Low Home Sales, Druids, and Pigs...besides you Tommy.

After a fairly good day at work and a less than spectacular basketball game (my daughter's), I was pleased to come home to the news already being on. Expecting the same political dribble, and Iraq retro speak, I was pleasantly surprised by a news article done on, what else, the housing industry! My favorite subject! It said that the housing market hasn't been this LOW since 1989! What great news! It also said that home builders and...here's my favorite part...DEVELOPERS are "Feeling the pinch of slowed home sales." You see, good things do happen when you don't expect them.
This is great news for Lancaster for many reasons, not the least of which being that slowed building progress constricts the availability of homes for sale allowing foreclosed homes the opportunity to be considered without the possibility of a newer (cheaply built) home lingering as a comparison. It also allows for farms and ranch style homes to maintain value rather than getting lost in a sea of newer larger "minnie mansions." In short, it's great for everyone except the developer scum that litter the countryside. Granted, QUALITY DEVELOPERS aren't worried or even phased by such news. They build a product that takes advantage of a slowed market because the more discerning buyer is less effected by the economic environment that slows home sales in general. Unfortunately for Lancaster, Tommy and friends aren't them.
By the way, how's the pig farm / future archery range coming? I mean, that's about all "The Preserve" will amount to be at this point right? A pig farm with no pigs, or an archery range with no arrows. I recommend turning it into a star gazing site or a circus tent storage facility. You might try a kite flying contest location or a possible Neo-Druidism tree worship compound. Just trying to help, because that's about the only list of people that may be interested in buying the stuff from you...Of course, you ARE going to sell it to someone else to develop(wink, wink), so I'm sure none of this will be needed.

A Man is only as good as his word...and every word these guys say is suspect.

In the grand scheme of things, I'm sure there are more reasons than not to consider the future land use of Lancaster to be positive. In fact, many might believe that the next proposed development at Bear Creek is going to be the saving grace that Lancaster needs to take it to that next level. How long has the city been calling for the proverbial "bar" to be raised? The problem is that the proposed and the implemented always seem to be two different things when you're talking about the owners of that property. Very few can argue the point that Tommy has cultivated a name for himself as a liar and a cheat among all that have dealt with him. Proven by the statements made by one Lancaster resident during the review of The Preserve by city counsel in December. I was woefully silent as a small framed, meek woman approached the podium and proceeded to explain a scenario where Tommy stood in the woman's living room and proclaimed that he had bought property from her neighbor in order to facilitate the purchase of her home! The problem? He hadn't bought the property, and the neighbor had no intention of selling! This and countless other examples reinforce peoples disdain for the man and everything he represents. Don't even get me started on if he follows through with his financial commitments! How many candidates have awaited his financial support, only to find that he was nowhere to be found when it came time for a check to be written? How many promises have been leveled at Lancaster's Educational Foundation, Business Center, and various charities that haven't been kept. In fact, are there any in Lancaster that can honestly say that this guy or his "partners" have followed through with their commitments to the city or the people therein? I think not and why should they? It's not like history has taught us that these are "stand-up guys" that follow through with anything! Take the widely publicized events concerning one of Tommy's most trusted companions. Is it any wonder that the City of Lancaster keeps both hands on their wallets when dealing with this guy? Having sued the City, he promptly comes back and asks for them to approve a development riddled with issues, as demonstrated by several protesting citizens last month. His representatives (shamefully me being one of them) begged for the city to trust that the development would be a good thing for the area, and that the developer would follow through with his commitments. Unfortunately for Lancaster Bluegrove, L.P., their association with Mr. Topletz meant their association with Mr. Topletz's past actions. For example... The Hank Haney Incident. Can anyone doubt that the plan that's presented by these guys, no matter what it is, won't be what it ends up being? I think not!

Calming down...again.

Now that I've had some time to calm down I want to focus on some of the issues that effect the city as a whole rather than just the residential development evils in that town. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't be tickled to see Tommy and Steve struck by a moving train, it just means they're not particularly interesting to me today...yet. On other matters, it seems that the BLOG is spreading like the stomach flu! I got a call this morning from an old High School buddie that happened across it while surfing the web researching...none other than local cities to potentially move to! After 16 years, he's moving his family back to Texas and wanted to choose an area with "good schools, and nice homes."(In that order) After emailing me to ask if it was really me, I had a great laugh at his consideration of Lancaster. Safe to say, he won't be looking into a home there. Not because it's not a great town, but because I informed him that there won't be any trees or character to the area when the local residential boys are done. I emailed him a few pics of various developments and the first response was "where's all of the trees?" I explained that most of the area was plowed under in an effort to maximize the number of lots. Oops...I've done it again. Picking on residential developers again. Well, if the shoe fits...
The simple fact of the matter is that most, if not all of the problems in Lancaster can be traced back to sloppy and irresponsible development. Bad streets? Look at the posting from yesterday. Developers are ruining the streets with oversize trucks and equipment. High Crime? Theft rises almost immediately in areas where new development of "Minne mansions" comes because some of the buyers are under-qualified and used to a living environment conducive to theft. Schools? Don't even get me started...You think Larry would have half the problems that he does if he didn't have his district absolutely overrun with new growth? New growth with little or no notice and even less financial help. Keep in mind that the tax revenues for these new home owners comes, in some cases, nearly a year after their young ones have been enrolled in school! Look at any quality development and you'll see that less is ALWAYS more when it comes to raising value in an area. The key is quality, not quantity and the guys that are determined to build the next big thing simply don't care. Think they do? Check and see if the next proposal in South Lancaster doesn't have the same styling cues and general feel of your other communities. 5 acre lots and larger homes? Never, the powers that be are WAY too greedy to try that, besides they couldn't find a builder willing to take that on if they tried. Nationals aren't interested and the custom boys can't afford it. Even if they could they wouldn't choose an area with...no lake, no private golf course, no existing market or grocery option, nothing. The people and builders that are interested in the area are those that want a quiet living away from the very things that attract development. My advise to the owners of the ol' Preserve, are to fence it off and mine for limestone. I hear it's pretty plentiful down there... There's money in them ther hills!

Insensitivity, Poor Development, or just plain old Racism...

There are many reasons I pose that question. Most of the reasons are rooted in a sort of watery uneasiness that always followed me while dealing with my past associates. Maybe they weren't racist, but they certainly had sensitivity issues related to their dealings with the Black community in Lancaster. Let's begin with their attempt to buy land as cheap as possible in the southern sector for the sole purpose of emptying South Dallas into a cookie cutter nightmare of box style homes. Of course, not being builders, who could hold them responsible for the homes that were to be built? You see, that's what their goal was. To build a product that would attract the Blacks from South Dallas to a new upstart city with new homes. Easy financing, small lots, and big floor plans were they key. Throw in a few basketball courts (because we all love basketball) and you're done! Notice there aren't any tennis courts, or pools in these communities. Only basketball and hard coated metal play sets. No landscaping or ponds, just basketball and dry retention areas. They came in as a friend to the city promising quality and a better tomorrow and look at what you got instead. Large...Huge...Monstrous communities with no parks? $200,000 homes all in a neighborhood with no amenities? How about the new Boardwalk community that waits for its park and school. Neither of which will be seen in our lifetime!Promises...lies...disappointments...betrayal...That's what they will do. Come in as a friends, then shit all over you and f&ck your pet hamster, Jake! Well maybe not shit all over you, THAT'S a little far fetched.
Anyway, I once heard one make the comment that if we built a fountain in the proposed shopping center related to a development in southern Lancaster, "they" would only mess it up and it would become headache. My question then was...who exactly is "they", but in truth, I already knew. As all of "us" know when White guys says "they" in a conversation with other White guys. You see, I learned who "they" were when I was the only Black student in a private Catholic elementary school. Black people are who "they" are, to be precise. Now, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he meant "they" as in the many people that currently live in South Lancaster. Maybe he meant the munchkins in The Wizard of Oz or maybe he meant European tour bus drivers. I think not though, since the demographic that the project was designed to appeal to was...African American aka Black people.
Just goes to show how messed up this world is. You probably have more racists working to build your next community than working to keep you out of it!

The "How To" guide to killing a development...again...!

Shhhh, can you hear that? It's the sound of The Preserve crawling out of the trash and dusting itself off for another go. The city should have known it couldn't get rid of Tommy and Steve that easily. I can almost guarantee that you folks down south will see this plan again. Sure it'll be dolled up and probably wearing a dress but it'll be the same old pig it was when first introduced. A minny-mansion nightmare with a side of Old Folks homes and apartments. Can you believe it? The powers that be killed this vampire but they didn't drive a stake through the heart, just the arm. In order to kill it, and I mean kill it dead, you're going to have to come together one more time. Only this time, out of pure boredom and a little spite, I'll help. here's a few pointers for the next round. Start now and save yourself work later...

• Let's start with blocking any attempt to rezone. The way to do this is to make your planning commissioners aware that although a plat must be approved if it meets the basic requirements as set forth by your city's unified development code, the zoning is another matter completely at the discretion of the zoning board. A discretion that should be encouraged to deny.
  
• Second let's look for the cheerleaders and make sure they are cheering the right team. Joe Johnson for instance. Don't be mad at Joe for his support of The Preserve the last time around. He really does have a hard time bringing CEO's and Presidents to Lancaster to live. After all, they like to live in big houses and shop at grocery stores. That's allot to overcome when you're the Chamber President! He really never saw the underbelly of the project and was only privy to what we allowed him to see. (Glossy stuff always looks nice) I really feel that if he had heard what I had heard and seen what I had seen he would have been lined up along with the rest of you.
• Make sure, double sure, triple sure that your city manager knows what these guys are going to do. Not the plan that they present, but the history of what they've done in the past. Find any project that has turned out consistent with what they said it would be and I'll give you a shiny new silver dollar! None of their projects meet the expectations of the buyers or the city including the ones that they're currently involved with. Need proof? Ask anyone that lives in Boardwalk where their park is!
• Finally, gather all of the LAND OWNERS that immediately surround the project (within 200 feet) and have them sign a request for a super majority vote. You should be able to get the petition from the city secretary. Have at least 20% of those land owners sign it and force the super majority vote ( meaning all but one must vote FOR the project for it to pass.

PS. You might encourage the counsel to vote it down with prejudice this time, that'll kill it for at least 12 months as submitted.

So you say you want better streets?

Well, here's an idea. Ask for them. The streets in Lancaster are fantastic for off-road vehicles and dirt bikes, but if you drive a normally suspended car or truck you'll get beat to death between Dallas Ave. and Houston School Rd. on Pleasant Run! That being said, how does a city with so many other priorities improve their streets quickly and without additional taxes? Well...since you asked. You ask your local counsel representative to help raise a little thing called impact fees. These are fees attached to the local development of both residential and commercial projects. The fee helps to repair damage done by heavy equipment and cement trucks to city streets and I've gotta tell you, it's currently way too low. Drive through any local city, Desoto, Duncanville, Dallas even and you'll find that the streets are vastly better maintained. It's not a matter of city officials not wanting improvement, it's a matter of the money not being there for much more than a patch job. The solution is simple. Let those most responsible for the damage help replace the damaged roads. Replace, not repair because they were fine before the development came. After all, projects like the huge residential developments that have come to the area can surely afford another $300-$400 per lot. A nominal increase that could mean a huge improvement in the infrastructure improvement of the city overall. It's time for Lancaster to see benefit from such aggressive development. For more information or to support increased impact fees reach your local counsel representative at...

City of Lancaster

I gotta admit...

Got a call from... well we'll just call him Humpty Dumpty. After forcing myself to endure his voice, I have to admit he had some fairly good points. His call was, as I gathered, an appeal to leave him and his property out of this blog. Presumably because so many of you are looking at it, and determining the same thing that I have...these guys are money grubbing, land pimps. Anyway, during the conversation I had to concede 1 or 2 things as being true and in need of attention. First, the fact that I was thrown into business with...Humpty, was not at all his fault, but the fault of that fat scumbag Tommy. Second, he didn't deserve to be addressed in such a negative light because, after all, he was hurt too by the zoning denial last month. Oops... did I give it away? I meant the situation last month.So after a brief exchange, I admit that maybe I've been a little hard on Humpty, and apologize for that in front of all of God's green earth.
Now...had it been left at that, I'd be done with this post. Yet, I still write? I still write because it wasn't done at that. After all of that, this jackass has the unmitigated nerve to throw out a vague threat of "suing me", proceeds to tell me how much money HE lost, then tries to brow beat me into stating that I won't put him in my future blogs! As if that wasn't enough, he then attempts the stupidest thing that I have ever heard of anyone doing (short of eating their own feces). He then...(sorry I need a minute because I still can't believe it)... he then tries to convince me that Tommy isn't even in town! Just up and walked away huh? F*ck you for even trying that nonsense on me! Have you forgotten, I helped to come up with that lie when we tried it on Lancaster last year? I damn near invented the theory of 'Tommy disappearing' to those that hate his ass! Now you try to push that off on me like I'm some dumb shit-heal? You have to be dumb as a stump to even attempt that sh&t.
By the way, you ARE fat, don't want to be called fat? Lose weight!
There...all done. And I didn't even use your name. Aren't you proud of me Steve?