Article: An ethic that values open space; Individual development decisions may not seem like much - 20 acres here, 100 acres there. Taken together, they add up to an enormous loss: An area the size of the Mall of America is developed every day.(NEWS)

Byline: Rip Rapson

Did you ignore that small ad about the local planning commission meeting only later to watch in horror as bulldozers moved full-throttle into the woods down the road?

You're not alone.

But changes in our communities don't just "happen." Elected officials deliberate. Concerned citizens voice their opinions - or they don't. Nearly every development project involves a public decisionmaking process, and as the old saying goes: "You don't ask, you don't get."

As much as we Twin Citians value open spaces, public choices are being made here every day to drain wetlands, subdivide forests, fragment wildlife corridors and ...

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