Perversion of Land Use
"The Beaverdale Wall" and Perversion of Land Use
As of November 2014 a fence has been erected all around Rice Field--the site of Byron Rice Public Elementary School, a 5-acre parcel of land used and enjoyed by the community of Beaverdale and City of Des Moines for over 100 years.
Whether attending the public or private schools in Beaverdale, students, parents, grandparents and residents have enjoyed access to Rice Field for generation after generation since 1909.
This chain-link construction fence in Beaverdale is now a symbol that says, "NO to inclusion" and "YES to a restricted, closed community" of seniors wealthy enough to "spend their winters in warmer climates" (as promoted by Ewing Cooperative Senior Housing of Pella, Iowa), but still benefiting from HUD-backed mortgaging for the developer--federal involvment made available to developer once the City approved the development at Rice Field.
The grotesque irony of losing this play area is that the very people who made development at Rice Field a "done-deal" are the parents of children and were the children themselves who benefited from public use of Rice Field in the recent past.
Whether attending the public or private schools in Beaverdale, students, parents, grandparents and residents have enjoyed access to Rice Field for generation after generation since 1909.
This chain-link construction fence in Beaverdale is now a symbol that says, "NO to inclusion" and "YES to a restricted, closed community" of seniors wealthy enough to "spend their winters in warmer climates" (as promoted by Ewing Cooperative Senior Housing of Pella, Iowa), but still benefiting from HUD-backed mortgaging for the developer--federal involvment made available to developer once the City approved the development at Rice Field.
The grotesque irony of losing this play area is that the very people who made development at Rice Field a "done-deal" are the parents of children and were the children themselves who benefited from public use of Rice Field in the recent past.