Mike Zowniriw, your November 11 Letter to the Editor claimed that the journalistic credentials listed on my website are false. You are totally wrong, again, and just looking to deflect public scrutiny from the lousy job you are doing as supervisor. Every week I earn the trust of my readers. Every week you embarrass yourself in a new way.
I guess you had nowhere else to turn. You couldn't escape the truth of my columns. You couldn't escape the damning report from Special Counsel Thomas Wenger destroying your claim of "illegal spot zoning". You couldn't escape the reprimand from Judge Goldberg for your unethical conduct. So if you can't attack the message, attack the messenger.
The fact that you were (supposedly) unable to verify my honors only shows that you research as poorly as you supervise. Perhaps the "research team" you mentioned is the same one that advised you on "illegal spot zoning".
In September, I challenged you. If Wenger ruled that you were wrong, you would resign. If he found you to be correct, I would never write another bad word about you.
Of course, you ducked the challenge (and you call me a coward?). You have become very good at making public charges, and then failing to stand behind them (and you call me a bully?).
I will again back up my credibility with my job. Will you? If I have misrepresented my journalistic credentials, I will never again write for The Free Press. But if you are wrong, you must immediately and forever resign as Richland Supervisor.
Obviously, I wouldn't make this challenge if I didn't have the goods. Let's see who really is the coward. Time to put up or shut up, Mike.
Be careful what you wish for, or you will surely receive it.
The best-laid plans gone awry. The Law of Unintended Consequences. A law that first went on the books when Adam said "Thank you, that looks delicious", and now one of the more recent additions to Richland Township's Zoning Code.
Ordinance 209 was passed in November, 2003, to allow mid-rise residential buildings in the age-qualified zone, between Station Road and Morgan's Creek. A beautiful area, relatively isolated, with easy access to major roads. A good place for the type of housing needed in Richland to serve the increasing number of aging baby boomers. The Law of Nature.
The idea was good, all right. Too good . Within a year, developers had proposed over 900 mid-rise units, far more than anyone anticipated. The Law of Competition. Even the proponents of the ordinance were unhappy with these Unintended Consequences.
Supervisor Mike Zowniriw, and his Richland Citizens Alliance, tried to portray themselves as heroes. But RCA co-chair Susan Cooke was the person who "seconded" the Planning Commission approval for the age-qualified district before she quit that board. The RCA actually created the problem they now decry!
But they, too, were bitten by the Unintended Consequences Bug. Thrice.
First Bite: It took a long time for the Long Arm of the Law of Unintended Consequences to reach out, but it finally did. Several RCA members who live near the age-qualified zone had been township volunteers in the 1990's, and had created a Comprehensive Plan designed to keep development away from their own houses.
When they resigned after the 1998 election, they didn't foresee the Unintended Consequences. The Law of Probability. A whole new wave of volunteers rushed forward to take their places. The Law of the Land changed, allowing development near their homes like anywhere else.
Second Bite: Almost a year after the ordinance was passed, the RCA clamored that it was "illegal spot zoning". The projects should be stopped. The Law of the Jungle. Although the appeal period had long passed, the township wanted residents to know that it had acted properly, so it hired a municipal law expert to give his opinion. The Law of the Universe.
The protestors were sure that this Special Counsel would agree with them, and provide the ammunition to invalidate the ordinance. But, in the end, it was not Richland, but Z and the RCA, who had violated the law. The Law of Unintended Consequences. When the Special Counsel ruled that Ordinance 209 was enacted properly, the embarrassment fell on the hecklers.
Third Bite: It isn't often that the RCA, and the supervisors not named Zowniriw, see eye to eye, but in this case the verdict is unanimous. 904 units are too many for that area, and something needs to be done. The Law of Change. The fastest and easiest course is to repeal 209, and prevent any more mid-rise. The supervisors spoke, the RCA cheered. Could there possibly be an Unintended Consequence to this lovefest?
There can. There is.
Although repealing the ordinance will stop any similar projects, it virtually assures that the current developers will be financially successful. The Law of Supply and Demand. By cutting out all other builders, Richland will give the two existing players a monopoly on mid-rise age-qualified housing in Richland. The very people who the RCA tried to block will be the winners!
And speaking of no competition, the Borough of Quakertown also will suffer a really Unintended Consequence. For months, Qtown has been negotiating with Richland over a six-acre parcel it owns in the township, and hopes to use for age-qualified housing. Sound familiar?
With 209 in free-fall, the borough will be fighting the Law of Gravity, and the situation is indeed grave. If Richland's newest best-buddies, the supervisors and RCA, agree (now that's an Unintended Consequence!) that mid-rise density is just too great for 30+ acres, it is unlikely that they will bless the postage-stamp size lot that QT owns. The Law of Diminishing Returns, because the borough's returns are majorly diminished.
This whole repeal adventure has been a bit like locking the barn door after the horses have escaped, but still the right thing to do. The Law of Common Sense. It also highlights the contrast in approaches to dealing with a problem.
One group acted to repeal the ordinance according to law, and then deal with any developer who had already begun the process. Law and Order. The other immediately screamed "illegal ordinance", and tried to overthrow it, regardless of the consequences, intended or otherwise, that would follow. A living example of Murphy's Law:
"If there is more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will end in disaster, then someone will do it that way."