Archive: Opinions

Village of Lansing Trustees suffered  accusations of bias and lying by residents and others who oppose a development in their neighborhood because of added traffic and fears that the quality of their neighborhood and value of their homes or apartment complexes may be reduced.  As someone who has no stake in the issue it seems to me that emotions and assumptions are overcoming reason.  That is understandable, but it seems to me that more reasoned involvement and less rhetoric would be more productive.

In my limited experience people who don't want something in their back yard do get emotional about it, and will do anything they can to protect their property.  That is natural and people should do that.  And I think it defines this situation.  The neighbors' goal is to stop the project because they like their neighborhood the way it is.  The Trustees' goal is to follow the law and be fair to all landowners.  Those goals seem to be in direct conflict in this situation.

So what should the Trustees and the neighbors be doing differently?

One of the things that has been happening in the Town of Lansing in recent years is the formation of citizen committees to research and inform the Town Board on this topic or that.  Recent significant examples are the Drilling Committee and the Economic Development Committee, and the newly reformed Sewer Committee.  The board may or may not follow their recommendations, but the committees, largely made up of interested citizens, have been very effective at doing research and making reasoned arguments to support their recommendations.  I have seen board members' minds changed by these recommendations and think it has enriched the quality of the board's decisions. 

Similarly, when Lansing Town and School representatives decided to engage in the AES Cayuga PILOT negotiations the rhetoric died down and more reasoned and realistic solutions have begun to emerge in response to their revenue loss.

The process is inclusive, transparent, and respectful.  That is not happening in the Village, at least where the Lansing Reserve project is concerned.  Village residents are demanding delays, accusing board members of nefarious actions and motives, asking for input, but not in any organized way.

At this point the Board of Trustees is simply deciding on which consultant to hire to research traffic patterns and related impacts on the neighborhood, gathering information to help them decide the best way to approve or not approve the development that is on the table.  The Trustees could decide with no more information, but they have opted to try to make more informed decisions by hiring experts to conduct traffic studies and make informed recommendations.  Theoretically that would benefit the neighborhood as well as the development.  Opposition to that seems to me to be a sideshow calculated to delaying the development at any cost.

I have heard Trustees talk about changing traffic patterns in a way that would reduce traffic on Dart Drive and eliminate a dangerous intersection.  To me that says that the Trustees have at least some goals in common with residents who complain about too much traffic today.  So there is some common ground, and maybe there could be more.

The fact is that property owners can develop their properties if they want to.  This particular property could be developed with even more units than are being proposed according to existing zoning.  So it looks to me as if is a given that this project, or a similar one will happen.  If stopping it is not a realistic goal, how about doing it in such a way that protects or enhances the character of the existing neighborhood?

I give more credence to people who make suggestions to me respectfully and based on well reasoned arguments constructed from facts.  I just get ticked off at people who call me names and accuse me of things I don't think I have done wrong.  Throwing darts from Dart Drive doesn't seem to be producing productive results.  And it is equally reasonable for government to leverage community input in a structured and productive way in addition to general public input gathered at meetings.

I haven't seen anyone suggest that residents form a committee to be involved in interpreting this study and coming up with constructive ideas for maintaining or improving the character of the neighborhood.  I haven't heard Trustees suggest it, nor have I heard it suggested by residents.  Maybe it's time for Trustees to reach out to residents to make this happen.  Representatives of the development should also be invited to that table.  As landowners they are neighbors, too.

Neighbors who have complained they are not being represented by their representatives in this case should be given the opportunity to be part of an advisory committee.  It would offer an avenue to have more influence over the fate of their neighborhood.  Of course that requires putting in the time and doing the work.  It's a two way street.  But what better way to be heard by elected officials?  It leverages more people with more viewpoints, skills, and talents to the benefit of the whole village.

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