LAND Development around our National Parks is an issue of growing concern. I was moved by RICHARD WEISSER's blog post yesterday, written on the eve of the 44th Inauguration of The President of the United States, at a time when we can collect the best of ourselves and our country with the greatest hopes for peace and progress. As a plea to our new President, Richard wrote "Please save our national parks! Our National Parks are treasures that need to be preserved and protected for all time! They are the definition of both our heritage and our culture. In times of distress, the parks are always the victims of budget cuts and loss of personnel. This has led to a degradation of some of the most beautiful and pristine ecosystems on the continent."
At the Auburn Planning Committee Meeting earlier this month, a controversy was sparked by the request for road service use for a gas station in the area of Shell Toomer Parkway. In spite of the fact that this Parkway is the tree-lined, approximately 4-mile, bike/walking path that stretches from South College to the entrance to Chewacla State Park, approval was granted to a development company for three points of access after suing the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for its use. In the aftermath of 2008's crashing economy, downturn in the real estate market (unlike anything seen in America since The Great Depression), retail sales plummeting and stores closing their doors, it seems surprising that any development company can chisel away resistance from the Auburn Planning Commission, and proceed with each step of a plan for a shopping center that claims to be "the largest retail center in the city, generating millions of dollars in tax revenue." According to the Auburn Villager report of January 8th, the gas station is, so far, ‘the only tenant that has been publicly confirmed.' Without question, quality and convenient shopping is an essential aspect for overall growth and development in the master plan for Auburn, but should it be at the expense or risk of its State Park? It seems that we are living in a time when we absolutely cannot afford to think in the "old" ways of if you build it, they will come... no development is so isolated that it doesn't impact the land and life surrounding it. Too often, it is ignorance that destroys what we don't realize, sustains us---THE EARTH---the land itself and its delicate ecosystems.
There is simplicity as much as complexity in making EARTH our HOME. Each one of us is a designated steward for the EARTH. As a REALTOR, I am guided by the NAR Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice: 'Accepting this standard as my own...pledging to observe its spirit in all of my activities...'
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Code of Ethics The Preamble to the Code of Ethics - Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions 
and of our civilization. REALTORS should recognize that the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthful environment.
This PREAMBLE speaks to me as a prayer, as well as a plea, not only to our new President for the preservation of our national parks, but for the community leaders in every State across America, to recognize the highest and best use of our land.
WEBSITE for Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
VISIT THIS WEBSITE to learn more about the local group efforts towards preserving the integrity and status of Shell Toomer State Parkway.
Richard Weisser is also the owner and creator of the worlds number one website for the nearby Great Smoky Mountains. His photos have been used in hundreds of publications and products. Interesting, too, is that his photos, published on his Smoky Mountain.com website, was commissioned by Past-President George W. Bush in February 2001 to provide four photographs as backdrops for a major political speech.
© Copyright 2009 - This posting and the contents written here, except where noting and quoting Richard Weisser, with his permission, are the property of Mara Hawks, All Rights Reserved
Active in Alabama, Mara Hawks, REALTOR with FIRST REALTY of Auburn, AL, #1 Real Estate Team in Lee County, THE LEADER in professional real estate services in Auburn, Opelika & Lee County for over 3 decades! Committed to INTEGRITY, KNOWLEDGE & SERVICE.
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