I thought it was sad that the letter makes reference to the First Christian Church and a plea to call the minister. I thought that was a cheap shot. Furthermore, the letter says that the apparently sinister planning for Life Messages was done "behind closed doors." Where in the world did they think planning would take place? In the middle of Main Street? Of course, the letter is filled with cheap shots at other developments, including Bayside and Interstate 30. The crowning war whop was, "WE MUST MAKE NOISE."
All of this is an attempt to spread fear and intimidation. It is an organized group. They are going door to door and spreading untruths, as above, and encouraging mob rule.
I would like to show you an email I received thru this blog. I have blocked out the author's name, but its the same above letter.
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NameEmail
Comment
Ron I took down my posting from next door because I could not verify some of the statements made in it and that was my mistake and I apoligse. It was sent to me and I took it as fact but I never posted it on Facebook that I am aware of . My intention was to get people to come to the zoning meeting . I'm glade that God has appointed you to hand out the penalties and provided you with all the real facts . I'm just a homeowner and care about Rowlett. I am still aginist this project because of the road condition and I don't believe it will help seniors or young professionals. It also bothers me that the people that seem to be pushing this all seem to be in real estate or are developers . Please correct me if I am wrong And I'm sure you will .
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If you read the Facebook string, you should have learned something. I started out trying to give the facts. All that invited was name calling. So, I offered bait. It was taken. It revealed the poison and rancor that prevails in this movement
If you read this blog, you should have all the facts, with maybe a minor mistake or two. Be assured it was unintended. I'm not the developer and I don't know all the minute details. However, overwhelmingly for the most part, all I have written are the true facts.
As I said above, this is an organized effort. They have people to knock on doors and hand out brochures. The developer isn't. He's busy trying to design a good product. So, that leaves me and a computer.
The organization will make enough of a fuss and a lot of noise at P&Z and at City Council. They will be storming the Bastille. The Barbarians are at the gate. They will be in full intimidation mode. They will try to get P&Z to go against the Staff recommendation. They will try to scare all the politicians running for office that they are in dire circumstances if they do not deny the zoning request. There might be 100 people shouting, being disruptive, and generally being rude. That's the American way, right? Well, kinda. It's legal to assemble in the USA.
But, you need to think about something. This relatively small noisy crowd might get their way. They might get it from noise, misinformation, and intimidation. Is that what you want? What about the hundreds of seniors and workforce people that need this project? What about the tenants that, since there are no apartments allowed, where can they look to for assistance? What about apartments in Bayside? Are they done? What about the new Housing Financing Corporation? Are they done? This project is not big enough to handle all the need. I don't see much, if any, support for these groups from the protesters. I know some of this descent is being caused by an ex-P&Z member who was a paid consultant for a developer that just had their project denied by City Council. Think there's some sour grapes here? The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs does not cotton to such behavior.
So, here we are. The seniors and workforce people of Rowlett need your help, as well as other needs. There is plenty of information in this blog to give you the facts. You just need to read a little, starting about a week ago. I am not going to ask you to go down to P&Z meetings or City Council meetings to try to shout down the naysayers. However, I'm going to ask you to let your thoughts be known. The naysayers have filled City Hall with protest forms. While you are sitting here reading this blog, the key email addresses are below. They are "live." You can email straight from here. You need to tell "officialdom" what you think.
Tony Felts, Director of Planning
tfelts@rowlett.com
City Council
citycouncil@rowlett.com
There are hundreds of citizens needing your help.
Don't let mob rule design Rowlett's future.
.