To The Editor,

Following a heated public hearing, the Warrenton Board of Aldermen voted last Tuesday to allow the Keeven Family Partnership to proceed to the next phase of a plan to develop an R-2 Urban Density subdivision of as many as 55 housing units on 11.98 city-annexed acres near Sunnyside Road in the county. The housing would ingress and egress onto Sunnyside.

On Tuesday night, an overflow crowd of community residents filled the new City Annex Building to vehemently oppose the housing proposal, with more than 50 people from our area presenting comments live or submitted in writing.

During the nearly two-and-a-half-hour public comments portion of the hearing, neighbors voiced an abundance of concerns about the development, from dramatic increases in traffic along their 40-mph road and added financial stress on our already struggling school system, to the imminent dangers of placing the entrance to the proposed development at an already notoriously dangerous curve along the road.

Despite being presented with arguments from people who know the area best, the city went ahead in backing the Keevens’ proposal to enter and exit through Sunnyside.

This will come at a deep cost to the 130 families who live, farm, walk and drive along Sunnyside. But it will also come at a staggering financial cost to have Sunnyside rebuilt to accommodate this development and the safety concerns it presents.

Who will pay for these costs? Certainly not the developer, who will make their money and skedaddle on to their next money-making deal. Instead, it will be the residents of Warrenton who will foot the bill for miles of new sidewalks, road shoulders and other hard construction along the road.

Then there will be more recurring costs spent on policing, emergency response, water and sewer and other services that must be provided by the city of Warrenton.

We’ve seen this wheeling and dealing before. Warrenton taxpayers funded Warrior Ridge Road and sidewalks for our new county school buildings, before developers slid in with housing on land that had been zoned as agricultural. These business people made a fortune without investing a dime on the main road and sidewalks. Easy work for them.

The same scenario played out in development along Pinckney and on the north side of town.

It has been the taxpayers of Warrenton – not the developers – who’ve paid for sidewalks and road improvements to make way for profitable real estate. Now as then, the hardworking families and taxpayers of Warrenton are being taken advantage of.

There is an alternative. The Keevens have access to Highway MM and could put the entrance to this subdivision along that city road, which also leads to their Country Lake Golf Course. But, under this plan, the Keevens would have to pay for the road, sidewalks and related infrastructure on their own property.

Why would these developers open up their own pocketbook when they have Warrenton taxpayers – their patsies – to pick up the tab on a Sunnyside entrance?

In addressing the board of aldermen Tuesday night, a representative for the development – architect Joe Weidemeier – characterized the development as “a golf course community.” This is even more reason why the Keevens should look to entry from MM instead of Sunnyside.

Under the Sunnyside Road plan approved by aldermen, residents of the development would have to drive 4 miles to loop to the Keevens’ golf course, instead of a chip shot from MM.

Warrenton city leaders must reckon with what’s coming down the road in the millions of dollars that they are indebting to the people of Warrenton while the developer skates.

After hours of arguments and pleas from Sunnyside residents on why this deal is bad, one resident asked a simple question: “I’m just wondering, why do you think this is so important to the community?”

After a long pause, Alderman Gary Auch responded that “one reason” is about showing potential developers Warrenton has “rooftops in the city” to attract business. (Just “rooftops,” as though the types of rooftops and fit with the neighborhood is inconsequential.)

When pressed for any other supporting points on the importance of this plan to the community, there was only silence from the board.

Voters elected these leaders to look out for their interests.

No one is saying growth is bad, but it needs to be carefully managed to minimize encroachment on lives and impact on taxpayers and local residents. In this case, it’s incumbent upon the Warrenton Board of Aldermen to go back to the drawing board to negotiate a better deal for the people they serve.

David Avis

Warrenton