Living with growth ... and concerns

As Williston grows, so too do the growing pains.

What’s good and what’s bad for the city may depend on who you ask. It may also depend on where you live — and what project is going up next door.

Is a Motel 6 a good thing to have next to residential neighborhood? Ask the residents of that neighborhood and you will hear a resounding “No.”

It’s a story we first mentioned back in March, during a recap of a Williston Planning and Zoning meeting. Since then, we’ve spoken to some residents, and in a recent issue we have an update on the Motel 6 issue. The motel, currently under construction near Herman Oil along 19th Avenue West, will also be next to a neighborhood of mainly new housing.

And that’s the rub. Neighbors say it will put an unnecessary strain on traffic, attract transients that could pose safety concerns, and with Motel 6’s signature big “6” signage, it will also be an eyesore in the neighborhood.

We’ve been hearing a lot of the not-in-my-backyard arguments in Williston lately, but these residents have a point. And let’s not mince words: The not-in-my-backyard argument is a legitimate argument. People are oftentimes more involved, passionate and concerned when their own properties or neighborhoods will be affected. And rightfully so.

We’re not sure how this will end up, but the Motel 6 owners have said the hotel will be complete in less than 6 months.

Williston does have a master plan, which dictates where commercial, retail, residential and industrial areas are to be located. But the plan, just approved last year, is still an infant. And throughout Williston’s boom-and-bust history, things have been built in sometimes odd ways. For example, travel down Million Dollar Way (Second Avenue), from downtown to past Wal-Mart, and you will see everything from schools to houses to retail to oil rig training yards. And if you drive far enough, man camps.

The city’s master plan is a good start, but the city needs to make sure the hundreds of building projects that get approved every month are in conjunction with the plan. And, more importantly, do these projects “make sense” — whether they are in compliance with the master plan or not.

This we know: If Motel 6’s and the like continue to be built in or next to neighborhoods, Williston residents will continue to grow more angry. And that is something we don’t need.

Tags: opinion, editorials, growth