The SWMP plan is generating some interest in Norman. I'm including some quotes from other letters to the editor that have been published.
May 21 Chamber now partisan, self-serving
"The long-proposed Stormwater Master Plan and the Lighting Ordinance have been studied, re-studied, engineered and scientifically documented ad nauseam. The Stormwater plan has been found to be beneficial to all of Norman, except for a few developers. It will protect our major source of drinking water in Lake Thunderbird, a lake that is said today to be on life-support. At a recent council meeting, an engineer studying the lake stated he was shocked we haven’t had a major toxic algae bloom caused by lawn fertilizer washed from yards, but it could happen at any time! An event like this would cripple Norman’s economy. Fish would die, swimming and boating would cease, and the water would be undrinkable."
OMG!! Please save us, great city council and SWMP!! Now let's pick on business owners, those evil people:
"your Chamber of Commerce opposes an appropriate buffer zone ...because it might add a few dollars to the price of a house and cost builders and developers some profit! Heaven forbid we lose our main water supply for weeks to save some developers’ profits."
The attack on the chamber continues and ends with a threat of boycott. BTW, I oppose the plan, am a landowner (deed holder), and am not planning on selling "for profit" any time soon.
The letter was written by the current chair of Norman's Environmental Control Advisory Board, which has adopted the ICLEI's "Cities For Climate Protection".
May 22 Community’s needs outweigh the rights of property owners
"It is now down to the decision of whether the requirements of the community should outweigh the rights of certain property owners and developers to use their property as they wish. Although I am one of these property owners, I hope the City Council will decide that these important issues must be decided in favor of the welfare of all the citizens of Norman, and will pass the ordinances."
He has a right to donate his property to the City of Norman, if he so desires. He certainly doesn't have a right to donate (steal) mine! Pure covetousness.
May 22 City needs to protect our quality of life
This one is just loaded with environmental speak.
"balances robust economic growth with environmental and storm water protection"
"will improve the health and quality of life for everyone in the city"
"provide me and my future family with a safe environment"
"it’s going to improve how we continue to develop and prosper here in Norman"
"presents an opportunity for businesses to better equate themselves with the Norman community by promoting business practices that enhance our quality of life"
"This will not only improve property value to adjacent properties, but it will support recreational activities for Normanites and help protect property from flooding"
"recognizes that our growing water quality problem is only getting worse, in part, due to poor planning"
"is also about improving our water quality through smart growth"
"development with such techniques will have fewer impacts than we might otherwise have"
"help achieve higher water quality for everyone now and for future generations"
"forward thinking"
"achieve a variety of goals that make doing business and having a family more welcoming"
"highly recognized city government that fosters community and curbside recycling"
"Norman is also working on making itself a more walkable and bikeable city, all of which support a quality of life"
"see the city grow and prosper while preserving and enhancing our quality of life"
"a continuation of policies that make Norman a leader in Oklahoma in enhancing our community"
Well if you covet all that stuff, then you ought to pay for it, instead of stealing it from your neighbors.
May 23 No trepidation in Ward 3
"If Mr. Ezzell [council member] was as concerned about the needs of the residents and homeowners he claims to represent as those of the developers he always seems to support, maybe he’d have a different opinion"
The residents and homeowners need to steal land from their neighbors? Its OK to steal if you steal from a "developer"?
"our neighborhoods are suffering from years of storm water impacts, and we need something done about it now"
"storm water-related issues that have plagued our community for years"
"establishes important frameworks and goals for effectively addressing these pressing and complex issues"
"let’s not confuse their profit-minded opposition with the genuine support of the residents and homeowners of Norman who continue to be adversely affected by the negative impacts of storm water"
I'm a landowner and a homeowner, not a "selfish, capitalistic" developer. I oppose the plan.
And excerpts from letters published the day of the Norman City Council's final vote on the matter (which BTW, was rained out).
May 24 Chamber of commerce should support plan
"I submit that such objectives clearly identify the CofC [Norman Chamber of Commerce] as a public enemy"
"the Chamber will not have produced strong business and it will not have promoted the common good"
The common good? Theft of liberty and property is the common good?
"global human population increased by a factor of four"
"has produced even greater multiplication of resource consumption"
"Results include widespread alteration of habitats, deleterious change of global climates, faster depletion of nonrenewables, rising prices and increased social chaos in many places"
That's overpopulation for you. Be careful.
"the United Nations predicts that the global human population will exceed 10 billion at the year 2100, up from about 6.5 billion today"
"The average number of children per woman in developing countries declines only after women are better educated"
"The issue of population growth is complex and cannot be well treated in this letter"
"population growth should not be encouraged"
"we need to design and adopt a changed culture in a society characterized by a stable or even declining human population"
"we are already struggling to maintain the infrastructure that we have"
"we must build an energy-efficient, national, high-speed rail system for human passengers"
Such enlightenment!
May 24 Ordinances weren’t a rushed-up job, from Members of the Storm Water Task Force, Norman. They crafted the plan.
"first steps to seriously address the increasing problems of storm water runoff"
Just the first step?
"even minor downbursts have flooded streets, disrupted businesses and destroyed private property"
Now they are concerned about the destruction of my private property? How ironically paternal.
"the incremental effect of growth has had serious effects on downstream businesses and homeowners"
Too much growth, or not well enough "supervised".
"steady decline in the quality of water in Lake Thunderbird as a result of runoff from ever expanding urban sprawl"
Got to get rid of that evil urban sprawl. We can't be having people decide how to use their land.
"Storm water management experts were brought in to advise the task force"
Yeah, advice from communists to communists.
"the public was invited to several hearings to review and comment on their findings and recommendations"
Apparently, I was supposed to monitor closely what the council does. Most people assume that what the council does is innocuous, not a community organization whose goal is to deprive them of their property.
"countless meetings and hours by the task force in order to find solutions that are flexible, effective, legal and — above all — fair"
What they call "fair" is called communism in other places.
" Every effort was made to address legitimate concerns and even non-legitimate “concerns.”"
They didn't bother to notify property owners of the new zoning restrictions. It could have easily been done by tax roles.
"We urge the city council to unanimously pass these reasonable, fair and effective ordinances"
Fair, like communism is fair, and effective, like slavery is effective.
These are all the letters published in the Transcript up until the scheduled day of the vote. Which side of the issue do you think the Transcript is on?