Push-Over Plans

The presentation by Elisabeth Earnley of the AGUA association was very enlightening and informative. The information was pertaining to the process which SAWS uses to pass ordinances. It continued with the fact that many unhealthy plans are accepted on the bases of grandfathering. Lastly, the city government has also made itself inaccessible to most of the public.
As the information was presented to us, it became more and more apparent that SAWS was not willing to put in the necessary hours to carefully oversee the plans that were being purposed to them. Numerous plans are submitted to this board daily and few get the attention deserved. Many unrefined plans are set into motion with little opposition from the SAWS board.
Another advantage that these inadequate plans have in their favor is the grandfathering rule. This rule exempts the user from ever having to abide by any ordinances passed after the purposed grandfathering. The loop whole is even more potent when you take into account the fact that San Antonio had hardly any environmental ordinances in place prior to the 1950s. This has spelled disaster many times over.
City Government has changed its meeting time from the evening to the morning. This executive decision has made it virtually impossible for those with jobs to attend. Many of the people of San Antonio are working from the hours of 8am to 4pm and are not able to be present at the morning meetings. These obstacles have muffled out the voice of the people and have left all of the decision making to the higher echelons of society. Where is the justice in that?