To the editor:
I thought the residents of Newburyport may be interested to know that the CVS is pretty much a done deal, regardless of how the zoning vote for Storey Avenue goes, according to my correspondence with both Ari Herzog and Tom Jones. Do other councilors and residents agree with this? Is there also another huge apartment development going in as well?
Here was my correspondence to Tom Jones, councilor for Ward 4, the ward I live in:
I wrote to him, copying Ari Herzog, the councilor at-large, and the mayor:
I wrote:
"I was disappointed to read in The Daily News this evening that it is likely that you will vote in favor of the rezoning of Storey Ave. I hope you will reconsider your position. A vote in favor of this rezoning is a vote for CVS, and a vote against Newburyport.
If this has a chance of passing, I would first suggest it be posed as a question to the townspeople when they do the override vote for the schools and senior center.
It is controversial enough that I think it should not just be decided by the council."
Here was his response:
"Ms. Spinelli:
What the City Council will be voting on is a matter of request for two houses to be included in the commercial zoning district on Storey Ave. These two homes are next to long-established commercial district on one side and a huge elder care facility on the other. By virtue of the fact that the city has allowed these homes to be so impacted, and that the elder owner of these two homes cannot sell them for a decent price because of the commercial nature of Storey Ave., I feel much more morally obligated to grant them relief from the condition the city and the economy have created. Further, as regards CVS, they have an agreement to build on the adjacent parcel now, by right. What we win in this rezoning is to change the frontage of the planned development from one lot width to three lot widths, improving the opportunity for traffic to enter and leave the planned site, reducing the traffic impact that so worries many of the opponents. Further, the city stands to control the development of 19 acres of a contiguous 48-acre farm, which is currently slated for 150-180 units of apartments. This and another lot , reconnected, would offer a developer as many as 500 units under a 40B scheme. This weighs heavily in my decision as well. This is the basis of my vote. By the way, I shop at Rite-Aid and don't care for CVS, but that isn't really what I'm voting on. Thank you for your time and effort on these issues."
I did not hear back from the mayor, and Ari referred me to his blog article. Here's a link: http://ariherzog.com/councilblog/10-benefits-to-rezone-storey-avenue/
–My take on all of this: There is zero benefit to the residents of Newburyport on this. Hundreds of Newburyport residents will have to needlessly suffer through still another layer of traffic on a daily basis so that one non-resident, two residents and a huge corporation can make tons of money.
Poor development and planning, and we have no way to stop it.
Lisa Spinelli
Newburyport
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