Victory in Crystal Heights

Just last night (Thursday, Jan. 15th) the Crystal Minnesota City Council unanimously accepted a sub-committee recommendation that the city not proceed with the Crystal Heights "re-development" project. There was unanimous applause and a noticeable attitude of relief among the 80-some Crystal Heights residents present at the meeting.

Although the reason given for stopping the project that would have forced 78 homeowners and 5 businesses to sell their property was that the city couldn't afford it because of the cutbacks in state aid, I believe the truth is that the splendidly organized resident coalition made it clear that they were not going down without a fight, and the city simply backed off.

The Crystal Heights Coalition is a great example of citizens standing up to their government and defending their rights as property owners. PATROL and the Libertarian Party of Minnesota are proud to have added a little assistance and support, but it was the Crystal Heights residents who pulled off this coup. In the process, those residents got organized and are more truly a neighborhood now that they've pulled together to fight abuse.

The Crystal Heights Coalition can, and hopefully will, stand as a model for other neighborhoods facing similar destruction. These fights are among the most critical in maintaining the American way of life as we thought we knew it.