On Nov. 9 I attended a public hearing at Evergreen Park High School concerning the rezoning of Evergreen Park Golf Course from open space to a commercial/housing zone. I call it a Town Meeting because it had all the right elements: a good cause, passion, good guys and bad guys. In this day of so many issues being gray and muddled, it was a wonderful experience to be able to cheer and applaud for the good and so clearly see the bad.
Sound simplistic? It is. But what is so wonderful is that it is that simple–do we want a Home Depot, more traffic, more congestion, more strip stores, more stress on our environment and people, or do we want to keep some trees, birds and open recreation in our community?
The representatives of the project were actually crumbling in the face of the audience’s comments, facts and questions. Not one person of the communities who spoke was going to fill their pockets with money by standing up for their values, passions, and concerns. Our public officials were impassioned and the people were outraged.
I have always loved Evergreen Park and have gone out of my way to drive the streets to feel the serenity and peacefulness of the area. I have lived in Beverly for more than 28 years and have felt the same. I, however, have always felt that Western Avenue divided us; now I feel that we are united by the open park in the middle of our villages.
I am truly sorry for all the people who did not attend this meeting. They missed an opportunity to feel good about having passion, honesty and truth on their side.
