To the editor:
I initially supported adoption of the Community Preservation Act in Egremont, but I have now decided to oppose it and urge Egremonters to vote “no.”
My support was based on the premise that CPA funds would be used to create much needed housing for low- and moderate-income people, and I was willing to overlook the CPA’s many deficiencies because of that premise. But based on the adoption of our new zoning bylaw, which is very unfriendly to housing, and the lack of meaningful support in town for eliminating the barriers to creating less expensive housing, I have concluded that the proponents’ commitment to housing is more lip service than it is real. In my public service and in business, I have always found that actions matter and promises don’t. On housing in Egremont, I see lots of promises and very little action, and I don’t envision that changing.
What finally tipped the scales for me was that imposing a tax surcharge on those Egremonters who are less well off than those who are pushing adoption of the CPA doesn’t seem right at a time when government support is threatened at the state and federal levels. Many Egremonters can absorb the pain of paying more taxes, but I am concerned about those who can’t.
Laura Allen
Egremont
Editor’s Note: Laura Allen is a member of the Egremont Select Board; however, she writes the above as a private citizen.
