Concern: Restrictive "Smart Growth"

“Smart Growth,” is an attack on low-density housing, a philosophy originally promoted by anti-growth and fringe environmentalist groups that came into popular usage in the 1990s.

The “Goals & Policies” draft pushes this anti-consumer concept.

Proponents of so called “Smart Growth” principles want new housing to be “infill”, meaning new homes should be located within existing towns and cities. While infill is fine for people who choose to live within an existing town or city, free will is not the objective of “Smart Growthers.” To Smart Growthers, new homes of people who choose to live outside existing towns and cities are termed “sprawl,” including homes built on farms and ranchland, and is to be opposed at all costs.

The fact that many home buyers actually prefer to live out in the country does not deter the Smart Growthers who want to require new neighbors to live within an existing town.  This, whether these new neighbors want to or not.

Smart Growthers want laws, ordinances, regulations, and general plans to require their philosophy to be imposed by law on others through manipulation of the political and legislative process. Smart Growthers use the tactics of disguising their ultimate agenda with broad and vague generalities and misleading the public with what appear to be generally agreeable goals.

This concept has gained some undeserved acceptance and should be opposed.

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