Real-Life Communication -- Solution
Here's what you could say:
Dear citizens of the community,
My
name is Ron Sykes. While some of you may have heard my name bandied about
for the past couple weeks in relation to the Brookside urban development,
which is why we are gathered here tonight, I think some of you may know me
because I am also a lifelong resident of Tuckersville.
I was born,
raised and schooled here. My daughter is currently in eighth grade at Draper
Junior High. As such, I believe that I am doing the right thing with Brookside
development. Tuckersville means too much to me to steer it in the wrong direction.
I
know there are some concerns among local policymakers and residents, and perhaps
a little confusion, about the new zoning requirement that I need passed to
make Brookside a reality. I am here tonight to outline briefly my purpose,
as well as a more livable future for Tuckersville.
As you know, in
the past 10 years, with Tuckersville at the center of the technology explosion,
the population has increased tremendously. Many outsiders have found jobs
near or in the city and many have relocated here.
Our housing needs
have not been able to keep pace. This new development will meet some of the
demand. But instead of building only houses in an isolated area, I propose
to build houses within a growing commercial and retail area, right next to
the very places people are working and eating.
I want people to walk
out their front door, walk to the nearest coffee shop and continue their walking
journey to their job. I also propose to build a new office building and other
storefronts equipped to house bookstores, cafes and florists, so people can
walk and be neighborly. I am building only three blocks from the existing
public library and the main post office.
If I were to build further
away from the center of the city, there would not be already existing services,
such as the ones I just mentioned, to serve the residents. Instead, the new
homeowners would need to get into their cars and drive to the city area. Their
cars would require parking spaces. Residents would need to drive to the mall
to shop, rather than walk to it.
If we build on all our vacant land,
continuing to expand outward, we will eventually not have any land left. Every
square inch of grass, lake and forest may one day be home to a parking lot,
a post office or a public school, some of which are not being used to full
capacity, if at all.
I want to live where, after work, on my walk home,
I can stop at the seafood market and at the flower shop. I want to live where
my daughter can walk home from school with her friends, or walk to the library.
I
want to be able to get in my car on weekends and enjoy the natural beauty
that still surrounds us. If we keep building the way we are and growing as
fast as we do, this world will all but disappear. Please support the new zoning
ordinance.