Candid Opponents of Development

No More Development—Period!

Finally, some of those committed obstructionists are being candid. In the past, they have used such deceiving terms as "appropriate" growth, "balanced" growth, or growth "consistent with the rustic charm of our town." Now one opponent of development in New Hartford is telling it like it is.

In a recent Voice article it was clearly stated that the best way to stop commercial development was to stop residential growth. ["Buy Open Space Now, or Pay More Later" by Cindy Bohan, October 18] The theory was: no new homes means no new school children and no more tax increases. With no more tax increases, we can spare our town from the ravages of those evil commercial developers. You know, the ones who pay taxes, create jobs and support community projects.

So there we have it—I've got mine. I like it just the way it is. I don't want to share or sacrifice for anyone else. If you want a new home and children or want to start a new business, go someplace else. That's telling it like it really is.

The town of Canton has a much nicer way of handling this. We simply keep raising the bar to be hurdled by anyone wishing to develop land for any use. We restrict lot size and zone out property suitable for commercial development. Neat and polite. We do, however, encourage appropriate commercial development—in all surrounding communities.

Property Tax Relief

I hear people like Bill Curry say that towns and cities need personal property tax relief. This sounds great. It appeals to many of those in towns like Canton who oppose commercial development to solve budget problems.

Will someone please explain how either the federal or state governments, which are both in debt, can provide my town with any money for tax relief without first raising other taxes I pay. If I must pay more in taxes, I'd prefer that the money went directly to my town instead of letting federal or state politicians decide how they will buy votes with it.

The best choice for tax relief is increasing our tax base in a way which minimizes the increased need for local services (such as in our educational systems). It still sounds like we need commercial and industrial development, or do the likes of Bill Curry have a printing press?