DELAWARE WATCH
Pretty chilling stuff. Delaware's development cartel will be watching this case very closely on a couple of fronts.
First off, if Nichols and his team are successful in squelching community activists' voices, expect other developers to follow their lead.
Also, the proposed plans development plans for La Grange stand as a test case for the true value of county historic overlay and the powers of the Historic Review Board. La Grange is the single largest property to receive overlay protection. If Nichols and his attorneys are able to circumvent the process or strongarm their way through it, expect other developers to do the same.
Why are our elected reps standing idly by while this environmentally / historically /culturally sensative piece of property is about to be turned into a strip mall and housing development? Steve Amick and Vince Lofink, where are you?
Aw heck, now that I know there's such a thing as Friends of Historic Glasgow, I'll have to join. You see, I'm descended from a Hessian officer who settled in PA after the Revolution, and I live just down the road from this site. Wouldn't it be cool if I could trace him to Cooch's Bridge? (family records are a bit sketchy as yet)
Darn it all, now I'm an activist.
G Rex,
if he was there, he ducked!
I failed to notice how Muller used this alert as yet another way to make a dig at John F. of Common Cause for joining the Waste Task Force which excluded Muller. Here;s the dig:
>>The News Journal's Al Mascitti, in a September 19, 2004 column, quoted John Flaherty of Common Cause as saying:
"It may be ticklish in that it causes political repercussions, but I don't think a candidate should be judged by what a spouse does or doesn't do ... It will probably become fodder for [Republican candidate Ernie] Lopez in the campaign, but I think Clark should be judged on his individual merits and not because his spouse is an attorney dealing with land use before the county. As long as there's full and complete disclosure, I don't see a problem. And it's going to be one of the most disclosed issues in the campaign."
yes, Dana, there were plenty of other CC comentary on the subject that Muller could have picked.....
BUT The great news is that G Rex comes from the ENEMY DEFECTOR!!!
Wow, that is so cool. G.
The hessians are said to have been the grunts and are expected to have been the ones who dug the defensive trenches that still exist along the old road that runs through this property.
The plans that have been filed in land use are not dignificantly different from the "sketches" that these people have been flashing around since April of 2005 when they snuck into a meeting (off agenda) of the county Historic Review Board (HRB) and presented it.
So, even after listening to advice from the HRB about these historic elements' preservation, this group refuses to address the need to enhence our cultural heritage. Pam Scott famously declares that she has avoided the areas but she avoids them as one avoids a bad smell. Hold your nose and pretend it doesn't exist!!!!!!
So, we hope that they will at the very least revise the plans to include a respectful enhancement of the treasures on this land and perhaps in conjunction with the county parks, come up with a way to offer these sites to the public through access.
These acres are HITROICALLY ZONED. That gives them a huge buffer against this sort of infringement. Our rights as citizens to protect our cultural resources has been magnified immensely by the additional zoning layer on the county level.
What I do not get is that Nichols purchased this land knowing of the zoning constraint (although not a clearly defined description, the zoning allows for very great deal interjection by the review board to preserve the history) and yet persists in presenting a plan that DENYS and destroys the cultural elements...plus he has a notion that the Christina School district should buy the parcel that the state has said should not be turned into a school since it adversely impacts the Aikens Tavern Historic District. Also that parcel holds a concentration of native indians camps and will be a huge, huge extra expense of archaeological investigation before any develpment would be allowed. They are asking for more money this Feb. Do the district residents want to add millions to their bill for this risky, expensive purchase?
wish I was a better typist or at least EDITED!!
Re Muller's quote from Mascitti's 9-12-04 column: note that Flaherty was commenting on CANDIDATE Clark -- not elected official Clark. Common Cause & SNCC Alliance have filed a formal complaint on 10-11-05 with New Castle County Ethics Commission re Clark's conflict and his voting.
Maryanne,
When will the complaints be acted on? 10-11 was, well, last year.
When will people realize that with Clark the conflicts (as blatant and shameless as they are) are popcorn compared to the direct dial he has into Gordonberry. The guy owes his place in office to them. From the appointment of Joe Reda to the shelling of Bob Hicks, everything this guy comes out with has their fingerprints all over it.
They sacked Penrose Hollins on primary day (thanks fat labor guys)and smeared Ernie Lopez through the penmenship of Ron Williams. Its a damn shame.
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