Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 3:22 PM
To: Godfrey, Matthew; City Council; Montgomery, Greg; ronatencio@aol.com; cathyblaisell@comcast.net; rherman@edaarch.com; newzionut@aol.com; ihueton@yahoo.com; rich@hyerfamily.net; carlinmaw@realtor.com; rhsschade@msn.com; jcwright@comcast.lnet
Subject: Mt. Ogden Community Plan
Note: This E-mail Was Blind Carbon Copied To Thousands of Lift Ogden Supporters In The Ogden Area
Question: Was there a systemic flaw in the Mt. Ogden Community Plan?
Answer: A “community” plan is probably best arrived at with a sense of “community” in mind rather than as a public assault on a specific “hot-button” issue and a public viewpoint of your “Lift Ogden” neighbors as “barbarians.”
Author: L. Mikel Vause (Founder of Smart Growth Ogden)
Guest commentary, March 29, 2006
Section: Editorial
Quote From Article Text:
" Barbarians. They do not come with furred caps, Smelling of mare's milk, scimitared, Dour, as tellable as kites. They live quietly next door, Speak almost the same language, Wear almost the same clothes. Inside the walls, but Do not think they lack Precisely the same intentions."
Dear Planning Commission, Mayor and City Council,
As the Chairman of Lift Ogden, I wanted to take a moment this morning and commend you for all the work that you’ve done regarding the Mt. Ogden Community Plan. I know that it has been quite an ordeal and that it will probably be very nice to have everything codified once and for all.
There are some important background issues that I would hope you would keep in mind as you finalize this community plan and consider its application to future issues:
1. (Current spokes-woman and leader of Smart Growth Ogden) Mary Hall’s comments last night regarding the influence of Smart Growth Ogden’s openness and participation and Lift Ogden’s lack of openness and participation in the Mt. Ogden Community Plan Process:
a. The fact is, Smart Growth Ogden initiated the entire Mount Ogden Community Plan process. For a year, they had yard signs in the Mount Ogden Community and were planning ways to stop or disrupt Chris Peterson’s plans. They had several planning meetings within Smart Growth Ogden to contemplate and plan the initiation of the community planning process and how it could be used to stop Chris Peterson. As such, when the process began, it was very much Smart Growth Ogden centric. All anyone had to do was observe the attitudes of the people in the initial meetings. Every comment was built around stopping Chris Peterson.
b. Last summer, almost one year after Smart Growth Ogden began displaying yard signs in the Mt. Ogden neighborhoods, Lift Ogden decided to put up yard signs to hi-light the significant number of people in Ogden who support the Gondola project and the economic progress that it is brining to the our city. If you drove through the Mount Ogden Community last summer and observed the number of “Lift Ogden” signs, you would have noted that there were a large number. There were enough Lift Ogden signs in the Mou nt Ogden Community that community members began discussing the “division” of the community, and the paper ran political comics poking fun at the civil war in the area. In my assessment, this was a good thing however. The reason I say that is because there was a previously untested assumption that everyone in the Mount Ogden Community was aligned with the Smart Growth Ogden viewpoint. In fact, this was not so.
Below are some examples of how the Lift Ogden supporters in the Mt. Ogden community were publicly met by their neighbors when these Lift Ogden members began publicly expressing their views (see below). To this day, the Smart Growth Ogden community members have been able to display their signs without any recognizable incident.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Every morning, many members of the Mt. Ogden Community woke up to this in their yard (see image below). Sometimes 5 or 6 city blocks in the Mt. Ogden neighborhood had this happen to their signs (see image below). Fellow Ogdenites were doing this to their Lift Ogden neighbors in the Mt. Ogden Neighborhood…
Below are just a few examples of some e-mails that I received from Lift Ogden members in the Mt. Ogden Community (I’d send them all, but I deleted most of them.)
-----Original Message-----
From: VS
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 8:46 AM
To: sschwebke@standard.net
Cc: Bob Geiger
Subject: Lift Ogden Signs Missing!!
On my way to work this morning - I couldn't help but notice, many of the
Lift Ogden signs were gone...I live in Malan Ct. (I still have my
signs), but when I drove down 29th Street to Taylor, I didn't see any
signs. Also, along Taylor and Boughton, all of those signs were
missing, as well.
Why are people taking our signs? I hope these people are reporting
their signs missing and I hope these signs are replaced.
Thank you,
VS
_____________________________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: DS
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 2:05 PM
To: sschwebke@standard.net; Bob Geiger
Subject: LIFT OGDEN SIGNS
I wanted to let you know about some of the sign issues regarding LIFT
OGDEN signs. I live on Taylor Ave. Between my neighbor and I, we have
had 6 LIFT OGDEN signs taken from our yards in the past week. There is
a smart growth sign between our yards, that hasn't been touched. Every
time we get new signs and put them up, they disappear.
___________________________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: NM
Sent: Saturday, June 10, 2006 1:15 PM
To: Bob Geiger
Subject: Re: IMPORTANT - Lift Ogden Signs
Hey Bob,
Just a quick question, my neighbor, who owns Ogden Blue, and myself had
our lift Ogden Signs taken on Friday, I have no idea who took them. Do you
know where we can get a bunch more signs? I have a few of my neighbors on
the East bench that I know would have a sign. If you have a contact name
or number that would be greatly appreciated. I am an avid lift Ogden
supporter and would love to see these signs be flooded through my
neighborhood. I think there was someone who went around taking a bunch of
signs. It really irritated me, and I want to ge another one up asap.
You can either e-mail me back or give me a quick call 721-0350.
Thanks alot Bob,
NM
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From: SLR
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2006 12:28 PM
To: sschwebke@standard.net
Subject: Hate-induced Behavior
Scott,
I was handed a pamphlet yesterday which spoke strongly against the Gondola proposal. It failed to divulge its authorship but was folded inside a second publication divulging its source as Smart Growth Ogden. The first piece was laced with strongly-worded, howbeit very sophomoric, poorly written, statements and allegations that could only be described as “hate language.”
I tell you this to make a particular point. A veritable epidemic of private property violations have been the result of this very negative approach by those in opposition to the Gondola. I went out to walk my dog last evening and, on returning, observed that both of the Lift Ogden signs on my corner lot were once again missing as was a neighbors a few houses away. Because I walk this neighborhood nightly I can attest that no other signs, except those of Lift Ogden, including campaign signs and the Smart Growth signs have fallen prey to similar vandalism. Speaking with another supporter of the Gondola project this morning, I learned that Lift Ogden has now logged reports of over 200 such instances of trespassing, theft, and vandalism.
I encourage you to report on this shameful affront to free speech. I think it is noteworthy that whenever a debate is fueled by such hatred on one side of an issue or another, some will take this as license to break the law and abuse the rights of others. I believe this aspect of the present debate is an indictment against the civility and judgment of many who live in this community. It needs to be exposed for what it is: lawlessness influenced by a radical, close-minded element whose rhetoric is contributing nothing to the growth and prosperity of this City.
SLR
__________________________________________________________________
The News Paper Asked Lift Ogden to Stop Reporting Acts of Vandalism and Sign Theft in the Mt. Ogden Community because it was filling up their in-box.
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From: Scott Schwebke [mailto:sschwebke@standard.net]
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 11:57 AM
To: Bob Geiger
Subject: signs
Bob:
Please enough with the emails about the signs. I get the point. They are overflowing my inbox. Thanks. Hope you are doing well.
Scott
(As evidenced by the public comments of Mike Vause and the e-mails and images above.) The initial steps in the community planning process and discussion, both formally by the city, and informally by Smart Growth Ogden, occurred in a overall environment where Smart Growth Ogden publicly encouraged a fairly hostile viewpoint toward people with views differing from their own. In an effort to embolden Lift Ogden community members and encourage their participation in Smart Growth Ogden’s community plan process, we delivered a letter (letter referenced by Mary Hall in last night’s meeting) to every Lift Ogden door.
c. With such a Lift Ogden presence in the Mount Ogden Community, why was the Lift Ogden participation relatively low?
i. It was very apparent througho ut the entire process that Smart Growth Ogden was the driving force behind the community plan, and as some community members who did not share the Smart Growth Ogden viewpoint began to engage in the process, they quickly realized that politically, the Mount Ogden Community Plan was essentially a tightly held “Smart Growth Ogden” asset for the pursuit of Smart Growth Ogden’s Goal—“Stop Chris Peterson”. Again, Smart Growth Ogden initiated the call to execute a Community Plan, believing that they could use the plan and its process to stop Chris Peterson. Again, community members expressing views contrary to Smart Growth Ogden were not being treated well. To me, the hostile community environment displayed by the very public vandalism and theft of yard sings, coupled with the execution of a community planning process for the purpose of stopping a “hot button issue” was a grave mis-use and abuse of the comm unity planning process as a whole. Smart Growth Ogden organized itself to ensure that it was the most powerful voice in the community planning process. Each meeting was a beehive of Smart Growth Ogden activity. Subsequently, people with differing viewpoints to Smart Growth Ogden conceded the process and moved on to more productive efforts in their lives.
ii. Also, there are many people in Ogden and in the Mt. Ogden Community who do not share the Smart Growth Ogden viewpoint that simply cannot conceive of the idea that the Mt. Ogden Community Plan would supersede city-wide plans and opportunities for improvement. They may be wrong in their understanding and belief, but that is true. It is another reason why some with differing viewpoints did not engage.
d. Please keep two things in mind:
i. It is important that the Mt. Ogden Community plan serve the Mt. Ogden Community, but not at the sacrifice of the remaining 87% of Ogden.
1. New opportunities for Ogden are on the horizon. We can see great things materializing for our city every day. Efforts should always be made to adhere to the general plan for the city and its component communities, but the plans should never be so restrictive that it prevents the city from pursuing opportunities that are good for it as a whole. Plans should not be serve as a road block, statio nary or mobile, to good things for Ogden.
I trust that the right thing will done. I am glad that a community plan is in place, but I sure wish that it could have been arrived at in a less political way. Some good community viewpoints were certainly sacrificed; and due to the “hot button issue” orientation of the process, a “community oriented spirit” was a missing ingredient. The methodology for which you pursued the creation of the community plan was not flawed. The “process” flaws are found in the motivation and contriving nature of those who called for the “community” plan and then organized themselves to achieve their particular goal with regard to a specific “hot button issue”. There may be consequences, intended and unintended, that result from this “hot button issue” community plan. ; It is my hope that we can live with these consequences should they arise while executing the community plan so that it works well for the betterment of Ogden as a whole and for the Mt. Ogden Community as well.
Again, thank you for all you do for our city!
Sincerely,
Bob Geiger
Chairman
Lift Ogden
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