Minutes 04/14/1953 - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 14th, 1953. Motion of Nr. HouSton To' refer to theCity Nanager and City Attorney was adopted. Gordon F. ~arsh spoke requesting the closing of an alley on Hartford St. adjacen~ to the property of R. E. Byrd. Motion of Nr. Howard to refer to the committee appointed ~o investigate selling portions of the Glensheallah Golf course property, was adopted. R, F..McMurran, representing property owners affected by ~he proposed civic center, spoke and presented the. following petition~ainst the construction"of a~ civic center in ~his area. "We, the undersigned citizens of Portsmouth, do protes~ the establishmenm of a civic center op~ed by the .Por~smou%h Redevelopmen~and HousingAuthority for the following reasons: t. The proposed downtown Redevelopment Projec~ will take private property ostensibly for ............. · o a "modern sho~ing cen~e~ and off street parkzng lo s. We protest the seizure of lands now privately owned, whose future use will be private business under the directzon! and con~rot of the city government. 2. The proposed plan leaves out any consideration of Portsmouth as the seat of Norfolk County, and plans for Por~smoutkas a separate municipality only. Certainly the city and county governments need public buildings, but they do not need government-owned shopping centersand parking lots. 3. The proposedplan not enly includes parcels of land in'the general area of High'to North St., between Washington and Effingham Sts., but also parcels selected on ~iddle St., etc. Strangely enough,I selected is of excellent appearance and needs ~o be preserved rather than redeveloped. the property 4. More property is ~o be taken than is needed for public b~ildings. This property is bein forcibly bought from citizens, and will then be resold to other private citizens. ~. Considerable money has been spent for ~preliminary plans without asking the people whe- ~ the wished such plans. The City of Portsmouth hana legally appointed City planning Commission which ther or no~ Y .... · · ~ w~v~nmeut and Housing Authority should not come up with expen-I stye, impractical and ~nconstitutional dreams without proper consu~tation~with the~publicand its legally appoint- ed agents. 8. According to the drawings published in the press, parts of the highway system and some ~of our streets over~hiehthe ~public has an.easement,will be -closed. 7.'N~ny homes, in ~hich taxpayers have for several decades lived, will be confiscated at prices set by appraisers paid by the government. These persons and families will be displaced and will be unable · o replace their homes with comparable ones for the pre~eeds of the sale. 8. ;This plan.purports to provide adequate public buildings for the City of Portsmouth. If so, why were the public library and auditorium left out? 9. The whole plan'~is ~oo much state planning, it reeks with the t~mes of socialism and to- nalitarianism. Such plans multiplied~will give us a socialist city. 10. The City will lose the~revenues from some of the most valuable highly taxed property. ll. If the City Council. approves this or any like project of the Housing Authority at this time, it may seriously handicap the city in any future annexation proceedings. This ma~ter should be thoroughly checked by the financial experts from the brokerage firms which.handle the cityJs bonds. la. The block bounded by London Street, Green Street, Queen Street, and Washington Street, still in tbs vicinity of the present court house. Since the City was given the site~of the present cour~ house by its founder, Col. Crawford, let it hold its birthright and add to it by purchasin~ property in the immediate vicinity. 13. Revised plans should be openly discussed and publicized. They should not be the subject of secret meetings held extra-territorially, or should the 'decisions made smack of the Star Chamber which our an- cestors thought they had abolished forever. 14. Wherefore, we petition the Council of the City of Portsmouth To go on record ~s disap- proving openly this plan for · Civic Center and also that the Council not act up on any plan excep~ at an open meeting du%y publicized in advance. Dated April 1S, 1953. (Signed) William H, Parker, 4501 County~St., and numerous others. On motion filed. On motion adjourned~ Approved - Pmesident.