We are the other concerned citizens of Byrnesville. The citizens who feel that there are ulterior motives behind the opposal to the Ananda LLC proposal. If you are an opposer, do you really understand what you are opposing. This site was put together by me because I changed my mind about the proposal after I heard the facts, from the source, and not from hearsay or fallacy.
The first fallacy I want to show those of the community who may have never actually been on, or seen the property of Ananda LLC, comes from the Suburban Journal who printed in an article the following statement. "At issue is a dispute over whether a stretch of 138.25 acres of land along Byrnesville Road and directly across from the Northwest Jefferson County Sports Complex in northwestern Jefferson County should be turned into a residential development with smaller acreage per lot than is currently allowed in that zoned area." So, think about this. There is nothing close to 138.25 acres of exposure to Byrnesville road as stated in this article. If you are a resident of Byrnesville then you have seen the entrance to the site and the two homes on each side of the entrance. If that is 138 acres of exposure, then someone got ripped off when they bought the property.
I have written twice to the Jefferson Co. Journal but was never published. So I have come here to be heard. I was not at the first meeting. The one which I heard was generating hostility and much opposition to the proposal. I also have heard many of the false allegations and misinformation that is fueling the opposition of this project. I have lived in Byrnesville for 20 years, my mother was a Geatley and she was born and raised here, and my great -great grandfather, an Irish immigrant who also faced discrimination, fought in the Civil war, while living on the present "Geatley Acre" home site, where I spent most of my childhood. I consider myself very much a Byrnesville original, more so than most of you, who live here now. I didn’t want you moving out here, to my Byrnesville, but I didn't make up lies and misconceptions to keep you out. If you care about where you live and what is best for the area, you should be welcoming residents who will generate taxes that can be used to improve our community roads and services. The tax base supporting us now for the first 4 miles of Byrnesville is mostly agriculture and not very substantial. I feel, that if left up to those paying mostly agricultural taxes, they would continue to buy up land for their incomes and we of Byrnesville shall suffer for their profit. The facts, if you care to know them, are that the first proposal presented on the Ananda LLC project was completely in line with the requirements of Jefferson County and their Master plan on mixed use planning. Ananda LLC, in trying to be accepted into our community, have made changes to their original proposal, none of which were required by Jefferson County guidelines, to be accepted by those of us who live on Byrnesville. Ananda LLC is a Byrnesville issue that should be reviewed by the residents of Byrnesville and not outsiders, if as quoted "this is not about their religion or culture", but about our roads. Read the road study and you will see this project will generate fewer cars than a typical soccer or ball game at our Northwest Sports complex. Some of the other misconceptions that have soured many Byrnesville residents are claims of our wells being sucked dry and septic tanks in our back yards. Look at the plans and you will see there will be no individual sewers and the water depth will be over 1000 feet deeper than any of our wells. These homes will generate less sewer waste than that of which is being dumped on the farmlands and residents property, on Byrnesville, now. The community in whole will be mostly secluded and not in view of any of the residents, who claim their beautiful surroundings will be interrupted. You can look at the The Ananda LLC plans, as displayed on "Concerned Citizens Byrnesville " and see that most of the adjoining property owner’s homes will have original tree lined borders that block out the project. This community will be open for anyone to live in, and not exclusive to the Hindu, a culture, which I believe some have confused with the Muslim culture, which is sometimes associated with the term terrorism . The residents and patronage will be legal residents and taxpayers who would be contributors to our community. Our construction trades, landscapers, lumber yards and businesses as well as the county will all benefit from the revenue that the construction of this project will generate. If you want to ask me more of my opinion feel free to request it, and if this gives you any second thoughts on the project, I hope it is to ask about and not be led by what you have heard or been told. Please think about the truth before being led by lies.
I cannot speak for anyone but myself. But I can assure you that nobody's ethnicity or religious beliefs have a thing to do with my opposition to the plans these commercial investors have. I can assure you that plenty of my neighbors have every reason to share my concerns.
The property is uphill and a couple of hundred yards from my home. I want to hold these investors to the master zoning plan established by the county - which as stated in the first public meeting - reserves an approximately 2-mile-wide corridor around the major thoroughfare, hwy-30 - for developments such as this. This plan was established based on the fact that residences this far from a major thoroughfare cannot be placed as densely as the developer's plans call for due to the unavailability of access to central sewage systems and water supply. There is a very legitimate concern that neighboring wells will run dry if Ananda manages to squeeze in all of the apartments and condos they have planned. Since the planned population density of the development will not support septic systems, Ananda’s plans call for a sewage treatment plant for this real-estate venture which would be built just beyond the end of my street, with no guarantee that there won’t be runoff or other problems. It also calls for I believe 500-spaces of parking, in addition to the residential parking – which is likely to create runoff problems, and if they have events large enough to use that many spaces, traffic issues as well. (They claim no events will ever fill that many spaces, which begs the question why build so many?) There are quite a few legitimate reasons for the immediate neighbors of this development to be opposed – all of which can be traced back to the original zoning rules established in the master plan.
Frankly - while I don't doubt that bigotry plays a part in the opposition of some residents - I find your position a bit presumptive. I also believe that just as some might be falling for the lies or half-truths of bigots or xenophobes, you might be falling for the lies and half-truths of a profiteering developer who might be trying to hide their desire to maximize their real-estate investment by skirting zoning laws via political influence and money - with no regard for the neighboring properties - and hiding behind a veil of "Eastern Religion and Culture" to gain the sympathy of Jefferson County citizens.
When I looked at what Ananda presented, I thought to myself, “this is just another real-estate developer trying to cram a bunch of homes in a nice rural property, using whatever leverage they can to bend county zoning laws – using this ‘Eastern Religion’ angle for additional leverage.”
I believe I heard you at one of the meetings (either that or somebody else articulating your position), and it was difficult for me not to feel you were basically accusing me of being a bigot, as I sat there and thought to myself about all of my professional friends and associates who happen to be Hindus of Indian nationality. It was a crowded room, so I didn’t have the chance, but I really wanted to let you know that I have absolutely no problem with a Hindu temple, Eastern Religion learning center, etc. – in my back yard. I find the idea of that alone fascinating in fact, and I’m quite certain I’d visit it at least once or twice. But I have no reason to believe this commercial developer will be any more respectful of my little private lot than any other corporation would be. Since I take exception to the presumption that I’m falling for the lies of bigots, or of being a bigot myself, I won’t presume that you might be spreading misinformation with ulterior motives of your own. But I’m sure there are quite a few people who stand to profit from this real-estate development, and some of them might be inclined to propagate the rumor that the opposition is based on bigotry and has no legitimate basis… for the ulterior motive of personal profit.
...in short - the day Ananda finds the resources to start building the public water and sewer infrastructure all the way from hwy-30 to their property is the day they should be able to commence development of the real-estate venture they propose.
...of course since they snuck that meeting in on July 29th (I was warned they'd be quick and sneaky about it so as to minimize the number of residents likely to show), for all I know - the appropriate palms have been greased and they'll be breaking ground any day.
My intent is to answer any questions that you may have about what you heard or were told about the Ananada LLC. I have met one of the members of the organizers for this new community and if I don't know the answer, I will go straight to her for the answer.
The first fallacy I want to show those of the community who may have never actually been on, or seen the property of Ananda LLC, comes from the Suburban Journal who printed in an article the following statement.
ReplyDelete"At issue is a dispute over whether a stretch of 138.25 acres of land along Byrnesville Road and directly across from the Northwest Jefferson County Sports Complex in northwestern Jefferson County should be turned into a residential development with smaller acreage per lot than is currently allowed in that zoned area."
So, think about this. There is nothing close to 138.25 acres of exposure to Byrnesville road as stated in this article. If you are a resident of Byrnesville then you have seen the entrance to the site and the two homes on each side of the entrance. If that is 138 acres of exposure, then someone got ripped off when they bought the property.
I have written twice to the Jefferson Co. Journal but was never published. So I have come here to be heard. I was not at the first meeting. The one which I heard was generating hostility and much opposition to the proposal. I also have heard many of the false allegations and misinformation that is fueling the opposition of this project.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in Byrnesville for 20 years, my mother was a Geatley and she was born and raised here, and my great -great grandfather, an Irish immigrant who also faced discrimination, fought in the Civil war, while living on the present "Geatley Acre" home site, where I spent most of my childhood. I consider myself very much a Byrnesville original, more so than most of you, who live here now. I didn’t want you moving out here, to my Byrnesville, but I didn't make up lies and misconceptions to keep you out.
If you care about where you live and what is best for the area, you should be welcoming residents who will generate taxes that can be used to improve our community roads and services. The tax base supporting us now for the first 4 miles of Byrnesville is mostly agriculture and not very substantial. I feel, that if left up to those paying mostly agricultural taxes, they would continue to buy up land for their incomes and we of Byrnesville shall suffer for their profit. The facts, if you care to know them, are that the first proposal presented on the Ananda LLC project was completely in line with the requirements of Jefferson County and their Master plan on mixed use planning. Ananda LLC, in trying to be accepted into our community, have made changes to their original proposal, none of which were required by Jefferson County guidelines, to be accepted by those of us who live on Byrnesville.
Ananda LLC is a Byrnesville issue that should be reviewed by the residents of Byrnesville and not outsiders, if as quoted "this is not about their religion or culture", but about our roads. Read the road study and you will see this project will generate fewer cars than a typical soccer or ball game at our Northwest Sports complex. Some of the other misconceptions that have soured many Byrnesville residents are claims of our wells being sucked dry and septic tanks in our back yards. Look at the plans and you will see there will be no individual sewers and the water depth will be over 1000 feet deeper than any of our wells. These homes will generate less sewer waste than that of which is being dumped on the farmlands and residents property, on Byrnesville, now. The community in whole will be mostly secluded and not in view of any of the residents, who claim their beautiful surroundings will be interrupted. You can look at the The Ananda LLC plans, as displayed on "Concerned Citizens Byrnesville " and see that most of the adjoining property owner’s homes will have original tree lined borders that block out the project.
This community will be open for anyone to live in, and not exclusive to the Hindu, a culture, which I believe some have confused with the Muslim culture, which is sometimes associated with the term terrorism . The residents and patronage will be legal residents and taxpayers who would be contributors to our community. Our construction trades, landscapers, lumber yards and businesses as well as the county will all benefit from the revenue that the construction of this project will generate.
If you want to ask me more of my opinion feel free to request it, and if this gives you any second thoughts on the project, I hope it is to ask about and not be led by what you have heard or been told. Please think about the truth before being led by lies.
I cannot speak for anyone but myself. But I can assure you that nobody's ethnicity or religious beliefs have a thing to do with my opposition to the plans these commercial investors have. I can assure you that plenty of my neighbors have every reason to share my concerns.
ReplyDeleteThe property is uphill and a couple of hundred yards from my home. I want to hold these investors to the master zoning plan established by the county - which as stated in the first public meeting - reserves an approximately 2-mile-wide corridor around the major thoroughfare, hwy-30 - for developments such as this. This plan was established based on the fact that residences this far from a major thoroughfare cannot be placed as densely as the developer's plans call for due to the unavailability of access to central sewage systems and water supply. There is a very legitimate concern that neighboring wells will run dry if Ananda manages to squeeze in all of the apartments and condos they have planned. Since the planned population density of the development will not support septic systems, Ananda’s plans call for a sewage treatment plant for this real-estate venture which would be built just beyond the end of my street, with no guarantee that there won’t be runoff or other problems. It also calls for I believe 500-spaces of parking, in addition to the residential parking – which is likely to create runoff problems, and if they have events large enough to use that many spaces, traffic issues as well. (They claim no events will ever fill that many spaces, which begs the question why build so many?) There are quite a few legitimate reasons for the immediate neighbors of this development to be opposed – all of which can be traced back to the original zoning rules established in the master plan.
Frankly - while I don't doubt that bigotry plays a part in the opposition of some residents - I find your position a bit presumptive. I also believe that just as some might be falling for the lies or half-truths of bigots or xenophobes, you might be falling for the lies and half-truths of a profiteering developer who might be trying to hide their desire to maximize their real-estate investment by skirting zoning laws via political influence and money - with no regard for the neighboring properties - and hiding behind a veil of "Eastern Religion and Culture" to gain the sympathy of Jefferson County citizens.
When I looked at what Ananda presented, I thought to myself, “this is just another real-estate developer trying to cram a bunch of homes in a nice rural property, using whatever leverage they can to bend county zoning laws – using this ‘Eastern Religion’ angle for additional leverage.”
I believe I heard you at one of the meetings (either that or somebody else articulating your position), and it was difficult for me not to feel you were basically accusing me of being a bigot, as I sat there and thought to myself about all of my professional friends and associates who happen to be Hindus of Indian nationality. It was a crowded room, so I didn’t have the chance, but I really wanted to let you know that I have absolutely no problem with a Hindu temple, Eastern Religion learning center, etc. – in my back yard. I find the idea of that alone fascinating in fact, and I’m quite certain I’d visit it at least once or twice. But I have no reason to believe this commercial developer will be any more respectful of my little private lot than any other corporation would be.
Since I take exception to the presumption that I’m falling for the lies of bigots, or of being a bigot myself, I won’t presume that you might be spreading misinformation with ulterior motives of your own. But I’m sure there are quite a few people who stand to profit from this real-estate development, and some of them might be inclined to propagate the rumor that the opposition is based on bigotry and has no legitimate basis… for the ulterior motive of personal profit.
...in short - the day Ananda finds the resources to start building the public water and sewer infrastructure all the way from hwy-30 to their property is the day they should be able to commence development of the real-estate venture they propose.
ReplyDelete...of course since they snuck that meeting in on July 29th (I was warned they'd be quick and sneaky about it so as to minimize the number of residents likely to show), for all I know - the appropriate palms have been greased and they'll be breaking ground any day.