Letters – Reader takes editor to task on development rules

To the Editor:
I agree that an ordinance is needed to direct development in Caldwell County. It should, however, not be developer friendly while restricting the private property owner. A boiler-plate ordinance is not good for Caldwell and does nothing to control the growth that you seem to want so badly.

It is apparent that you have never seen or suffered the blight tha

t so-called controlled and managed development can bring to a rural area, and the damage it can cause to the way of life. I have and I moved to Caldwell County to escape it.

You use the same rallying cry I have heard often in the past: an increased tax base. Yes, development increases the tax base because everyone’s property tax must increase to fund the increase in services, increase in school population, and, most importantly, pay for the behind-the-scenes deals to attract such developments. I have never had my property taxes reduced because of promises of developers and politicians.

The growth you seem to laud also brings a growth in crime, a growth of strip malls with dubious businesses, and the wholesale destruction of land, which inevitably destroys the environment. Growth for growth sake is not a goal any responsible citizen should promote. Those who would like to live in McMansions, watch bulldozers destroy agriculture lands, and have restrictions placed on their way of life are welcome to move to Austin or San Antonio where those conditions already exist.

I applaud the Commissioners who are willing to listen to people they represent and delay this ordinance that does not provide “managed, supervised and controlled” growth, and is bad for private property owners, and bad for Caldwell County. It’s a refreshing change in politics.
Susan K. Stewart
Harwood