Fratty Fraterson
I've been giving Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Tom Chasteen a good bit of grief in recent weeks, and I still stand behind much of my criticism. But, I do also recognize giving credit where credit is due, and the good commissioner played it right with regard to the moratorium against fraternities.
My friends at Athens Politics disagree with me on this, but a little healthy disagreement is good now and then I say.
My biggest problem is that, again, it seems the Athens-Clarke County Commission is taking action where no action is really needed. Passing a moratorium is fine and dandy one could argue - it just gives us time to sort through all of the viewpoints and make an educated decision, right?
So, how'd that moratorium on apartment developments go back in 2003? We see any low-income housing crop out of that, as was intended? How about the moratorium on downtown development so we can designate it as a 'historic area?' Looks like a couple of high-rise hotels are still popping up.
The problem with this community and moratoriums is they merely delay the inevitable. It gives people of all political persuasions and viewpoints the necessary cover to say 'we're working on it' when, in fact, not much seems to come out of it. And each time, we hear someone say 'seriously, this time we're going to only do it for a few months and get a real plan,' and each time the moratorium tends to drag on a bit longer and no comprehensive plan to fix whatever the problem was ever emerges.
Maybe I'm wrong in this case. I hope I am.
What I don't think I'm wrong about was that plenty of rules necessary to address fraternities and sororites moving into neighborhoods already existed, and I applaud Chasteen for pointing that out. This is very important, so pay attention kids - if a fraternity or sorority wished to move into, say Green Acres, they'd have to go in front of the Athens-Clarke County Commission and make a formal request ... and I feel very confident in saying there is one commissioner currently in office who is prepared to say 'that's a good idea.'
What's even worse is the incredible lack of class Commissioner David Lynn showed in making one of the poorest emotional arguments in the history of the world. Now, I'm typically a fan of Lynn, but when your argument is pretty much 'kids routinely die at fraternities and they bring death and destruction with them' then your argument is pretty weak, as well as patently false.
Stealing a singular headline from the media - one, which it should be noted, has only loose ties with a fraternity - does nothing but unnecessarily tug on the heartstrings of those involved in the debate.
Furthermore, I shake my angry fist at Lynn for showing, quite frankly, incredibly poor manners. He interrupted Chasteen frequently, spoke down to him several times and called him 'Tom' on one occasion (using first names is a no-no behind the rail). If you wish to make a compelling argument for your position, don't act like a spoiled brat. You admitted you violated protocal by inserting this onto the agenda so late (drawing a rebuke from Commissioner Kathy Hoard), yet have the nerve to be defensive when people ask questions about your proposal?
Hoard, actually, was perhaps the most agitated. As she noted, she actually is the commissioner for a district which is heavily populated by fraternities and sororities, and she lives right next to a sorority house as well. She said her district has never had any problems with those organizations that haven't been resolved in a civil manner and done through the appropriate channels and procedures. In fact, she called them good and gracious neighbors and didn't see what all the fuss was about.
I agree. Listen, it's not like I'm a defender of all things Greek. Ask anyone, I've made more than my share of jokes about fraternities and sororities. But to think your neighborhood is going to crumble because this organization went through a perfectly legal process to purchase land which is located near a neighborhood is a bit bizzarre to me.
If folks are really concerned about Greek organizations moving too close to a neighborhood, then simply change some of the zonings located in these questionable areas. That, one figures, could be done more quickly and in a way which protects the existing land use and prevents it from being used by a fraternity or sorority. I suspect that is what Lynn is ultimately after, but to make a crude argument which implies Greek organizations are harbringers of doom and death is absurd.
My friends at Athens Politics disagree with me on this, but a little healthy disagreement is good now and then I say.
My biggest problem is that, again, it seems the Athens-Clarke County Commission is taking action where no action is really needed. Passing a moratorium is fine and dandy one could argue - it just gives us time to sort through all of the viewpoints and make an educated decision, right?
So, how'd that moratorium on apartment developments go back in 2003? We see any low-income housing crop out of that, as was intended? How about the moratorium on downtown development so we can designate it as a 'historic area?' Looks like a couple of high-rise hotels are still popping up.
The problem with this community and moratoriums is they merely delay the inevitable. It gives people of all political persuasions and viewpoints the necessary cover to say 'we're working on it' when, in fact, not much seems to come out of it. And each time, we hear someone say 'seriously, this time we're going to only do it for a few months and get a real plan,' and each time the moratorium tends to drag on a bit longer and no comprehensive plan to fix whatever the problem was ever emerges.
Maybe I'm wrong in this case. I hope I am.
What I don't think I'm wrong about was that plenty of rules necessary to address fraternities and sororites moving into neighborhoods already existed, and I applaud Chasteen for pointing that out. This is very important, so pay attention kids - if a fraternity or sorority wished to move into, say Green Acres, they'd have to go in front of the Athens-Clarke County Commission and make a formal request ... and I feel very confident in saying there is one commissioner currently in office who is prepared to say 'that's a good idea.'
What's even worse is the incredible lack of class Commissioner David Lynn showed in making one of the poorest emotional arguments in the history of the world. Now, I'm typically a fan of Lynn, but when your argument is pretty much 'kids routinely die at fraternities and they bring death and destruction with them' then your argument is pretty weak, as well as patently false.
Stealing a singular headline from the media - one, which it should be noted, has only loose ties with a fraternity - does nothing but unnecessarily tug on the heartstrings of those involved in the debate.
Furthermore, I shake my angry fist at Lynn for showing, quite frankly, incredibly poor manners. He interrupted Chasteen frequently, spoke down to him several times and called him 'Tom' on one occasion (using first names is a no-no behind the rail). If you wish to make a compelling argument for your position, don't act like a spoiled brat. You admitted you violated protocal by inserting this onto the agenda so late (drawing a rebuke from Commissioner Kathy Hoard), yet have the nerve to be defensive when people ask questions about your proposal?
Hoard, actually, was perhaps the most agitated. As she noted, she actually is the commissioner for a district which is heavily populated by fraternities and sororities, and she lives right next to a sorority house as well. She said her district has never had any problems with those organizations that haven't been resolved in a civil manner and done through the appropriate channels and procedures. In fact, she called them good and gracious neighbors and didn't see what all the fuss was about.
I agree. Listen, it's not like I'm a defender of all things Greek. Ask anyone, I've made more than my share of jokes about fraternities and sororities. But to think your neighborhood is going to crumble because this organization went through a perfectly legal process to purchase land which is located near a neighborhood is a bit bizzarre to me.
If folks are really concerned about Greek organizations moving too close to a neighborhood, then simply change some of the zonings located in these questionable areas. That, one figures, could be done more quickly and in a way which protects the existing land use and prevents it from being used by a fraternity or sorority. I suspect that is what Lynn is ultimately after, but to make a crude argument which implies Greek organizations are harbringers of doom and death is absurd.
posted by Jmac at 5:25 PM
5 Comments:
"If folks are really concerned about Greek organizations moving too close to a neighborhood, then simply change some of the zonings located in these questionable areas."
No offense intended, my friend, but the last thing we need in ACC is another zoning war - which I'm afraid this would be. Changing the zoning would be pretty tough, I think, and for good reason. As Monticello Pres and legions of others pointed out with respect to another all-out zoning war, you can't change the zoning every time someone has a new idea.
I supported a zoning change for LPDS, though. So feel free to fire away on my hypocrisy, such as it is.
As far as Lynn goes, would you have him completely ignore the concerns of Cobbham and Boulevard? He did his job as an elected official.
My talking point on this is unchanged. It's a big deal in the neighborhoods, it's a big enough deal to at least 6 commissioners that they voted for a moratorium. It's a big deal, so what's the problem with waiting a few months to give all the stakeholders a chance to talk things over?
FWIW, I think 6 months is a little long too, though. 90 days, max, would have been my preferred option.
As far as Lynn goes, would you have him completely ignore the concerns of Cobbham and Boulevard? He did his job as an elected official.
Pish. If his constituents wanted him to jump off a bridge...
This is all weirdly uncharacteristic for Mr. Lynn. Maybe some frat boys stomped on his bowtie once upon a time?
Maybe a more apt comparison would be if his constituents wanted him to introduce an ordinance requiring the entire Commission to jump off a bridge... (Wouldn't be a half bad idea)
Cobbham and Boulevard represent a substantial chunk of the voting strength in D5. And they take their neighborhoods verrrrry seriously.
So what would you have Lynn do?
To me, it's cut and dried. A decent number of Lynn's constituents wanted him to do it, so he did it. Isn't that what elected representatives are supposed to do?
I'm not advocating a zoning war by any means. As I explained to Hillary, I was taking Lynn's point of view when I alluded to that.
My take is that if the zoning permits multi-family use, then we really don't have much to complain about.
And I think there's a difference in adhering to the wishes of your constituents by articulating a clear argument in their defense and making baseless accusations which are borderline slanderous.
As an elected representative, you also have to adhere to the laws in place regarding zoning. If his constituents didn't like black people living in their neighborhood, is it his reponsibility to present that view before the commission?
Basically, I think he's allowed to raise the issue and say his peeps are unhappy, but not to push through a moratorium.
And to think, he's the commish I used to have a nerd crush on...
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