Tag: Development

When we bail out Houston, we will be massively redistributing wealth.

August 30, 2017

People are wondering whether climate change caused Hurricane Harvey. That’s the wrong question. Hurricanes have been happening on Earth as long as there have been oceans. The question should be “How did climate change influence Harvey?” Some pieces over the last few days from USA Today, Gizmodo, Michael Mann’s piece in The Guardian, and an interview with Dan … More When we bail out Houston, we will be massively redistributing wealth.

The official map engages us with the community & the land

June 10, 2017

Last Monday the Ferguson Township board moved the official map forward for final vote on June 19th. This planning document helps citizens, planners, township staff, landowners, and developers understand some of the township’s intentions for the next several years and visualize potential futures. We had lots of citizen input that helped visioning with planning staff … More The official map engages us with the community & the land

“No Mr. Fox. We won’t open the hen house.” When a developer goes for regulatory capture.

December 6, 2016

Last night, we were approached by a developer and their lawyers to revise an ordinance to make their proposed development economically reasonable. They had rewritten the ordinance for us. How kind. We did not accept it. One citizen, speaking on a different issue, was alarmed. She should be.   That, my friends, was an attempt … More “No Mr. Fox. We won’t open the hen house.” When a developer goes for regulatory capture.

The trouble was the familiar one: too much power, too little knowledge.

July 18, 2016

The trouble was the familiar one: too much power, too little knowledge.  The fault was mine. “Damage” by Wendell Berry Friends and citizens, Tonight the Ferguson Township board of supervisors will have a number of hearings on ordinances and resolutions on domestic hens, a small change for the year’s budget, a possible traffic calming study, and … More The trouble was the familiar one: too much power, too little knowledge.

When my #home is damaged. When the land is impoverished.

October 1, 2013

In the previous entry I posted a draft of a poem about despair on our lack of limits. This entry includes a revision. Last year, close my childhood home, yet another patch of woodland was cut to put in a new “development” of apartments and townhouses. More of the same things encroaching on diminishing beauty. It … More When my #home is damaged. When the land is impoverished.