Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Fayette going way of Clayton County, Riverdale

Wasn't Bill Gilmer's response to publisher Cal Beverly's comments on "Paving Fayette" the absolute stock answer one would expect from any average level-thinking citizen? However, I thought Cal was probably trying to appeal to a higher level of thinking than what one would expect.

The mindset that says you should squeeze the last nickel out of every parcel of land, and citizen apathy, usually result in the Clayton counties and the Riverdales.

Fayetteville already looks more like Riverdale every day, and can Peachtree City and Tyrone be far behind? The recent "compromise" on the big South Fayetteville development certainly follows the "Paving Fayette" pattern of high-density housing and commercial/parking lots, regardless of how they try to dress it up. And do you notice that the same names keep popping up in connection with these "paving" projects?

Clayton County went the same way, and all of those "old family" scions and developers who started the ruin and made the millions are dead now. The good quality of life was sold out to the highest bidders and long-term got those fools got exactly the same result we all get ultimately. No more, no less.

It just takes a lot more than conventional thinking, greed and citizen apathy to preserve a great way of life most of our citizens now enjoy. Once gone, it's lost.

Al Camp

Fayetteville