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Lot Size and Race
(Published
03/01/02)
A fight is brewing
on the Lawrence City Council over minimum lot sizes. Ok,
sounds boring right? Who cares about zoning and lot
requirements? Actually, if you care about your
neighborhood or the crime, parking and traffic that comes
with a hundred new apartments next door, you should.
Especially when some people in the Hispanic community are
planning to play the race card next Tuesday (March 5th)
when the City Council will take up the issue. But this
has nothing to do with race. Unfortunately, you
won’t get any accurate information on WHAV or from
people like Pedro Payano, so I thought I would explain
what this fight is really all about why we must
discourage race baiting on such issues.
Presently, developers can purchase property in a business
zone and put housing units up without having to comply
with residential zoning requirements. That means a
developer can put in hundreds of apartments on postage
stamp sized lots, devastating an entire neighborhood
overnight. It’s a flaw in our city charter and some
councilors are trying to correct that.
Here’s how it works: If a developer wants to build a
new home in a residential zone he can only put up one
unit (house or apartment) for each 10,000 square feet of
property he builds on. But, if a developer buys property
in a business zone (like the Essemm site on Beacon Street
in Mt. Vernon) he can still build housing units but he
only has to comply with the business zone requirement of
one housing unit (house or apartment) per 1,700 square
feet.
Clustering massive amounts of housing on the smallest
lots possible mean more money for engineers, planners and
developers. It also means the neighborhood has an
increase in the number of cars on that street, an
increase of city services such as water and sewer, and
the transformation of a quiet neighborhood into to a
noisy housing project.
Now, I know that everyone has heard the myth that there
is a low income crisis in the City of Lawrence. You hear
it over and over by so many politicians that it seeps
into your subconscious until you start to believe it. But
consider this, Lawrence has more than double the amount
of Low income housing required by state law. While
surrounding towns like Andover and North Andover are well
below the state average of low income housing. That means
Andover and North Andover have a low income housing
crisis.
Since that is a fact which is indisputable, it is logical
to conclude that there is no "low income housing
crisis" in the city of Lawrence. What we do have, is
a large number of people who want more low income housing
in the city because they benefit by Lawrence packing in
more poor people. More poor people means more state aid
and of course, more free stuff from the government. No
matter how it will effect the city as a whole.
And if you look at the infrastructure of the city, you
will find that what we really have is a density crisis in
the city. Housing units in Lawrence neighborhoods are too
tightly packed together with little or no opportunity for
people to enjoy quality of life items like a small back
yard where their kids can safely play. No place to park
the large number of cars that come with each new housing
unit. And, no room for people to enjoy peace and quiet in
their own homes because the house next door is a foot and
a half from their bedroom window.
Now, I understand there are people who disagree with me
on this issue even though it is based on logic and fact.
I understand that some people think it is more important
to build as many housing units possible no matter how it
will change the makeup of each neighborhood or the city
as a whole. And that’s ok, as long as good people
can disagree and discuss our differences honestly. As a
community we can work together to negotiate a final
number of square feet each housing unit should be built
on, as long as we respect each others opinion and look at
the good of the city.
But that’s not what is happening here.
Some of the people who want to pack low income housing
units into every square foot of open space are playing
the race card. And it disgusts me. Especially when I
learned last week that they were getting help on the
Spanish language radio station from a member of the city
council who should know better. Making this an issue
about race means accusing people of being racists because
they want to increase the minimum lot size requirements,
and that simply isn’t fair. Nor is it accurate.
Why do they do it? Why do people have to use the
undercurrent of tensions between Whites and Hispanics to
create hatred and division over every political issue?
Sometimes it baffles me. Sometimes, the answer is all too
clear.
You see, the simple fact is, no white person wants to be
called a racist. It is a label that is very hard to shake
no matter how untrue the accusation may be. Believe me, I
know. I have fought this myself for many years. And no
mater how many times I support a Hispanic candidate or
fight for a cause that benefits Hispanics the label never
really goes away. It’s just easier for people to
dismiss someone as a racist and refuse to listen to them,
than it is to enter a dialogue on the merits of the issue
at hand.
So, the power is in the hands of the accusers, and people
like Pedro Payano know it. So do White politicians who
are terrified of being called a racist with no
opportunity to clear the record with non-English
speakers. They know that most non-English speaking
Hispanics only see them through the eyes of people who
benefit from playing the race card. They know that
misinformation spews daily on WHAV about them but they
cannot counter it because they have the disadvantage of
not being able to speak Spanish. People like Payano take
advantage of this and exploit their own people for
personal and political gain. As a result, many white
politicians get bullied into making decisions they do not
agree with to avoid such an unpleasant experience.
That’s not democracy, it’s a form of
intimidation and tyranny.
Changing the lot size requirement in Lawrence effects
everyone equally. The rules are the same for everyone and
they effect us all the same. Now, you can argue how many
square feel the requirement should be on lot sizes each
zone and you can make your case based on facts and logic.
It is a healthy step toward solving the problem. You can
agree or disagree with my, or anyone else’s opinion
as to what is best for the city. But, to make this issue
about race will not help us build a future in Lawrence
that has lower crime, plenty of places to park, open
spaces for kids to play or neighborhoods that we can be
proud of.
If we really believe in working together, if we truly
want this to be a better city, if we want to lower crime
and smooth over the tensions that have divided us for too
long, if we truly believe in "Love and Power"
we have to be honest with each other, communicate and
compromise. That doesn’t happen when you call
someone a racist because they disagree with you. It
doesn’t happen when you only have half the facts. It
doesn’t happen when you allow others to exploit your
lack of knowledge on political issues. It only happens
when you pay attention, look at things with an open mind
and come to the table willing to work together.