I absolutely love the Village of WestClay! I think it is beautiful and unique. As a matter of fact I pride showing it to friends and family.

Because of that, I do have tremendous respect for Tom Huston, his vision and achievement.

However, his email today comes across as condescending, demonstrating a bit of a "God complex" that maybe is expected, when you see flourishing the neighborhood you planned.

However, just because he designed and oversaw the development of the neighborhood, it doesn't mean that he owns us. Just because his vision 20 years ago included a gas station, it doesn't mean that a 6-bay gas station has to be built now in the middle of the neighborhood.

Tom Huston is also the businessman who still owns the land where this Family Express gas station is planned. While Tom has been instrumental in developing our village as it is today, our HOA should voice the concerns of its members and tone down advocacy for Brenwick (and Tom Huston) and their business interests. Our HOA does have a fiduciary duty to its members, who are the residents. 

The area where the Family Express gas station is planned, is called a peripheral retail area, however there is not much peripheral about it anymore. Take a look at the picture.  

Also, there may be a reason why the previous developer took 5 years and never built a gas station, as mentioned in Tom Huston's email. It is probably a development likely to fail.

Things have changed even more since then.

I'm no Tesla or electrics vehicles fan (yet), however the reality is that Tesla became recently the most valuable car company:  

July 1, 2020-

"With that market cap, Tesla has now officially surpassed Toyota—its main rival for that title, which is valued at roughly $203 billion; Toyota’s stock fell more than 1% in overseas trading.

Tesla is also now worth more than many of its rivals combined, such as Fiat Chrysler ($20 billion), Ford ($24 billion), Ferrari ($32 billion), General Motors ($36 billion), BMW ($41 billion), Honda ($46 billion) and Volkswagen ($74 billion)."

Likely in part because of Tesla's market valuation and because electrics are the future, all the automakers are scrambling to go electric:  In 4 years, as many as 50% of the vehicles sold new will likely be electric or plug-in hybrid.

Despite the size and scope of this Family Express gas station, in many ways it would still be a neighborhood gas station. A neighborhood that will likely count many of those electrics and plug-in hybrids selling nationwide. So it will be a gas station that will quickly run out of customers. A gas station that will fail and ruin everything even quicker, from the appeal of the area to the environment.

This is what I don't understand in the vision of Tom Huston. Is he talking as the designer and planner of this village or as the businessman who has a commercial land sale pending and just wants to see it through?