The issue over protest petitions in Greensboro has been brewing for some time now, and the City Council will address it at tomorrow night’s meeting. In its lead editorial, the N&R thinks the council should say ‘yes’ to protest petitions while —-no suprise — TREBIC’s Marlene Sanford says protest petitions are a “tyranny of the minority.”
I’ve watched a number of rezoning cases in my years in here in Greensboro and, in my opinion, it certainly can’t be said that citizens don’t loudly speak out when threatened by a rezoning case. More than a few proposed rezonings have been withdrawn when residents spoke out in opposition.
By the same token, I’m always amazed by what I call “City Council Specials,” rezoning cases where citizens offer up a thousand reasons why their lives will be pure hell if the council allows a particular development, only to have to have the council pass it by a unanimous vote with little or no discussion.
In my opinion, the debate boils down to whether or not we should change the system or change the people in charge of the system. I’m always in favor of the latter. I would also be wary of imposing a supermajority council vote on any issue, considering the fact that you’ve always got council members who just don’t comprehend the issue at hand.
It should be an interesting discussion, and I’ll watch with interest.
