Greenwood Avenue (Former Middle School)
As a professional planner and public servant, I’ve learned that just
because a proposal looks good on a graphical rendering and complies
with all the economic and demographic viability principles taught in
grad school, it still won’t be successful without sincere community
support. And given that the former middle school property belongs
to us as residents and taxpayers of the Town, I believe it’s reasonable
for the proposed development project to have to stand up to a higher
level of scrutiny. This is a case when extraordinary proactive
engagement of each abutter and nearby Greenwood Avenue resident should
have been incumbent upon both the town and its partner developer.
With improved civic engagement, a moderation of new building size, and
an insistence that the original requirement to preserve the façade be
honored, our Town should have been able to achieve a win-win result:
generating additional tax revenue, dispensing with a deteriorating
capital asset, and allowing a modest profit for the developer.
And now, while I respect the recent decision of the Board of Selectmen
to challenge the ruling of land court (to disallow the development
agreement), I would prefer to not spend more of our limited financial
resources on a prolonged legal battle. Instead, I believe it’s
time to reassess our options for the site with the full participation
of neighborhood residents.
While 41 new residential units on the site would indeed place a
substantial burden on the neighborhood, it is also important to recall
that the activity associated with a middle school (and earlier, a high
school) was accommodated on Greenwood Avenue for many years.
Thus, I believe that a condominium development of a more moderate size
is appropriate at that location, but also believe it is reasonable to
expect some public open space to be preserved. Let’s start fresh,
present anew the impacts of comparable developments in similar
neighborhoods of nearby towns, hold the developer accountable for
reasonable structural and transportation mitigation, and find a way to
finally reach the win-win result we all deserve.