George,

I spoke mostly off the cuff (on November 9th), although I did have some notes. Here is what my notes say:

"Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Cale jaffe, and I am here as a father and as a friend of Planned Parenthood. And I'm also here as a lawyer to offer a little friendly advice -- you can do with that what you will."

"This appeal is an attempt to use the BZA as a back-door avenue to address a hot-button social issue. Regardless of the Board members' individual opinions on the issue of choice, the fact is that discussions like this shouldn't be held here. They should be going on in Richmond at the General Assembly, and they are going on in Richmond."

"The BZA should stay focused on issues like set backs and variances, not abortion rights. If the Board is willing to enterain appeals such as this one, it will open the floodgates to every activist who wishes to find a new way to address a variety of social issues. The Board will be forced to hold hearings like this every week to address everything from gun rights to gay marriage."

"Accordingly, I urge the Board to reject this appeal and keep the BZA focused on the issues it was created to address."

Cale Jaffe (electronic mail, November 12, 2004)