Weingarten is back to again request a zoning change in the Rock Prairie Greens Prairie Triangle. This time they are requesting rezoning of a smaller parcel of the original tract for which they had been denied. It looks like this is the part furthest from the neighborhoods. This will dilute the issue of neighborhood integrity, while they incrementally get what the citizens of College Station are so opposed to. While this move is very transparent, it will also be very effective.
It is important to note that since the last public hearing with Weingarten the city's planning department, who at the time said that there were no plans for an overpass expansion or other traffic abatement that would adequately deal with the Weingarten proposal, has proposed a traffic wish-list with these measure at the top of the list. This is not because our city's planning department is corrupt; Though, it may be because they are under undue pressure from developers to give priority to their issues. My opinion is that we have a great planning department that strives to serve the interests of our citizens. Unfortunately their view of our interests is unduly influenced by daily contact with developers and too little contact with citizens and citizen groups.
These issues will play large in the lead up to the spring elections. We would expect candidates to dance wide of this issue that divides citizen interest from potentially large contributors. But it looks like we are likely to have at least a couple of candidates that have the sort of integrity to take a stand for the citizens of College Station. No doubt, there will be others who will be very well financed.
2 comments:
You are way too generous in your assessment of the city staff. They recommended approval of the first Weingarten application for rezoning that would have had a disastrous impact on some of College Station's better neighborhoods. This proposal would have created terrible congestion at an intersection that is already a problem even without a super Wal-Mart.
Don't be a Pollyanna. The city staff is helping these developers. Just look at all the sprawl that we have seen in the last few years. In time College Station will just be another suburb of Houston but already we are looking like it thanks to your friends at the city.
As you pointed out, this new proposal is simply a slower more devious effort to slip the same bad development past the people of College Station.
I wonder what sort of commercial development ever would be acceptable at this location? These guys may be operating out of a powerful combination — money and ignorance — and the planning staff don't really seem to plan anything — they just react.
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