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speak out archive
05-11-07
High quality of life is not inverse to high-density building, a fact Santa Cruz must learn. High-density, mixed-use building, known as "smart growth" to planners, is actually the best option for Santa Cruz, both preserving the environment and creating enough housing stock to keep prices remotely affordable.
Posted with permission from
The Santa Cruz Sentinel
04-06-07
Over the past four years the idea of annexing Whiskey Road has been suggested to Council several times, but city staff informed Council that there would be additional costs for policing the road and upgrading the signal lights to allow synchronization, and the improvement to traffic flow would not be significant. Now the idea is being touted as having the potential for great improvements to traffic on Whiskey Road. Why this change in attitude? I suspect the following information has more than a little to do with it.
letter to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
by Richard Smith
11-07-06
Speech given by City Councilmember Richard Smith to the Rotary Club of Aiken. November 7, 2006
Posted with permission from
The Aiken Journal Online
10-20-06
You have been reporting during the last few weeks on the building of a new county office complex out on the bypass. While there is $12 million allowed for improvements to county offices in the 1 percent sales tax, it is reported that the proposed structure will cost at least double that and probably a lot more.
letter to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
by Richard Smith
09-13-06
Horry council should avoid repeating coastal growth-policy mistakes
Posted with permission from
The Sun News
09-12-06
A new shopping area on the verge of creating some waves in retail circles has taken a tired, seemingly worn out group of buildings and turned it into a customer-friendly facility without adding new boxes to our community.
first published by the
Aiken Standard
08-25-06
Just how good (or bad) is the City's traffic management ordinance? A recent Aiken Standard editorial noted that while many had been concerned about the possible traffic impact of Sam's Club on Whiskey Road, the Woodside proposal for an additional 1000-plus homes "flew" through first reading with unanimous approval. The Standard asked the obvious question - What about the traffic that development will add on Whiskey and Silver Bluff roads? Also last week, the Planning Commission recommended approval for a 250-unit gated community at Powderhouse and Old Powderhouse roads.
letter to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
by Richard Smith
08-03-06
The Aiken Standard has recently published some excellent letters to the editor and an editorial, most of them making the point that Sam's Club is welcome in Aiken, but Whiskey Road is just the wrong location. I agree.
letters to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
6-27-06
The $1.5 million allocation by the S.C. Conservation Bank to help with the purchase of Morris Island is a major step toward its preservation and should be followed up with support from the local greenbelt fund.
Posted with permission from
The Charleston Post and Courier
06-23-06
Thanks in large part to your overwhelming opposition to the Bush administration's plan to sell off pieces of our National Forests, Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey admitted to a Post & Courier reporter that the plan is not likely to pass Congress this year.
A letter from Jane Lareau
04-24-06
Thank you for your timely editorial of April 4 regarding the growth that has been taking place in Aiken for the past several years. When Jane Vaughters and I were first elected to Aiken City Council in 2001 we described the growth taking place as "unbridled" and persuaded City Council to review the Comprehensive Land Use and Transportation Plan and to make it more than "just a guideline." Unfortunately it took almost three years to finish the review and there is no doubt in my mind that the delay can be traced to development oriented members of the Planning Commission who stretched it out as long as possible.
Aiken's downtown is a unique place
Downtown Aiken has so far succeeded in adjusting to the onslaught of the strip malls, north and south. It is only by encouraging the development of Aiken's downtown uniqueness and growth of small shops and boutiques, restaurants, deli and coffee shops, antique and kitchen shops. The extra of Aiken's theater, Art Center and artists with their galleries provides another unique area of interest besides the equestrian community. Add the history preserved by museums and the woods and parks, there are plenty of interests within the city limits to attract people.
letters to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
04-11-06
IF YOU THOUGHT the Legislature's billboard sell-out was outrageous, wait 'til you get a whiff of the Factory Farm Protection Act.
Posted with permission from
The State
03-25-06
In my opinion, we are running short of (green) spaces. The grass by the side of Interstate 26 doesn't qualify.
Posted with permission from
The Charleston Post and Courier
03-21-06
Aiken, and its charming and unique 100-years old historic district, the backdrop for carriage driving, horses under saddle, people strolling and/or walking dogs, and quiet sleepy streets, is on the verge of becoming forever transformed into clusters of high rise buildings resembling the activity and architecture of giant ant hills. The comfortable mixture of stately homes and cozy cottages behind thick mature shrubs and ambling brick fences is about to give way to streets heavily laden with automobiles and leading into paved and stripped parking lots belonging to pods of 35-foot erections that bear no resemblance to the spirit of the Old Aiken Master Plan.
A Speak Out Article by Roselee Fox
01-30-06
South Carolina is old fashioned, a little behind the times. "The times''
have long since rendered so many neighborhoods in the United States unlivable, people are flocking to South Carolina, giddy at the prospect of joining us in Aiken. They can't believe their good fortune - this is paradise. We are amused to see the exorbitant prices they are willing to pay for property. Feeling flattered, and in a hurry to accommodate our new friends and their wallets, Aiken has sold itself short. The foolish said, "If Aiken's not growing, it's dying." How about a little foresight? Couldn't they hear the approaching stampede? Did the bulldozers drown out the sound of the hoofs?
a letter to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
11-16-05
With tonight's expected vote on second reading of the tax increment financing proposal, an opportunity to improve life in a sometimes-neglected part of the county may be in the offing.
An editorial by the
Aiken Standard
10-28-05
The opposing forces of sprawl and growth management have been fighting for decades over the future of Pierce County. For a long time, sprawl had the upper hand in the county’s eastern parts.
But times seem to be changing in East Pierce County.
First Posted by
TheNewsTribune.com
10-16-05
By Patricia Cone, Aiken
TIF override vote was a mistake
by Rep. Skipper Perry, Aiken
Exemption will cut tax revenues
by George Pixley, Aiken
by Winfred Ray, Aiken
Council should vote 'No' on TIF proposal
An editorial by the
Aiken Standard
10-14-05
The Aiken County Council and Board of Education are getting together Tuesday for what should be a rousing and possibly decisive public hearing - at 7 p.m., in the council building at 736 Richland Ave. West in Aiken - on the pros and cons of the proposed bond deal with the FineDeering Development Group.
An editorial by the
Augusta Chronicle
No TIF project for Aiken County
I can't imagine that the Aiken County Council would even consider supporting the TIF concept for a private enterprise developer.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) has become the most significant political issue for Aiken County in recent memory. And for good reason. As proposed, the Sage Creek/Trolley Run Station TIF with its minimum $65 million price tag (principal, interest, fees, etc.) constitutes the largest, single capital investment project in the county's history. If approved, your County government would be spending the equivalent of three years of total residential property tax receipts in order to develop two parcels of private property.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
10-07-05
What concerns me most is how such a bill came to pass in South Carolina. The ethics of the bill itself need to be examined, thoroughly discussed, with consideration given to the voiding of the bill and amendments.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
10-04-05
I am writing because of the incredible full page ads that have been running in the Aiken Standard. These ads are “Paid for by the Citizens for Positive Growth in Aiken County” whoever they may be. We don’t know how many citizens are actually involved but the claims and style sound very much the same as those in the glitzy and very expensive flyer ads that have been widely distributed by the developer. Some of what is claimed is true but there are many questionable statements as well. A few of the most important misleading statements are discussed.
Thanks to Dick Smith
09-09-05
Many communities have started charging developers "Impact Fees" to help offset the costs which new developments have on existing communities. Unfortunately our County Council is doing just the opposite. They are considering issuing a TIF bond to give $36 million to a developer to help them build 5000 homes in the county.
A Speak Out article by Thomas Egan
Our family have lived in Aiken County since 1952, and have enjoyed our residency over the 48 year period. We have become increasing concerned over this time with the rapid unregulated growth in the county, where it appears that development is being overemphasized at the expense of quality of life for the current residents
A Speak Out article by Richard Baxter
06-17-05
There are growing challenges in front of us to manage the county growth before our road system suffers the same crushing traffic problems as Augusta's Washington Road and Bobby Jones Expressway. Several years ago the City and County began work on an overlay district to jointly manage growth on Whiskey Road and later to use the same approach for other growth on the City-County border. After all this time, the overlay district has not gotten out of the County Planning Commission.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
06-05-05
Aiken is exploding. It is being both formed and re-formed.
It is being formed with growth that includes new stores and housing developments.
And it is being re-formed through refurbishment of existing property and by what appears to be an increase of retirees in the population mix.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
05-29-05
Aiken County has become a prize plum for new development with the high quality of living in the area, coupled with a good school system. It will take quick reaction on the part of officials to ensure that this boom does not surpass the capabilities of the local resources.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
05-21-05
I would like to register my concerns regarding the south side pond scenic route planned to "enhance south side traffic flow" as outlined in the April Aiken Report.
A speak out by Irwin E. Magerkurth
05-02-05
The US Congress has a real chance of scoring a major victory for wildlife habitat, open space, and reduced sprawl. But strangely, in this legislative battle, the major environmental organizations are nowhere to be found. At issue is the notoriously perverse incentive that forces people to sell their pristine land to developers: the estate tax
Posted by
The Christian Science Monitor
04-16-05
Traveling from Tallahassee to Broward County last week, I saw plenty of evidence of Florida's biggest problem: overdevelopment.
Posted in
The Sun-Sentinel
Moving to Fort Lauderdale to practice law in the 1960s, he helped start the Audubon Society's Broward chapter. After years of watching Broward's wilderness disappear, Conway decided to do something about it.
Posted in
The Sun-Sentinel
04-15-05
It's reassuring to know that the seven members of the Aiken Historic Preservation Commission see that trees are an important part of our historical landscape.
Published in the
Aiken Standard
04-09-05
Aiken City Council is considering a measure that would limit the number of such tours along a designated route in Aiken's historic and horse districts.
The City offers tours for out-of-towners who want to see some of what makes this a special city in which to live. Property owners, however, feel as though they are living in a fish bowl with tourists gawking at them. The peace and quiet that led them to buying homes in Aiken is being disturbed.
First posted in the
Aiken Standard
04-08-05
Aiken has become a parody of a cartoon that used to be posted at work. The cartoon showed a bunch of pigs crowding around the slop trough, pushing and shoving as each tried to get all it could at the expense of the others.
What on earth are our city officials thinking about when they arrange for buses to go through neighborhoods, horse or otherwise, to show off the sights to the tourists as if we were in some kind of zoo for alien beings?
Letter to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
02-06-05
Published in the
Charleston Post and Courier
05-09-04
4-24-04
A letter to the Editor of the
Augusta Chronicle
03-11-04
A Traffic Ordinance Report - Back to Square Number One
A Speak Out article by Jim Wetzel
03-07-04
So Many Roads
Letter to the editor of the
Aiken Standard
09-05-03
Cooperation between city, county is exciting
published in the
Aiken Standard
06-12-03
I-520 growth spurt may be cancerous in the long run
A letter to the Editor of the
Augusta Chronicle
01-13-03
Put moratorium on Southside building
A letter to the Editor of the
Aiken Standard
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