Articles by Don Lively

By Don Lively, 11/19/2003 –

Ask 100 people about “smart growth” and likely 99 will look blank or reply, “Sounds great!” — the desired response of proponents of this regional land use control measure. The following comments reflect concerns of smart growth-savvy citizens from both sides of the Bay — and portray implications every Contra Costa County resident should understand about the county-wide project called “Shaping Our Future-Contra Costa County” (SOF-CCC), generically labeled “smart growth.”

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By John Berlau, 8/10/2003 –

After being freed from slavery in the 1860’s, Joe Neal’s great-grandfather bought 75 acres of wooded land and turned it into a fertile farmland that has been managed by Neal’s family for three generations. But, if Sustainable Development/Smart Growth planners get their way, Neal and his neighbors will lose their heritage in the name of "the environment". In this Insight story by John Berlau, you will see how the posterity of slavery has long fought for its freedom and rights, but today are faced with threats to their livelihood and property that that are greater than anything they’ve faced from segregationist politicians.

With the Sierra Club, and its government and non-government organization partners, being referred to as a "chapter of the KKK", Smart Growth may be threatening the rights of these citizens, but could ultimately change the political landscape of South Carolina. Santa Cruz residents will find an uncanny similarity between the Town and Country Plan that is threatening Neal’s property and the Santa Cruz Local Agenda 21 Action Plan that has guided our local planners since 1995.

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