introductory information

A man has approached Honeyville City and asked to have the property west of the railroad tracks on Highway 40, across the street from the park, rezoned as industrial, because he would like to build a biodiesel processing facility there. He does not own the property and is not a resident of Honeyville. He will be processing used cooking oil to make the biodiesel. He says that the process he is using is safer than that used at the biodiesel plant in Centerville that caught on fire and burned down, along with the autobody shop next door.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended that the zoning change, and the City Council is in favor of it, because they feel that Honeyville is a "town of need," and that the rezoning will bring money into our town, so that we can pay for things like police.

I disagree with their assessment. I think Honeyville is a great place to live, and I like that we are away from stores and factories and the other trappings of city life. This is why I live in the country. And frankly, I don't think there's a need for a policeman in our town. What would he have to do besides give speeding tickets? But I understand that other people want to see Honeyville grow, and that is fairly reasonable. But managed, appropriate growth is what we need, not jumping through hoops for the first stranger who breezes into town and wants us to do him a favor. Not an industrial park on the main thoroughfare into town. If the zoning in that area must change, because there is no other place for business growth, then it should change to commercial, not industrial. Aside from property tax and possibly a couple of jobs within the plant itself, our town will see very little money from the biodiesel factory. Commercial ventures, on the other hand, have a much greater possibility of bringing much more money into our town from sales tax alone.

A fuel-processing facility, no matter how "clean" it is (this is unsubstantiated), does not belong next to houses, next to the park, and on the main road into town. Absolutely not. If we must grow, let's grow better, not uglier. Let's keep Honeyville a beautiful, rural place that people are proud to call their hometown.