As hard as the writers at the Scottsdale Republic try, the editors seem to get dumber at the same rate.
In today’s editorial about the choices available to voters for Scottsdale City Council on November 6th, the unnamed editor penned these juxtaposed gems:
On one side, three candidates who are pro business, pro development and pro progress. On the other side, three candidates opposed to anything they see changing the character of Scottsdale.
Korte, Klapp, Luoma: “Development is good, as long as it maintains Scottsdale’s high design standards.”
Phillips, Schaffner, Phillips: ” They prefer a council that tightly controls growth, granting few zoning variances. Anything new or different should be subjected to close scrutiny.
This is a falsehood reinforced with a falsehood, wrapped up in a package of illogical nonsense.
- Wanting to retain Scottsdale’s unique character is in no way anti-business, anti-development, or anti-progress.
- Zoning “variances” (the term actually has a different meaning than this less-than-informed editor intends) are by definition DEPARTURES from “Scottsdale’s high design standards.”
- None of the non-Chamber candidates has EVER opposed a development that MEETS “Scottsdale’s high design standards.”
This is a repackaged version of the tired old “grow or die” argument that has been used for a decade to dumb down Scottsdale’s high development standards.
The editor who wrote this needs to read Scottsdale’s citizen-driven, citizen-ratified General Plan which expresses the philosophy of Scottsdale’s standards. If we follow this guidance the way it was intended rather than the way the zoning attorneys interpret it, we’ll have solid, sustainable development for the next quarter CENTURY rather than just the next quarter.
They generally want Scottsdale to remain as it used to be, a low-slung, rural-suburban community.
That’s what the CITIZENS want, as expressed in the General Plan. It says it EXPLICITLY. That’s what makes Scottsdale different from our neighbors.
If you want to be able to recognize Scottsdale from Phoenix or Tempe five years from now, you need to ignore this illogical argument. As Chris Schaffner is fond of saying,
No one ever succeeded by lowering their standards.
And,
You only get to ruin a city once.
Tell the Chamber candidates to move to Phoenix or Tempe if they want urban living. Vote Phillips, Schaffner, and Phillips.