'I do feel greatly disappointed and deeply hurt'

By C. L. "Cory" Koral

 Back in April of this year I held an open house at my farm to discuss an idea I had to hold weddings and receptions on the farm, which requires a special permit. I and my wife, Miriam, have always been very serious about keeping good relations with our neighbors in the 35 years we've been in this county, and so I met with my neighbors
and any interested parties first to iron out any problems with this idea before I applied for the permit. I even went so far as to agree that even if the permit were granted, that I would only conduct these proposed activities on a trial basis out of respect for my neighbors.
No one made any criticisms or mentioned any opposition to me applying for the necessary Conference Center Permit.
Imagine my surprise when I encountered unanimous opposition to it at the Planning Commission hearing, from the community, and from the very
people who attended the open house!
I was treated with great suspicion and mistrust by many of the commenters. Some implied that I was a liar, that I was trying to get away with something, and one even implied that I was allowing nudity on the farm.
I don't care about the conference center; it was just an idea.
But I do feel greatly disappointed and deeply hurt that no one even bothered to say anything to me until the night of the meeting, and then
got up to make accusations without even knowing the facts. I held the open house for the express purpose of avoiding this situation.
Everyone who attended that Planning Commission meeting could have called, emailed me, or attended the open house, so there's no excuse.
As I said at the meeting, had I known there was opposition to the idea I would never have wasted my time and money, the commission's time or anyone else's time applying for this permit.
Folks, it doesn't do any good to be open and trusting of the
community if no one trusts back. If we really want to uphold our higher values of preserving the environment, controlling development, and keeping good relations with our neighbors, then we as a community have to make the effort to build that trust.
I would like to see anyone else who is interested in applying for a permit, hold an informal meeting with their neighbors first, as I did, as a sign of good faith, and before any permits are applied for, I would like to see this community take a first step in trusting each other by offering their feedback.
Is that asking too much?

C. L. "Cory" Koral
Jordan River Farm
Huntly