My client isn’t going away,” Zator said. “This property is going to be developed. It’s just a matter of time. A half-dozen residents can persist as long as they want, but development will occur.”
Yes, there are a half dozen residents who are physically challenging the subdivision and the zoning but they are supported by:
- Over 1000 residents signed a petition encouraging the Board of Commissioners to reconsider the zoning change. (They ignored this…)
- 125 residents attended the meeting the board voted on the subdivision plans. There may have been more but the meeting overflowed into the hallway and adjacent room.
- Over 75+ people have made individual donations to the legal fund ranging from 5 dollars to 1000 dollars.
I find it insulting to hear the continuing public be damned attitude as Mcall’s Paul Carpenter put it 1 year ago. Basically Jaindl and our elected officials are saying, this development will happen and we don’t give a damn what the public thinks.
The “this will take decades to build out” line that our elected officials use is ridiculous also. They basically admit hey this sucks, but it won’t happen all at once so thats ok. It’ll happen over 2 decades. As if people could care less or are so naive about their children or the future.
We disagree and we’ll carry this out til the conclusion and without overwhelming public support we wouldn’t have been able to take it this far.
Only with continued support will we be able to continue to stop this gamechanging development that will forever change the tone of our community. Please click the links above.