Quick, tell me how many people does it take to change a light bulb in Fairhope?
If you answered “Two,” you’re right. One person to actually change the bulb and a second – a very refined lady living in the “Fruit and Nut” district – to observe and lament over how much nicer the old bulb was.
And my point? Other than providing evidence that vaudeville should remain dead, it’s that as change has accelerated on the Eastern Shore, there is a tendency to look fondly at the vanished past, while simultaneously disparaging the present and predicting an even worse future.
You don’t have to be a very keen observer to identify this unproductive behavior. Today, as the Wal-Mart store is about to open its doors, there are still signs around Fairhope proclaiming, “No Wal-Mart in Fairhope.” Admittedly these are fewer than a year or so ago, but even when Wal-Mart was a hot local issue, it was already too late to stop the big-box store from building just outside the city limits. The battle over Wal-Mart is history, but who’s doing something to prevent a “Wal-Mart Equivalent” from going in a mile down the road – tomorrow?
Nobody I can identify. Sure, the anti-Wal-Mart faction made a play to have land-use planning approved for that side of town. A nice gesture, but too late. Too late because the Wal-Mart was already approved. And too late because the people being asked were the same people whose request for annexation into Fairhope had been denied a few years earlier. The land-use measure lost really big and that part of the Fairhope community was again forgotten – a return to status quo – but only in Fairhope. The rejected and rejecting residents in the county are now talking about taking charge of their own destiny by incorporating.
Back in Fairhope, you hear about the past being lost as people bemoan the destruction of “historic” cottages. I looked at a lot of these purported “gems” while house-hunting a while back. Other than being impressed by the high prices, I couldn’t find much architectural interest or living space in most of them. In some I could hardly find a functioning (forget functional) kitchen or even electrical service that would allow a window air-conditioner and a hair-dryer to operate simultaneously.
Worse were the rotting sills, termite infestations and, in one case, a dead Buick in the front yard. One Realtor called this “Fairhope charm,” but it was really civic indifference masquerading as passion to protect the past. But unfortunately very constrained passion, because the local historic preservation group has been repeatedly stymied in its efforts to protect and restore the more significant of these properties. Slow going, while cottages continue to disappear with McMansions replacing them. Sorry folks, but without a plan and concerted effort to implement it, the past is always going to lose out to current economics.
The current effort to stop high-rise condos from being built just south of the city limits is another example of wishing to retain the past but doing nothing about it. At least nothing until it’s too late. As I look at the completed 100-foot-tall concrete shell, I wonder why nobody worried about the possibility of such a project. The builder built to the height that was permitted, but why weren’t the height limits being proposed at this late date, enacted years ago?
I suspect no one living in the area thought the future could be different from the past and never worried about what an Eastern Shore land-rush might mean. They loved the continuous increase in property values, but failed to consider the implications of this prolonged boom. Values rise, highly desired locations are at a premium and developers look to maximize return on investment. It’s all a function of high – high profits come from high density and building as high as you can – especially if you can capture a water view somewhere up there. And – no surprise – that’s just what happened.
With all this building and the influx of new residents, you get more traffic. No need to repeat all the conversations that start like this, “I remember when I could get to (insert any location) in 10 minutes; now it takes me….” Yep, lots more people and lots more cars, but the same old roads.
If growth were so visible, why are our highways so inadequate? Lots of reasons, but not the least of which is the pervasive desire to keep things as they used to be – a sort of “If we don’t build it, (maybe) they won’t come.” The local communities didn’t, but lots of us came to the Eastern Shore anyway and it looks like it will be years before the roads catch up – if they ever do.
OK, now I’ve got to prescribe an action plan unless I want to be labeled as just another whiner. Here it is: Get out and see what can be legally built in your community. If it’s something you don’t want, get like-minded folks together to influence change – hard to do, but far easier than trying to accomplish the same thing after permits have been issued.
Look at annexation as a strategic tool – not just a way to bring nice new subdivisions into your city. If unpopular with those who have to approve it, make annexation so attractive that it’s irresistible. Up-front costs for infrastructure may be high and zoning exceptions may be seen as a step backwards, but worth it if it gets what is needed to assure the future quality-of-life in your community.
And finally, stop reflecting on how it used to be and start planning for the future that you want – not the one the developers have planned for you.
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
Archives
Jubilee
