Commune, Sweet Commune

What happens when you demolish flood zone homes and build condos in the same area?  Thanks to an arid spring, the answer still hangs in the future.  That’s what Pompton Lakes did; it demolished flood plain homes in the south of town and allowed condos to go up, instead.   More people, more stress on local services, and more kids in the schools.  More people, too, paying taxes on property they don’t even own. 

Residents now want to do the same thing in The Plume.  After they’ve finished greenmailing DuPont, they want to sell the land to condominium developers.  Only there’s a hitch; if the EPA condemns the land, no one will ever be able to build on it again.  At most, the land could be used for warehouses.  However, the town council counseled residents they could sell their land privately.

It’s a miracle!  Suddenly, it’s safe to build condos in the flood plain, especially if the EPA approves rebuilding dams on the Pequannock River in Bloomingdale.  Presto chango!  The Plume is magically safe to live on once more (so much for open space).   One resident claims our federal officials and the EPA, the nation’s environmental gatekeeper, are the only ones upon whom we can depend to save this little town which we all love.  What rubbish.
If Smart Growth (aka Business Investment Development) activists succeed, no one will recognize Pompton Lakes at all.  The plan is to transform Wanaque Avenue into a narrow, auto-antagonistic alley with four story apartment buildings from the railroad tracks to the Hamburg Turnpike.  In this rainbow scenario, the town will thrive and we’ll all be much better, pedestrian neighbors – living right on top of one another with no independent transportation.

In short, you will live in communes. The commune organizers don’t like using that word, but that’s essentially how future Pompton Lakes residents will live.  The Smart Growth world sounds wonderful – cleaner air and water, less traffic congestion, happy families cavorting on the commons (with permission) – until you get to the end of the fairy tale book.  In this case, the book is called “Toward Sustainable Communities,” by Mark Rosenthal.

Fittingly, it’s Chapter 13, “Governing Sustainable Communities,” where you learn the bad news:   “consensus decision-making.”  Rosenthal tells us, “Consensus is the process for making group decisions without voting.”  Since most people already don’t vote – turnout is always low, especially in local elections – perhaps that won’t be a problem for anyone in Pompton Lakes or surrounding communities.  Progressives have spent generations redistricting in order to convince us our votes don’t count, so why bother?

However, if you think your vote should count, contact Gov. Christie soon while they’re still deciding the N.J. Development and Redevelopment Plan’s fate.  Passaic County already withdrew from the ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives).  If you care about your future as free citizens of towns like Pompton Lakes and the United States of American, take off the rainbow-colored glasses and speak up.

Ask condo owners how much freedom they enjoy.  Ask them about the thick set of regulations they’re handed,  the penalties they pay for violating the rules, the taxes they pay on nothing but space, their heating bills, and the storage fees they pay for additional belongings.  They’ll say they’re not burdened by yard work.  But what is that to the warehouses being created for us while our children are taught sing-song garbage about saving the Earth?  Tell Gov. Christie to tell shovel-ready Smart Growth and the United Nations' Agenda 21 where they can shovel their communism.

http://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact/