Reflections on the Importance of the Beaty Park Vote

By Leah Chester-Davis

Ever since the Town Board voted 3 to 2 on Tuesday evening for the Beaty Street Property to be 100% park, I've been reflecting on that important decision. A lot of people in this town had various hopes and plans for that piece of property. Some plans may have even been considered noble (affordable housing, for instance) and others seemed for purely economic gain by some. But I truly believe Commissioners Fort, Michael, and Sitton did the right thing without continuing to prolong a debate that has been in the public arena for well over a year (this last go around) and longer when you consider the 90s when citizens spoke against development of the property at that time. There has been plenty of citizen input and citizens spoke loud and clear in numerous meetings, communiques, protests and then in the election.

Yes, citizen input is important. But in this case, all of the documentation shows that Mrs. Clontz sold this property to the town for a park.  Doing the right thing and honoring those wishes overrides collecting even more citizen input when there has already been plenty. Now that Commissioners Fort, Michael and Sitton took an important, decisive stand and did the right thing based on documentation, we can turn to citizen input once more to help shape this important community resource as a park. When Commissioners Campbell and Fuller speak of public input, now is the right time for that thanks to their fellow board members voting to preserve the property as a park.

I also can't help but think about Mrs. Evelyn Carr and Mrs. Daisy Raeford and their remarks on Tuesday night. They made me think about this quote from The Trust for Public Land, "Low-income neighborhoods populated by minorities are especially short of park space. Minorities and the poor have historically been shunted off to live on the wrong side of the tracks . . . in areas with few amenities. From an equity standpoint, there is a strong need to redress this imbalance."

No, not every neighborhood near the Beaty Park Property is low income, that's for sure. But inherently more of the west side of town is affordable and I believe numbers indicate that most of what the town calls affordable housing is on the west side of town. Open space on the west side of town is important. All of this also makes me think of the history of Sadler Square and how the ball field of the African American community was taken from them with a promise to find them another space. It apparently never happened. That, too, may be a reason Mrs. Carr and Mrs. Raeford spoke up about the need for this park. Considering the UNCC study that by 2030, 98% of this region will be built out and there will be no more open space, preserving this 19 acres for a park is another reason Tuesday night's vote was the right thing to do. It was visionary as well and future generations will be glad Venie Clontz sold it to the town for a park, and glad that citizens fought so hard for this park, and glad that Commissioners Fort, Michael and Sitton did the right thing by voting for it to be a park.

Oh, how very lovely it would be if citizens across town came together to help plan a park that we could all enjoy and be proud of.

Leah Chester-Davis is a small business owner who lives in Davidson and has been active in the fight to preserve the Beaty Street property over the past 18 months.