Navigating rumors in the business boom

These Facebook users mainly show up to share their opinions on this topic, but some commenters are unaware of how the municipal process works.

For example, some comments on the post about a site plan for Starbucks being approved by the Springtown City Council reprimanded the council because Starbucks could negatively impact the business of other coffee shops in town.

Springtown Administrative Services Director Christina Derr said this kind of consideration is not allowed when the council is discussing whether to approve a site plan.

“Only technical requirements already established in the ordinances or state law are allowed to be considered,” Derr said.

Speaking about the Starbucks site plan approval specifically, Derr said, “Had it been a zoning case, that type of consideration could have been made, but since the property is already properly zoned commercial, no zoning case was required.”

In fact, the council and Planning and Zoning Commission are sometimes limited on what they can legally oppose. Derr described cases about zoning changes or variance requests as discretionary, but decisions about plats and site plans are non-discretionary.

“In zoning and variance cases, the P&Z and council can consider more abstract concepts as to how the proposed development ‘fit’ in the community on the particular site where the development is being proposed,” she said. “For non-discretionary cases, the criteria for approval/disapproval are much narrower and more technical in nature.”

(For those not in the know, zoning is the prescribed use of the land, such as commercial, single family residential, multi-family residential, industrial and so on. Variance requests are made by developers who would like to forego aspects of the standards in place, such as differing from landscape or setback requirements. Plats show how a property is subdivided. Site plans include the site layout, drainage, grading, utility plans and a landscape plan.)

Derr said there isn’t a legal reason to deny applications if the development coheres to all the required engineering and zoning standards. To back up this point, she quoted Local Government Code Section 212.005: “The municipal authority responsible for approving plats must approve a plat or replat that is required to be prepared under this subchapter and that satisfies all applicable regulations.”

Facebook user William Petty, who works in Springtown, spoke up in the comments about the site plan for Starbucks being approved to challenge others calling for city council members to be replaced for their decision. Petty spoke against the idea of local government controlling the free market.

When discussing the lack of discretion that the council has to approve site plans, Petty said, “That's exactly how it should be” to prevent government overreach.

As far as his peers on Facebook, Petty said most of them don’t understand how these municipal processes work and aren’t interested in doing the research.

“A lot of these people who are complaining about the city council don't even know one member on the city council, would never have gone to a council meeting,” he said. “They have access to the information, have the ability to educate themselves, but ignorance, I guess, is kind of bliss. It's much easier to say, ‘I really wish the government would do this,’ and they'll go and vote for a president, but they'll never go and vote for local government.”

To become more informed, Petty suggested that people should pay attention to local government and local leaders as well as doing their research, like looking up local policies. 

Petty also said city officials need to be aware of where people are getting their information, which is more often from Facebook and other social media platforms.

“What sucks is that ease of access and ease of information also leads to an ease of misinformation,” he said. “When one person shares a status and says, ‘Look how terrible this is,’ that's what spreads like wildfire.”

Petty said the city should be promoting accurate information whenever news breaks, such as issuing statements about businesses coming to town.

Derr said the city already fights misinformation. 

“I can tell you we place a large amount of effort into combating social media rumors,” she said. “I personally monitor the groups on Facebook and on Nextdoor to provide factual information when misinformation is posted. Additionally, we have multiple councilmembers who do the same.”

Derr encouraged Springtown residents to think about the sources of their information to determine whether something is true and confirm rumors before spreading them.

Ultimately, Derr said social media users need to take some responsibility for the rumor mill.

“I personally have encountered and witnessed individuals on social media who, even when provided the correct information, continue to state misinformation,” she said. “The correct information is readily available, but there is some responsibility that the audience be willing to accept it.”

What can Springtown residents do?

Some Springtown residents may think that they can’t control what businesses come into their town, but there are some options that they have.

For starters, Derr said Springtown residents have control over what companies they sell or lease their properties to.

Locals could also get franchises to bring new businesses to town, Derr said. They can tell staff and council what businesses they would prefer, which is taken into consideration when city officials are recruiting. Any recruitment efforts from city officials usually happens after a business has expressed interest in the Springtown area.

Of course, final decisions about what businesses seek development in Springtown are made by the businesses themselves.

“The city works to ensure all interested businesses are provided accurate information to assist in their site selection, and to provide information which shows the positive aspects of doing business in Springtown,” Derr said.

To contact city hall or council members for questions or comments, visit Springtown’s website at cityofspringtown.com.