[MassHistPres] Historic commissions Mr Fiest's remarks.

[Jonathan Feist]

I'm sorry, but it's a constant battle here with the extremely aggressive
forces of development that are constantly seeming to find loopholes that
will allow them to destroy beautiful places and replace them with
McMansions, strip malls, vast housing developments, etc.

Among developers, I have found far more who were motivated purely by profit
than other values. Their role here is nearly always to tear the community
apart for their short-term gain.

For example, a few years ago, an unscrupulous developer found a loophole in
an administrative process that resulted in Harvard getting its first chain
restaurant, a Dunkin Donuts, despite the impassioned public outrage.

Then, every few months, we seem to be doing battle with a new aggressive 40B
developer, which forces vast and ugly housing developments down our throats,
overrunning local zoning laws, etc.

Then, there are the developers who buy properties, tear down the antique
house on it, and build something hideous in its wake.

There are several 40B developments underway that threaten conservation land,
historical areas, and such. These companies come from out of town, and they
turn neighbor against neighbor, for the sake of their easy profits.

They play dirty in negotiations, seeming to constantly being looking for
ways to swindle us out of our protective laws.

Sorry, but I absolutely see developers as the enemy. Sure there are
exceptions.  But in my experience, they are in the minority, and there are
big ethical problems in that profession, as a whole.

--Jonathan


on 8/27/08 6:48 PM, George Shaw at geo1shaw at mindspring.com wrote:

> As they say, 99% of developers give the rest of you a bad name.....
> 
> --Jonathan
> Perhaps you were joking, but I find your comment regarding developers and
> perhaps by extension contractors to be offensive.
> As a long time contractor and property owner, I have always attempted to work
> with the various commissions, building departments, etc that I have run
> across. Most contractors that I know and most developers that I have worked
> for also "play by the rules'", despite the fact that the process can be time
> consuming, costly and ultimately frustrating.  I have on occasion met with the
> attitude that you have conveyed, essentially we are the enemy. I have also met
> with many more people who treat me with respect and professionally, even when
> giving me "bad news".  I would be doing them a disservice, if i was to paint
> them with the same broad brush that you have painted us with.
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