noMcMansions.org

Is it rude, opprobrious and downright criminal to speak up for your neighborhood?

Jim Chester, we demand an apology for your inappropriate comments about our effort in the Lakewood Life flyer. We are doing nothing more than speaking our minds. Hey, we wanted to talk about this at our own Lakewood Neighborhood Association meetings, but as LNA president, you wouldn't allow discussion of this issue in any form or fashion. Nor did you care to talk to anyone here about the problem. So go ahead and say you are not declaring sides, but we know who's buttering your bread. We know you don't represent us.

We "No-Macs" are not taking a scorched earth policy or pitting "neighbor against neighbor" as your byzantine realtor/developer friends say. We are simply providing awareness and input to a process we'd like to be able to manage with some reasonable standards. How can a few yard signs be more offensive and shameful to you than a massive, wasteful and tacky speculative house that hurts neighbors?

Scorched earth is the very thing we are fighting... we like redevelopment fine, as long as there is some consideration. We're talking about the process of cutting down every tree, then quickly building and paving all the way out to the edge of a lot that was never intended to hold such a big structure, in order to maximize profit.

This movement is happening because completely unrestrained development is hurting us. This is creating land tax hikes (but not home valuation), increasing the infrastructure burden, drainage problems, bringing often unsupervised crews into our neighborhood, discouraging us from reinvesting in our own homes, and creating what we believe are eyesores. New houses can be built excellently with more value upside, but we are fighting against the runaway abuse cases.

Yes I know, the signs are a little garishly colored and over the top. But they got your attention. And we'll take the free publicity too. Because you can unfairly malign us, but nobody believes you. There are hundreds of us now, and we are upstanding, contributing, regular neighbors in every way.

You can lie about this movement being "slanderous vandalism" but it's just people speaking their minds on their own property. We have NEVER condoned any sort of criminal or aggressive behavior, unlike certain builders who have both stolen the signs out of our yard and physically threatened residents here.

posted by Jason English @ 3:10 PM