New Marietta Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin had the right answer in his inaugural "State of the City" speech last week to those who have complained that the city has sold itself too cheap in recent years when it comes to development and redevelopment. To those who complain that the city is greenlighting just about any kind of development, on the theory that any development is better than no development, Tumlin retorted : "We're committed to keeping those quality projects," he said, referring to such stalled-out redevelopment projects as Marietta Walk, Meeting Park and Hedgewood. "A new developer might come in and want us to change them, but I think we're going to keep to the quality. Even though we're going to have the temptation to maybe have a lesser project, we're going to hold out to keep quality housing in the city of Marietta."

Amen to that! Tumlin is correct that during such dire economic times as these that there surely is a temptation to allow just about any kind of development, if for no other reason than just to show that one's community is not stagnating. But it's not rocket science to know that such cut-rate developments typically come back to bite the communities that allow them. Those inexpensive houses and apartments and those retail strips that cater to low-end businesses and customers wind up costing taxpayers plenty in the long run. The added costs of municipal and educational services usually cancel out whatever additional tax revenues are generated by the development. And then, of course, there are the added costs - often to taxpayers - of having to redevelop those properties after they have sunk into decrepitude.

Better then, that a community - and especially our community - set the development and redevelopment bars high - and keep them there.