Post by d2usher on Sept 6, 2003 13:41:57 GMT -5
Bill,
Thanks for providing a forum for concerned folks to engage in this dialogue. It's great that people care enough to sit down to express their concerns because it's only by wading through the emotion, miscommunication and false assertions that we can get to best solutions. Hopefully we can refrain from petty personal attacks as the debate continues.
I do appreciate the thorough presentation provided by Ms. West. I can now better understand from an education perspective the positives of the Keystone proposal. Thank you. Obviously with a issue this large, there are other perspectives that must roll into the debate (other taxes, pollution, traffic, quality of life, long-term growth, etc...), and therefore, I must take strong exception to Ms. West's comment in her response to Tom Benjey's email: "The potential for reduced property values may or may not be accurate, but it has certainly not been proven—and should not be based on the statements of a single person."
Here are a few more examples and I bet if we asked other resident's they could provide more:
1. My wife and I just bought property in Middlesex right near South Middleton. Neither our realtor nor the realtor selling the property ever mentioned the proposed warehouses less than two miles from our property. We found out the day before our closing from a neighbor. Would I have bought the property had I known upfront? I honestly don't know, but I do know that we were looking all over Cumberland County and based upon our reaction, there's a good chance we would have gone elsewhere as we already bypassed other communities as unsuitable based upon traffic and highway noise.
2. On the Editorial Page in Sunday's Sentinel (August 31, 2003), Mr. Rudacille wrote a letter titled: "Please Take Back Your Signs". I understand Mr. Rudacille is currently selling his home. I wonder if there is a connection between his disdain for the signs and his frustration trying to sell his home with the specter of large warehouses and hundreds of thousands of trucks pouring past his backyard each year. I would ask Mr. Rudacille not to be angry with us vocally opposing the warehouses, I would ask him instead to be angry with the rest of the community for not being involved.
3. Just a couple of days ago, I met a couple who recently purchased a house. Neither buyer or seller realtor, nor the previous landowner mentioned there were plans for a major warehouse across the street. Now the new home owners are stuck and they are not happy. In my opinion they were decieved.
To say that the potential for reduced property values may or may not be accurate is a poor supposition. Empirically we know the truth, but why not talk to the real estate agents who buy and sell in this area? We have.
Mr. Riehl, I can completely appreciate your respect for landowner rights. I don't believe anyone wants to trample on the Otto's rights, but at the same time, as resident's of this community we have all agreed whether implicitly or explicitly that we will create, shape, and conform to rules and laws for the better good of the community. These rules and laws are not static (Pennsylvania Helmet Law just changed) nor are they changed on a whim. The current Keystone proposal today in fact does not conform to the current laws. In your email you also commented on placement of political signs in Mayapple is a violation. I am a little confused here. These signs are not endorsing a political candidate, nor are they telling people to vote for or against a specific proposal. They are simply a statement of that landowner's opinion about his community. Hopefully this is a part of a landowner's personal property rights. I do not believe Mr. Benjey or anyone should apologize for caring about this community nor should they abdicate responsibility just because someone did not fix these issues years ago.
In a final point to everyone:
This is not just a discussion about one warehouse in one field in the very North East corner of South Middleton Township.
This is not just a discussion about the positive effects these warehouses will have on the school board finances.
This is not just a discussion on the right's of individual property owners, and
This is not just a discussion on why some of these issues weren't addressed years ago.
This is about the realization that this area is in danger of being surrounded by an "industrial doughnut". I am not an expert, but I can look around.....Nobody wants to drive into Carlisle from the Carlisle Pike, The Otto Farm warehouses will help to seal off York and Trindle Rd/High Street, and the Baer (Spelling?") farm warehouses will help to seal Ritner Highway. Look at the map, we are part of the problem and it is our backyard. The City of Carlisle should be very worried.
This community has severe financial issues, but as a community, together, we should find answers that do not satisfy only one concern while exacerbating the overall situation. If we donate the patients head to be able to afford the operation so that he can walk, what's the point?
I am not opposed to development. I actually welcome growth and hope we do more to support it. I am; however, opposed to development that I feel is detrimental to the vibrancy of our community. 2.4 Million Square feet of warehouses between Trindle and York Roads in itself, but also along with the follow-on growth, will hurt our community.
Sincerely,
David M. Usher
www.nomonsterwarehouses.com
Thanks for providing a forum for concerned folks to engage in this dialogue. It's great that people care enough to sit down to express their concerns because it's only by wading through the emotion, miscommunication and false assertions that we can get to best solutions. Hopefully we can refrain from petty personal attacks as the debate continues.
I do appreciate the thorough presentation provided by Ms. West. I can now better understand from an education perspective the positives of the Keystone proposal. Thank you. Obviously with a issue this large, there are other perspectives that must roll into the debate (other taxes, pollution, traffic, quality of life, long-term growth, etc...), and therefore, I must take strong exception to Ms. West's comment in her response to Tom Benjey's email: "The potential for reduced property values may or may not be accurate, but it has certainly not been proven—and should not be based on the statements of a single person."
Here are a few more examples and I bet if we asked other resident's they could provide more:
1. My wife and I just bought property in Middlesex right near South Middleton. Neither our realtor nor the realtor selling the property ever mentioned the proposed warehouses less than two miles from our property. We found out the day before our closing from a neighbor. Would I have bought the property had I known upfront? I honestly don't know, but I do know that we were looking all over Cumberland County and based upon our reaction, there's a good chance we would have gone elsewhere as we already bypassed other communities as unsuitable based upon traffic and highway noise.
2. On the Editorial Page in Sunday's Sentinel (August 31, 2003), Mr. Rudacille wrote a letter titled: "Please Take Back Your Signs". I understand Mr. Rudacille is currently selling his home. I wonder if there is a connection between his disdain for the signs and his frustration trying to sell his home with the specter of large warehouses and hundreds of thousands of trucks pouring past his backyard each year. I would ask Mr. Rudacille not to be angry with us vocally opposing the warehouses, I would ask him instead to be angry with the rest of the community for not being involved.
3. Just a couple of days ago, I met a couple who recently purchased a house. Neither buyer or seller realtor, nor the previous landowner mentioned there were plans for a major warehouse across the street. Now the new home owners are stuck and they are not happy. In my opinion they were decieved.
To say that the potential for reduced property values may or may not be accurate is a poor supposition. Empirically we know the truth, but why not talk to the real estate agents who buy and sell in this area? We have.
Mr. Riehl, I can completely appreciate your respect for landowner rights. I don't believe anyone wants to trample on the Otto's rights, but at the same time, as resident's of this community we have all agreed whether implicitly or explicitly that we will create, shape, and conform to rules and laws for the better good of the community. These rules and laws are not static (Pennsylvania Helmet Law just changed) nor are they changed on a whim. The current Keystone proposal today in fact does not conform to the current laws. In your email you also commented on placement of political signs in Mayapple is a violation. I am a little confused here. These signs are not endorsing a political candidate, nor are they telling people to vote for or against a specific proposal. They are simply a statement of that landowner's opinion about his community. Hopefully this is a part of a landowner's personal property rights. I do not believe Mr. Benjey or anyone should apologize for caring about this community nor should they abdicate responsibility just because someone did not fix these issues years ago.
In a final point to everyone:
This is not just a discussion about one warehouse in one field in the very North East corner of South Middleton Township.
This is not just a discussion about the positive effects these warehouses will have on the school board finances.
This is not just a discussion on the right's of individual property owners, and
This is not just a discussion on why some of these issues weren't addressed years ago.
This is about the realization that this area is in danger of being surrounded by an "industrial doughnut". I am not an expert, but I can look around.....Nobody wants to drive into Carlisle from the Carlisle Pike, The Otto Farm warehouses will help to seal off York and Trindle Rd/High Street, and the Baer (Spelling?") farm warehouses will help to seal Ritner Highway. Look at the map, we are part of the problem and it is our backyard. The City of Carlisle should be very worried.
This community has severe financial issues, but as a community, together, we should find answers that do not satisfy only one concern while exacerbating the overall situation. If we donate the patients head to be able to afford the operation so that he can walk, what's the point?
I am not opposed to development. I actually welcome growth and hope we do more to support it. I am; however, opposed to development that I feel is detrimental to the vibrancy of our community. 2.4 Million Square feet of warehouses between Trindle and York Roads in itself, but also along with the follow-on growth, will hurt our community.
Sincerely,
David M. Usher
www.nomonsterwarehouses.com