1. The legal route. This is no big secret.All you need to do is establish some property rights, or some rights to due process, and demonstrate how those rights have been violated. If the government makes the wrong series of mistakes, you might not only save your own neighborhood -- but may incidentally set the whole Urban Redevelopment Authority on fire.
2. The Pens flip.
The Penguins should want nothing more than partially subsidized, small-and-medium lot mixed commercial and residential development in tree-lined boulevards, right up against the arena, woven into the Hill itself and providing a two-way gateway to Downtown, with dining, shopping, services and public art. People should be working on master plans of types such as these and more, pro-bono, in the event that the Penguins ever break the administration's spells of control.
3. One Hill negotiations succeed, the B4LH is largely fulfilled, and the Hill District ministers generally approve.
A valid plan, which cannot itself be relied upon. It is unclear what happens if One Hill is unsuccessful. In one scenario, they head back to the drawing board and perhaps caucus with the ministers. In another scenario, an unpopular and ineffective CBA is signed and in some sense ratified. Carl Redwood then gets a cushy job in city government, Evan Frazier runs for City Council against Tonya Payne, and the house of Milliones is chased deeper into the hills.
4. Council liberates the Hill District, declares Utopia. The rest takes care of itself.
Now for some positivity and optimism, head on over to Revelations.
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The Comet must also note that Mark Brentley, School Board District 8, came out to that Planning Commission hearing and spoke thunderously on behalf of his constituents. We can only assume he would be happy to talk to you.
Really, the battle has been lost a year ago. The efforts now are just to gain a bit of dignity in defeat. This is like the terms of the truce.
ReplyDeleteYou're talking about 'scraps' off the table. With the need of a grocery, the PUN fits.
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There won't be any victory with the churn of the civic arena. Nor can there be victory with the new building being owned by the public authority.
If the building was owned by the Pens -- and if the building was paid for by the Pens -- and if the Pens (renters) had departed the existing building without tearing it down --- then we'd be talking about something close to a victory.
"If the building was owned by the Pens -- and if the building was paid for by the Pens -- and if the Pens (renters) had departed the existing building without tearing it down --- then we'd be talking about something close to a victory."
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying that if the land was held PRIVATELY, there'd have been a chance to save the Hill District. But since we are talking about PUBLIC LAND, our hands are tied. That's just great.