To which Angela Hunt responds:
Getting input and holding meetings are meaningless exercises if the suggested changes don’t make it into the final product. After dozens of meetings, emails, and letters, the fundamental recommendations of council constituents weren’t incorporated into the final product.
The Plan Commission went back, looked at the changes recommended and supported by groups as diverse as The Real Estate Council, the Dallas Homeowners League, and Preservation Dallas, to name a few. Shouldn’t residents and property owners who have to live with this thing have a say in the final product? Or should we be satisfied with the fact that we “gave our input,” even though doing so resulted in no substantive change?
Have you read this thing? Liking the idea of a comprehensive plan and approving this particular plan are two different things. I support having a comprehensive plan, too, but it’s even more important to get it right.
Update: To which an astute FBvian responds:
I always get a charge out of Angela Hunt saying things such as “The Plan Commission went back, looked at the changes recommended and supported by groups as diverse as The Real Estate Council, the Dallas Homeowners League, and Preservation Dallas, to name a few.”
Then immediately following it with “Shouldn’t residents and property owners who have to live with this thing have a say in the final product? ” as if to suggest causality and a direct link between the two.
The Real Estate Council is all about real estate agents. The Dallas Homeowners League is an association of area neighborhood associations that does *not* let all neighborhood associations join it due to petty politics — Belmont Neighborhood Association being one, in Angela’s district no less, that is not allowed into DHL. Lastly, Preservation Dallas is a private, non-profit agency that does good work, but one must pay to join. They are by no means representative of “residents and property owners who have to live with this thing .”
So, perhaps Ms. Hunt should actually name more than this few and quit with the emotions and calling this whole process — so perfectly described by Ms. Lill — a sham.
