William Marvel: Ghettos for Conway

According to a recent article in this newspaper, in less than a year Conway may see ground broken on its first planned ghetto. This should be good news for the staff and hangers-on of the Conway School District, who lately have publicly expressed actual “hope” that Conway would see an increase in families with children — to reverse the decline in student enrollment that threatens the empire on which they feed. Meanwhile, taxpayers and people who enjoy what remains of Conway’s town character should be livid.

Like the urban housing projects that it so closely resembles, Settlers Green’s 242-unit worker-warehousing plan surmounted its most daunting hurdle when the Zoning Board of Adjustment waived town density limits, which the project exceeds by a factor of about four. This can be blamed partly on a ridiculously gullible provision for density variances on developments that temporarily price one-quarter of their units at “affordable” rates. A petition to rescind that irresponsible new provision at the next town meeting should be circulated immediately.