Letter to the editor: Speak out against accelerated development in Falmouth

A plea from Falmouth’s silent majority: We oppose the unwanted, reckless changes made to the town’s land use policies between 2013 and 2016. Our town’s cherished, peaceful rural character will be a memory and our taxes will skyrocket because of the potent new incentives for accelerated growth and high-density development.

New, high-density so-called “growth districts” surrounding new, mixed-use so-called “town centers” were created without a hint of resident consent. Inevitably, these new urbanized areas will create a City Mouse-Country Mouse dichotomy and chronic political discord.

The changes were imposed despite surveys showing delight with the town and its rural character and a consistent history of resident opposition to high-density projects.

No school, traffic, emergency services or environmental impact studies were conducted to expose unintended consequences of these changes – even though these infrastructure items are already under stress. A grievous failure of due diligence.

Who benefits from these high-density, hyper-growth policies? Not the families who “bet it all” on Falmouth – the residents whose neighborhoods are being despoiled and whose taxes will be driving them out of the homes they love. You guessed it – the beneficiaries are developers, Realtors who peddle their products to the world and buyers from away who respond to the hyped marketing.

This is forced, exploitive growth – not managed growth.

Silence is being falsely perceived as consent. Please speak out at the Growth and Density Forum on March 28 at 7 p.m., and by email to the Town Council via bit.ly/2NOHCbK.

Robert D. King

Falmouth

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