Why is Topeka City Council wasting our hard earned tax money to appeal a court decision to prevent building a parking lot on the property of the Episcopal Dioceses of Kansas?
In 2007, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) denied the Episcopal Church request to build a parking lot on Bethany Place, 835 SW Polk. Yet, City Council members voted to allow the parking lot. On July 21, 2008, Judge Theis ruled that the City Council acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, and then denied this parking lot on Bethany Place. Why does the City Council want to appeal this ruling?
We want to know:
1. What exactly does the City of Topeka disagree with in the court ruling?
2. How much of our tax money has been spent on this lawsuit and how much will an appeal cost?
3. Why is the City willing to spend thousands of dollars appealing a court ruling which prevents building a parking lot for a church, when our city streets are crumbling, presumably because we do not have money to fix them?
4. Where does building a parking lot for a church rank in priority compared with providing city streets, police and fire protection?
5. What communication has the City Manager, Attorney and Council Members received from the community which motivated them to appeal the court ruling?
We, the Citizens "FOR TOPEKA" want a local government that works for us, not the special interests of a privileged few. Too many times, citizens have walked out of Topeka City Council chambers, shaking their heads in disbelief, wondering why the law wasn't followed, wondering why there is such blatant disregard for the wishes of the general citizenry.
By signing this petition, I am declaring my dissatisfaction with the City's appeal of Judge Theis's ruling and demanding accountability on the part of our City's leaders.
We the undersigned, the Citizens "FOR TOPEKA" want a local government that works for us, not the special interests of a privileged few. Too many times, citizens have walked out of Topeka City Council chambers, shaking their heads in disbelief, wondering why the law wasn't followed, wondering why there is such blatant disregard for the wishes of the general citizenry.
By sending this letter, I am declaring my dissatisfaction with the City's appeal of Judge Theis's ruling and demanding accountability on the part of our City's leaders.
