Letters
Letters to the Editor: July 23, 2008
By
Jul 23, 2008 - 10:25:15 AM

Too Much Development  

To the Editor:

Can someone please explain to me why Chesterfield needs Branner Station?  Do we really need another Longmeadow subdivision, because that’s what Branners Station will look like with 1/4 acre lots.  If long-time Chester residents haven’t done so recently, drive down Happy Hill Road sometime and check out what has become of Longmeadow subdivision.  If you drive to the newest sections in the back, you’ll wonder “am I still in Chester”?  It’s offensive to the senses and a shock to your eyes.

If cramming hundreds of houses onto tiny 1/4-acre lots isn’t bad enough, think about the added burden to the already glutted housing market.  And does anyone really think these homes will cost less than $250,000?  Just look at what they’re asking for apartments (ahem, excuse me, condos) in Chester Village Green. I know about the promises to improve infrastructure, build schools, and provide parks, but why exactly does Chester need all these new homes?  It’s not as if major industry is coming to the area anytime soon.  It’s not as if there’s some big business or businesses coming to Chester anytime soon.  Even with the build up of soldiers at Ft. Lee coming, housing has already been planned to accommodate those folks.  And then, of course, there’s the issue of hundreds of homes for sale in Chesterfield that aren’t selling because for some strange reason, people are willing to stick a for sale sign up in perpetuity in their yards rather than realizing that maybe if they asked a reasonable price for their home, their home would actually sell.

Mark my word, Branner Station, if allowed to be developed, will be a disaster to the community.  I refer you to the newest eyesore on Route 10 in front of the Cole house that was once hidden in the woods, but is now exposed like a giant garage, serving as the backdrop to the raked red clay earth of Magnolia Gardens.  I shudder every time I have to drive past THAT development.  And in case you didn’t know, there’s an identical one just like it behind WalMart on Route 10 across the street.  At least that one is out of sight, therefore out of mind.  If you take the time to drive through these disasterous developments, you’ll discover approximately one owner occupied building in each.  They’re not selling – and why would they?  There’s no place for children to play safely, and they cost as much or more as your average single family home.  I don’t know who’s idea it was – but what on earth were they thinking?  I can’t for the life of me understand the constant need to cut down trees, tear up natural beauty, and plant in their places homes, condos, apartments, etc., especially during a time when virtually no homes are selling anyway.  Will Chester become the next Las Vegas or like some other overbuilt area out west where vacant homes sit in different states of completion because no one can afford to buy them and they probably never needed all of them in the first place?  My family has lived in Chester since 1973 and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see what’s become of what once was a rural, quaint community where everyone knew everyone.  How I yearn for the Chester of yesteryear – where did it go?  Why did it have to become what it is today?  And why do we need Branner Station?
 
Julia Latimer Hicks

© Copyright by Village Publishing LLC