05/29/03 Gripe against Maxine Thornton-Reese

We've got to do something about Maxine T-Reese.  

For several months, Linda Pelon and I have been fighting with this developer on Forney Rd. at Jim Miller over Oak Creek (half of the property sits in District 7).  

We got a group of environmentalists (eek! crazy tree huggers), some League of Women Voters reps, some economic development proponents, and a whole bunch of neighborhood representatives to go to City Hall and speak to the Planning Commission against staff's recommendation to approve the platting plans.  This was several months ago.  

This property is on a heavily wooded area with a creek going through it.  Over a year ago, Linda and I noticed big earth moving machines, illegally mowing down some old oak trees.  So, this platting plan was a disaster.  Maxine T-Reese hated our opposition from the get go, she wanted us to just stay away and shut up. 

We were in a meeting one day with another developer and T-Reese told me two really bizzarro things: 

1) "old people don't want to live in condos" when we suggested to the developer that he may want to develop condos in the forested areas, specifically for retirees and empty nesters; 

2) "nobody wants to open their front door and stare at a bunch of trees" when we suggested to the developer that he might consider turning the houses around to face the front doors at the trees, instead of at the street.

Flash forward again, we go to the Plan Commission and they say that we can't really do anything about a platting case, but then one of the commissioners noticed some of the lots were too big for R75 zoning.  They denied it on a technicality, and we went back and got the opportunity to meet with the developer several times and got a bunch of stuff changed.  Good stuff.  

Conservation easement here, moving houses around to not mow over the big old protected trees, etc.  Happy developers, happy tree huggers.  What a world!  

We can all get along.  

Here the tree huggers go tromping off the City Hall last week to speak in favor of this particular development, this development that Maxine T-Reese has been trying to cram down our throats for at least a year, over the community's objections.  And she made a motion to keep the public hearing open until after the council reconvenes from summer break.  

The developer is furious.   The neighborhood associations are mad because this is going to be some really nice, unique, upscale housing for our area.  We're all just stunned that she would do that  --- just because she wants to be an obstructionist.  Her only reason for the delay  -- she didn't get a chance to meet privately with the developer before this went to council for approval.  

T-Reese rules District 4 as if it is her own little personal kingdom, and anyone else from any other district be damned!  She's lucky she lives in District 4, because her neighborhood should be in District 7!  From my house in District 7, I can throw a rock and hit her backyard in District 4! 

It's not like we're not part of the community.  It's not like we won't suffer and/or benefit from decisions that she makes about her district.  Now, she single-handedly holds up a major developer from doing major work in a part of town that is struggling for economic development.  

The developer is losing money every day his property sits and collects illegal dumping.  

This is probably the stupidest and most damaging thing T-Reese has done, and she just gets away with it with no accountability.  No answers.  Just because District 7 people have opinions about what happens in District 4.

What can we do to get her out of here?  Can we file a grievance of some sort?  There has to be something we can do, but I'm just not sure what that might be.