Reminder: City Council Hearing Tonight at 7:45 pm - please write letters, attend

Here is a sample letter being sent to the council -- please write the entire council today and attend meeting! Councillors, I am writing to respectfully urge you to vote "NO" to the special permit for the proposed supersized storage facility at 255-257 Newtonville Ave at the July 11th council meeting. My three children and I have lived on Newtonville Ave for over ten years, have extensively travelled the neighborhood by foot, bike and car, and currently live within eyesight of the Norcross building at 255-257 Newtonville Ave. I, like the vast majority of my neighborhood residents, strongly oppose this special permit, which proposes the construction of a 1025 unit self-storage facility at the Norcross site. It is highly concerning that in the face of vocal, widespead opposition from the constituency, some on the Land Use Committee approved this permit at their July 11th meeting, especially considering that the criteria for a special permit were not met. My primary concerns regarding the proposed storage facility are those of public safety. The intersection near the site at Newtonville Ave/East Side Parkway/Lewis Terrace is a complex and dangerous one, made even more congested in recent years by the addition of the off-leash dog park at the end of Cabot Park. Newtonville Ave is a very narrow road, at some places without sidewalks, which is especially treacherous in the winter months for both cars and pedestrians. There have been many accidents and near-acidents at the intersection in question. Introducing a steady stream of trucks and other large vehicles to this narrow artery in this densely populated family neighborhood is an alarming prospect to those who live here, use Cabot Park, and travel through the area by car, bicycle, and on foot. At the May 24th Land Use Committee meeting, LUC called for an independent traffic study of the intersection; this has not yet been completed. The suggestion that a "lookback" traffic study (made at the June 28th LUC meeting) would suffice to address the traffic safety issue is patently absurd. Even if the "lookback" traffic study were to actually occur one year after the facility were built, how then would the traffic problems be resolved? By dismantling the offending oversized storage facility once it becomes obvious it was all a big mistake? Furthermore, the foreseeable storage of flammable or otherwise dangerous chemicals commonly associated with storage facilities is an unacceptable risk for such a densely populated family neighborhood, nearby Cabot Park, and Cabot Park Village. At the May 24th LUC meeting, a call was made by the committee for reports from the city police and fire departments regarding these safety concerns. No such reports have yet been produced. This risk to the welfare and safety of the residents who live in the area, drive through the area, and use Cabot Park must be further evaluated, in the public interest. The steady daily influx of strangers who have no investment in our neighborhood, the trash, noise, and light pollution that the facility will inevitably generate, and the lengthy proposed operating hours are likewise unacceptable for this densely populated residential neighborhood. Our Mayor Setti Warren has identified the property currently for sale at 281 Newtonville Ave (the NEFCO site, immediately adjacent to the Norcross site at 255-257 Newtonville Ave) as "potentially suitable for medium density multifamily and medium/high density single family residential development" in his recently released housing strategy report. While we all understand that the Norcross and NEFCO landowners, not the city, have the authority to request a change of zoning from "manufacturing" to "residential" for their properties, the city councillors clearly have the authority to say "No" to a special permit for the proposed facility at 255-257 Newtonville; the criteria to support a special permit in this case are simply are not met. There are many other potential uses for this site, including residential use, which would generate sufficient revenue for the owner, a prospective builder, and the city, which would enhance and benefit the surrounding neighborhood. The proposed storage facility stands to greatly advantage a few (the landowner, the landowner's attorney, and the developers) to the detriment of many who will have to live with the adverse effects for decades to come. It is highly unfortunate that the neighborhood population had no knowledge of this proposed project earlier on in the planning stages. Had the public been fully informed of the facts of the proposal sooner, it is unlikely that the petition for the special permit would have progressed to this point. There are currently over 800 constituents who have signed our petition opposing the special permit for this storage facility, since becoming aware of the plan over the past two months. The opposition is growing, and relentless. It is frankly unbelievable that some on the LUC would disregard the voices of so many constituents. I am confident that none of you would want this obscenely large and unsafe storage facility, with all of it's attendent liabilities, to be built in your own neighborhood, and we do not want it in ours. Please vote "NO" to the Special Permit for the proposed storage facility at 255-257 Newtonville Ave at the City Council meeting on July 11th. Thank you for your time and kind consideration, Patricia Hall Abbott, MD 314 Newtonville Ave Friends of Newtonville Ave Neighborhood