Donna Miller Sells Out Germantown — Again 

 

Donna does developers du jour on zoning:

 

Using a well worn tactic of saying she would support the community she supposedly serves, and then doing the exact opposite when it comes to defining her position on the record, Donna Reed Miller, outgoing City Councilperson in the 8th District set in motion a process which would in effect be "spot zoning" done after the fact to give politically-connected developer a path to legalize what has apparently been done illegally and with intent. It is always difficult to find the "quid pro quo" that get's these deals done, but don't think for a moment it doesn't happen. Contribution limits in the city only create opportunity to contribute to others at the state and federal levels (where there are no limits) and then the money is filtered back through several strainers and appears as grants for specific projects. Then we have fund raisers that take place by well-healed support groups at private homes that cash-up elected officials at all levels. 

 

The development at Chelten and Pulaski Avenues in Germantown was begun after four attempts to get a construction permit using different language and has been underway for several months despite the fact that required compliance documenting full community participation in the planning phase was never accomplished.  At risk is $3 million in public grant dollars, with the request now escalated to $4 million.

 

A legal challenge to the faulty permit was heard last Wednesday after the granting of two continuance requests from Carl Primavera, attorney for Pat Burns of the development corporation.  Massive public outcry against this project that was conceived and developed in the dark, and inconsistent with commitments made in 2006 through our city council person, manifested themselves in petitions and protests at the sight and multiple complaints to city offices and the mayor. While largely ignored by all but two elected officials, the hearing itself was a turning point.

 

The efforts of all those who participated in the process that led to 100+ orderly and organized protesters at the Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting  last Wednesday should be seen as a major breakthrough from over 25 years of top-down power politics and misuse of public money in the Northwest.  No amount of rationalization can justify the hundreds of millions of public dollars that were spent in Germantown during the Miller years and before and how little of it shows. The same is true of other nearby communities where there may be some physical evidence of stability, but the functional side is far from productive and self-supporting. Failed and failing schools, business that are fronts that need continuous subsidy, and areas where crime and safety prevent serious development have to be seen for what they are  and no amount of manicured statistics will change what is known by the majority.  The center business corridor of Germantown will never rebound until it is considered safe to be there after 6:00 p.m.  What serious business person will even consider investing in a community that denies the ability to do business by the very fact that it telegraphs the message that only 2/3rds of the business day are available here?   The Miller Machine's solution to crime in Germantown was to shut down Germantown.  An overworked 14th Police District (largest in the city) did not complain.

 

"Business opportunity in Germantown" means a whole different thing to those who participate in it at the higher levels, and the Burns project is just another example of how things have been done here for quite a number of years.  Miller and the political machine she is part of wrote off positive development for Germantown a while back in favor of intentionally creating a dependent and depressed economy that could easily qualify for public money. The public money is then directed to only the chosen developer types who get subsidized in any number of ways; most of them never visible to the public. In order to get "on that list" you have to kick back a percentage of what you get free in grants or loans you simply never pay and the whole enterprise costs them nothing, but the very community that is paying taxes to live here is actually directly supporting fraud and their own future demise. 

Burns wants another million from the state.  ($3 million already promised)  Assuming he gets it, and if you could trace it, you would find much of it goes back to the politicians who made the deal. Don't think that those same local developers who have cleaned up front images don't play the same game and have gotten the same kind of easy grant money, cheap loans, zoning and license back door deals du jour that Burns has. The difference this time is that the process has been put into the sunshine by the efforts of this community and the sharp legal mind of Yvonne Haskins. Yvonne's background in real estate law, her being local to community and willing to do this has set a precedent and set the power brokers into a frenzy.

We are fortunate that the massive misuse of the last open space in Germantown raised public outcry like never before, it got merged with a challenge to a legal system that was misused and manipulated so many times over the years, but this time a message has been sent. I think it is time to ask those local developers to move their operations into the sunshine as well. They certainly ran like scared rabbits when asked to join the public in this protest movement.

 

Now they have to resort to "Plan B" which is organized lying and misrepresentation from the top and spreading the political influence outside of the immediate community, and outside of the city. At this point you should recognize that no amount or reasonable dialogue will work.  They will use your reason as a tool against you.  Once a political power machine as corrupt as we have in this city gets to this point, they no longer care as no one else can ever hold their offices - - or so they think.  Read the Daily News story on Dwight Evans from  last  Friday.  He has no regrets about his strong-arming tactics used for years, and says so.  He knows that so many wanted him as Appropriations Chair to "get them money" no matter what it took. Miller has never cared what the public thought, and it was Evans and Miller that put the Chelten Plaza deal together beginning in 2006. It has been a fraud, a lie, and misuse of public money since the very outset. All they are doing now is turning up the thermostat.

 

There are very few situations that can deter politicians as corrupt as the ones we have to deal with.  However, it is election season and while the outcomes are generally pre-determined, there are always protest votes to consider. Local politicians can be called to task and we should be knocking on the door of Cindy Bass and all other local officials making sure they know that the lies coming from the Mayor's office about support and opposition are just that - - lies.  There is no real support for the plans of Mr. Burns and his associates and those at the state level must feel that same level of heat as well.

 

We know that Burns contributed heavily to Evans and now it is time to find out how much he has sent to state officials, Republicans and Democrats, and run that up the flagpole as soon as possible. Allies in other parts of the city can help as well, and we must force the Inquirer to cover this story in detail with regular installments. One story and missing the all-important hearing is not acceptable. Vocal and visible continued protest and pressure everywhere will be required.

 

Miller is planning more than one major zoning change in the Northwest for "friendly developers" (Chestnut Hill stand by).  She can only get these done if the other councilmembers vote for them, and history has shown they always do.  Those others need to be hounded daily until they think their own constituents might get too smart too quick. Miller has already done this for a substantial part of Chestnut Hill near Chestnut Hill College and is about to do the same for influential developer Richard Snowden at the old Magarity Ford site on Germantown Avenue.  

 

The four weeks running up to the next election should be seen as the opportunity to embarrass city council into at least reading the bill, hearing from the community, and discussing it before passing it in the dark - - as usual.

 

Jim Foster 

Editor 

Germantown Newspapers 

215-438-5171