“Not in my backyard” – beyond our boundaries…
Self-interest, fear of the unknown or just plain bigotry (prejudice); were these the all too human of motivations for the ‘vibrant’ citizen testimony during last night’s regular Berlin’s Mayor and Council meeting? At issue again was the abatement of a total $31,500 in property tax contributions from the developer/builder/manager to be spread over 5 to 10 years for the proposed 12 buildings (housing 40 units) senior housing complex to be located along Broad Street. No matter, there was a litany of objections – location being the most often mentioned. Specifically, ‘seniors have a slower reaction time when driving and Broad Street cannot handle it’. I thought about this, (while stifling an internal snicker) – if some of these objectors could view their own driving performance, trying to navigate one handed with a cell phone stuck to their ear, then that couldn’t possibly be construed as a valid reason. Daily, sitting at the stop sign on the corner of Broad and West Sts. I get to see some pretty fancy and unsafe maneuvers by some of our good town folks. If the speeds necessitated by this tiny intersection weren’t already so reduced these oh so busy, ‘younger people’ could cause some ‘big bangs’.
Another impacting ‘infrastructure’ problem mentioned – that of most ‘west side’ residents experiencing an already reduced water pressure. This, despite the fact that the property is already located on an approved plat for residential development and anything that speaks to ‘infrastructure’ comes under the purview of Berlin’s Planning and Zoning Department and Berlin’s Utilities Depts. Our Town’s Director of Water, Jane Kreiter spoke to that by saying that a test model had been constructed and the impact of an additional 12 EDU’s was negligible – at most, under extreme circumstances, a reduction of 2 psi. Perhaps, again the objectors could look at the widespread use of lawn irrigation throughout our community (mostly on the west side). Often, I’ve seen local ‘sprinklers’ at work on a rainy day. What’s with that?
For grins, let’s imagine placing the ‘senior housing’ at the location most suggested last evening –Route 346 – beside a platted but yet as yet undeveloped assisted living facility, creating essentially a segregated community of old folks. There, the road width differs not – in fact the speed limit is higher making the nearest intersection far more dangerous. The already existing lack of ‘west side’ water pressure and the overall Town need for more water still then could only be remedied by a new ‘water tower’ and the placement of such would necessitate building it in closer proximity to Broad Street. Would we then hear again the refrain, “Not in my backyard”? We continue to seek control beyond our own boundaries.
