I'm feeling optimistic today. I know, my style here usually leans towards the negative, so regular readers who did a spit-take with their morning coffee just now are forgiven. But, this morning I'm believing in American ingenuity, in American can-do spirit, in an expression attributed to Winston Churchill, "Americans will always do the right thing, after they have tried everything else." What am I optimistic about today? Electric vehicles.
The City of Richardson will be taking up the City's outdated Comprehensive Plan in this next City Council term. It will be a heavy lift. Not everyone even agrees on what the action item encompasses. Will it just be an exercise of refreshing the map that shows where in Richardson single family homes are allowed, and offices, and shops, and parks? Or does it include related things like whether homeowners are allowed to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to their property? Or whether the minimum number of parking spaces buildings are required to have should be relaxed or eliminated altogether?
City government resists change. It's in their nature. I'm expecting Mayor Dubey to align with the institutional interests and narrowly draw the boundary of what's open for review. I'm hoping that there will be pushback from the new City Council to get the boundary drawn expansively. Updating the Comprehensive Plan to allow a broader mix of uses is useless if they leave in place other regulations and building codes that deter such uses. A push for broad change is bound to meet resistance. Some people are passionate about the status quo.
|
 |
| From 2022 10 24 Avignon |
This photo-of-the-day is from Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. The photo shows a curious architectural detail of the palace, a brick wall viewed through three arches. Two of the arches are back-to-back in front of the wall, but off-center from each other. Why? Dunno. The 14th century architect was not around to ask.
 |
| From 2022 10 24 Avignon |
This photo-of-the-day is from Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. I'll let Wikipedia tell the story:
"It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was a seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Benedict XIII in 1394. Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the Papacy."
|
The Dallas Morning News reported that mayoral candidate "[Bob] Dubey said [Mayor Paul] Voelker’s “micromanagement from the top down” has deterred some council members and residents from speaking at council meetings."
Candidate Dubey won. It's Mayor Dubey now. Monday night the public got its first chance to see how the new regime is changing how council meetings are run, presumably opening them up, encouraging more open deliberations by council members. I'm here to report that from my perch in the cheap seats at the back of the house, the new boss looks a lot like the old boss.
Where Am I Wednesday!
Fifty points to the first person to identify where this photo was taken.
Answer is after the jump.
|
|