Conservative zealots sabotage Greenville Co. planning efforts

[pompusmaximus]

So Greenville County Council stripped an appendix in the County comp plan of anything meaningful to appease an angry mob of ultra-right wing protesters. These included non-binding measures formulated in partnership with area residents. Some of the elements that were stripped were some smart growth and sustainability measures. I wasn’t there but was wondering if any of you were. Did any of you witness these people? I am just ashamed that Council will allow themselves to be addressed in this manner and that they ultimately tried to appease these morons as well has developer interest.

Full Story:

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20091202/NEWS/912020336/Activists-protest-Greenville-County-growth-plan?GID=khomfEB0zbwdWunOCVuJdgZa9OlFBTuRsqg7eb0/RhE%3D

[pompusmaximus]

as well has developer interest.

[mallguy]

And your party affiliation is?

[Greenville]

And your party affiliation is?

[pompusmaximus]

Ha, conservative zealot was the nicest thing I could come up with at the time.

[Birdbrain]

Ha, conservative zealot was the nicest thing I could come up with at the time.

[gs3]

All I could garner from the article was that the plan "suggested" and "could" and "may eventually" blah, blah, blah. A whole lot of ambiguity.

[pompusmaximus]

Well it's hard not to mention party lines in this story because the protest group consisted completely of Confederate flag waving, right winged, property rights advocates. Sorry but a spade is a spade.

Anyway a conservative radio talk show host (sorry but he is in fact conservative) told his listeners to attend the meeting and object to the County's non-binding appendix. This appendix was created through a partnership of citizens and county planners over 2 years. They offered strategies for implementing smart growth and environmental sustainability.

The protesters claimed the County was following UN 21 which is a sustainability program run by the United Nations. They also objected to developer impact fees and smart growth strategies claiming that they infringed on property rights. Council decided to strip the appendix of everything but the most basic goals. They should be up on the County website by now.

I probably could of toned my post down but the fact remains that these people were disruptive, uninformed and just plain rude. If you still think I'm being unfairly biased, review the pictures associated with the rally. http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BS&Dato=20091201&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=312010013&Ref=PH . Oh and don't forget to read the comments posted after the article.

These people always try to bring in issues that have no relation to the topic at hand. I am sick of it. What is real sad is that these people had every opportunity to attend the comp plan meetings over the last 2 years and they didn't. All the work done through citizen participation was destroyed because a group showed up at the last minute and yelled a lot. This is why almost nothing gets done in this state (outside of Greenville or Charleston).

[Easley_Truckasaurus]

Hey, I just signed up and this is my first post! Hello everyone!

I read about this meeting and spoke to a couple of people who were there. They had the feeling that the protesters were told a bunch of misinformation (Maybe from this talk show host guy?) A lot of them were screaming about infringement of property rights and some UN mandate, according to the people I spoke with. Almost sounded like one of those tea parties or at least a Sarah Palin book signing . Anyway, I had trouble grabbing a copy of the specific items that were removed, does anybody have a list or something?

Pompous: Even though I completely agree with what you just said, in the future it may be better to start off a little less partisan so that more people will take the time to read your point. Ha I almost get the sense you were involved with the process so I understand your frustration. Just have a beer and relax. There will be another opportunity, I promise.

[Greenville]

I just looked at the link to the pictures on Greenville Online. Lottie Gibson...dang. That is all.

[breed]

I was not there, but having been to a number of meetings where the same contingent of folks were making the UN argument, I'll add some comments.

At the meetings I have been to, those who have made the UN conspiracy claims have been largely marginalized and ignored. As they should be. Unfortunately, what they lack in rationality, the make up for in volume and vitriol. And now they are getting coverage in the news. There is a lot of anger out there.

I'm not sure what has changed. Perhaps the politics of the moment have made strange bedfellows of the UN-conspiracy folks and developers, but the two are not on the same page... not in any way. Perhaps the Greenville News is trying to play the controversy angle a little more amid more challenging economic times for newspapers. Perhaps a little of both.

In general, developers are not afraid of restrictions, they just want them to be clear. The UN crowd is operating on a completely different playing field. They are similar in vein to your crazy uncle. The one who can turn any simple conversation into a heated argument about (insert issue of the day here.)

*******

What was being reviewed was the work that will lay the groundwork for planning for the next ten years. It is unfortunate that efforts to promote better planning may be derailed by those who actually do believe that planning is an attempt to dissolve the United States. While the idea is laughable, the people who actually believe it and show up for these meetings are not.

[Spartan]

There's a lot of... lets call it 'biased' opinions/name calling being thrown around here.

What, specifically, was removed from the comp plan that's causing this outrage?