Willo’s selective membership policies

Alright, so as promised, here is the recap from tonight's (15 May 2008) Willo Neighborhood Association (WNA) meeting.

As I mentioned in my first Willo/Tapestry post, Willo modified many design elements and posed many design restrictions on Tapestry's development. Some of the designs – like the terraced west ends of the buildings – have added architectural appeal to the building and have made it nicer for the owners and residents of Tapestry. But this is not the point.

The boundaries of the WNA are clearly defined in the bylaws of the WNA: Central Avenue to 7th Avenue east-to-west and McDowell Road to Thomas Road south-to-north. There are another set of boundaries – that of the Willo Historic District Conservation Plan as approved by various City agencies twenty-thee (23) years ago in 1985. These two sets of boundaries are not co-terminal, i.e. the boundaries are not the same. This is reasonable because there are many new buildings – Tapestry included – in the WNA boundaries.

At tonight's meeting, the WNA board have decided that the boundaries of the WNA should be co-terminal with those of the 1985 Willo Historic District Conservation Plan. The board are also maintaining that the boundaries set in the present bylaws (15 March 2007) of the WNA have been in error and should never have been so inclusive (Central to 7th Avenue, McDowell to Thomas). What the board fails to see is that there can be two entities: a Neighborhood Association and a Conservation District. These two entities can co-exist even though their boundaries are not co-terminal. This is what is happening in Willo at present to great success.

What irks me off the most, however, is the attitude with which this issue is being dealt. After the meeting proper, a couple of Tapestry residents (my immediate neighbors), two WNA board members and a husband of a current WNA board member, and I had a discussion. The present board members are saying that the boundaries that are in the bylaws and have been in the bylaws for many years have been in error and therefore the boundaries of the WNA are not what are indicated in the bylaws. Rather than maintaining the present boundaries – because everyone who bought into Tapestry had assumed that they had bought into Willo – and consequentially welcoming the new members, the WNA decided to disenfranchise those who have been helping with Willo initiatives.

The above, however, is not the full truth. The real reason why the boundaries are being 'corrected' is to ensure that the will of Willo will not be challenged and threatened by people living in new development. Tapestry has 280 units. There is a new development being proposed at the northwest corner of Central and McDowell that will have ca. 900 units. Willo has ca. 900 houses. The question that Willo should be asking is this: why should Willo proper be afraid of the desires and wishes of new development? A neighborhood – especially a historic neighborhood – should be proud of its heritage but working for the future. Since historic districts cannot change the buildings, they can change their mentality and be progressive and inclusive. People living in historic houses and their counterparts in denser development all work for a shared goal: a successful neighborhood through security, safety, cleanliness, etc. The husband of the WNA board member – remember him? – said exactly that. He indicated that people living in houses had more of a valid opinion and better judgment of how a neighborhood should be run than those living in apartments or condominiums.

I cannot believe that I had heard that! Just because I made a personal choice to live in a condominium than in a single-family house makes me less of a person or my judgment has been impaired because of this? The maintenance (and naïveté) of such an opinion is breathtaking that I could not believe my ears. Willo is truly afraid that we, residents of a condominium community, will challenge – nay, threaten – the way in which Willo does business.

Willo has very selective membership criteria. When it benefits Willo and the interests of Willo, their membership will be inclusive. When Willo fears that their character will be threatened by that same external influence, Willo's membership will be exclusive.

This is not how neighborhoods are run.

Cheers - EJ