In a message dated 3/20/2007 11:09:46 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
this resembles the dock street story -- one choice (to rezone or not), between 2 sides (a church and a business). meanwhile other opinions (of vendors or customers), other choices (besides rezoning) were not part of that story. and yet dock street's installation, in the end, was celebrated as a kind of triumph of community engagement, as a revitalization of the community. As the owner of the commercial building wanted to rent to a business that needed a zoning change to operate, "to rezone or not" was a pretty obvious issue. I don't spend much time worrying that I don't get a chance to say, "Hey, private property owner, I, a resident of the neighborhood, want you to do [whatever] with your private property." I do feel entitled, however, to voice my opinion where it is appropriate, such as in the zoning process. And while not everyone agreed with the zoning change requested by Dock Street (most notably folks associated with Hickman Temple, which initially was not opposed to it), the breadth and diversity of the support for Dock Street (neighbors of different economic status and race, by my observation, who showed up at a zoning hearing; the notable numbers of letters and petition signers in favor; Cedar Park Neighbors; Councilwoman Blackwell) was a "triumph of community engagement." Bruce McCullough ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
