I suppose that title is somewhat silly, since change is more often than not unexpected.

We had a disturbing letter arrive in the mail this week. It was a three page document from a local city/private developer informing us that about 1/3 of our street will be demolished in August to make way for 30 densely-packed units of low income housing.

For those of you who have not visited our abode, this is a massive, massive change.

The majority of our street is made up of single-family residences which house retirees or young couples like Bayou and me. Adding 100+ people into such a small, small area will remove all the quietness, the peace. It will become loud, crowded.

I am not opposed at all to low-income housing, and this project sounds worthy. It’s designed to house women and children who have been displaced or homeless.

But yet, I am enraged. This project has apparently been in the works since 2008, but we’ve only just recently gotten any notification of it. I cannot believe we’re about to be disrupted this way. Where will the construction people park? What security measures are being taken? What about noise abatement? Has any of this been addressed?

The most worrisome aspect is the fact that our land, as well as those around us, is zoned exactly the same way as the land in the about-to-be-started development. Couple that with some of the projected plans I’ve seen from the county, and I smell eminent domain coming.

I am not one of those people who would rather die than give up my house and land. Yes, this is our first house. Yes, I love our yard and the beauty of the spot. But I am not married to it. I can move, as inconvenient and disappointing as that thought is. As I’ve contemplated all of this news, I feel like we’ve not yet had time to make the best memories we could here.

Maybe time will mellow this feeling, but right now I just want to know when to expect to start negotiating with the development people. It is inevitable, as I see it, and I would rather get it over with. The reason I say inevitable is because it would make little sense to take one little pocket of this area and make it high-density housing and leave the rest single-family residences. Especially when all of the land is zoned as it is.

Besides the feeling of having this sprung on me, I’m unbalanced by the feeling of limbo this knowledge has created. We were planning on starting a major remodel of the basement because we need another bathroom and bedroom… if we’re going to start a family. There, I said it. Let the mocking and teasing begin, because I know some of you will rib me mercilessly for it.

But there is no way in hell I am sinking $30,000 or more into the house only to have to sell it. While I would expect to make profit back on the improvements, it would be a waste of time, materials, and sanity to undertake such a huge endeavor.

Instead, I want them to give us a reasonable amount to move so we can find someplace NOT slated to have such a major change around the corner. Somewhere we can grow in peace and with some relative quiet.

I hope that’s not too much to ask.