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Good-North-7176 t1_j83wzr7 wrote

Reply to comment by zutronics in Cape Elizabeth residents push back against law to provide affordable housing by Gary_busey_syndrome

100% this. The generalizations here are based in such ignorance and the article did nothing to help. The ONE resident quoted is despised by half the town.

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MrsBeansAppleSnaps t1_j84izs1 wrote

No one is making generalizations. Your town voted against affordable housing. It voted against building new schools. You think you have a "vibrant town center" that needs saving, when really you have a strip mall and nothing more. You restrict public access to public spaces like beaches at every opportunity. You want to remain rural, but also enjoy all of the economic and cultural benefits that downtown Portland offer 10 minutes away.

People are going easy on Cape in this thread.

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zutronics t1_j851ahx wrote

I take umbrage with your use of “you”. I voted for affordable housing and the new schools. The younger generation wants these things - but we have a long way to go. I also agree the town center is a strip mall.

The NIMBY movement is not unique to Cape. My previous town, Cambridge, MA has similar issues. The city says they want affordable housing but then you have neighborhood associations who say they support it - just not in their neighborhood. Same with my hometown in NY.

Trust me when I tell you many of us here in Cape support affordable housing.

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MrsBeansAppleSnaps t1_j8577jz wrote

No one said it was unique to CE. Falmouth restricts access to Mackworth Island and refuses to build any housing at all. Scarborough residents fight against what is a pretty good development at the old race track. Freeport thinks adding a few hundred homes will kill their town character. Brunswick put a moratorium on all big development. It's everywhere and it's ruining southern Maine. The smartest thing any non-home owner could do right now is move away, and that's sad.

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Good-North-7176 t1_j84sr56 wrote

You said “you” a lot in that response. I’ve literally never done any of those things. (But, no one is making generalizations.) Keep the divide growing by not seeking to understand that MANY citizens here are working very hard to do all the things you say we don’t do. The town council is working fervently to bring Cape in line with the housing law. This article highlights one despised citizens opinion…it was a public comment session, not a vote. All my friends and I worked our asses off to pass the housing amendments and the school bond, only to see it derailed by old rich white people who’ve lived here forever and don’t want to open their eyes and accept that change will happen eventually. But it’s ok, you can keep thinking the town is just made up of all wealthy jerks who don’t want anything near anyone ever. Your lack of interest in actual facts is unhelpful and fails to move the social progress ball forward at all. I’ll just go back to canvassing and fundraising while you “go easy” on Cape. 👍

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MrsBeansAppleSnaps t1_j84uio4 wrote

>But it’s ok, you can keep thinking the town is just made up of all wealthy jerks who don’t want anything near anyone ever.

It's not. Just a majority.

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