Submitted by Pete Simmons, Jan 12, 2007 11:10

To often do developers look to blame planning for the increased cost of development due to over regulation. However, people do not realize that the regulations that are created are in place to protect the public safety and welfare of a given community. In a day of rising construction cost it is always planning that is to blame. Granted some cities do overwhelm the development community with zoning codes and ordinances but the fact of the matter is that if these codes were not in place then the development community would build whatever they wanted and where ever they wanted. Being from the private sector the motto for some developers is to build as many homes onto a given piece of property. The development community needs to invest in the city rather than reap the enomorous profits from it. There does need to be some flexiblity with mixed use development but we do not need to "give away the farm".

To often have I seen developers push the political buttons to get what they want to find out later that the development is creating a negative impact on the adjacent community. A community that was informed that the proposed development would not. Of course, the developer is long gone and the City and its citizens are left holding the bag, while the developer laughs his way to the bank.

We need to work together in order to fine tune developement throughout this great nation, but lets not leave a broken and costly world for our children. The real estate industry should not be left out of this issue, because they are the ones that are setting prices and driving the local real estate markets to a point that local residents are forced out of town. There is a happy medium, we all just need to work together to find it.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.