Here’s the format I will be using for live blogging tonight’s Planning Commission meeting. I wouldn’t expect anyone to read my comments live; instead, I’m interested in experimenting with live blogging to produce commentary more quickly. (My comments will remain after the meeting for later viewing.)
The window will become live just before 6 PM, and comments will appear with the newest remarks at the top of the window. (Update: For replay, comments will appear from top to bottom, first to last.)
I’ve bumped up a post from Monday night on Whitewater’s July Planning Commission meeting. I live blogged the event, and here are a few additional remarks.
Walmart’s Proposed Expansion, Generally. Walmart wants to expand. Good for them, I think more offerings would be of benefit to Whitewater, Wisconsin. I’ve no bias against, or for, chain stores. I’m sure we will have an expanded Walmart, in somewhat more than a year.
The Rush to Build. Walmart’s attorney, speaking before the Planning Commission, talked a mile-a-minute, but could not have thought that approval would come with so many loose ends. Favoring more private investment does not mean that a corporation that presents ideas only at the last minute should get what the approval it wants without careful deliberation.
If it mattered more, Walmart would have found a way to contact local officials sooner. Walmart’s representatives can talk all they want about how much they appreciate Whitewater’s bureaucrats and consultants, but Walmart’s failure to discuss sooner with them shows a lack of respect.
Third-Party Transactions. There may be separate transactions between Walmart and third-party landowners near the Walmart location, to expand the size of the lot, but no third party is obligated to any deal, and whether one happens isn’t as important as agreements between the City of Whitewater and Walmart directly.
An R-O Zoning Ordinance for Whitewater. It won’t work, and in a few years the neighbors in the so-called Historic Starin Neighborhood will be complaining about failed enforcement.
Enforcement Failures in Search of a Zoning Solution. A reduction in the permissible number of unrelated persons lving in a residence from three to two won’t solve the nuisance issues of which these neighbors complain. I do, though, have a suggestion for a way to solve problems with unruly residents….
Introducing…R-NONE Zoning. The best way to make sure that there are no nuisances in a residential neighborhood is to make sure that no one lives there. When R-O zoning fails to curb the problems of which these residents complain, someone will need a backup plan.
I have it, and I will happily propose it, free of charge: Create a zoning ordinance that bans all human inhabitants from a residential district.
Admittedly, there will still be a problem of enforcement, as some people might sneak into the area at night to live in the then-vacant homes. I can fix that problem, too. Purchase a few dobermans, feed them as little as possible, and set them loose in the area each night.
Those starving canines will be able to sniff out any people foolish enough to spoil the beauty of the Historic Starin neighborhood by actually living there.
Problem solved.
Living There. There’s a great deal of maudlin talk about how residents favoring more restrictive zoning live in the neighborhood, they live there. Yes, of course. All the tenants in the neighborhood live there, too.
If someone is prepared to prose that those who really count should own property, rather than rent, have at it. I own property, yet I would oppose such a distinction (and the law wouldn’t allow it). If some residents want a property-ownership-matters-more standard, let them apply it to city employees and politicians first, before stigmatizing tenants in a neighborhood.
Living There, Part 2. ‘There’ is next to a college campus. No one should be surprised that the area is a likely prospect for rental housing.
It would still be unlawful.
Expanding the Overlay to Other Parts of the City. Too funny — if the overlay works, there will be a shortage of rental housing. If it doesn’t (as I think it won’t), there will be other frustrated neighborhoods.
Update: 7-18-10:
Here’s a video recording of the 7-12 meeting. It’s long, but for those who’d like to see what was said, this video is your opportunity. I very much favor recordings, as it lets people check the actual words of commission members against what others report. (Checking includes seeing how reporters ‘clean up’ officials statements to make those they favor seem more articulate or knowledgeable than they actually are.)