A Petition Against Paving

Below is the text of a petition delivered to City Hall recently. Residents who live adjacent to the park were asked to sign, the theory being that their quality of life and property values would be most severely affected by development of the park. They believe that their concerns should be accorded more weight on this issue than others who would not suffer the same impact.

MPCA President Glenn Cartledge received a copy of the text, with a note that more than 70 individuals had signed at that point. He reported to David Quillian, Chairman of the Trail Study Committee. If you are a member of the MPCA, you will be receiving spin-control prior to the October 14 neighborhood meeting.

There have been complaints of subterfuge from a few members of the Study Committee. There is even a tinge of moral outrage. Correct protocol was ignored, i.e., the civic association must be the conduit for expression of opinions as well as the final arbiter. Similarly, this site was excoriated by Mr. Quillian earlier this year for publishing about the neighborhood without prior board approval. There was the vacuous "Note from the Board" in the April 2008 newsletter, urging that dissent be taken only to the MPCA Board. Unlike other civic association boards, the MPCA's does not announce its meetings, nor does it publish minutes.

Secrecy: As I understand it, the petition was widely distributed as an email attachment during the process of signature-gathering. Several residents found the form left at their homes with an explanatory note. I believe some were faxed.

Most email programs have an easy-to-use forwarding feature. This petition and any emails discussing it likely made their way to many desktops, including those of the Study Committee and the board.

Benjamin Franklin observed, "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead." I am curious about the amazing method that must have been used to compel silence among dozens of people, some of whom declined to sign because they were in favor of the paving.

Fact: Mr. Quillian, Mr. Cartledge and Ms. Margaret Warren (also of the Trail Study Committee) were each overheard months ago scoffing at talk of a petition. Now they are "shocked! shocked!" to learn it was going on right under their noses.

Clearly they are not so much surprised by the existence of the petition as they are stung by its success. They have been belittling the extent of opposition to this project, despite plenty of negative feedback, including on this blog -- which does have a readership. In fact, the above cited "Note From the Board" may have been a subtly-worded request to abandon the petition.

Another fact: At least 8 (and probably more) former and current members of the Trail Study Committee knew all about the petition. Some were involved in promoting it. Some expressed support; others did not.

Perhaps those committee members saw this petition as a rather ordinary communication between taxpayers and an elected official. Maybe they did not know that they were supposed to take umbrage. The Trail Study Committee purportedly exists only for the purpose of fact-finding and research. It is not an advocacy group.

This is what the petition says:

"We, whose homes border directly on Atlanta Memorial Park, a natural forest in the midst of the city, are concerned for its preservation. Any paved path around or through Atlanta Memorial Park would be detrimental to the park. Construction of a path or sidewalk of any material would require removal of some trees, and cause the deaths of others whose roots would be damaged by paving. Many trees were growing here before the creation of the park in the 1930’s, and many, including rare species, planted in the ensuing decades are endangered by drought, erosion and lack of care. Loss of trees combined with paving in the floodplain will increase the effects of future flooding of Peachtree Creek. A paved path will attract a large increase in park usage that this small park cannot withstand. A large increase in visitors will negatively impact the quality of life and the value of the property of those who live adjacent to the park.

We ask the City of Atlanta to deny approval of any manmade surface around or through Atlanta Memorial Park."

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Fall MPCA Neighborhood Meeting
Tuesday, October 14, 7:00 p.m. Northside United Methodist Church
2799 Northside Drive

This Opposition Must be Shut Down Immediately!