Month: November 2006

  • Project: Moore

    I imagine this is what Edmond will look like from I-35 in around 20 years.

    moore or edmond in ten years
    (a picture of Moore post May 3rd, 1999)

    The funny thing is, we don't need tornados to do the damage.

    We have bulldozers and a repugnant city council!


  • What is wrong with the newspaper?

    I picked up the Edmond newspaper this
    morning after I got home from posting some campaign signs, and on the
    front page I saw yet another article in which the writer misunderstood
    their topic. This morning, Greg Elwell, a man noteworthy for his lack
    of precision, stated:

    "Remember-- if you want houses instead of stores, vote 'No No Yes Yes.'
    If you want stores instead of houses, vote 'Yes Yes No No'."

    For some reason (I would assume because of some deceit on behalf of the
    "Better Edmond" organization), every person in my town thinks that
    voting NO NO YES YES in Edmond's upcoming election means that housing
    absolutely will be developed on the land south of Hafer Park.

    That is just not true.

    Voting NO NO YES YES only means the land in question will remain zoned
    residential, as was the desire of Edmond's forefathers. Residential
    zoning means that the land may be used for churches, parks,
    neighborhoods, and educational facilities, and that such civic
    structures may legally go in there. However, they must pass three
    checkpoints before any change can be made on the land:

    1. Said project must pass by a majority vote of the planning commission.

    2. Said project must pass by a majority vote of the city council.

    3. Said project must not be petitioned by a certain number of Edmond
    residents (number based on previous election turnout) to a city-wide
    vote, and then voted down.

    For example, if HUD housing were proposed to go into the land south of
    Hafer Park, but it failed to pass one of those standards, then HUD
    housing would fail to be developed. The same process would go for any
    church, school, neighborhood or park.

    This is why voting "NO NO YES YES" DOES NOT mean houses absolutely will go in.

    However, since the commercial development in question has already
    passed through City Council, this petitioned vote is the last chance to
    stop it from going in.

    So, please, think about it. It's not a matter of stores vs houses. It's
    a matter of traffic inflation/flood plain devastation/green belt
    destruction vs preservation of all those things.

    Vote No No Yes Yes if you want to give the land surrounding Hafer a
    chance to grow into what it was originally desired to become.

  • Vote NO NO YES YES

        Just
    to answer any question on my opinion, I'm in favor of the NO NO YES YES
    campaign for several reasons.
    I have lived in the neighborhood across Bryant from the area where the
    proposed development will go in for fifteen years now, and anything
    going in there will directly affect my family. Hafer Park has played a
    big part in my childhood, and any building on the land south of it will
    drastically change the face of my beloved stomping grounds forever. It
    is true that there will be no construction ON Hafer park if the YES YES
    NO NO vote succeeds, but there will be a tall building marring the view
    from Hafer's Duck Pond that used to be dense forest.

    Here is a picture for reference:

     


        Aside
    from that, any construction done to the area will demolish a flood
    plain essential to everything in the area.

    Another picture for reference:


        And
    another reason to vote against a commercial (or any) development from
    going in is because of the impact such a development will have on 15th
    and Bryant's intersection. Experts on behalf of the city planning
    commission estimate that the traffic of 15th and Bryant will become as
    bad as that of 33rd and Broadway if this plan goes through.

        Now, given the information you may have received, you must think that I
    am in favor of the HUD housing that will go in if the shopping center
    does not. I am not in favor of that. As I've hinted at slightly in my
    writing preceeding this, I am against anything going into the land
    south of Hafer.

        The people who back the YYNN campaign are using the idea of low-income
    housing as a scare tactic to sway people into voting for the commercial
    development. What really would happen in the case of the decision
    turning out No No Yes Yes is that the plot of land would remain zoned
    residential, which simply means there is a possibility of HUD housing
    going in, but that is a rare chance indeed. I'll explain:

        In order for anything to be developed in Edmond, the city planning
    commission has to vote in favor of the plan, then the city council has
    to do the same, then if the people of Edmond don't petition a vote on
    the project and vote it down [as we are currently trying to do for the
    commercial development] the land will be developed on.

        So I maintain, while it's possible for HUD housing to go in if the
    commercial development fails, it is highly unlikely, as the people in
    favor of NO NO YES YES will be as adamant about keeping that sort of
    building off of the land south of Hafer as they are the commercial
    building.
    Please message me back if you have any more questions.

    ~Taylor Wilson, Staff President