Residents Against Irresponsible Development

Nicholas Wilbur Miner Staff Writer

The critics used to go by the name Residents Against Irresponsible Development, a group that has, for the past year, been at every city Planning & Zoning and Council meeting carrying those little "RAID" binders filled with notes and questions and homework and research and flyers. Now, the critics are being critiqued by other critics. What a world.

The Miner doesn't secretly orchestrate the RAID symphony, as some in the community have indicated, but because the criticisms have been reduced to name-calling and falsification of facts, I think it's only appropriate that they be addressed.

Basically, a group of critics have come out against RAID, but they're making it personal and avoiding the real issues voters face on Tuesday.

These critics are getting nervous because while they were writing blogs, RAID was attending meetings, asking questions, demanding that the city have some forethought in policy decisions and representing concerns of local residents who didn't want a dog kennel across the street or a liquor store next to a school, a church and a park. RAID has worked to gather signatures to put two issues on the Nov. 6 ballot. One was for a rezone that upset some neighbors near Castle Rock Road. The developer refused to try and diffuse the concerns, despite the mayor's request that he work with them. RAID stood up, took it out of City Council's hands and now you are voting on it.

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