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- Manlobbi
Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)
No. of Recommendations: 7
It is technically non-partisan, but everyone knows who is conservative (leans Republican) and who is liberal (leans Democrat).
One of the big issues here is how to deal with the rapid development of the area that is impacting many aspects of life for the community.
The candidates that were against reasonable planning and in favor of some very questionable developments all lost even though they had vastly outspent the other side.
It was a landslide in favor of protecting community values.
A new tax was also approved for providing more funding for emergency services.
All good news.
No. of Recommendations: 4
"Protecting community values"
Translation: highly privileged ProGlibs putting every roadblock they can to prevent vibrant residential and business development in their communities = housing shortages especially for lower income folks.
Classic NIMBY behavior
No. of Recommendations: 1
It was a landslide in favor of protecting community values.
A new tax was also approved for providing more funding for emergency services.
For once, I agree with Marco. Community values = NIMBY.
A while ago the stupid voters in my town also doubled the town's share of sales tax, ostensibly to support emergency services. As you know, a sales tax is a consumption tax, disproportionately hurting the poor. And since then the money has not been spent on police, fire, or other emergency services, but as general funds for anything that the city council wants to.
Stupidity is very much rampant on both extremes of the political spectrum.
No. of Recommendations: 4
against reasonable planning and in favor of some very questionable developments all lost
I've seen the results of poor or no planning in communities. Streets that are too narrow, main arteries that only have two lanes, residential condo units built without enough or no parking spaces so people park on the streets, parking spaces designed so half the car hangs into the sidewalk forcing people to walk on the street blocking traffic, constant encroachment - onto the streets, highways, walking and public areas, some areas start to become hazardous.
No. of Recommendations: 6
For once, I agree with Marco. Community values = NIMBY
Nope. Not NIMBY. Just a community that wants to stop the worst kind of destructive development. And this is not a bunch of elite rich folks in opposition. It's the elite rich developers who want to make a bunch of money off the feeding frenzy in real estate that is going on here now. But this town is mostly made up of low wage workers supporting the tourist industry. So, at least in this case...NO, not the NIMBYs you posit.
An example is a development in a beautiful area along the Colorado River. Bought by developers who promised a 'preserve' with some housing. The proposal then morphed into a huge development with hundreds of houses and condos and commercial infrastructure. The development is on the flood plain of the river. Huge amounts of fill were brought in, much of it large cobble rock that will not consolidate well. The location is out of reach of the cities sewer system, so the developers will have to build their own system on land adjacent to the river, which is problematic. The county tried to prevent this, but was overruled by the state legislature. The access road is very narrow and hugs a cliff in places. If this development goes in it will increase traffic on this undersized road immensely and it already gets a lot of use from recreationists. Will the developers pay for a hugely expensive improvement to that road? No, that's left for the taxpayers. All in all it is a poorly conceived project. And this contested development is one of the reasons for the huge victory in this election for those who want reasonable zoning and planning.
And you needn't worry about development being overly restricted here. The growth over the last 10 years has been astonishing and the strains on the community are obvious. Housing prices are significantly higher than the national average, with median home values around $478,700 compared to the national median of $303,400. Tourist town = low wage jobs, expensive housing.
The idea that development is being choked off here by NIMBYs is absurd and counterfactual. But balancing quality of life with reasonable growth is a worthwhile goal.
