“Regionalism” has placed Heart of the Triad residents in the unenviable position of attending public hearings of seven governments with a constituency to only one. It has detached us from the normal recourse of representative government and according to the HOT “Implementation Plan” it will only get worse. “A private non-profit entity will own, govern, and market HOT in the future as an inter-jurisdictional business venture”.
The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation Newsletter states, “Dell and FedEx spurred the interest of developers who want to be in the area and a study will look at how the Triad can spur economic growth by thoughtfully developing the land at the center of the region”.
President George Washington envisioned situations where the Constitution could be compromised when he warned, “Cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People and to usurp for themselves the reins of Government, destroying the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion”.
The Heart of the Triad is a scandalous corporate plan to confiscate private property. Seven local governments are participating in a plan allowing the principle donors: BB&T, Time-Warner Cable, Wachovia Corporation, Duke Power, Piedmont Natural Gas Company and the Piedmont Triad Partnership to buy votes allowing them to control land-use and transportation planning. Public/private partnerships; (merging of State and business leadership) is an aspect of Corporatism wherein business wants the protection afforded by government’s legalized force and a government that needs the money and power of business. Corporatism refers to a political and economic system in which power is given to industrial or professional groups that promote interests of private corporations over the interests of the public. The Heart of the Triad is not “Representative Government”.
Transportation Advisory Committees are manipulating the rights of citizens by restricting public participation in the political process, limiting the power of civil society. High Point’s TAC trumped the Guilford County Commissioner’s unanimous vote to reject the High Point Major Thoroughfare Plan containing the Heart of the Triad roads. PART coordinated the HOT study, but, “For all development concepts, roadway widening was not included in the plan”. They later admit, “Widening most roadways to four lanes would eliminate most congestion”.
The Southern Environmental Law Center advises, “Citizens and decision makers should carefully scrutinize proposed expansions to the highway network to be sure that projects meet existing transportation needs”.
Planning should protect the interests of present communities, ensuring that development does not compromise the fate of future generations. Heart of the Triad disregards the heritage of families living on the land of their ancestors since the 1700s and 1800s.
A North Carolina Constitutional mandate is in place regarding conservation of natural resources. The amendment says we must “use every appropriate way to preserve as part of the common heritage of this State, its forests, wetlands, rivers, historical sites, open lands and places of beauty”. Land for Tomorrow builds on that Constitutional foundation for conservation.
This year the NC General Assembly funded “Land for Tomorrow” and the “Farmland Preservation Trust Fund”, but wisely rejected the Heart of the Triad request for $2.25 million.
NC House of Representatives passed ethics reforms to ensure government officials serve the public honestly and openly and to punish those who betray the public trust. We plan to lobby for ethics reform at the local level; to include elected officials, appointees, committee and planning board members currently functioning without ethical guidelines. The Heart of the Triad must not set a precedent.