Author’s note: Because our national policy is so weak on immigration, both in policy and enforcement, cities must take on the responsibility of saying no to growth. The New York Times just did a story on Phoenix, which has no water to support their growth and they are not issuing new building permits, finally, too little too late but a warning to the rest of us of what lies ahead.
When people saw kids and cages and suffering at the border, the response was, WE WILL TAKE THEM IN, and Sanctuary Cities were born. So the dog whistle to the millions who want to come to the promised land was called and now the pouring in of those in need of our limited resource threatens to make our country the one which will house the most suffering.. The needs of those hurting can't be met but hurting those who will also run out and are running out of resources. We cannot house our own, let alone those pouring over our borders now seeking our limited water, jobs, shelter and tax revenue. Remember we are at an incredibly unsustainable 339 million and if we look the other way while we allow growth to come from other countries we are destroying the very foundations of our country, which cannot take on the world’s needy forever.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?? Send a letter to your city leaders
SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR MAYOR and City Council
TOPIC: More Growth is NOT the Answer for our city of _____________
Dear Mayor_____________,
I'm writing to ask you to consider the effects of a growing population on our local community, in particular the water shortages we face. I know you care about our citizenry as I do, that is why I am sharing this perspective to help you in your policy making efforts going forward.
We are witnessing the recent trends to change zoning laws to accommodate a desire to have smaller housing stock to address a very real issue of affordable housing. This sounds like a politically correct and sensitive action to take, but it will not serve our city well.
Adding more people to limited watersheds, means we will all have to do with less and it’s not just about water. I could just as easily talk about the results of more growth in our limited city: increased traffic, more crowded parks, schools and demands for services which are already stressed.
It is a mayor and city council’s job to serve the people who already live in the city while planning for a very different world which is knocking at our door.
When the number of home seekers is larger than the homes available it drives up the costs. Changing zoning laws to increase density will create a never-ending cycle of construction which is also unsustainable. It takes more resources of energy and water and building supplies which are also becoming scarce as we continue to endlessly build in a world of limited resources. Construction is noisy and polluting with the added bonus of adding more carbon to our atmosphere already at a dangerously high 416 parts per million (ppm) . According to MIT, a new house construction emits anywhere from 15 to 100 tons of CO2.
I recognize there is only so much a mayor can do when federal immigration policies dictate the population projections for the country. When we open our doors wider to welcome more people, we create a Catch 22 situation where the housing prices will just keep rising. Instead, we need to create the kind of policies which will preserve the quality of life that we enjoy today for the next generation. That would be the honorable thing for us to do.