Monday, January 15, 2007

The Frustration of Missed Opportunities

The public gallery was packed on January 2 with people attending the Metro Council Meeting to speak out against the highly visible Downtown Westin Hotel Development. There was no space where there weren't neighborhood leaders. I even saw one or two from the Historic Germantown neighborhood.

Yet, not one other leader--outside of the three expressly present to oppose it--rose to speak against the attempt by Diane Neighbors et al. to let car washes get unimpeded into neighborhoods through this backdoor ordinance. That's a head-scratcher.

You cannot convince me that partially blocking the Broadway view of the Cumberland with a supersized Westin Hotel would be more diasterous to our actual quality of life than building several car washes in neighborhoods where traffic is already choked, where noise and sight pollution clog the senses. I cannot believe that those leaders in the gallery did not rise as readily to oppose car wash exemptions as they did to oppose the Westin. It's beyond me.

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