I fully agree with the fiscal responsibility voice that some of the property rights rhetoricians offer. They would not have created a Town Center debacle. I give them credit there.
However, they will create a problem of stuff that looks no different than the fradulent stuff that New Prague is suffering through these days, wanting to attrack buyer dollars while shared-wall Ramsey stuff is being remaindered by the builders.
Here, again, is the New Prague photo, and if you do not see parts of Ramsey there in the photo, well look again. It is the same stuff the north-end "Property Rights" contingent would saddle the rest of us with, if we do not take control of the comprehensive plan and plan better.
Where are the trees?
And, where are the buyers?
Strib reported on the New Prague fraud and failures, and ended each of their two page report with a citizen's quote:
"A lot of people who were living right in the middle of all this said, 'No, that's not happening here,'" said Kristin Guerrette, who moved to Prague Estates in 2003. "Now, they're in shock."[...]
In New Prague, residents are concerned the rash of foreclosures will drive down housing prices across the city. Some residents want city officials to hold a town hall meeting. "There aren't enough people in this town to fill all those vacant houses," Guerrette said. "So we've got to find a way to bring people here. Soon."
Sound familiar?
This present Ramsey city council, following the lead of the departed James Norman has committed Ramsey to at best a three-units-per-buildable-acre compromised future expansion mess to saddle upon the mood and feel of roomier neighborhoods in Ramsey. This council has done it to us and deserves to be uniformly voted out of office, each of the four seats open in the 2008 election, uniformly given the boot. But not to be replaced with "Property Rights" idelolgues who will muck thing up even worse. Please, not that.
All of that said, Tomorrow, the day after the 9/11 anniversary, is the next Ramsey 2008 Comprehensive Plan session on protecting our natural resources - our nice trees and swamps and wildlife habitat - from Peterson density to the town line and beyond. Let's put bigger wildlife protection buffers around wetlands beyond the very, very, very conservative and less eco-friendly boundaries that these north end folks are bleating aggressively over even now. Do it for the better of everyone's future. Do it for the children. Do it for the wildlife. THINK. Think 2-1/2 acre out there. That is the quality lot size that will attract the savvy buyers who will remain after the bubble burst has left "subprime" a word we dare not again speak. Peterson density will lead to homes that, like shared-wall, will add costs in services that will tally more than they add to tax-base income; which is a bad deal for the rest of us already here. Think instead of the 2-1/2 acre tax base increments that will yield more cash flow into tax coffers than they will suck out in services. Make it a net gain that way, for those of us already here. It's you I am talking about. Show up at the Comp. Plan sessions and stand up for your rights or you will find yourselves without any.
Here's some session info, see this link, for more, from the City's website:
2008 Comprehensive Plan Update
Proposed Agenda
August 22nd - Balancing Property Rights with Public Interest
September 12th - Identifying, Protecting & Enhancing Natural Resources
October 3rd - Housing Choices, Appropriate Density & Neighborhood Design
October 24th - Future Extension of Urban Services (Sewer & Water)
November 14th - Traffic Corridor Improvements & Neighborhood Connections
December 5th - Visioning and Marketing of Ramsey
All sessions will be held from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. in the Alexander Ramsey Room at the Ramsey Municipal Center, 7550 Sunwood Drive NW.
THOSE WANTING PETERSON DENSITY TO THE TOWN LINE AND BEYOND ARE THOSE SO FAR PACKING THE MEETINGS. GET SMART. SHOW UP. SPEAK UP. ACT UP. OR DON'T BE THE ONES COMPLAINING LATER, AFTER A DONE DEAL GETS DONE IN WAYS YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD A VOICE IN PREVENTING.