News
After reading John Karis's article on Tuesday, which held Arvada Colorado up as something vile in order to make some points that I frankly could not even comprehend, I decided to share the article with a friend, Kenneth S. Fellman, who happens to be the former mayor of Arvada. Following is his response:
“Mr. Karis obviously has no knowledge of Arvada's history, either generally, or of the development that he criticized in his column. In 1981, Arvada citizens voted to create an urban renewal project area. At the time, the area contained many boarded-up store fronts, some businesses, an extremely low sales tax base, and older, run-down rental housing. It had the highest crime statistics of any place in the city, and was not a safe environment for the school children who attended the two elementary schools on the east and west side of this area.
“When the urban renewal project area ended in 2006, it had become a striving retail area, generating significant revenues to fund other essential city services. It had created new urban park areas, trail connections and safe pedestrian access around the schools. While it does attract shoppers from outside of Arvada, despite Mr. Karis' unsupported allegations, most of the tax revenues are generated from Arvada citizens. Mr. Karis is also ignorant of the fact that adjacent to this development to the north is Arvada's historic Olde Town. Arvada is one of a very small number of metro area communities that has actually preserved and enhanced its historic original downtown buildings, some of which are over 100 years old. It also created a significant number of new in-fill housing units (as you know, infill is an important tool against suburban sprawl), and despite Mr. Karis' false claim about the area's housing being mostly apartments, most of the housing is owner-occupied townhomes/condos with a smaller percentage of for-rent apartments as well.
“What Mr. Karis falsely describes as an area filled with big boxes and gas stations, is actually an area of three big boxes and scores of small, independently owned business, most of which have developed roots in the community and enjoy a loyal, local customer base.
“Arvada has an active and engaged citizenry that have been involved in historic preservation, acquisition of parks, trails and open space, development of mixed use, walk-able communities, and every other element of community planning. A city with a population in excess of 100,000 usually has a handful of large retail outlets, and Arvada is no exception (although I would venture to say we have fewer big boxes than most cities of our size). Arvada is not Summit County, and neither should be compared to the other when it comes to land use planning. Mr. Karis might have more credibility if he attempted to make his point about land use matters in Summit County without trashing another community — especially when he is ignorant of the facts.”
It would seem that Mr. Karis could serve his community better by getting some factual data to base his ranting on. Another suggestion for John is something my parents taught me: It was that if you cannot say something positive about someone else, it is best not to say anything at all.
“Mr. Karis obviously has no knowledge of Arvada's history, either generally, or of the development that he criticized in his column. In 1981, Arvada citizens voted to create an urban renewal project area. At the time, the area contained many boarded-up store fronts, some businesses, an extremely low sales tax base, and older, run-down rental housing. It had the highest crime statistics of any place in the city, and was not a safe environment for the school children who attended the two elementary schools on the east and west side of this area.
“When the urban renewal project area ended in 2006, it had become a striving retail area, generating significant revenues to fund other essential city services. It had created new urban park areas, trail connections and safe pedestrian access around the schools. While it does attract shoppers from outside of Arvada, despite Mr. Karis' unsupported allegations, most of the tax revenues are generated from Arvada citizens. Mr. Karis is also ignorant of the fact that adjacent to this development to the north is Arvada's historic Olde Town. Arvada is one of a very small number of metro area communities that has actually preserved and enhanced its historic original downtown buildings, some of which are over 100 years old. It also created a significant number of new in-fill housing units (as you know, infill is an important tool against suburban sprawl), and despite Mr. Karis' false claim about the area's housing being mostly apartments, most of the housing is owner-occupied townhomes/condos with a smaller percentage of for-rent apartments as well.
“What Mr. Karis falsely describes as an area filled with big boxes and gas stations, is actually an area of three big boxes and scores of small, independently owned business, most of which have developed roots in the community and enjoy a loyal, local customer base.
“Arvada has an active and engaged citizenry that have been involved in historic preservation, acquisition of parks, trails and open space, development of mixed use, walk-able communities, and every other element of community planning. A city with a population in excess of 100,000 usually has a handful of large retail outlets, and Arvada is no exception (although I would venture to say we have fewer big boxes than most cities of our size). Arvada is not Summit County, and neither should be compared to the other when it comes to land use planning. Mr. Karis might have more credibility if he attempted to make his point about land use matters in Summit County without trashing another community — especially when he is ignorant of the facts.”
It would seem that Mr. Karis could serve his community better by getting some factual data to base his ranting on. Another suggestion for John is something my parents taught me: It was that if you cannot say something positive about someone else, it is best not to say anything at all.
