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Two front page articles in the Nov. 12 edition, "Knapp meets with angry residents" and "Approval progresses for retail in Clarksburg," are related to one another and clearly depict the sorry state of affairs it is to be a Clarksburg Town Center resident.

The "Knapp" article says that County Council President Michael Knapp's resolution to rescind the development district tax was defeated 5 to 4. And it says that the residents "are angry."

It says that three communities would be paying the tax. It doesn't say that there are many new Clarksburg communities that would not be paying the tax. It doesn't say that this tax might be more than $1,500 per home, per year for 25 years.

It doesn't say that it would be funding the Clarksburg Library (the only county library to be funded by a select few residents). It doesn't say that it subsidizes roads that are not part of the community (like the exit 18 Stringtown Road extension off Interstate 270). It doesn't say that the developer had agreed to provide all of these things, but is now arguing that "provide" does not mean "pay.

It does not say that to approve a tax like this, 80 percent of the residents are required to give their approval, but only the developer "approved."

And finally, it doesn't say that at the same meeting when the council members rejected Knapp's resolution, they also approved Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg's legislation to amend the county code modifying the development district approval process because the council realized that the Clarksburg Town Center district was created inappropriately.

And when you combine this above travesty with the "Approval" article, you have to start shaking your head with bewilderment and amazement. The developer who is getting the above unwarranted "give backs" is the same developer who attempted to provide the community with second-rate amenities, violated building codes for which a seven figure fine was imposed, and then when that same developer agreed upon a mutually acceptable mediated site plan with the community and the Planning Board (allowing the developer to avoid the imposed fines), that developer at the last minute, reneged, changed the plans, and has even threatened that he is "not so optimistic that the community will be completed."

So, did Knapp meet with angry residents? You bet. We are angry with the developer, but are also very angry with the council members who, by rejecting Knapp's resolution, are complicit in this injustice.

Arnold Schottland, Clarksburg

The writer is a Town Center resident.