By JOSEPH BRODSKY
Los Alamos
As a child I remember moving from town to town, my parents always looking for the best neighborhood they could afford. Lowest crime, least traffic, least crowded with the best schools possible within the restraint of their budget was the goal.
These goals were achieved time and again at the edge of town, often times in a new suburb. The suburbs were zoned single-use single family housing, low-density by design. I always considered my parents to be good people acting in the best interest of our family, specifically my siblings and I. At some point, however, the purposeful actions of my parents were deemed harmful by some. They had become part of the “problem”.
The “problem” had been defined by environmentalists as urban sprawl. Merriam-Webster defines urban sprawl as the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city.
People advocating against urban sprawl cite many negative effects including wildlife habitat loss, fragmentation of remaining natural areas, biodiversity reduction and loss of green space public use among others. It would seem that suburban dwellers and environmentalists would not be seeing eye to eye any time soon.
Fast forward to the County Council and School Board plan to develop the green space abutting the Los Alamos Middle School. Presumably originally allocated to the Los Alamos Public Schools for future facility needs, it is now apparently viewed by some officials as a cash-generating endeavor and a solution to a teacher housing shortage.
No lawyer, County Council or School Board member has confirmed on record that allocated teacher housing will withstand legal scrutiny.
If county council thinks that 300 new housing units designated for middle income owners/renters will address the demand of more than 10,000 commuters to Los Alamos National Laboratory – it’s wrong. Governing with the “you’ll have to pass it to see what’s in it” technique has lost its flavor in recent years. The environmentalists and suburban dwellers of Los Alamos see this ruse for what it is. We have the County Council to thank for this unexpected common ground.
