Times are changing; find your place

Despite the gift from Mother Nature last weekend, with near-record-high conditions, we are in the depths of winter. Although the spring elections seem a lifetime away, now is the time local residents are asked to start the process of running for office.

Everyone is busy. No one really has time for one more thing in his or her schedule. So why run?

Because the communities we live in are changing fast and that change needs to be managed by people who care.

Take Lancaster, for example. Of The Item towns, it is definitely the one that will likely see the biggest changes in the next few years.

From the massive 40B affordable housing project off Sterling Road, to the sell-off of the former Cenecal and Maharishi Center (a 21,802-square-foot single family home and 217-acre estate, some of which has already been sold off for house lots) and the 135 acre Atlantic Union College site, to the huge proposed Capital Commerce Center development in north Lancaster off Lunenburg Road, Lancaster is poised to be changed forever. The north Lancaster development is the kind of development encompassing several different types of commercial endeavors (including a hotel), 500 residential units and industrial uses the likes of which Lancaster has never seen before, and there are still so many unknowns. The website describes it as a  "348 acre business park development, which will be part of an over 400 acre mixed-use development that will include over 2,700,000 SF of distribution space, retail and commercial pad sites along with future residential housing."

That is not to say town officials have all the answers. As we know from following the Appeals Board hearings about the Goodridge affordable housing project, there are strict rules these boards must follow. The state regulates what towns can do for affordable housing projects (looming in all our communities). Landowners have rights on how their properties can be used. And towns need developments, especially commercial and industrial, to pay for services to help keep residential tax rates down. There are a lot of factors that need weighing.

But it takes caring, concerned, involved residents to make sure that all the I's are dotted and the T's crossed.

That is not an easy task. As we saw during the Goodridge proceedings for various boards and commissions, members often took heat for their stands.

But as thankless as the volunteer positions on town boards are, these are important tasks that need to be done. Hoping someone else will make sure the town is well run is no way to guarantee a well-run community.

So, run for office this spring, or volunteer on a board or committee that is appointed in your community (many of the town websites have listings of vacancies). Not sure where to start? If you have an interest, like recreation, or environment, or future planning, or libraries, or the arts, look at what boards do what and get involved. Start small and work your way up to a more challenging position, if you need a gateway to public service.

But find your place. Get involved. Don't depend on someone else to make sure the future goes the way you want it to.

Jan Gottesman is managing editor of The Item. She can be reached at clintonitem@yahoo.com.