2008 Beijing Olympics
Big-ticket celebrity splits
Tracks installed on new coaster
Does this make sense
At a recent City Council committee meeting on the proposed residential development moratorium, there came an impassioned plea from the audience.
Don’t do it because it will allow the kind of development the public does not want while hindering the development the public wants, according to Mike Burkholder, an independent candidate for an at-large council seat.
The moratorium — which is likely a dead issue — would halt for three years residential construction except for that already in the pipeline or any new under the planned development zoning. Such zoning gives the city rigorous oversight of all aspects of the development.
Burkholder’s contention was the moratorium would allow for large-scale development — he cited Honey Creek and the proposed Summerfield, both planned developments — it would strangle the smaller scale development traditional development, such as Stonebridge, Edgewater and Nottingham.
It’s an appealing argument. Too bad the facts seem to say otherwise.
First lumping Summerfield in with Honey Creek is disingenuous. Not only is it one-third the size of Honey Creek, at 99 houses it is smaller than Stonebridge (149), Nottingham (158) and Edgewater (211).
Lumping those two together isn’t quite fair.
Now if you were to combine Edgewater and Nottingham, that’s nearly 370 homes. Just about the size of Honey Creek’s 298 homes and 98 condos. A fairer comparison.
What’s the difference here? With traditional development, one the plat is approved there is little city oversight. Plans can be changed, houses can get smaller, promised amenities can be forgotten.
Planned development zoning requires city approval at every stage of the development.
Planned development zoning is the poster child for controlled growth.
Something’s not making sense here to me. It’s as if people are saying they want controlled growth but not planned development.
One reader seems to have gotten right, however. Her take on the matter when asked was simple: We don’t want any more houses.
Can’t get any more control of growth than that.
