[drummer]

MichaelB, I totally get what you're saying. I do have compassion for neighborhoods; my frustration is more in line with dbrickley's personal story. There are some folks who fight tooth and nail every tiny little thing because they want zero change, period. There are other folks who simply want to be heard and want to have a say in how their neighborhood progresses. I wholeheartedly agree with the latter and believe developers absolutely *should* hear them and take their concerns to heart... But to simply refuse anything because of fear of more development to follow isn't a good enough reason in and of itself. There needs to be something more than "I just don't want that there" to go with their complaints. So many of the complaints against developments often include exaggerated/fabricated claims as opposed to thoughtful reasons. Of course, developers could do better, but I think that many developers genuinely want to be good neighbors (bad apples ruin it for everyone).