"Campus Link No!” signs can be seen on lawns throughout the city thanks to a new proposal that Kent’s city council and planning commission are now addressing (http://www.kentohio.org/reports/campus.jpg).

Campus Link Neighborhood has some very legitimate ideas that deserve to be recognized as such. For example, the proposal calls for widening intersections and infusing the Portage bike trail into the downtown area in order to make the city more attractive to pedestrian-travelers. In addition, the proposal strives to create more retail-oriented business to downtown, as well as a hotel, conference center and parking deck, which university students would undoubtedly utilize.

Specifically, the proposal calls for the demolition of 123 houses on Main, Erie, Depeyster and College Streets. This has the potential to create more havoc than its worth. How does the city propose to compensate the owners of these homes? The majority of the houses are landlord-operated and are temporary homes to a large number of students. If these houses were demolished and bought for the prices of their property values, the landlords would be losing money over the long-term because a new crop of tenants would no longer be shelling out their money after each term and summer session. This, in turn, would mean less city tax dollars.

Charley Bowman, Kent’s community development director, estimated that the houses’ property taxes each year brings in $87,600. With the Campus Link Neighborhood proposal, Bowman said the city will generate $262,000 per year.

In light of this project’s issues, all involved parties need to find a happy medium that will suit everyone’s needs and interests. In order to do this, everyone needs to consider some important things before the question and answer session Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.

First, will property values be the only economic consideration for the owners whose houses would be demolished, or would there be an incentive for them to agree to the decision to raze their homes?

Second, the citizens of Kent should look to the university towns of Ohio University and Miami University (OH) and evaluate the benefits of having a university and downtown areas more interconnected.

For now citizens of Kent should take solace in the fact that all parties involved have not exhausted the forums which are sure to be taking place in the very near future. Citizens should also realize that the university has not discounted the idea of building on campus.

David Creamer, vice president of administration, told the Summer Kent Stater, “Our goal when we went into this was to help the downtown Kent and the economic base. If that’s not supported, we’re not going to press forward to build the project in that area,” Creamer said.