Millcreek Monster Homes

This is a letter I sent to the editors of our local papers about the Millcreek Megahomes controversy:

Letter to the Editor

There's the woman who lived in a shoe, had so many kids she didn't
know what to do. She really wants a monster home, but some people
don't want her to have it. What gives? I am a broker/owner of the Fantis Group and saltyhomes.com. I work a lot in the Millcreek area. I also live in Millcreek and have both small homes and large homes on my street. Overall, I like it.

Fist of all, my neighbors with big houses come with many benefits.
They take care of their yards and don't park dilapidated campers in
them. Their big houses increase the value of the little houses in the
neighborhood. The big houses are nice, and are kept nice. Usually the
big houses are required to put in sidewalks and curb and gutter, too.
Aren't sidewalks good for the neighborhood? Most of the people with
small homes opted out of this recent neighborhood improvement. I
guess the kids can walk to school in the street.

I recognize some of the cons, as well. In some cases existing homes
lose their views to monster homes. Sometimes roosters get confused in
the shadow of the monster home and "Cock-a-doodle-do!" at the wrong
time of the day. My question to the people that don't want them is,
"Why not?" Is that big bully (monster house) picking on you again?

All neighborhoods on the east side have big houses. Every one of
them. I'd be all for cleaning up the monster homes restrictions if we
could clean up the rest of our acts, first. Let's take care of our
yards, junk collections, sidewalks, and fences. Let's clear trees and
shrubs away from stop signs so people don't blow through them. I
guess I feel like we've got many battles from which to choose, and
some of them make a bigger difference in the community than others.

Oh, and for the record, I live in one of those little houses,
comparatively speaking.


Tony Fantis
East Millcreek