Editor:

During the August Farmville Town Council meeting, it was suggested that the increase 50 years ago in the price of a Butcher’s Store Coca-Cola from five to six cents was an example of the inevitability of “progress.” This was meant to be an argument relevant to the question of whether the Martin development is either inevitable or beneficial to the community. 

It is the only pro-argument I have heard for a plan which I think is neither inevitable nor beneficial to Farmville and its residents.

The implication by the developer that Longwood University needs the 195-bed complex to bolster its housing is false, and the idea that the town would be enriched by significant property taxes and water fees from the development is baseless.

These mistaken claims and the notion of inevitable “progress” are the only arguments that have been made. On the down side there would be the razing of four to six historic homes on Appomattox and High streets, the loss of the charm these homes imbue, the replacement of the homes with a five-story monstrosity that would tower over High Street, an alarming spike in parking space demand for which there is no realistic solution and a marked increase in student pedestrian traffic across High Street.

Worse, the necessary revision of ordinances would open the floodgates for similar development in all of Farmville’s designated historic areas as well as other housing areas.

Where lie the advantages to Farmville from this project? The reasons to oppose it are many and barely touched on in this letter.

Charles R. Green

Farmville