Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 21:56:25 -0500 (EST)
From: Brad Page
Subject: Re: Chatham Chatlist – Taylor Kish and Tom West
I see Tom West of Pittsboro and Taylor Kish of Nowhere are on a tear with the usual personal or ad hominum attacks. Fine with me – keep it coming. Such attacks are fallacious and an insult to the people who live here now. All their raucous arm waving over “property rights” of large developers who have no respect for the property rights of the rest of us is even more demeaning.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will continue questioning the fantasies and promises of Preston Development and the 7000 acre project walking into our lives.. It’s really simple: will Preston Development and its investors become contributing Chatham County citizens or will it simply exploit its property in the most profitable and destructive manner, promoting its interests with no care for the welfare of its neighbors environmentally, socially or economically?
We’re represented by a Town Board that was elected to enforce the NC Statutes and its own local ordinances in the best interests of us, you and me, the residents of Chatham County and Pittsboro – including Mr. West. He and the fabled Taylor Kish, as far as I can see, pursue personal attacks that take public relations to its lowest level when representing the corporate interests of a particular group. They do not address the substantive real issues brought up by people who ask questions such as Maryphyllis Horn. Jane Forbes, Dr. Keisler and others.
Our best interests are best served by supporting the Town Board, answering the many questions put forth by Pittsboro Matters (a calm and reasoning mob far as I can tell) and pursuing Preston Development through lawful means with the tools given us by the State of North Carolina and our own local laws. Keep in mind that if Preston gets a hasty agreement to it’s Master Plan it will begin construction under the loosest possible restrictions. Its literature promises much but specifies little and guarantees nothing that protects the interests of the citizens of Chatham County and Pittsboro.
This is the old story of the camel who gets its nose under the edge of your tent. At first you see a furry, smelly but friendly beast. Over time while you’re looking the other way the long neck appears. At some future time you’re cornered by a four-legged, complaining and monstrous humped creature so big it takes over your life. “What is this?”, you ask.
We know what the future holds with Preston Development according to its frothy Master Plan. It’s all Master and no plan. To control this through our Town Board is the only thing we can do now – now . After Preston Developments interests have “vested” we’re stuck. The Town Board will have only very broad zoning power that is not specified at this moment. A sad future for anyone who cares about our county and our quality of life.
About demographic change: it’s coming as long as North Carolinas population grows, and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is the fastest growing region of the state if not the entire U.S. We hear a lot about 55,000 new residents over the next 30 years. Actually, I suspect we’ll surpass that number in 15 years or less. To view Chatham Park as a stand alone project is to discount the ongoing changes happening everyday all around us in Chatham County. The decisions our Town Board make are not just in the interests of you and me today. They’ll be representing many thousands more people as other commercial interests begin to include Chatham County and its rural flavor in their future plans. Can we control every element of this growth? No. Can we make sure every element of the law is adhered to fully by any developer with Chatham County in its sights. Absolutely.
To all my friends in Chatham County I send you a very un-Zen blessing. I thank you for being here and I’m glad to be here with you.
Brad Page