November 3, 2006

• 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

  • 3:21 am
  • 1 Comment