Use Terms Carefully – Especially 'Developer'

Dear Editor,
    I read today's article “Clear-Cutting Austin” by Lee Nichols [News, Sept. 21]. First of all I'd like to say that I thought the article was well-written and that I'm mostly sympathetic to the views expressed. In this political environment, however, in which “development” is a flash-point issue, I think that particular words have to be chosen carefully for the most accurate and nonconfusing communication. The subject of this letter is the use of the word “developer” in the article. As most people in this town know (and as Nichols indirectly acknowledges in the article), mention of the word “developer” usually raises hairs on the neck and gets people riled up. The article makes independent use of the word (separate from the direct quotes) that is inaccurate. None of the projects mentioned in the article is a development project, and none of the contractors/home builders is a developer. Land development (what developers do) is the process of taking raw land and making it buildable by platting legal lots, building streets and utilities, and securing utility service. Tearing down a house and rebuilding is one thing contractors and/or home builders do, but it is not “development,” per se.