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Originally Posted by someone123
Well, I have a feeling somebody who can't keep it together without bawling at a municipal planning meeting has some deeper issues. There are definitely some characters who show up to these things. I'd like to think the anti-single mother sentiment is a fringe thing.
The "I'll know it when I see it" attitude around density is problematic because people don't tend to clearly articulate what they want or what they think would be workable. There is no reasonable way for developers to make these people happy. This is my biggest complaint about Watts. Maybe I've just missed it, but she doesn't seem to have a vision for the urban core that works for anybody but current homeowners.
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You haven't missed her vision, because she really doesn't have one. She has a re-election strategy, not a vision. She just opposes every proposed development at every stage, at all times. I think she's decided that it's a winning re-election formula and just sticks with it.
And, unfortunately, she does keep winning.
And when a councillor is so cluelessly single-minded, then they become polarizing. Such an approach polarizes more fair-minded councillors, making them angry and more "pro-development" than they would otherwise be. And the happy compromise in the middle is lost.
Watts creates the same problems that the NS Anti Development Trust causes -- they oppose every single development, and so developers do not consult with them, or try to work out a compromise. They know that any such efforts will be useless. And so, developers are polarized against the Trust and also heritage issues more generally, and so a proper compromise is lost. It's more productive to sue and humiliate the Trust, because you cannot work with them. They will sue you and oppose you no matter what steps you take to preserve heritage.