{"id":1525,"date":"2017-03-16T17:17:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-16T22:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1525"},"modified":"2017-03-16T17:26:30","modified_gmt":"2017-03-16T22:26:30","slug":"1525-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1525","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not About Being \u201cFor\u201d or \u201cAgainst\u201d Apartments It\u2019s About Making Good Decisions For Good Reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Not About Being \u201cFor\u201d or \u201cAgainst\u201d Apartments<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s About Making Good Decisions For Good Reasons<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By: Susan M. Halpern<\/strong><\/h3>\n

(Addison councilmember 1992 \u2013 99)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s election season, and Todd Meier is once again politicizing council business, trying to create controversy to fuel his latest political campaign. The issues this year are new, but the story line remains the same.\u00a0 Meier distorts and misrepresents issues, using his false narrative as a platform to attack those who disagree, always leading people to the (inaccurate) conclusion that only Meier can \u201cget it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of this year\u2019s faux issue is whether people are \u201cfor\u201d or \u201cagainst\u201d apartments.\u00a0 If Meier can convince people that this is the only issue involved, he can attack his political foes by claiming that they have changed their position.\u00a0 Meier tried it with me, and when I shut him down, he did not respond.\u00a0 The fact is that no development issue boils down to one simple issue, and the two developments on which Meier now focuses are no exception.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about it.<\/p>\n

This latest episode brought me back to an issue I encountered when I was on the council. We were considering a change in zoning from multi-family to single family homes in the Les Lacs area.\u00a0 Phrased that way, the issue seems simple, right?\u00a0 But there was much more going on.\u00a0 The plan contemplated 22 foot streets (much narrower than usual) and flag lots, i.e., houses with long driveways and significant setbacks.\u00a0 The parcels lacked alley access.\u00a0 All of which led the Fire Chief to express deep concerns about accessibility for fire equipment and personnel in the event of a fire.\u00a0 In other words, safety was the real issue.<\/p>\n

In an effort to pressure us, the developer circulated a petition in nearby neighborhoods, phrasing the issue simply as single-family versus multi-family. To no one\u2019s surprise, nearby residents signed the petition in droves, clearly unaware of the safety issues I\u2019ve described.\u00a0 I was disturbed at the conduct of the developer. \u00a0It was a disservice to our Town to so misrepresent the issues.<\/p>\n

So here we are again, except now, it\u2019s Addison\u2019s own mayor who is misrepresenting the issues. For example, Meier spent the month after approval of the AMLI project falsely claiming that the site was contaminated and would endanger human lives.\u00a0 Meier also told citizens that AMLI refused to produce environmental documents, going so far as to solicit emails as to what the Town should do about it.\u00a0 In a strongly worded letter, AMLI lawyer Cynthia Bishop very pointedly addressed Meier\u2019s misrepresentations.\u00a0 The letter is publicly available and provides yet another opportunity to independently verify the TRUTH, as well as Meier\u2019s willingness to distort the record for political purposes.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t read Ms. Bishop\u2019s letter, you should.<\/p>\n

And that brings us back to the apartment issue. Meier has falsely claimed that Councilmembers Duffy, Walden and Angell ran on an \u201canti-apartment\u201d platform. It isn\u2019t true.\u00a0 But, Meier uses this false premise to attack these three councilmembers, claiming that they somehow changed their positions.\u00a0 In emails we obtained, Meier feeds the frenzy, encouraging his supporters to believe that Councilmembers Duffy, Walden and Angell aren\u2019t listening to voters.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t true, and is simply more of the same divisive, \u201cus and them\u201d rhetoric that Meier has fed for six years.<\/p>\n

And, of course, the challenge is to refocus everyone on the FACTS. Here, the TRUTH is that neither AMLI nor Addison Grove project are simple matters of being \u201cpro\u201d or \u201canti\u201d apartments.\u00a0 Both developments presented unique challenges for our Town.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s consider some FACTS and here, I\u2019ll give you my views. I opposed Addison Grove for many reasons. I did not agree with the plan to connect Beltway to Beltline with a new road.\u00a0 The cut through traffic, particularly at rush hour, would have significantly overloaded Beltway and adversely impacted the surrounding neighborhoods.\u00a0 The proposed location of the new road, about 30 yards from the Beltway\/Midway intersection, would have caused backups and traffic issues on Beltway.\u00a0 And, while the current plan doesn\u2019t allow cars to cut through, it includes that road.\u00a0 Mark my words, that fight isn\u2019t over yet.<\/p>\n

I also objected to the removal of the wall along Beltway. It buffers Midway Meadows and other neighborhoods from the hustle and bustle of Beltline.\u00a0 It also delineates the Beltway Park as a public space.\u00a0 Further, I objected to loss of the subject tract for commercial uses, located as it is at such a visible and critical intersection (Midway\/Beltline).\u00a0 And, I was dismayed by the deed restrictions Walmart placed on the property as a condition to the sale.\u00a0 They handcuff Addison moving forward, removing obvious uses of the land from consideration.\u00a0 I would have waited Walmart out in hopes of a better deal.<\/p>\n

I was deeply concerned by the complete absence of financial analysis. Like others, I heard big numbers thrown around in terms of taxable value, but we were never informed about what the council intended to invest in the parcel.\u00a0 My concerns were borne out.\u00a0 We later learned that taxable value numbers didn\u2019t account for homestead and other exemptions. And, I was stunned to learn that after approving the development, the council voted to commit a staggering $6.5 million of public money to this development.\u00a0 Then, the council met to consider how to come up with that money, an upside-down process at best.\u00a0 We now know that our return on investment is projected at 23 years, based on the optimistic assumption of a full build.\u00a0 To make matters worse, the council decided to pay the $6.5 million out of current maintenance and operations budgets.\u00a0 Not only does that put limits on our maintenance and operational needs, it also means that current residents bear the burden of benefits that will be reaped by future residents, which in my view is poor policy.\u00a0 My concerns about the lack of financial analysis were well grounded.<\/p>\n

Suffice it to say that my issues with Addison Grove were far deeper than my opposition to a four-story parking garage and apartments at the end of my block.<\/p>\n

And that brings me to the AMLI development, unique in its own way. It is not located at a major, gateway intersection like Beltline\/Midway. \u00a0It\u2019s also not in proximity to a single family residential development.\u00a0 Rather, it is near a wildly successful high-density development district that created the \u201cthere\u201d that the brilliant, late Carmen Moran always spoke about.\u00a0 The AMLI development fits with the neighborhood.\u00a0 And, in contrast to the unfathomable $6.5 million of my taxpayer money that was dedicated to Addison Grove, AMLI proposed substantial improvements to the existing infrastructure, at no cost (but of significant benefit) to Addison.\u00a0 Surrounding businesses uniformly supported the development, including because of the influx of new customers.\u00a0 And, this is not a plot of land that has been previously used.\u00a0 This land has lain fallow for decades.<\/p>\n

The staff provided its financial analysis of the AMLI project. Part of that recognized that the presence of our airport results in some height restrictions which, in turn, limit the size of any proposed office building.\u00a0 The staff\u2019s analysis demonstrated that Addison stands to reap more in taxes from the AMLI development than from an office building of any reasonable size.\u00a0 And by the way, the TCEQ has reviewed a plethora of environmental studies and remediation plans, and has approved this tract of land for residential use.\u00a0 Meier\u2019s statements to the contrary are patently false.<\/p>\n

All of which demonstrates that neither development was a simple issue of \u201cpro\u201d or \u201canti\u201d apartments.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t speak for Councilmembers Duffy, Walden and Angell, but I suspect that I\u2019ve hit on at least some of the reasons they approved the AMLI development. Like others on the council, they deserve to be judged for the TRUTH about what they\u2019ve done and how they\u2019ve voted, not on some false narrative Meier has created for the purpose of attacking and undermining them.\u00a0 These three have endured a year of Meier ambushing them with cryptically described agenda items, after which Meier personally attacks them based on false descriptions of their platforms and opinions. It is not what service on the council should be about.<\/p>\n

In the end, our whole Town has been victimized by Meier\u2019s \u201cfake news.\u201d But we can all turn the tide on that, and the AMLI development provides yet another opportunity to do so. We must all take responsibility to learn the TRUTH.\u00a0 Here, we know that Meier\u2019s outrageous claims of contamination on the AMLI site were false.\u00a0 Just read Attorney Cynthia Bishop\u2019s strongly-worded letter.\u00a0 Watch the AMLI meeting.\u00a0 Or, look at other examples of Meier’s conduct. Go back to the Fall of 2013, and read Meier\u2019s inaccurate descriptions of the budget meeting, another false narrative used to attack Neil Resnik. Read the articles I\u2019ve written and again, go back and watch the meetings.<\/p>\n

The TRUTH will set Addison free. And that\u2019s what we need.\u00a0 Freedom from fake news, freedom from divisive politics, freedom from Meier\u2019s \u201cus and them\u201d narrative.\u00a0 The TRUTH will pave the way for a true council of SEVEN, committed to deliberating in good faith, in an effort to reach the best decision.<\/p>\n

TRUTH IN ADDISON. Seek it out.\u00a0 We owe it to each other.<\/p>\n

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