Maria, thank you for writing such a good letter expressing what I suspect many of us have been feeling.

Hear, Hear!! Thank you for voicing what many of us are thinking. We may be the "children guarding what the sires have won" but we don't have to behave like children. Let's agree to disagree and accept that differing opinions make us all human beings. This is a great town, lets treat each other that way.

Go, Maria! Thank you.

Well said, Maria. It is one thing to disagree with someone's position on an issue. That happens all the time. Responsible adults often "Agree to disagree" and remain friends or, if not, friends, respect the other side. We have seen too many situations where disagreements turn into personal attacks in which one side or the other makes derogatory accusations or allegations of bad faith or wrong doing. These comments are frequently hate-filled and the language is often inflammatory. This is not respectful to the parties or the town. We need to make it clear that we will always welcome respectful differences of opinion, but name-calling or personal attacks are not acceptable conduct that should be discouraged and condemned.

If you like growth so much why not move to the city? That's the problem Maria, a lot of us don't want this growth.

Splain, Paul. The growth you're referring to happened when? Our population increased when?

Probably the best opinion I've seen written on local issues in long time. As for me, I don't fear expressing my opinion, I'm just starting to wonder, "What's the point?"

Most people don't listen anymore. They just want to read the stuff that supports their existing opinion and brush off everything else. We have lost the art of discussion and debate (i.e. Maria being told to move when that wasn't her point at all). This type of rhetoric is pushing people to disengage from online discussions and town meetings alike.

In short - You are not correct simply because you are challenging the establishment, just as you are not correct just because you *are* the establishment. Both parties need to work together to find the answer.

Above all that, educating yourself and voting on April 3rd is the most important thing.

Thanks, Keith. I was being "rhetorical" but also lazy. Didn't feel like getting the real numbers even though I knew what they showed. People love to believe the scarey stories of engulfing over growth but never get their facts correct. Maria , thanks again for the letter.

Fran, again, it's your definition of growth. Now twist your centric view of population as growth to that of undeveloped land and the increase in housing/businesses. Double, triple?? Keith can you find us that data.

This discussion is exactly Maria's point. Why can't we be courteous? "Paul" nowhere in her letter does she refer to anything relating to "growth" population or commercial.

If you feel the need to make this point, instead of insulting Fran, why not go find the data yourself and post it? We can only assume your concern comes from some data or facts you have researched. Why do you need Keith to research it for you? This way we can stay on point.

I see a lot of passion from all sides, which is usually a great thing. But I agree with Maria regarding "personal and professional accusations/attacks, misinformation, lawsuits and grandstanding by some at the expense of others". It makes me want to stay away and not take part. Something needs to change if residents are feeling like this. It can't be good for our town.

Just a quick comment about the growth. While our population has been stable, there has been growth of buildings, business, housing and traffic. Remember, we are at the crossroads of two major highways, one of which went through a major reconstruction (Rte 3) which put more traffic on our roadways. We have had a large growth in commercial space since I was a kid - Route 129 was all residential then. We need to balance the "growth is bad" thoughts with the recognition that these businesses pay taxes which helps with the residential tax burden and provides jobs for many of our residences. Look at some of the bedroom towns with no commercial taxes. With all the talk of gas prices, I like having a variety of businesses right here in town and the other amenities the town provides.

I guess it's a matter of personal opinion about the kind of town you want to live in. I think future growth will be re-development of existing properties which will only make this town stronger. Remember, it's the people who make the community and that's why I choose Chelmsford.

The way I see it, and again, just one man's opinion, is that if you moved to Chelmsford in the last 20 years (a reasonable sample size), growth has been minimal at best. Sure a supermarket replaced a movie theatre, a Walmart replaced a Caldor, a Pet World replaced a Child Wolrd, and so on and so forth (all examples of viable businesses replacing those that were not), but the town has remained largely unchanged during that time on all fronts (commericial and residential). Of course some development of both housing and commercial space has occured in the last 20 years, but, without any hard data in front of me, I would find it hard to believe that such growth is not comparable (or frankly less than) many of the communities in the Merrimack Valley.

OK, no more from me about growth. Although it is the issue that is dominating the press leading up to next week's election, I think that there are several, and frankly, more important, issues regarding public safety, schools, and social services that should be greeting a lot more attention.