City-County Planning Board
The Winston-Salem City Council or the Forsyth County Commissioners, which one of these political organizations has the most impact on your day to day life? Which one makes life and death decisions about you, from the time you are born until you die and then dictates where your will be buried? Neither, most of these decisions are decided in Advisory Boards and Commissions.
If you are poor, a minority or not of the proper social and economic level, you will never serve on these Boards and Commissions and probably do not know what decisions are being made about you daily. Our elected officials hide behind recommendations from these Boards and Commissions and the Boards and Commissions say they only advise and are not responsible for the negative impact of their decisions on Black Communities.
Did you know that the New Beginning Assisted Living Center Building on New Walkertown Road, old Highway 311, will be replaced with a new 16 Unit Apartment Complex? Did you know that the people in that neighborhood did not want this project in their community? Mainly because this is an old well established community with people in their mature years that are under able to relocate or deal with the life style of young apartment dwellers. Think about how this mature single family community is being turned into a transit community of apartment renters. Who is responsible for the taking care of the people who live in this neighborhood?
The City/County Planning Board is one of the most professional Board I have encountered. In their last meeting they voted to allow a new 16 Unit Apartment complex to be built on New Walkertown Road. The six Whites and three Blacks that are the Board’s members are no doubt, good and honest people. This Board is filled with Real Estate Agents and Developers, who know nothing about the conditions facing people in minority communities. All the Board Members seem to have incomes or more than fifty thousand dollars yearly and can pickup and move to where they want to live and raise their children. How can they possibly understand the plight of the elderly woman who lives in this community, asking them not to put another apartment complex next to her home? No one was there to speak on her behalf, not like the Developers and Real Estate Agents that have their attorneys speak for them; she never had a chance and went away crying and begging for help. The vote was unanimous against her. Other communities have the right to decide what kind and type projects they want in their neighborhoods; some have even turned down Wal-Mart Super Stores while we who live on the East Side of town have nothing to say about where we live and no input into who makes these decisions.
In this lady’s neighborhood, there are these apartment complexes, Anderson Heights, up the street from Anderson Heights on Tenth Street is a unnamed apartment complex. Down New Walkertown Road is Rolling Hills, up New Walkertown Road is Lakeside and across from Lakeside is Eastgate Village. Less than two miles away, a new development called River Chase will have 184 new homes. All these developments uses New Walkertown Road for access.
In White Communities, someone would have requested and impact study. Someone would have wanted to know, “How will this impact driving conditions on an already dangerous New Walkertown Road, especially in commute times?” Someone would have asked, “Don’t we already have too many Apartment Complexes?” In White Communities, Homeowners Associations would have stood up and protected their property values and the character of their communities.
Since we are never told about Planning Board decisions about where we live and poor people are not candidates for these Boards and Commissions, we never know what is going on in our communities until we see the bulldozers. Taxization without representation was the basis for the founding of this Country, we MUST work together to change how these Board and Commissions Members are chosen. We must demand that Boards and Commission are loyal to the voters rather than the politicians who appoint them. Their appointments must be based on service to the community instead on cronyism.
If you are poor, a minority or not of the proper social and economic level, you will never serve on these Boards and Commissions and probably do not know what decisions are being made about you daily. Our elected officials hide behind recommendations from these Boards and Commissions and the Boards and Commissions say they only advise and are not responsible for the negative impact of their decisions on Black Communities.
Did you know that the New Beginning Assisted Living Center Building on New Walkertown Road, old Highway 311, will be replaced with a new 16 Unit Apartment Complex? Did you know that the people in that neighborhood did not want this project in their community? Mainly because this is an old well established community with people in their mature years that are under able to relocate or deal with the life style of young apartment dwellers. Think about how this mature single family community is being turned into a transit community of apartment renters. Who is responsible for the taking care of the people who live in this neighborhood?
The City/County Planning Board is one of the most professional Board I have encountered. In their last meeting they voted to allow a new 16 Unit Apartment complex to be built on New Walkertown Road. The six Whites and three Blacks that are the Board’s members are no doubt, good and honest people. This Board is filled with Real Estate Agents and Developers, who know nothing about the conditions facing people in minority communities. All the Board Members seem to have incomes or more than fifty thousand dollars yearly and can pickup and move to where they want to live and raise their children. How can they possibly understand the plight of the elderly woman who lives in this community, asking them not to put another apartment complex next to her home? No one was there to speak on her behalf, not like the Developers and Real Estate Agents that have their attorneys speak for them; she never had a chance and went away crying and begging for help. The vote was unanimous against her. Other communities have the right to decide what kind and type projects they want in their neighborhoods; some have even turned down Wal-Mart Super Stores while we who live on the East Side of town have nothing to say about where we live and no input into who makes these decisions.
In this lady’s neighborhood, there are these apartment complexes, Anderson Heights, up the street from Anderson Heights on Tenth Street is a unnamed apartment complex. Down New Walkertown Road is Rolling Hills, up New Walkertown Road is Lakeside and across from Lakeside is Eastgate Village. Less than two miles away, a new development called River Chase will have 184 new homes. All these developments uses New Walkertown Road for access.
In White Communities, someone would have requested and impact study. Someone would have wanted to know, “How will this impact driving conditions on an already dangerous New Walkertown Road, especially in commute times?” Someone would have asked, “Don’t we already have too many Apartment Complexes?” In White Communities, Homeowners Associations would have stood up and protected their property values and the character of their communities.
Since we are never told about Planning Board decisions about where we live and poor people are not candidates for these Boards and Commissions, we never know what is going on in our communities until we see the bulldozers. Taxization without representation was the basis for the founding of this Country, we MUST work together to change how these Board and Commissions Members are chosen. We must demand that Boards and Commission are loyal to the voters rather than the politicians who appoint them. Their appointments must be based on service to the community instead on cronyism.
posted by africanamericancaucusjbb at 8:40 PM
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