Right on point

From today's ltters to the editor in the Eagle

I do not know Doug Phillips (Eagle, April 17), but if he was to run for mayor of Bryan, I would certainly vote for him. His column about building a better community is right on every point.
We need infill development rather than urban sprawl. We need to preserve trees and green spaces rather than pave the land. We need thriving, locally owned businesses rather than more big chain stores.
And we need city, county and business leaders who will commit to these choices and help us all build a better community.
JUDY WINN

Indeed!! For Doug‘s full Article…..

Building a better local community

By DOUG PHILLIPS
Special to The Eagle


Austin is one of those places I enjoy visiting periodically, but I sure wouldn't want to live there. Its explosive growth has created horrendous problems with traffic and congestion.

Say what you will about Austin and all its big-city problems, though, it has a character and a personality all its own. There simply is no other place like it.

Can we honestly say the same about our community? I've lived here for 32 years, and I'm still searching for that sense of community identity that makes Bryan-College Station unique.

Our main thoroughfares are lined with strings of nondescript strip centers filled with cookie-cutter corporate businesses and restaurants of no particular distinction. That leads me to wonder what kind of impression visitors to our community are left with.

So what is it that gives any community a character and personality that distinguishes it from others? Locally owned independent businesses dominate central Austin and impart a character to the community that strip centers, big boxes and malls simply can't duplicate.

Sure, Austin has plenty of large-scale corporate restaurants and retail - once you leave the city center they dominate the landscape - but the heart of Austin - and the personality - is dominated by its locally owned independent restaurants and businesses. These are the kinds of businesses that could give Bryan-College Station a character of its own.

I advocate adopting a proactive policy of encouraging and favoring locally owned independent businesses over chains, thereby allowing our community to develop its own unique personality.

Unfortunately our community has been moving in the opposite direction. When I moved here in 1974, downtown Bryan was the economic hub of the community. Most of the businesses were locally owned, and there was a unique flavor to downtown. That changed as the economic center of gravity shifted south.

Along with this southward migration came homogenization as chain retailers and franchise restaurants began to dominate and local independent retailers were pushed aside. Now our cities are in danger of losing the last vestiges of local flavor.

In short, we are now virtually indistinguishable from dozens of other mid-size cities in Texas. Take away Texas A&M and people passing through would be hard-pressed to say where they were.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pining for the good ol' days. I understand the realities of the 21st century. I know full well how dependent we are on sales tax revenue to pay for city government. But I fear that the almighty sales tax dollar has taken precedence over quality of life, much to the detriment of our communities.

It's easy for local officials to be seduced by large chain retailers and developers into providing public funds in the form of infrastructure improvements, tax abatements and other incentives. There are always promises of job creation and tax revenue, when in reality studies have shown that big-box retailers displace more than one job for each job created. And those jobs created are often low-paid part-time jobs with few, if any, benefits.

A Massachusetts study showed that sprawling retail development actually costs more taxpayer dollars than it returns to the community.

Spending our dollars at a chain rather than a local retailer reduces the multiplier effect. Dollars spent with local businesses circulate in the local economy at three times the rate of dollars spent at corporate businesses. An Austin study concluded that for every $100 spent at a chain, $13 remains in the local economy, whereas $100 spent with local businesses keeps $45 in the local economy.

Independent local businesses tend to utilize the supporting services of other local businesses, such as accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, builders, computer consultants, sign makers, printers, bankers, etc. Contrast that with out-of-town businesses that utilize local support businesses sparingly, if at all.

Local business owners have invested heavily in their communities. Not only have they made a significant financial investment, but they have a long-term interest in the community's vitality and economic health. They have made a commitment to the community that corporate businesses have not. A case study of corporate commitment can be found just to our north in Hearne where Wal-Mart abandoned the community and left it in tatters.

I firmly believe we don't have to accept ugly sprawling urbanization as the inevitable price we pay for economic prosperity. There are alternatives that can provide economic growth, improved aesthetics, enhanced quality of life, and at the same time impart a greater sense of community character.

Our city governments have it within their power to promote locally owned independent business if only they had the will. They can put an end to tax abatements and financial incentives for big developers. They can set size restrictions on retail buildings. They can pass strict tree ordinances to prevent clear-cutting for large retail centers. They can provide incentives for infill development, they can impose impact fees on developers, and they can require city purchases to be made through local sources whenever possible.

Cities that have taken these measures have seen not only renewed vitality, but increased community spirit and pride and a newfound sense of place. In short, the quality of life has been greatly enhanced.

But we shouldn't rely on our city government alone.

It's up to each of us to strengthen our communities by practicing what we preach. Shop with locally owned retailers, do business with local suppliers, eat at locally owned independent restaurants.

Do you want our communities to be defined by strip centers and big box stores? We can do better.

n Doug Phillips is a local optometrist who has been in business in here for 33 years. He is a member of the Brazos Independent Business Alliance (http://buybrazos.com) and Brazos Smartgrowth.