You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May 2007.
Dear Friends of Preserve Portsmouth,
In case your neighbors and friends haven’t had a chance to call or write the Portsmouth Town Council members, they can copy and paste this letter written by one of our members, and sign it themselves with their contact information. The Town Council members’ contact information is immediately below the letter.
A representative from Preserve Portsmouth will be speaking before the Portsmouth Town Council on June 11th, 7:00 pm at Portsmouth Town Hall , regarding the issues in the letter written by George Nichols. Anyone is invited to join us that evening.
————————
To The Honorable Members of The Portsmouth Town Council,
We as citizens of the Town of Portsmouth, RI have recently become aware that a large retail chain store, Target, is interested in build a very large retail center on the corner of West Main Road and Union Street. As you are likely aware, this is becoming a highly charged issue requiring public meeting on the subject being moved from the Town Hall chambers to the Middle School. It is clear to parties on both sides of this issue that this is a waterfall event in the history that will forever alter the character of the Town. Based on the importance and irreversibility of that realization, we strongly feel that the Town should not enter into such development without measured and deliberate consideration and forethought of action.
It is therefore requested that the Town issue a temporary moratorium deferring the approval of commercial development in excess of 38,000 square feet for a period of one year in order to study and better understand the benefits and impacts of developments of this size on the Town. It is clear such developments of this size are new and uncharted waters for the Town. During the period of study, the Town and all concerned parties, citizens, developers and commercial business interests should be invited to present, discuss and evaluate the appropriateness and adequacies of the Town regulations to effectively balance the competing interest of historical nature of the Town and the needs to increase commercial tax base. A review of the preliminary Target proposal, the existing Town and State development, zoning and building plans, regulations and policies should be evaluated and potentially updated to guide and clarify how the town should manage large scale commercial growth in the future.
In closing, such a commercial development is a big step for the Town and a period of time to study this is a reasonable request to help assure that when we enter into commercial development it is well thought out and implemented in a sustainable manner that is acceptably compatible with the existing (or an acceptable future) Town character.
We thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
George Nichols
———————————-
Dennis M. Canario, President
64 Birchwood Drive (401) 683-4926
e-mail: dcanario@portsmouthri.com
James A. Seveney, Vice-President
75 Macomber Lane (401) 683-3046
e-mail: jseveney@portsmouthri.com or seveney@cox.net
Karen Gleason
63 Massasoit Avenue (401) 683-9653
e-mail: kgleason@portsmouthri.com
Leonard B. Katzman
162 Spring Hill Road (401) 683-5000
e-mail: lkatzman@portsmouthri.com
Hubert “Huck” E. Little
442 Union Street (401) 846-3232
e-mail: hlittle@portsmouthri.com
Peter J. McIntyre
24 Maize Corn Road (401) 683-0210
e-mail: pmcintyre@portsmouthri.com
William E. West
205 Redwood Road (401) 847-7857
e-mail: wwest@portsmouthri.com or ww2051@cox.net
On May 5th, a beautiful sunny Sunday at 2:00 in the afternoon we were headed to a play date over in the Redwood Farm neighborhood. Low and behold there had just been an accident at the corner of West Main Rd. and Union St.
One car’s front left quarter had been pretty smashed in, and was being towed away. Needless to say both drivers seemed pretty shooken up. Six days later, May 12 there was another accident at the very same corner, another beautiful day at approximately 11:00 am. One car was completely totaled and the fire engine and rescue wagon were on site.
That light is known for being “run-through” as it is turning red.
Christine Jenkins
Letter to the editor that also appeared in the May 3rd issue of the Sakonnet Times:
Target: Don’t repeat Middletown mess
To the editor:
I was beyond dismayed to learn about Target’s massive store proposal for Portsmouth. The plan is to build a 500-foot long store of more than 136,000 square feet on 16 acres at Union Street and West Main Road.
Not only is any big box bad for the Island — or any community (see the anti-sprawl manifesto on Middletown First’s website: http://www.middletownfirst.org), but this specific location will have numerous adverse environmental, traffic, safety, economic and aesthetic impacts.
Union Street is one of the most historic and beautiful streets on the island. The site borders the Lawton Valley Reservoir, a drinking water source. Losing 16 acres of wooded land will displace even more “troublesome” coyotes.
Quotes by Portsmouth Town Administrator Robert Driscoll, “I’m not thrilled by it … but it’s probably something that’s inevitable,” and Town Planner Robert Gilstein, “It’s big, but I guess we kind of knew something was going to come someday and this is as good a spot as any,” were discouraging.
We expect our town officials to protect us from unwise development, not be resigned to it. Proactive measures are needed to protect our quality of life for generations to come. A building size cap should be implemented immediately into Portsmouth’s Zoning Code. A cap size of 30,000 sq. ft (approx. size of Clements’) is a good start. Small scale, village-style commercial development should be encouraged.
The usual pie-in-the-sky promises are being made by the developer and his attorney, Bob Silva, yet no attempts have been made to comply with Portsmouth’s Design Review guidelines to date. Previous buildings under the well written, but still only advisory Design Review, include the tradesman complex eyesore on West Main near Melville. Design Review is not regulatory and Target HQ will try to get away with as much as possible
Portsmouth needs only to glance at Middletown’s failed commercial district to learn what not to do. A quick study of the written conditions in the Middletown Square strip mall decision will reveal hollow promises, i.e.: a “state of the art” detention/retention system that is not maintained, a “landscaping” plan that features a few measly one-foot caliper trees interspersed between median dividers filled with gravel and trash, a building and parking lot that was supposed to be “hidden” from the road by the stone wall out front (it is not), a tax boon to residents, etc., etc. In fact, taxes have increased since its completion. As has street flooding. Not to mention, smaller, locally owned stores have suffered. National retail chains’ profits get sent back to corporate headquarters in another city, far away.
The Target site will spread like a cancer up and down Portsmouth’s west side which soon will have the same traffic and safety nightmares as our own West Main Road. We cannot let short-sighted greed and the obsession for instant access to crap consumables destroy this beautiful town. Please join the newly formed, smart growth grassroots organization “Preserve Portsmouth.” Sadly, the last thing Aquidneck Island needs is another Middletown.
Gail Greenwood
Middletown
Just today as I drove past this very lot I could not help to think what was coming. I see two disadvantages to a Target being built there. First, the traffic will become unbearable. I grew up in Seekonk, Massachusetts and I remember when Route 6 was simply the Drive in Theatre and a Lum’s Restaurant. There were only a couple of banks, an ice rink, Eileen Darling’s Restaurant and the Seekonk Speedway. It was country like with not so much traffic. Route 6, Seekonk is now unbearable. With more traffic comes far more traffic accidents. The traffic too would be on both streets, not just West Main Street but Union as well. Young children live on Union and West Main and that alone is a concern with more traffic.
I live in an area of Portsmouth now where a new shopping plaza was built. Besides affecting home sales I have seen myself the traffic surge. One car I witnessed drove into the wrong drive, the exit, right at a traffic light on West Main Road. It was a Massachusetts license plate.
Second, with one store such as Target will come others. And with those will raise a crime rate which is close to non-existent in Portsmouth presently. With stores comes shoplifting, drug deals in parking lots and car theft. There are indeed such incidents in Swansea at the Swansea Mall and again in Seekonk, namely on busy Route 6 which has Target, Home Goods, Starbucks, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s,… which again were stores built over the last ten years and more.
It is important we keep our town and community safe and sound.
Maryann C. Murphy
