A Developing Problem

Had city officials been honest with him about how little the city could -- or would -- influence development, Cruz says, he probably would not have gotten involved with trying to change the course of events upstream from him. But now that he feels he's been lied to, he says, "I have a lot more energy to force the issue. And we are in it for the long haul. We have a lot of contacts with other neighborhood groups and know now just how citizens can be defeated. They don't have the time, the stamina, or the money to keep up with developers. Many fight, but just as many just drop out. But we aren't going anywhere."

To prove it, Cruz organized a protest in front of City Hall. At 1 p.m. on August 24, with the temperature simmering at around 100 degrees, about 35 neighborhood activists from 12 neighborhood associations stretching from KCI Airport to Richards-Gebaur Airport handed out leaflets and carried signs that read: "STOP RUBBER STAMPING -- SAVE OUR HOMES," "INFRASTRUCTURE BEFORE REVENUE," "WE'RE WATCHING, WE VOTE," and "STOP IRRESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT."

The activists say their representation at City Hall is limited to irrelevant public hearings that do little or nothing to address neighborhood concerns.

"What they do," says John Gladeau, of the Olde Hyde Park Historic District, "is tell us to get organized and fit us into the process, where we don't really have any influence. The bureaucrats have been working with developers all along to make sure developments meet requirements.

"Then they tell us to choose one or two representatives to deal with the councilmembers and city bureaucrats. But they don't want to deal with the calls, e-mails, and letters. That's all. They have a person they can cajole, undermine, manipulate, and dismiss. If that person or persons won't be used like that, they have someone they can call unreasonable and dismiss anyway."

Cruz says around 200 neighborhood organizations are now linked through the weekly Neighborhood Hotline e-mail newsletter and that neighborhood activists are organizing a summit later this year. "We hope to ... have the money, the lawyers, the time, and the people to make sure city hall is listening and will do something to put the neighbors into the development process," he says.

The Falcon Ridge and Vineyards developments will go to the Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development Committee sometime this fall. There, Cruz says, he and his neighbors will make their presentation again. "But we will have to do something more. That's just our bottom line."