Perhaps the best thing residents can do is to start getting involved in the upcoming election and finding candidates who find Willoughbys development deplorable. Its cheap to build row houses and not have to build underground parking, but I think the biggest issue is to have an environmentally planned community. Smart Growth which was in vogue about 10 years ago was the buzz word but it had no consideration for wildlife and tree retention. In this particular development, Ixia, they saved a major conifer stand on 192, so the grade around the trees was not changed. All the other developments get D-minus, and they are having crime problems in Clayton. Also, parking lots are the biggest eyesore. In Sonoma, California, they have actual shade trees-redwoods--and the irony is that we are in a temperate rain forest. They build sidewalks so you dont have to walk through car grease to get to your car. Some sort of development is inevitable, but I believe we can have a say--through the ballot box. Start coming up with questions. And we dont want to see mroe of the first clear cut on 29th and 200th by absentee landlords. Cutting up to the fence line and destroying a forest is not what we should be looking for. Cathleen
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 07:12:28 +0000