Kerry Dougherty Crap

There's nothing like a Kerry Dougherty column to ruin your morning. This morning she crapped a big turd, with a column that could have been ghost written by Robert Dean. She attacked Virginia Beach's Strategic Growth Area (SGA) policy, and extolled suburbia.

1. "suburban sprawl".

Yes, Kerry, it's a real term. Most land planners now realize how post-World War II excesses have warped society today. One is unsustainable land use patterns, which force you to get in a car and drive 2-3 miles to do anything.

2. "Congestion...stress."

So you would lead us to believe that suburbia is congestion-free and stress-free? (So much for any credibility.)

3. "Pollution...Inconvenience."

"Pollution"?!? Pollution is the very thing Kerry embraces: all those Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOVs) driving forever in suburbia! "Inconvenience"? That's having to drive 4-5 miles to a shopping center to get anything.

4. "Until you've actually schlepped your groceries home on a city bus...."

I've been doing it for 6 years now, Kerry. There's a science to it, but its easily manageable and can be fun in itself.

5. "It beats riding buses - or trains - any day."

You know how much I get done on the bus because I'm not preoccupied driving? I read, write, make safe cell phone calls and send texts, etc. Last week I e-mailed in a commendation for a Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) bus Operator from my smartphone while still on her bus.

Most of the meeting write-ups on this blog had outlines written on the bus home from the meeting. I take notes in the meeting, write an outline from those notes on the bus home, then post at a desktop.

6. "Here's another: Why should the city continue to be bent on growth?"

For years Robert Dean has pushed the line that Virginia Beach can simply stop growing. That flies in the face of Virginia's tax code, which requires localities to rely on the Property Tax for local revenue. The Blue Ribbon Budget Task Force recommended that an 1% local Sales Tax and 1% local Income Tax be enacted, coupled with a revenue neutral cut in the Property Tax. The extremist Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) refuses to endorse it, wanting a higher Property Tax rate to use as a political football. If Kerry wants to slow growth, let's see her endorse the Task Force recommendations in her next column. (She won't.)

Also, it's not a question if developers build, but where? Last year we saw a developer attempt to encroach into the suburbia Dougherty pretends to champion, proposing to convert residential to office in Acredale. If the SGAs fail to bloom, it's at least as easy for them to do that as anything else. Let's call opposition to light rail for what it is: the VBTA/Dougherty "May 1,000 Acredales Arise!" Policy. They would destroy the very suburbia they claim to love.

7. "Seems there are nascent plans afoot that would redevelop chunks of the city on a distinctly metropolitan model."

Of course, the plans entered the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code in 2003. 7 years ago. We can't legally downzone, which Kerry has to know, being a judge's wife. She's playing a disingenuous game, trying to incite people to try to stop what she knows they legally can't.

With light rail and redevelopment of the SGAs, the vast majority of Virginia Beach will still look the same in 40-50 years. In fact, it's redeveloping the SGAs (with the transit prerequisite) that will preserve the very neighborhoods that Kerry Dougherty pretends to champion. With "champions" like Dougherty and the VBTA, suburbia doesn't need any enemies!