Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Times of Trenton (NJ) - on NJ.com: Communities everywhere have a right to protection

Letter to the editor:

Communities everywhere have a right to protection

I live in a beautiful, peaceful area of picturesque agricultural land and rural homesites with pristine waterways, which are habitats for endangered species unique to the region, and more than 25,000 acres of protected wildlife management area.

Our city discarded the Land Use Plan and annexed and recently rezoned rural agricultural/residential land to accommodate Atlanta Motorsports Park.

Residents set about to ensure their rights were protected against the noise.

Looking for information, we took our battle to the internet and found Trackracket.org, from which we followed the issues of the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, for information useful to proactively protect our community.

Residential property owners have rights, too. It's unfair for businesses to reap profit while residential property values and quality of life plummet.

When businesses are allowed into existing communities, bringing with them increased traffic and exposure to constantly heightened noise levels, those businesses should be required to responsibly protect the interests of the residents they encroached upon by abiding by reasonably set decibel levels and providing proper, efficient, technologically proven noise barriers.

The community must stand for fair rights to protect residential investments, and, in doing so, raise the bar on planning commissions and elected officials who approve such developments adjacent to residential areas -- that's reasonable, ethical, accountable, successful growth where no one is victimized. Businesses can profit and residents can enjoy their property investments.

In solidarity, I joined Trackracket, because I believe residential property holders, the backbone of a community, deserve fair treatment.

If you don't stand for your rights, you lose them while others profit at your expense. We're watching in Dawsonville, wishing success to the community near the New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Allison Schmitt,
Dawsonville, Ga.