Dear Ipswich Neighbors and Friends,

Thank you so much for signing the petition expressing your concern over the Bruni 40B proposed development in Ipswich.

We are not opposing development in Ipswich and we strongly support increasing the availability of affordable housing in Ipswich, but we are concerned that with the proposed project well-intentioned laws are being manipulated for profit at the expense of our town.

If you are an Ipswich resident and would like to be kept abreast of our progress in stopping or limiting this development--and perhaps becoming more involved in the future of Ipswich--here are three ways to do that:

1. There are two important (Zoom) meetings coming up this month that all Ipswich citizens are encouraged to attend.

 - The first meeting is a special Select Board public meeting on January 11th at 7pm. This meeting is being held specifically to address Ipswich’s water issues and how they relate to the Bruni proposal. The link to that Zoom meeting will be posted on the Town’s website at:

https://www.ipswichma.gov/272/Select-Board-Formerly-Board-of-Selectmen or call Town Hall at 978-356-6604 for more information.

The second meeting is the regularly scheduled Zoning Board meeting on Thursday, January 21st. The agenda for this meeting will include the Bruni proposal and it is important that as many people as possible voice their views to the Zoning Board.

The link for this meeting will be posted here:

https://www.ipswichma.gov/435/Zoning-Board-of-Appeals

2. If you would like to continue to be informed or to become involved in our efforts, please send an email to ipswichcitizens@gmail.com with your name and preferred email address and we will put you on our mailing list.

3. You may have noticed the “Stop Bruni Project” signs that have been appearing in the area recently. The first print run of these signs has been sold out but the second printing has been paid for by a generous donor and will be free to all residents. If you are interested in putting up one of these signs on your Ipswich property, please contact ipswichcitizens@gmail.com .

3.  Finally, we invite you to join Ipswich Citizens for Responsible Growth, a Facebook group that was created in 2017 to inform the general public about development in our wonderful town. In addition to learning more about the town’s plans, we’d like to broaden the scope of this organization to include updates on the town’s water supply, candidates’ stance on development prior to town elections, activities in nearby towns that might inform our situation, and suggestions for working with our town leaders and various board members. 

When you joined with the many hundreds of members of our community who signed the Bruni petition, we sent a clear message to our town representatives and members of the various responsible town boards, but we can't stop there. We need a persistent and visible organization that supports candidates who advocate thoughtful and responsible growth.

We hope you’ll consider joining us in taking collective action to preserve the Ipswich we’ve all grown to know and love.