Posted by Artifact Owner, a resident of the Atherton: West Atherton neighborhood, on Jan 13, 2008 at 3:36 pm

I am an artifact owner and I think this ordinance is riddled with problems. The first test of how well it worked shows that it has inherent problems. The people of the Town need to know what truly is at stake in our Town. To say that this Ordinance does not affect property values was proven wrong when the first property that had an artifact was sold back in 2005 or 2006. The original purchaser backed out of the contract because he/she was not allowed to donate the the fountain located on the property to the Town of Atherton. He was even willing to pay for the move of the fountain to Holbrook Palmer Park. The property subsequently sold for $200,000.00 less than the first persons offer. This in my book affected the seller's property value! By the way, did I mention the person who purchased the house for $200,000.00 less is the one person who is leading the charge on the ordinance and sits on many of the Town's committess who makes all of these ordinances up.

While I agree in preservation, I do not agree in the taking of private property. I do not agree that the people of the entire Town of Atherton should not be allowed to weigh in on this issue. This Ordinance has already cost the Town over $130,000.00 and is still climbing. Why should all of Atherton have to pay for this when only Lindenwood was made aware of it and the only ones affected by it! Perhaps we should have the LHA start paying for all the costs they have incurred. Why is all of Atherton paying for it? Is this really where we want our tax dollars going? Will you vote for the parcel tax if this is how the current council agrees to spend our tax dollars.