St. Andrew Challenge

The focus group session on Wednesday, September 18, was a lively and energetic forum. While there was not overwhelming consensus on any one scenario, it was obvious University Heights residents want to take advantage of the opportunity to have a development on the St. Andrew property that offers more than just an expansion our city’s tax base.

The diversity of opinions about the type of development will require active listening and leadership from the next city council. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our town to control how a large property will be developed. The council must work to develop a vision of the future for University Heights that residents can understand and adopt. I suspect we will develop a hybrid of the three scenarios we discussed at the meeting in order to meet the needs of a majority of the residents.

The St.Andrew project has been and will continue to be a challenge for our community. I am optimistic that we can come together and agree on a development that will meet the long term needs of the residents of University Heights.