discarding responsibility
This is not about Burger King
Believe it or not, Burger King is not the problem. Leadership (or the lack thereof) is the problem.
Are you or is AY PAC thrilled to have another fast food joint littering Michigan Avenue? Not really. Did we expect to see some fast food there at some point, possibly. But the Burger King belies a symptom of a much more troubling problem – that is the apparent lack of leadership on the Water Street issue.
Murdock, Robb and Bodary all promised leadership, maneuvered to get named to the committee to address Water Street, and then did nothing with the opportunity. Absolutely nothing!
So far, these three stalwarts of “leadership” who embody the Water Street committee have been content to let staff set direction, let recommended zoning changes slowly languish and simply allow the few (weak) development opportunities that bubble up on their own to set the agenda for council.
In lieu of responsibility, they seemingly blame the economy for the results. In the face of such a low level of action on their part, it is hard to figure out what the impact of the economy really is in this process. If they had taken any action, we could offer a different response.
While we say Burger King primarily exists as a symptom, it is somewhat of a problem in itself as it should be the business we slide in between other developments. Not the first development. Not the one that sets the course for future development. Not the one that possibly has to serve as our only space filler on Water Street for a while.
Citizens were promised leadership and action. We weren’t promised lazy committees, weak space filling as development and inaction on recommended zoning changes.
Pass zoning for Water Street! Pass the Planning Commission’s proposals or modify them as council deems necessary. Assume some responsibility now by taking action!
posted by B. Bashert and J. Gawlas