In the paragraph below, Suzanne Droleskey expresses the frustration felt by many neighborhood leaders.
"My neighbors and I are tired of having to spend so much energy having to watch all the city council and P&Z meeting agendas to be sure there is not another attempt being made to harm the neighborhoods we love. If the city promises residents zoning and other policies to protect the communities in which we live, these protections should not be waived in favor of ideas on how to "improve" our quality of life without asking us and having our support. For example, the proposed change to the Eastgate Neighborhood Plan to allow what will amount to a through street that dumps significant traffic into a residential neighborhood should not be allowed to happen. The residents of our neighborhood association are firmly against this and invite our neighbors across College Station to stand with us in this. We appreciate that P&Z voted against changing our neighborhood plan on Oct. 19, but worry now that the City Council will overturn that vote on Nov. 9. My neighborhood hopes for a balanced perspective on city council that invites neighborhood input and values maintaining a high quality of life for all those who reside in College Station. People need to vote their conscience in the upcoming election, and consider carefully which candidates will bring that type of balance to the decisions made in our city. On a personal note, I am in favor of development under the stewardship of a city council that can produce policies which preserve the qualities residents care about in their neighborhoods and still allow visionary developers to take our city to the next level. For some time, we have seemed to be unbalanced in this respect." Suzanne Droleskey, College Woodlands Neighborhood Association President
So far the city has insisted on using the minimum standards required by state law for informing citizens of upcoming zoning changes. We can do better.
Consider joining our Eastgate neighbors at the City Council meeting on Nov 9th.