VERGING ON MISUSE

One of the defining characteristics of our Town is the area between the roads and our structures. In technical terms, it’s called a “verge”. The Town Fathers at the time, who laid the foundation for this space everyone elsewhere is crying out for, designed it to maintain a beautiful, open, spacious, rural look. It was one of the rules not specifically stated, but one that was expected as a community to be adhered to for the benefit of everyone in the Town. It’s also “extra” property residents have use of, but don’t pay taxes on (thank goodness this year), because it really belongs to the Town. The verge, along with the alleyways having a practical purpose, were also intended to give the Town neatness and order even though some of us might not be so much. While people have moved in and out of Town, there’s been no way to inform people about the verge. Since people were responsible for the care of these areas, as time has passed, they’ve been used in a variety of ways. Some have been “called on it”, while others have not. While people making the laws will tell you, conveniently, that ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking them, many people who have known about the verge and the alleys have ignored the mandate to keep them “clear of obstructions”. On top of that, the Town itself has been planting trees along these very same areas, making us the “tree town” we’ve been designated, which has been both a curse and a blessing. Some of us are unwilling or unable to do leaves in the fall, or pay for pruning the power company or our neighbor won’t do. While we’re all trying to “be green”, trees can be a pain in the neck, and now we all have trees verging on the verge, as well as a lot of very miscellaneous things. After all, the power company has to have poles, and the mail and newspaper boxes must be accessible to easy delivery from the road. But people, as well as town officials who created the verge, are concerned as they notice our open spaces disappearing for one reason or another. Some say up to 50% of our Town has been “affected”. In reality, this is a serious threat to the ambiance and character of our Town, let alone snow removal (if we ever have any like we used to have) and pending the results of the issue currently under advisement and in discussion at Town Hall, offenders may be the only ones who will most likely be informed that they are a problem.

SO ONCE AGAIN. HOW DO YOU WANT HUNTSVILLE TO LOOK? It’s important that you express your desires and opinions to your Town representatives. Even though there is someone there who doesn’t feel like it’s important that you do so. That what he, and the people that he normally associates with, are all he needs to make a decision in this matter. All residents should address the issue, and let them know what you think is best for this Town. We all need to be thinking in those terms if we want to keep Huntsville the special place that it is.