It's time to confront the truth about the claims made by the pro-incorporation group. They insist that incorporation will stop John Lewis and other developments, but let me be crystal clear: this is absolutely false.
According to the feasibility study, the survival of the new city is entirely dependent on growth—in population density and in business. Without this growth, the entire plan collapses.
With years of experience in planning and the legislature, I’ve interacted with many developers. (And to be clear, I have no financial ties with any of them.) When I asked these developers whether they preferred dealing with a city or an unincorporated area, every single one said they’d rather deal with a small city government than a powerful, strict county. Not one exception.
To dig deeper, I called John Lewis directly and asked if he supports incorporation. His response shocked me: As a developer, he’s in favor. As a citizen of the Valley, he’s not—but he’ll likely vote in favor. I was stunned.
Let’s imagine we become a city. John Lewis has his projects lined up and has been granted permission to proceed. Can those building permits be revoked? Absolutely not. The law is clear: 10-9a-509(1)(d) " A subsequent incorporation of a municipality or a petition that proposes the incorporation of a municipality does not affect a land use application approved by a county in accordance with section 17-27a-508." Apparently John Lewis is aware of this and has his development agreements in place, so he’s not concerned. If our newly appointed city leaders attempt to stop him, they’ll face legal action—and guess who foots the bill? The citizens of the new city. Control is an illusion, and I contend not the real agenda of the incorporation leaders.
The antics of the pro-incorporation, so-called smart growth advocates, who allege corruption at the county level, are misleading.
By law, cities must allow the selling, buying, and development of land. You might think it’s possible to make development so difficult that no one would try, but this would ignore state laws requiring cities to build affordable housing and other regulations that don’t apply to unincorporated areas like ours. We are currently considered rural, which exempts us from many stifling requirements.
Look at the large lots along the highway between Huntsville and Eden. Living on these beautiful rural estates is already becoming more expensive. Property taxes are rising, and demands for better roads and infrastructure are increasing. Some may be willing to pay significantly higher taxes to live in an exclusive area, but what about middle-class families on fixed incomes? What happens to them?
If you believe that John Lewis is the big, bad wolf destroying this valley, you’re being deceived. The truth is, if it’s not him, it’ll be someone else—someone with more money, bigger legal guns, and no fear of a small city government.
We must vote against incorporation. The future of our community depends on it.
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