Greetings from the campaign trail….

I have been walking the neighborhoods this past weekend to meet the people of Forks Township. I have walked the streets meeting our fellow residents in almost every neighbor. I had the chance to discuss the future of our township and how to solve the critical issues facing our community. I heard a very strong message during my travels. We can do better!

On Sunday night (April 22, 2007), I attend the League of Woman Voters candidate forum.
It was a great experience, as I got to meet many residents of our township. All the candidates answered questions about their plans to managed growth, our police department, Weiss Supermarket development plan, storm water management, Earned Income Tax, and may other issues. It was exciting!

I would like to share my opening and closing statements from the candidate forum.


Opening Statement

Thanks for attending the event tonight.

We have seen many changes to our community in the past few years as Forks has rapidly grown in the past seven years. The key issue facing our community is our Quality of Life!

My campaign is focusing on ideas to improve our Quality of Life in Forks Township:

• Quality of Open Space – Preserve farm land, where possible, and limit ongoing high density development
• Quality of Government – Create a transparent government; incorporate new ideas.
• Responsible Fiscal Management – Sustaining sound financial policies.
• Quality of Life – Establish reasonable traffic management, uphold first class recreational facilities, and maintain critical public services (EMS, Fire, and Police),

Closing Statement

What a great day! Spring has finally arrived with the promise of hope and renewal. This election is about hope. The hope for a better Quality of Life, the hope for a better Quality of Government, the hope for a better Quality of Open Space, and the hope of a rationale growth strategy. Yes, this election about hope!

I have walked the neighborhoods of Forks Township for many weeks and I have heard a very strong message. We can do better!


We can manage our growth better
We can manage our traffic better
We must maintain our fire, police, and EMS dept
We must manage our township finances.


I am the uniquely qualified candidate that brings a new perspective to improve our Quality of Life.

I will commit to openly and honestly represent the people of Forks Township, regularly seek input from the community, and be an independent voice of reason on the Board of Supervisors.

Yes, we can do better! It is time for a change! Once again, thank you for attending tonight.


If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog or email at billings2007@att.net.


Get Involved – Your Vote Counts!


David Billings
billings2007@att.net

Walking the Neighborhoods - David Billings

Greetings from the campaign trail….

I have been walking the neighborhoods to better understand the needs and desires of Forks Township residents. I have been very fortunate to meet so many wonderful people who wanted to discuss the future of Forks Township. It has been a great experience!

I would like to share three questions that have been posed about my candidacy in an anonymous email.

1, What is your position on the passage of zoning ordinance 298 last year by the Board of Supervisors?

2. What is your position on the Weis Market plan for Sullivan Trail?

3. If elected, will you vote independently, or will you vote as instructed by the Forks Action Committee?

These are very important questions, as we consider the role of citizen-based political action groups in our local government. It is very important that we have active participation in our local government from all members of our community. We must have an open and honest dialog about critical issues that face our community. This is the only way to create viable solutions to some very serious issues.

I will make it a priority to take concrete actions to create a transparent government. I have outlined the specific actions in my previous blogs about Quality of Government.

In the spirit of open dialog, I would like to answer the questions posed by a concerned citizen. The challenge is to separate the issues being discussed in questions 1 and 2. The approved Zoning Ordinance 298 (conditional use for a supermarket) is a logical extension of the uses available in the current Economic Center (EC) zoning laws. The Board of Supervisor has the legislative right to establish zoning laws and approve conditional uses, as long as the zoning change does not meet the legal definition of spot zoning. The second question is whether a 100,000 square foot supermarket should be located in the updated EC zone on the corner of Uhler Road and Sullivan Trail.

What is your position on the passage of Zoning Ordinance 298 last year by the Board of Supervisors? Answer: I would have voted yes on Ordinance 298. It does make sense to update the current EC zoning laws to allow a supermarket. I would suggest a supermarket is a similar type of a retail store, such as a drug store, convenience store, motel, or any other business that can exist in an Employment Center.


What is your position on the Weis Market plan for Sullivan Trail? Answer: I would have voted no to the proposed Weis Market plan. I was very concerned about the two traffic studies and the impact on traffic around Uhler Road and Sullivan Trail. Additionally, I do feel we need a second supermarket in Forks Township, so the challenge is to find a location that could support the additional traffic created by a new market. I would support a plan by the township to hire an independent traffic engineer to determine a proper location for a new market and other commercial business.



If elected, will you vote independently, or will you vote as instructed by the Forks Action Committee? Answer: Great question. I believe the public places a sacred duty on elected officials to act in the best interests of the township and not based upon personal motivations. I will uphold this obligation and vote in the best interests of the community!


I will pledge to openly and honestly represent the people of Forks Township, regularly seek input from the community, and be an independent voice of reason on the Board of Supervisors.


If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog or email at billings2007@att.net.



Get Involved – Your Vote Counts!


David Billings
billings2007@att.net

Quality of Open Space - David Billings

Greetings from the campaign trail…

One of my three campaign themes is Quality of Open Space. This is a tricky issue as we face the challenges of how we manage our future growth. So, what is Quality of Open Space? This concept is all about our ability to aggressively manage growth within the context of our current zoning laws and the PA Municipal Code. I know it is easy to make a campaign promise to stop growth or create open space. My candidacy is not about campaign promises, but bringing real solutions to the community.

So, can we just create an open space law that prohibits development? For example, the current zoning laws for the Farm Preservation district states we can place one housing unit per three acres with a cluster option. The land owner, in this case, the farmer has the right to sell his/her land or maintain their farm to earn a living. The township does not have the right to force the farm owner to keep his/her farm or zone the farm as open space. The farmers have the right to sell their land to the highest bidder.

So what can we do? The best approach is to have the township purchase the prize land that can be zoned for open space or recreational areas. The funding can be obtained by increasing the real estate transfer tax creating a direct revenue stream to support open space, obtaining grants from Northampton County Open Space Initiatives (see Express Times article “Changes in open space program” – March 22, 2007) and grants from the state Growing Greener fund. You may see some discussion around increasing the Earned Income Tax, but that is not a good path, if the ACT 1 ballot initiative gets voters approval. When ACT 1 is approved, the EIT for Forks Township will be increased, as our property taxes are decreased. Some of these concepts are being discussed at the Planning Commission Comprehensive Plan workshops.

Currently, the Planning Commission has the opportunity to change the Comprehensive Plan for the Farm Preservation district from one unit per three acres with a cluster option to one unit per five acres without the cluster option. This is a good way to reduce the density of the development while operating within the laws of the land. The best statement that I have heard to address this issue is “The devil is in the density”. It is very important to limit the density of the proposed developments while we purchase land for open space initiatives.

The challenge for Forks Township is whether we have the political will to preserve farmland and create the opportunities to purchase land for open space. The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Comprehensive Plan 2030 stated it best: “In order to cope with future growth, municipalities will need to do better planning and implementation of plans than they have done in the past.” As we have seen in Frenchtown, NJ (see Express Times article “Land preservation story shows victory is possible” – March 22, 2007) and within our own Northampton County (see Morning Call article “Northampton open wallet to save green – March 7, 2007) it is possible to create partnerships to buy and preserve farmland.

No matter what course we choose, the developers will be opposed to open space initiatives and will use our legal system as the tool to circumvent our zoning laws. As your supervisor, I will have the political will to tackle these tough issues!

If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog or email at billings2007@att.net.

Get Involved – Your Vote Counts!


David Billings
billings2007@att.net