Cross post from HatCityBLOG
Last night, I (along with my alter ego Marty Heiser) had the opportunity to interview Christine Rotello, one of the leading advocates for the preservation of the Lee Farm property as open space.
Recently, Rotello wrote a op-ed in opposition to the Army’s placement of a reserve center at the Lee Larm property and during the interview she explained why she’s adamantly against the development of the historic site.
If the Army takes over Lee Farms, they will do whatever they want, local zoning and rules be damned. Once given to the Feds, there will be no local control at all from a practical matter.
This would be “better” as open space, if that’s what we the people want and are willing to pay for with the people’s funds.
Consider the view from miles away what the Army and buildings would look like. What is a rural setting would become industrialized.
As private property, someone has to pay for it to acquire from the owners, or eminent domain does require just compensation. So that’s the issue, who pays for the alternative to the Army.