It's really tough when you have good friends on both sides of a controversial community issue. Sometimes I hold off on commentary in hopes that additional information will come forward to bring things more in focus or, quite frankly, to get me off the fence and into some sort of advocacy. The recent public stance by the Lamoine Valley Board of Realtors, followed by a three-page commentary by Community Development Coordinator Ed Basch, has helped me sort out my feelings on current zoning policy. I feel the city has, in certain high-profile cases, acted on principle but without compassion. In this summer's Elting/Orchard rezoning requests, one longtime neighborhood resident explained that he had been trying to move out for two years but the only purchase offers he got were from rental businesses. He then explained in detail why the neighborhood is no longer fit for families. The argument was further bolstered by realtor Steve Silberer, who detailed the financial losses suffered by property owners and the years of delay in making a sale because their properties were zoned for single families and the buyer's demand was for rentals. The city council denied the rezoning requests. Then there's the Flynn property on the corner of Pierce and McArthur. After the house burned down, the owner said he had offers from rental businesses to buy the property. No offers came from anyone interested in building a single family home on ...
Anytime
It's really tough when you have good friends on both sides of a controversial community issue. Sometimes I hold off on commentary in hopes that additional information will come forward to bring things more in focus or, quite frankly, to get me off the fence and into some sort of advocacy. The recent public stance by the Lamoine Valley Board of Realtors, followed by a three-page commentary by Community Development Coordinator Ed Basch, has helped me sort out my feelings on current zoning policy. I feel the city has, in certain high-profile cases, acted on principle but without compassion. In this summer's Elting/Orchard rezoning requests, one longtime neighborhood resident explained that he had been trying to move out for two years but the only purchase offers he got were from rental businesses. He then explained in detail why the neighborhood is no longer fit for families. The argument was further bolstered by realtor Steve Silberer, who detailed the financial losses suffered by property owners and the years of delay in making a sale because their properties were zoned for single families and the buyer's demand was for rentals. The city council denied the rezoning requests. Then there's the Flynn property on the corner of Pierce and McArthur. After the house burned down, the owner said he had offers from rental businesses to buy the property. No offers came from anyone interested in building a single family home on ...