Information: www.preserveruralmilton.org
Patriot’s Day was recently celebrated up north, an occasion that takes me back to my college days in Boston. Sometimes I’d just walk the streets and think about courageous colonists fighting for liberty right in their own hometowns.
While brave soldiers still fight for American freedom, most of us “regular” residents are focused on work, families and entertainment, leaving others to thing about civic affairs.
But if we look up from our phones and notice the actions of our neighbors, we might be surprised. There’s a dad coaching baseball at Will’s Park. The lady next door volunteers at North Fulton Charities. The retired executive raises funds for the library. That high school kid sings at the retirement home in Roswell.
These may be small acts of involvement, but collectively they make a huge difference in the culture and complexion of our towns – presenting them as places of love, kindness and concern.
In contrast to this more gentle civic involvement is the more robust kind, where that business guy you know is running for Fulton County Commissioner. Or your PTA friend visits the capital to advocate for educational issues. These politically active people are practicing the very democratic acts for which our forefathers died.
I’m especially proud of an organization that recently sprang up in Milton to address the explosive growth in home building. Preserve Rural Milton is a non-profit group of residents formed to challenge the mayor and city council to slow down the growth, and develop a “green print” plan to highlight areas worth preserving.
“In light of the recent brigade of bulldozers and destruction of woodlands and green pastures in Milton,” the group stated in a petition to the city asking for a preservation initiative, “many of us have felt sadness, discouragement, and even anger about the loss of greenspace in our city.”
Indeed, the swaths of Milton forest that had been cut into years ago by developers creating large sub-divisions sat idle. They’re now popping with new homes. “For Sale” signs dot the rolling green pastures of horse farms, and residents fear an end to the bucolic scenes they enjoy every day.
Preserve Rural Milton’s activism is already making a difference. Elected officials on city council recently passed an emergency moratorium on rezoning applications to stem the tide of housing developers seeking less restrictive regulation. Milton’s press release promises officials will act “to protect the rural viewshed and feel of our community.”
Further, rather than just lending lip service to Preserve Rural Milton’s demands, Milton recently hired a “conversation specialist” to find a balance between environmental conservation and landowners’ rights.
Whether an occasional volunteer or organized activist, residents who work for civic improvement are patriots, too. They’re contributors to the American story which may have originated around the neighborhoods of Concord and Lexington, but which is still unfolding among us in our hometowns.
About the Author
