HomeMy WebLinkAboutA004 - proposal for neighborhood unity A PROPOSAL FOR NEIGHBORHOOD UNITY
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, one is reminded of the Puritan
immigrants. Not only did they survive the hardships of nature in an untamed land,
they also survived the stress of living with each other. Their success on both
counts was due, in some part at least, to the famous "Mayflower Compact" .
Before leaving the ship which brought them to the new world, our
pilgrim forefathers took the time to reflect on how they ought to live with each
other as free people. They set their conclusions into a written document to which
each member of the community became a signator. It was their "social contract" .
Perhaps, in these times as the need for more intensive use of urban land
and less requisite use of prime ag land becomes more obvious each year, a "social
contract" for the neighborhoods could be useful . It would be a written document
whereby all of us could more clearly establish that the necessary governance comes
with the consent of the governed and not imposed by "government" .
With that good in mind, it is my proposal that we begin the arduous
but hopeful process of drafting a document for each neighborhood wishing to partici-
pate. For each it would be a statement of guidelines for responsible behavior and
community life for all . It would become a document to which every member of the
neighborhood community, home owners, tenants and rental property owners and developers
could subscribe as a member of the community.
Such a document would be the last act of the process. The first act is
to designate a forum for discussion and deliberation. To that end I will ask the
University/Student/City Committee to serve as the forum, and that they develop and
set in motion a process of hearings and deliberations that will , in due course,
result in a body of written guidelines for community life and a process for mediating
any disputes that might arise within the scope of the "neighborhood compact" which
every citizen of the community will be able to sign and live by.
11 s 'tte
T!Z3au ood and, Mayor
John Klaus, City Attorney
(Legal Assistance)