Spoiler Alert: Quite a few recipients of the SaVe SoutH MounTaiN postcard mistakenly assumed it was the product of EMPAC. In order to get the full flavor of the effort, you had to visit a website featuring pulp-fiction scare p**n, and asking for readers’ contact information without disclosing who it is who is asking. I do not recommend downloading any material from the site given the lack of identifying information.
One of the foundational assumptions of classical rhetoric has long been that unless it is founded on truth, rhetoric is at best useless— and at worst harmful. The prevarication is the flaw that makes the postcard and its associated website such obvious examples of bad rhetoric.
The premise that South Mountain is in danger, or that it is “ours” is ridiculous. South Mountain is owned by Campbell Farming. It is technically within Edgewood boundaries, but the process which led us to that point was anything but straightforward. In fact, it lies adjacent to lands bordering North 14 and few, if any actual Edgewood residents have access to or use of South Mountain. How many residents know or care who governs the privately owned land of South Mountain? Edgewood residents already have an abundance of walking trails and open space on Sections 16, 32, and 34. There are more future trails identified in the town’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
The actual worth of the provision in the agreement between the Town of Edgewood regarding future development plans can be evaluated by looking at South Mountain on a topographical map: it is not now and never has been suitable for extensive development. The “highest and best use” of South Mountain always was, and likely always will be as open space. That would have been the case even if Edgewood Town government never came into being, Today, the one pending “minor” subdivision application does not involve South Mountain.
The “outsiders” referred to at the SaVe SoutH MounTaiN website are our neighbors and many of them shop in Edgewood, which makes it possible for Edgewood residents to enjoy lower property taxes than would be the case if our Gross Receipts Taxes didn’t largely fund the town. One of the most frustrating things about the version of Edgewood which came into being with incorporation is its historical political instability coupled with a propensity for shooting itself in the foot at critical junctures.
In the usual way of such things in these times, the persons responsible will eventually be doxxed on one social media platform or another. It is only a matter of time. Meanwhile, the Town of Edgewood Planning & Zoning Department is responding to the prospect of higher than usual attendance by once again trying to restrict access to the meeting room.