It's really tough when you have good friends on both sides of a controversial community issue.  Sometimes I hold off on commentary in hopes that additional information will come forward to bring things more in focus or, quite frankly, to get me off the fence and into some sort of advocacy.

  The recent public stance by the Lamoine Valley Board of Realtors, followed by a three-page commentary by Community Development Coordinator Ed Basch, has helped me sort out my feelings on current zoning policy.  I feel the city has, in certain high-profile cases, acted on principle but without compassion.

  In this summer's Elting/Orchard rezoning requests, one longtime neighborhood resident explained that he had been trying to move out for two years but the only purchase offers he got were from rental businesses.  He then explained in detail why the neighborhood is no longer fit for families.

  The argument was further bolstered by realtor Steve Silberer, who detailed the financial losses suffered by property owners and the years of delay in making a sale because their properties were zoned for single families and the buyer's demand was for rentals.  The city council denied the rezoning requests.

  Then there's the Flynn property on the corner of Pierce and McArthur.  After the house burned down, the owner said he had offers from rental businesses to buy the property.  No offers came from anyone interested in building a single family home on the lot. Despite the fact that every house surrounding Flynn's is a rental, the city council denied the rezoning request.

  With realtors now coming forward citing the spectre of a ruined Macomb economy if all rentals were forced to comply with current zoning, maybe it's time for the city council to also reflect on some personal economies that have been wrecked  by the failure to consider the realities of certain neighborhoods.  There seems to be an interest in getting all the stakeholders back to the table and, if so, this is an issue to be revisited.

  My thought is that maybe there should be a time trigger that allows the city to revisit whether zoning is impeding progress in certain neighborhoods.  If a rezoning is turned down and a property sits vacant after one year, or the owner has only purchase offers that would depend upon a rezoning, the issue should be brought up again for discussion.

  Let's stop playing the game of who can bring the largest crowd to city hall and shout the opposition down or bury the issue in repetitive testimony.  Put the time clock on some of these properties with an eye toward action with the advice of all those who care.