Dean Minnich: Things change, but NIMBY views stay the same | COMMENTARY
As in Carroll County, people who moved in liked working in Baltimore because the jobs paid better, and houses were cheaper out in the country.
They say that Daniel Boone kept moving farther west whenever he spotted smoke from the chimney of a new neighbor.
I like to think of Daniel as the first NIMBY — Not In My Back Yard. With newcomers come complications, like rules. Old Daniel wasn’t having any rules, so he moved. Today, the rules are set by homeowners’ associations, who put pressure on local governments’ plans for managing growth.
Homeowners’ associations are empowered by the NIMBY ethos. The HOA is the moat around the neighborhood to ensure conformity and the preservation of property values.
It’s not like when Daniel saw the smoke and moved. He had a natural curiosity and a wandering nature, so it was easy for him to just pack up and move on when the neighborhood changed. And this was a time when America’s frontiers were considered up for grabs.
The thing is, as soon as Daniel settled into the next cabin, he was the new guy. Some of the long-time residents might have had some issues with another white guy moving in, competing for the deer and other game hunting, and — worst of all, if one of them moves in, it will be no time before others will follow, and there goes the neighborhood.
Some native Americans said, “NIMBY.”
This continues today. Some want change, some don’t. That’s the only thing that does not change.
Bel Air residents were complaining that their town will look like Towson. On any given day, another county or town wrestles with their town becoming like the city, or less appealing suburbs. Well, they say, not in my back yard.
As in Carroll County, people who moved in liked working in Baltimore because the jobs paid better, and houses were cheaper out in the country. But as others began commuting from their jobs in the city to homes in the county, the cry went up that Towson, Aberdeen, Westminster, and Eldersburg and Mount Airy were getting to be like Baltimore — or at least like Arbutus or Highlandtown.
Developers want to sell more homes. Ah, the traffic, becomes the lament. The commuter makes the traffic, and the commuters complain about the traffic. Crowds of newcomers complain about crowds. This is the American way.
Build more roads, add lanes to existing roads, suggest the stakeholders in the growth — those selling things.
Ah, the taxes, is another lament. We can’t foot the bill for other people’s commuting. And the pollution, car exhaust and overloaded landfills.
Public transportation, trains or buses?
Ah, the crime. The criminals will ride the trains out of the city and rob our houses. Then we will be more like Baltimore or Owings Mills or Columbia.
Columbia?
Yes, it was supposed to be the ideal community, and look at it. It’s full of commuters. All those people moved to get out of the city, so they made a city.
You get the idea. It’s complicated. Carroll County leaders are about to update the master plan for growth, and they just got a report that says 70% of local residents travel an average of 24 miles to jobs outside the county.
When I ran for commissioner 22 years ago, the issues were uncontrolled growth and insufficient facilities — schools, fire and emergency services, water and sewer, roads and public safety.
We were a bedroom community whose allure was cheaper housing in a place that wasn’t Towson, Arbutus or Baltimore and keeping their metro area paycheck.
New residents wanted more: Classrooms in new schools, more parks and recreational facilities and hiking trails, better roads and police and fire protection.
Current residents wanted to slow things down, not so fast in my back yard.
Daniel Boone was a smart guy.
Dean Minnich writes from Westminster.