Who Gets To Slice The Pie?

As a homeowner in Seekonk, I’m becoming concerned over the amount of new home building that I see. In a town that has its share of stressed properties and property owners, as well as homes in outright foreclosure, we're seeing a boom on a level that makes me wonder who is in control, the residents or the developers.

Most Seekonkers I know are challenged enough by their own bills and obligations. They are not about to get lawyered-up in an effort to protect their property rights, even if they wanted to. The developers, who probably want to pressure the town for more and more aren’t under the same constraints. Lawyering-up for them is part of the cost of doing business. The latter group seems to be winning. What happens if and when they really rock us back on our heels? What usually happens in such cases?

Given the fact that we have only so much legitimately useful land, what might take place next? Might there be pressure on the town government to raise property taxes as the realities of providing additional services to start to bear down? Might there be a push from the developers to change zoning regulations to "accommodate further demand"?

What might the above changes mean to those who have worked for years to build the value of their own homes and land?

In economics, a “zero sum” strategy is one in which capital is shifted from one sector to another, thus creating an illusion of growth. To put it more simply, the pie’s size remains the same. It just gets sliced differently.

The best mentor I know advises me to ask the kind of question that no one individual can answer. So, here it is: Is all of this development creating lasting value for Seekonk homeowners, or, are we just standing back, watching the pie get sliced?

Arnold G. McConnell