Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
This is an opportunity to present bold options for development that we may have not con-
sidered thus far. We need to have development interests on our side, not as an advisory in
this process. The most profound measure of influence on development is to vote with your
purse strings by making housing, transportation, or personal choices that reflect sustain-
ability. The development community should provide sustainable development options,
but will respond when the market demonstrates that consumers prefer these options.
As a resident of a desert community, you have the power to influence the path of devel-
opment in your community. There are several opportunities where a concerned resident
can provide a voice on development, including project scoping meetings, city council
meetings, community visioning workshops, and neighborhood meetings, among others.
Some important considerations are to be engaged in the process, act respectfully to all
parties in the discussion, understand you can alter the course of a decision when you
state your position with facts not emotions, and realize a change in behavior or policy
can take a long time to become reality. Provide praise for developers when they take
steps in the right direction, but hold them accountable to existing environmental and
zoning laws when necessary. Do not give up the effort to make that dialogue with devel-
opment; you may find you have more power than you think to make a change that works
for the community.
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