Dear Editor,

[In “‘Til Death Do Us Party,” News, April 27,] Kate [Groetzinger] pointed out Black Market Investments plans to build two 300-person wedding venues next to three long-established residential communities. She did not mention there are also three spiritual communities that will be impacted by this business venture.

A Meditation community and building, a Hindu temple, and a Native American spiritual center each share property lines on three sides with the proposed venues. These spiritual centers have 30- to 40-plus years in this location, many people have built their homes and lives around them, and now we are all concerned our ceremonies and prayers which, in most cases, are practiced on a daily basis, will no longer be possible. The loss of these places of worship should be tangible to everyone. It is difficult for me to imagine anyone taking vows before their creator and beginning the most significant relationship of their lives in such a place knowing they are ruining other families’ homes as well as destroying places of worship.

The property is part of one of the most significant Native American historical sites in Texas, and how it came to be owned by the Blacks has its own story. The longtime owner of the tract, mindful of its historic and cultural importance, as well as the sensitive nature of both its neighbors and geology, sold it to a developer after being promised he would build three or four estate homes there. The developer then flipped it to the Blacks after realizing the land had a 12% impervious cover limit due to being an integral part of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.

Lastly, yes, property rights are part of the freedom we enjoy, but freedom requires certain responsibilities, part of which is respect and consideration for each other. Otherwise, none of us can be free.