So oddly enough, NIMBY attack dog John Fox used the Gateway Project as a hammer to pound a much needed broader zoning change (that failed to muster the two thirds required for passage) to aid smart development in overly enlightened Amherst.
And yes, it would have been a positive sign for The Gateway Project surviving the gauntlet known as Amherst Town Meeting at some future point.
Mr Fox, a former Washington lawyer no less, told town meeting he did not "understand how this will be implemented."
Hmm...Over the twenty years I suffered through town meeting with zoning articles every year, nobody in the room ever completely understood how something as complicated as zoning would be implemented and how it would look "in five years, ten years, fifteen years."
My friend and fellow blogger and still Town Meeting member Gavin Andresen came up with a new and improved acronym. BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone. Indeed! But probably another "only in Amherst" thing.
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Has it ever ocurred to anyone that the reason that zoning changes often fail in town meeting is that few have confidence in the planning department? I believe there is a lack of trust based on their own record.
Exactly!
They tell us John Fox is a lawyer. No problem.
Hey, if you don't have the law, argue the facts.
And, if you don't have the facts, argue the law.
And, if you have neither of those and no logic to boot, argue your fear and just make sure that enough people in the room share that fear. Town Meeting is like slo-pitch softball in that regard.
John Fox:
He went to law school.
He thinks like a lawyer.
He was a Washington lawyer.
Carol Gray is a lawyer.
Sarah McKee is a lawyer.
These people know what's best for Amherst, because they are lawyers.
Kinda takes your breath away with awe, don't it?
Outstanding argument, Mr. Fox. You speak for many of us.
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