George Tremblay: What did the CDTC offer as an alternative? NOTHING
1. Following the moratorium placed on industrial-sized wind turbines by the current Town Council, the CCA-led Planning Commission produced an ordinance to allow installation of residential wind turbines while also protecting the safety and welfare of the applicant and neighbors.
Candidate Ferrio’s blog and his Democrat colleagues found much to fault with the ordinance. What did they offer as an alternative? NOTHING.
2. The CCA-led Planning Commission successfully transferred elements of zoning ordinance 218 into subdivision regulations to reduce the cost and ease the process of approval of alternative options and novel proposals for commercial construction.
Candidate Ferrio’s blog and his Democrat colleagues accused the Planning Commission of attempting to expand its hold on town government. What did they offer as an alternative to relieve time and expense for business owners seeking approval of commercial construction? NOTHING.
3. The CCA-led Planning Commission wrote and Town Council passed an ordinance designed to minimize light pollution of Charlestown’s treasured “Dark Sky”.
Candidate Ferrio’s blog and his Democrat colleagues criticized Planning Commission and Town Council for imposing an economic burden on businesses, and setting pole heights without a scientific basis for its recommendations.
What scientific basis did candidate Ferrio’s blog and his Democrat colleagues bring to the table? NONE. And what did they offer as an alternative for the protection of Charlestown’s “Dark Sky”? NOTHING.
4. The CCA-led Planning Commission authorized the first study of the performance of the Affordable Housing Law. Town Council accepted the fact-based report for forwarding to the Governor and state and municipal bodies, with a resolution for a moratorium until a similar state-wide analysis can be conducted.
Candidate Ferrio’s blog refers to this report as “bogus”. What is the scientific basis for this inflammatory dismissal? There is NONE. What have they suggested as an alternative for investigating the merits of the affordable housing law? NOTHING.
5. Although Charlestown voters approved a $1,000,000 dollar bond for affordable housing in 2006, the current Town Council is the first to use the bond to fund affordable housing projects. A total of $950,000 has been committed to three projects, destined for the villages of Carolina, Shannock, and the Charlestown Village District, for 42 affordable housing units targeted for households earning 80% or less of median income.
Despite this significant achievement in bringing appropriate developers and opportunities together, candidate Ferrio’s blog and his Democrat colleagues accuse CCA candidates of being against affordable housing.
What have they done to promote the availability of affordable housing? NOTHING.
Candidate Ferrio’s blog and his Democrat colleagues are long on words, and short on ideas. If you want more than that for your town government, vote CCA.
George Tremblay
The author is a candidate for Charlestown Town Council. You can read more about George at his web page