Thursday, June 28, 2007

Dispatch on Growth

The Columbus Dispatch today published an interesting article about suburban growth.

Note especially the part that says that in Pickerington, the mayor and a city council member were elected by the public specifically to get control of residential growth. They "limited housing starts, toughened building standards, and levied impact fees" in that effort.

In Hilliard, on the other hand, we have a pro-residential-development mayor (running unopposed) who has now recruited Dan Nichter, the former Director of Development for Franklin County, to run for City Council. Mayor Schonhardt has craftily maneuvered the School Board into spending over $800,000 for the water line to the new high school so that Homewood Homes can put hundreds of additional homes in our school district. I can't wait to see what kind of deal is struck for the sewer line.

There is a chance that the School Board has struck a good deal. Maybe the school district is paying for the water line, and Homewood is paying for the sewer line, with both parties getting free tap rights. But don't you think that if such an inventive deal were crafted, they would be bragging about it to the community? My suspicion is that all of us will end up paying for Homewood's sewer line as well.

2 comments:

  1. I guess Tim Ward was the anti-development mayor but because he couldn't get anything done he was fired by the voters.

    I don't know why. I'd rather having nothing get done than have them waste ridiculous amounts of money like Don "Tammany Hall" Schonhardt.

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  2. Tim Ward was a good man, but an ineffective politician -- certainly no match for Don Schonhardt in that arena. It's a shame the voters let our community be run by these carpetbaggers.

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