To Westbrook residents who voted based on their candidate’s pledge to pursue “smart” development without jeopardizing quality of life, I say beware. All bets are off as of the January 23 City Council meeting.

For as Councilor O’Hara emphatically declared, the goal now is to maximize development potential that minimizes city expense. Established neighborhoods? Tough luck. Open space? Times have changed.

The 50 plus acres located behind the Animal Refuge League – home to deer, fox, turkeys – now likely will be rezoned to residential growth 1 to make way for Sandy River Health System’s retirement village and a cut-through street spanning Spring and Stroudwater streets.

My husband and I are neither the largest nor certainly the wealthiest landowners on Stroudwater Street, however we’ve paid taxes on our home for 16 years without putting any children through Westbrook’s school system. Surely this qualifies us – and every childless Westbrook couple – as economic development using this administration and council’s definition.

Since 2003, properties on outer Stroudwater Street have been rezoned from rural farm conservation to industrial to rural to gateway and now residential growth 1. We believed the city when, in April 2005, we received a letter from City Planner Brooks More stating “It was clear that residents in this (Stroudwater) neighborhood preferred that their property be zoned rural.” However, Westbrook’s approach to land use is beginning to resemble the “Wheel of Zoning.” Spin the wheel to discover what’s in store for your neighborhood this year.

Why? Because Westbrook remains without a transparent, articulated approach to land use policy, decision-making, and open space preservation. The comprehensive plan states, “…the quantity and relationship of open spaces to neighborhoods and businesses … are critical factors in determining a community’s character and livability.” Furthermore, “Stroudwater Street (is) probably the most dramatic rural landscape unit in the city. … If the city wishes to retain its important rural character areas, then a major land use policy shift is in order.”

The Sandy River developers maintain their project will have no visual impact on scenic corridors. However, the cut-through street will create additional congestion on two already overburdened commuter routes. What do 800 Cape Elizabeth residents who just petitioned against cut-through streets know that our officials don’t? Moreover, anyone who has navigated the dangerous curve on Stroudwater (where the proposed cut-through will intersect) knows there’s no margin for driver error. As the late George Harrison sang: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

Anyone interested in preserving Westbrook’s open space and rural farmlands ought to attend the February 6 meeting to speak against this rezoning request. If we are allowed to comment.

Deborah Rumery

Westbrook