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Towards the end of the year, it seemed appropriate to write an open-ended letter as to why I, we, they, most of Gloucester, continue to fight for the character and survival of our city. . Some local politicians, planners, influencers, department heads, political fundraiser, etc. wondered why “our side” was so concerned, outraged, dedicated to the fight and will continue to be. You don’t seem to really “understand” the
Jason, Ruth, Rick, Beverly, Sean, Val, Scott, co-mayors Jill, realtors, builders and developers were more than a little surprised by the depth of opposition and commitment to the 2022 urban rezoning effort. It must have been. ?This effort has been stretched, postponed and repurposed over his six months. Originally built around creating affordable housing, it was renamed shortly thereafter. It was discussed in wards and across the city on Zoom’s Brave New World and on paper pages. This author has published nine columns. People followed me personally and often inaccurately. But I didn’t care — the fight was more important.
Pulling it out made it harder for the opposition to stay focused, but basically doubling zoning in all wards and most importantly, notifying neighbors as well as planned at board level. The councilors treated the whole process very fairly, listened to a lot and voted against the nature of the change. rice field.
But unfortunately, it’s only a year away before it crashes again. The ability to think of time is on their side. Residents losing interest and abandoning old-fashioned, eccentric views of neighborhood character and local dominance. But it costs too much. The planner will return with a new proposal that closely resembles the old one. Their hope, no doubt, is that they see the process this time around and a new, more adaptable council is voted on. Reorganized from a ward that clearly liked her a lot. It takes them a year to figure it all out.
The next election is very important. As such, Councilor Jason Glow continues to dismiss the slow-growth instinct and take a “tear her up” attitude towards construction in the neighborhood, especially in Eastern Point and other rural western and northern areas. I want to stick to Opinion representing the opposite side.
Children’s book author Tyra Heder explains why she chose Gloucester to write her latest book.
“I visited a friend who had a house in Gloucester.
It wasn’t a contest. Mike Wheeler, Gloucester High School Class ’61 – Author, Harvard Professor, Annisquam Rifler, a quote of recommendation for the new “Gloucester Encounters” book caught my eye:
“This wonderful new book is a reminder of how the tides and currents of time have shaped our city… For those of us who have lived here long enough, and for our visitors, the collection is , our often contrarian, sometimes moody and always beautiful Gloucester is truly extraordinary and a treasure we should cherish.”
I’m not sure Jason and the planners value it as much as we do.
Perhaps they should consider David Rosen’s letter published in The Times last year. Head of Landvest and member of the planning committee, he lives on Washington Street.
“The demand for larger homes is driven by the real estate market, and the real estate market is driven by maximizing sales prices. I have worked in dozens of communities in the Boston metropolitan area. The main trend in towns and suburbs is to demolish small, modest homes and replace them with very large homes built to the maximum size allowed by regulations in order to optimize sales prices. If our zoning rules allow it, it will happen here.If you allow it, it will happen.In fact, it’s already happening all over Gloucester.”
“Like much of Gloucester, we chose to purchase a home in the Riverdale section of the city because it is an area of relatively small lots and modest single-family homes. If you have a single family home with a 1 or 2 car garage (or no garage in most cases), 3-4 cars per lot, no screening process, 2 units by entitlement. will be allowed, which will increase traffic and congestion.”
Straight out of the horse’s mouth.
Worryingly, the upcoming Transit Overlay District (TOD) mandate will set some troubling precedents. Has anyone asked how many other towns are saying no?
Or what if the council doesn’t change the zoning? The money at risk of forfeiting is the “developer money” spent on building the hotel infrastructure and expanding the mall. His TOD plan for the state is to make us a municipal zone in Boston. it’s not.
Will those 2,270 new TOD units lead the rest of Gloucester to ‘kill magic’? This is why I fight and write.
Shall we go together?
Gloucester resident Gordon Baird is an actor, musician, co-founder of Musician Magazine, and producer of the community access television show, The Chicken Shack.
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