Rabbits and Hats

Why, you might wonder, do we have a group called Friends of Stafford.

It's simple: the Hamlet as an entity of the County can't protest what the County does in any legal way.

By the time the Hamlet figured out what it meant to us for S&H to do surface mining and expanded composting here, the approvals were granted by the County. Any opposition had to be taken up by a different group.

S&H has a long history of violations of the terms of their current conditional use permit. The hearings officer even said he didn't think they could abide by the conditions of the permit as he gave it to them. How could the County Commissioners then approve the permit knowing people live out here?

There are 3 schools full of healthy young children adjacent to the planned facility. The smells and dust created will negatively affect their playgrounds. It is not a good mix. 

Friends of Stafford formed as a voice of protest against this poor planning decision.

They've worked hard getting the word out and build a coalition of opposition. They've found areas of Real Concern too for the impact of this on our aquifer - concerns that can't be raised now due to procedure rules because they didn't come up in the first hearings. They're raising funds to pay lawyers. They're speaking with S&H to try to find compromise solutions and so at this time their voice is the only hope, aside from a change of heart by S&H, for keeping the area free of the dust and stink of a compost facility. And if you think it won't stink, let them be the first to say 'I told you so' when it does.

Cautionary message?

Right now those who control 'the message' are saying Stafford is THE PLACE to develop. Even though nearly 80% of the lands brought into the UGB in the past 20 years have not been utilized the people here who want to develop their land are pushing the message that we need to be plowed under and built up.

It's hard to affect County decisions. It takes work and showing up and speaking up. Like Redlands did when S&H tried to move the stink into their neighborhood. (Visit this site to what they did.)

But it's  really really really hard to reverse something that's happened.

We need to remind our Hamlet leaders, the cities around us, the County and Metro LOUDLY and FREQUENTLY that we don't want to be brought inside the UGB before it happens.

The message isn't 'how' we want to be developed. It's that we don't.

Keep that rabbit in the hat.