The Participation Blog

Just Not Here!

“I’m not opposed to (FILL IN THE BLANK) – just don’t put it here!” Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I hear that said at a public meeting, I could hire Stephen King to write this newsletter. NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) has been around as long as stuff has been built. I can almost hear Mrs. Papadopoulos standing up at the public meeting yelling at Pericles and telling him to put his damn Parthenon someplace else. Anybody dealing with affordable or multifamily housing, mining, homeless shelters, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, roundabouts, dog parks, powerlines – or just about any kind of LULU (Locally Unwanted Land Use) – hears opposition from people who think they’ll lose more than they’ll benefit. And let’s not forget all the other spinoffs and variations like, NIMN (Not In My Neighborhood), BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything), CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) people, SOBBY (Some Other Bugger’s Backyard) and of course the ever popular NIMTOO (Not In My Term Of Office). But being the humanitarian, helpful, people person that I am, I thought I’d give these folks a head start for your next public meeting. Feel free to pass this along.