Until I read San Carlos Mayor Mark Olbert’s April 12 guest perspective in the Daily Journal as an expression of liberty, I naively thought the great philosopher John Stuart Mill’s book “On Liberty” was the defining treatise on the subject. Mill wrote about the democratic conundrum in which a tyrannical majority oppresses a few. Mr. Olbert describes how local communities set building rules. Developers are allowed to build anything as long as those rules are followed because of liberty. For Mr. Olbert, rules protect a community from the arbitrary tyranny of developers.
Mill had only one criterion for when a person’s liberty might be curtailed: “to prevent harm to others.” The Black Mountain properties, at 23.5 acres, represent the largest undeveloped site in San Carlos. As we debate issues of liberty, developers are negotiating behind closed doors on how to maximize their profits by connecting or not connecting neighborhoods, investigating how to exploit the zoning rules they have helped write, and try to divide neighbors in order to advance their agenda. The current plan is to build excessively tall townhomes in strange configurations. Little thought is being given on how to best integrate these homes into the established community. The negative impact will be felt across San Carlos as parks, open spaces, and other civic areas fail to accommodate the demand of hundreds of new residents and their cars.
I hope that Peninsula residents demand true liberty: development that minimizes harm to our established communities. Rethink Black Mountain Petition at change.org.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.