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Planning Board Receives Final East Hopkinton Master Plan Fruit Street discussion leans toward small steering committee
July 24, 2007 — Last night the Planning Board received a final report from Sasaki Associates, which was hired after Town Meeting approved a $200,000 expenditure in 2006 for an East Hopkinton Master Plan in the wake of the offering for sale of Weston Nurseries. The group proposed four distinct zoning overlay districts for East Hopkinton that would keep the underlying zoning intact, but create the possibility of mixed use in much of the district. Low Impact Development, a type of development that creates density while preserving open space, and Mixed Use Development, one that sites housing near its retail component — sometimes called Smart Growth — were repeated themes throughout the evening's presentation. The LID includes some green components that involve reuse of water and allows rain water to be absorbed through a system in the paving, rather than detention basins that many people view as an eyesore, including member Evan Ballantyne, who said he resides near one. A mixed use development could include housing above retail, but also a mix of stand alone stores. The group said it was clear that the townspeople, after months of meetings and charrettes, did not want big box stores. Vice-Chair RJ Dourney said, "The one piece I am uncomfortable with is the traffic issue. It is the elephant in the room," he said. "I have similar concerns," said member Evan Ballantyne, who went on to state that in his native New Jersey, development could not proceed if an intersection could not handle the added traffic. "We are destined for failure," he said. The group offered suggestions such as required trip reductions and car-pooling and internal capture — living and working in the same space. It was not in Sasaki's purview to do a conventional traffic study during their process. Someone brought up the need for sidewalks, which got member Ken Weismantel reminiscing. "In the late 80's, no one wanted to put in sidewalks, because it would ruin the rural character," he joked. The modern proposals have the effect of densifying suburban areas into more urban types of landscapes, but leaving open space too. The entire Sasaki report will be available electronically sometime Tuesday.
Fruit Street Selectmen Chair Muriel Kramer stopped by to discuss Fruit Street with the Planning Board and get their input. Mr. Dourney said that although the School Committee didn't need the land that had been set aside for them, "but we do want to hold it," he said, drawing exclamations of agreement from around the table. One contentious plan is the location of a road to the Waste Water Treatment Facility that is shown to go through the middle of the planned affordable housing component. Chair of Affordable Housing, Lil Holden, said that her committee is moving forward going before the CPC (Community Preservation Committee) to start the process. "I believe we should let the dust settle — see how the market is over the next couple of years," said member Claire Wright. Mrs. Kramer said that there is no formal committee, but asked for the input of the Board. She also noted that she felt the Planning Board and the ConCom "should stay off of this." Stages of the project will likely go before those boards. A plan for the WWTF is simply to use the existing dirt road to save money, but it could take 1/3 of the affordable homes out of the conceptual plan because the road is shown to run through the middle of it. "That's a huge impact," said Rick Odell. Recreational fields have been presented to Town Meeting twice, and subsequently voters voted not to support them financially. People this evening proposed the possibility of a public/private sports complex or just leasing the land to a sports facility. The Selectmen have "Fruit Street Committee" on their Tuesday agenda. The original nine-member committee was disbanded two meetings ago, as were others. But at the last Selectmen's meeting a political drama unfolded as members of the disbanded Fruit Street Development Committee and their political allies attended to lobby for a return to the status quo, a reinstatement of the committee. That is not a likelihood, as Mrs. Kramer said she favors a three-person steering committee, and Mr. Zettek has made it clear he does not favor a reinstatement of the former committee. |
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Love That Dirty Water...
July 24, 2007 — Madison Kenney greets her Papa John Tummon, both of Hopkinton, with a towel shortly after he completed a one mile swim on Saturday morning in Boston's Charles River, which had earned a national reputation, from a 1960's era song, Dirty Water, that described its polluted condition. It was the first time in 50 years the water has been deemed safe enough to swim in. Photo taken by Colleen Chatten |
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July
23, 2007 — At approximately 5:02 p.m. Troopers assigned to the The crash remains under investigation by the Federal Aeronautics Administration, Mass Highways, Boxborough Pd and Fire assisted Troopers at the scene. The right lane and breakdown lane was closed for approximately two hours re-opening at 7:00 p.m. According to the website of the Federal Aviation Administration the plane, registered on 07/08/1993, is owned by Allan W. Kidd of Brownstown, Michigan. |
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Today, July 23, 2007
3:15 pm A caller reported that a male and female were video taping the house and Weston Nurseries property...
1:25 pm A caller from Daniel Road reported opening her shed this morning and noticed a black Toyota Highlander parked by her house with someone taking pictures...
11:59 am A caller reported that a person was walking a dog on the Town Common...
3:38 pm Officer Timothy Brennan
assisted with returning a man with dementia to his residence... |
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Dancin' with Myse-elf
July 23,
2007 — Fourteen month-old Isabella Hughes walks with rhythm to the
music at the Common yesterday, while her mom, as well as everyone around
her, looks on. |
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When is the Train Arriving?
July 23,
2007 — The HopNews camera found itself in Uxbridge on Sunday and caught
this woodchuck in the far right corner (and in the inset) warily
eyeballing the Mendon Police on four-wheelers, who were making sure no
one went near the devastated Bernat Mill, which was still smoldering,
and perhaps even flaring up in some spots. Then the woodchuck saw the
photographer and decided the burned mill was a better choice. A freight
train carrying dozens of cars had been held up for a day or so a few
miles north of Uxbridge, and just yesterday was allowed to proceed past
the burned mill toward its destination on these very tracks. NOTE: Identification of animal has been changed to reflect a reader's note. |
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Tonight between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., Travelers are advised to seek alternate routes as the traffic congestion is expected to be heavy until the road is reopened. |
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Hopkinton Couple Loses Shop in Uxbridge Inferno "We were exclusively dependent upon that business" ~ Joan Archer "But the name survives — and the quality" ~ Joan and John Archer
"It's gone now — there's nothing left, More than sixty businesses are gone," said Mrs. Archer in a telephone interview this morning. "We were exclusively dependent on that business. We were there for eleven years. It's all gone," she said. After more than a decade of Furniture Fayre establishing a name for itself, as well as a reputation for fine quality, custom-crafted furniture, it took only one moment for a fire to start in the old Bernat Mill in Uxbridge, home to 65 small businesses, to engulf their hard work and dreams in a raging inferno that took firefighters from dozens of communities, as well as four firefighters and an engine from Hopkinton, to bring it under control. Photo, above, John and Joan Archer in front of Uxbridge Town Hall Sunday.
Although authorities have yet to establish a procedure for the business
owners to survey the mill complex and determine the extent
of damage to each individual business, it appears that the Archer's
space, which is visible from the street, is
totally devastated (Photo above, last window on right). "Everything we did was custom. If they couldn't buy it anywhere, they came to us and we made it," said Mrs. Archer. "We got a check just yesterday from a restaurant — and that's out the window," said Mrs. Archer. "We could get a space and work out of it," she said, thinking out loud. "We could outsource it — designing it for manufacture elsewhere." "It was quite a sight, seeing everything go up," said Mr. Archer. "Somebody smelled smoke and by the time maintenance responded, it was too late. They'll probably just bulldoze the whole thing down," he said. The Archers, as well as one hundred or more other people, arrived at the Uxbridge Town Hall at 4:00 pm Sunday to hear speakers from Uxbridge government give them an update as well as instructions on how to proceed with insurance and other matters. State Senator Richard Moore from Uxbridge attended the meeting to speak with constituents.. Senator John Kerry arrived to tell people gathered outside that he would seek federal relief, if the business or mill owners qualify. The mill had become a destination for shoppers frequenting the specialty stores and shops, like massage therapy, art gallery and other one-of-a-kind businesses, such as Furniture Fayre. These were all small business owners, no franchises or chain stores. The Bernat Mill owners, Leonard "Cappy" Fournier and Jack Tweed were seen in attendance, but did not speak to the gathering. The mill was still being soaked late Sunday afternoon as ladder companies poured water into the structure, and the tanker trucks took their water from upstream in the adjacent river, while cleanup of the river, contaminated by the fire, proceeded downstream. Across the railroad tracks at Uxbridge Town Hall and in some areas of the neighborhood, the smell of smoldering foam rubber could still be smelled, and the smoke from it filled the air of the neighborhood and wafted through groups of spectators lining the streets, as curiosity seekers filled the sidewalks and people rubber-necked from passing vehicles. At the end of the video below can be seen smoke rising from the area around the mill from a high vantage point about four miles away. The EPA was monitoring the air quality at several locations surrounding the facility, but had not evacuated the area as of Sunday at of 5:00 pm, as yellow tape backed up by a cordon of police kept anyone from getting near the structure, and arson investigators and firefighters set up headquarters next to the adjacent cemetery. Neighbors had to fight their own battles while the blaze raged. One man's lawn, directly across the tracks on the backside of the structure, was covered with burned embers, one of which had landed on his kitchen roof, causing it to ignite, he said. People who did not evacuate during the height of the blaze had been asked to stay indoors. It is interesting to note that at some point after the original construction of mills in America and the subsequent fires, they became redesigned. Many of the mills that were built and remain standing, were designed for the floors to collapse separately from the walls in the event of a fire so that the walls would remain standing, and the mill could be rebuilt. And although many mill fires result in such a condition, it is unlikely that current building codes would allow such a development.
The Archers spoke outside the Uxbridge Town Hall on video, available
below.
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July 22, 2007 — Hopkinton residents Joan and John Archer (Video capture,
left) have lost
everything they had worked hard to acquire for their business
including, according to Mr. Archer, their insurance policy, as well as
all of their equipment and tools in an inferno that destroyed much of
the Bernat Mills, a former mill that had been converted to individual
shops.
