At the planning meeting, one commissioner had the audacity to say, “It is too late for an area plan, we can’t hold up the developer that long.” This is the planning commission  what else are they supposed to do? Apparently, they believe that they are in the business of insuring the profitability of a speculating developer!

The chairman of the planning commission asked, “What did we (those in the neighborhood stupid enough to purchase houses with undeveloped land behind our homes) expect?” Fortunately, Commissioner Burress responded that we as citizens had every right to expect the city follow its master plan (Horizon 2020) for that area  which calls for SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING on the very piece of land at issue.

This really is a no-brainer. We are reasonable people; it is reasonable to expect the city to follow Kansas law and its own master plan. But to invade on three established single-family neighborhoods is simply not reasonable.

If you don’t live in the area why should you care? If it can happen in our neighborhood, it can also happen in yours!

Dan Pennington,

Lawrence