Commercial use in Residential Neighborhood Clash.Let’s talk about Palmetto Bay, the election and Palmer Trinity’s fine effort to expand its kingdom by political manipulation of the populous. Mind you, there is an election going in Palmetto Bay and it does have more on the ballot than private school issues.
In fact, some of the most important changes in the county are occurring while the community counts glossy mailers from Palmer Trinity. For instance:
If you were a registered voter you would find the issue of mitigation fees, police fees and election dates on your ballot. As taxpayer in the village, these items are important to your wallet. Depending how the vote goes, the village could come out a major winner and gain some breathing room in the budget.
But let’s be honest, the hot button issue is Question #3 and it is the least tangible of the items the community is voting on. It is about the quality of life for the village residents. It is about a private entity’s desire to do as they please on their property, a homeowners right to tranquility in their own home and a community’s right to move about their streets without traffic log-jams at every turn.
The Question reads: Shall the charter of the Village of Palmetto Bay be amended to allow an increase in private school enrollment only after 75% of the electors living within 2000-foot radius of the school and a 4/5 vote of the village council, with all the costs of the election to be borne by the private school requesting the increase. In my eyes, the vote is YES. Simply because I believe that schools, churches and any other entity (business) that attracts the public has an obligation to not super-impose themselves into neighborhoods bringing noise, heavy traffic and visual congestion where none existed before.
That being said, take a hard look at Palmer Trinity’s example. They lied. (What else is it when the headmaster tells a Village Council that he does not know how many students he has?). They are spending God knows how much money on anti-question 3 materials. So, far I have counted 5 glossy mailer versions and one rack card. Each mailer is more ridiculous than last.
The last one that was folded and stuffed in my box was a nice 11x11 paper warning us that “our constitution and our future is in jeopardy”!
The Board of Directors and Head Master are turning the vote on loaded statements and fear mongering. How shameful is that? It is disgraceful that they are using fear and deceit as their tools to argue their point. None of the flyers focus on their issues concerning the ballot question. They are literally distracting people by the use of political games that our middle-school kids are taught to watch for during political campaigns.
One cannot help but wonder if in 8 years the children they are cultivating are going to be “walking the talk” they are learning on that Episcopal Church campus. Is this how our future business people will act on Wall Street? Will they have learned the art of using a wink, a nod and a ream of glossy paper?
10 comments:
what's the other private schools doing?
What a shitty blog. This "guest blogger" has an aversion to "fear mongering?" That's all this post is, 100% fear-soaked monger. Who cares how many kids go to private school? How does kids getting an education affect the "tranquility" of a community? So parents dropping off their kids creates some traffic, are people supposed to fear traffic so much that it stands in the way of more kids getting a quality education? What is "visual congestion" except an attempt at making normalcy sound terrifying? Miamigal, you're no less alarmist that PT, and at least they have reason on their side.
The campaign pieces are objectionable to me and I do not live in Palmetto Bay. I think you are off base.
I've had it with you all. I will remove your posts if you push the school. We all agree the school does good. Even Miami Gal. But they don't have a right to expand no matter how good they are... Even if Mary and Jesus teach there. Just forget the damn school and make a better argument about zoning.
IT IS NOT ABOUT THE SCHOOL. THIS IS ZONING...NO MORE "VISIT THE SCHOOL" posts etc. ETC.
God you are thick.
The real issue here is whether or not the school's expansion will hurt the community.
Anyone living around a school can tell you the real dangers THEIR children face(not students at the school but residents)- REAL DANGERS from excess traffic and inexperienced high school drivers speeding through residential zones.
The interests of community residents who pay taxes and are the ones most affected by these decisions SHOULD be more important than the pockets of the school or it's future students. Heck- the overwhelming majority of PT's students are not even residents of Palmetto Bay.
Maybe if the school donated some of the HEFTY riches it's attained on the backs of Palmetto Bay residents back to the immediate community, there wouldn't be such uproar.
On a personal note, apart from the shock tactics in the flyers sent out, I find it in VERY poor taste that the school would use underage children to go door-to-door pleading the school's case as residents are reporting.
I have been around the school, the South Dade community and other private/public schools my entire life. I have taught school in a private school setting and have sent my kid to private school.
The issue with Palmer Trinity is not the quality of education; it is the ability of the community to absorb the impacts of the interests of a private business. It would not make the community any happier with the impacts if they resulted from a hospital, a strip mall, a religious institution or a public school.
The other issue, which is a nasty one, is the deliberate misguiding of people both at the school and out in the general population. The school’s site plans are always in influx;they vary depending on the moment and whose is speaking with you. I have seen various versions of the plans. I have friends that have children attend there; even they have different stories about the build out. The young lady that was passing out flyers told me it was about adding a swimming pool, as the weather was perfect for a pool and water polo. This is not a about a pool. That was approved eons ago.
And then, there are the mailers for the anti-campaign. This blog only shows 2 of them, but the other 3 mailers are equally off the mark. You may as well go in and write Palmer Trinity every time you see the word Our in the mailer. That is what it means. Those “truths” as the mailer offers has nothing to do with the “truth” that Palmetto Bay residents will experience if question 3 fails. I still believe we should vote YES.
Question 3 is about the rights of a community to continue having the lifestyle they bought into when they bought a home (or moved into) in Palmetto Bay. I doubt their reasons for living in their Village includes traffic jams; parking lot lights glaring into their windows; the sounds of school bells ringing at 7 am or dumpsters being dumped at 5 am as they sleep… many people buy into Palmetto Bay for many reasons, but Palmer Trinity is not necessarily one of the reasons. There are many other great schools, both public and private in Palmetto Bay and parks to enjoy.
Angry deleted writer:
There has always been one rule on this blog since it started: Don't annoy the blogger. You did.
Go somewhere else to annoy people. We print reasoned responses not piddly shit and that is what you were writing.
I'm not angry and I don't care about private schools. My comments may have been petty crap, but no more so than your posts, and if you think otherwise, you're arrogant. I just like trying to poke holes in your policy assertions, the same way you try to do with the MSM, but I seem to get under your thin skin. I have the tranquility of being open-minded and, ultimately, correct, and I can just go back to not reading your blog.
hmmm, what is the MSM?
I am always right. Ask my hubby. :)
Thank you for not reading our blog. Much appreciated.
Post a Comment