Citizens for Arbor Park

Objectively, the idea of further residential development in downtown Grand Forks serves both existing downtown dwellers and downtown businesses very poorly. Many – many! – have weighed in to support the aesthetic value of Arbor Park and they are right. Sadly, the people who sit on this committee are seemingly not interested in this – they appear to see it as a frivolous argument.

I could stick with “practicality” and assert the paucity of day-to-day services for downtown residents; I could point to the shortage of parking for those who try to do business downtown and for those who already live there. Those are vital issues.

But aesthetics also have a “practical” function. Otherwise this community would have no excuse to obsess over weeds, tall grass, what people may have in their yards, the little doggy bag stations here and there to keep things pleasant. If these are “important” to our quality of life, so, then, are the trees that shade us and filter our air of dust and pollen and noise, and, of course, the little vistas of loveliness that bring us peace and relief of our daily stresses, that give pleasure to the eye. These values are very real. They figure into nationally credited studies on what makes a city attractive to the creative people we want to feel invited to the community and to keep them here.

Unfortunately Grand Forks has never had – nor earned – a reputation for beauty, although the potential has always been here. When we lost properties of long standing in the flood, some visionaries seized the moment and found something good to salvage – we now have a few small spots of tree-shaded gardens in which shoppers can stop and enjoy the flowers, where workers can take a lunch break and get away from traffic, from the computer screen and the office. These have graced weddings and beautiful moments of solitude as well. Why does this committee not see this value? We need to focus on the benefits to all of the people, not just some – who want to make a buck developing spaces which should not be developed in this way. It would almost seem impossible that these committee members are unaware of this. When a committee of public servants ignores both public sentiment and common sense then we must look for another influence, far less healthy. When we see a perverse disregard for the people who are most directly affected by these projects, then we need to look for the factors which are driving it against all sense. It doesn’t have a pleasant odor.

Please reconsider the wisdom of refusing to allow the Park District to take charge of these parks. Take a stand for the people, and for something of beauty that we already have. Here we have a literal flowering on top of the ruins of a tragic natural disaster. We have already paid for this. Let us keep the rainbow after the storm.