Support the green space proposal

The historical record of Amherst developers is not an attractive one. They have built homes in flood plains and in areas where a fluid underground relentlessly tears their unsecured foundations apart. They have built so many homes that we approach traffic gridlock. When the inevitable problems develop they have moved on to new projects.

How did they accomplish this? They bought our town government. A recent flier supporting Republican board candidates even carried a footnote indicating that it was sponsored by the local Real Estate Association.

They also broadcast their mantra: Development saves taxes. Never mind that this statement is simply false. A study by an independent town-sponsored firm indicates that for every dollar in taxes generated by a residential home, $1.12 is spent on town services. The rest of us pay that extra cost in taxes.

In other words, those new houses that are supposed to subtract from our tax burden actually add to it. (The few exceptions are half million dollar homes taxed at full valuation, which their owners have often been able to avoid.)

Now Bill Kindel has proposed a bond issue to protect us from further residential development. And the developers and their bought-and-paid-for cronies are out in force seeking to defeat this initiative.

Never mind that the town planning board has analyzed the initiative and concluded that it will reduce town costs.

This town should wake up to support the initiative.

Gerry Rising

Robinhill Drive

Williamsville

(Editor's note: This letter was submitted prior to the Sept. 4 Town Board decision to place the item on the November ballot.)