If you’ve been looking for a way to get your voice heard regarding the future of our neighborhood, now is the time to act. Our designated Council representative, Rob Saka, holds regular 20-minute office hours, and I highly encourage you to request a meeting through his website.
Cherie and I recently sat down with him to share our concerns in person. If you decide to go, my biggest piece of advice is to be organized. Twenty minutes goes by fast! I will create a separate post on one of our key learnings from the meeting.
The “Camps” of Neighborhood Planning
During our meeting, Councilmember Saka shared a perspective he has also raised in recent Council meetings. He described the “camps” he feels people fall into when it comes to local development:
- NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard
- YIMBY: Yes In My Back Yard
- YITBY: Yes In Their Back Yard
Why Labels Aren’t the Solution
To be honest, I found these categories a bit frustrating. While they might make for a quick talking point, I believe these labels do more to discount people’s genuine thoughts and opinions than they do to foster real listening. Instead of developing reasonable policies and solutions based on community feedback, these terms tend to oversimplify complex local issues.
In hindsight, I wish I had asked how categorizing residents this way actually helps the process. If we must use these terms, one could argue that City Planners and the City Council fall into the YITBY (Yes In Their Back Yard) category; after all, they are the ones deciding what gets built in our neighborhood from afar.
Make Your Voice Heard
The future of Morgan Junction shouldn’t be reduced to an acronym. We need our representatives to listen to the nuances of our community’s needs.
Please consider booking a slot during Councilmember Saka’s office hours to share your own perspective. Let’s ensure our voices are heard loudly and clearly.