Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Approximately 60 people came out Monday night for the first hearing on the master plan for the proposed 'Palmer Pointe' affordable housing development in Barrington.
The first public hearing scheduled by the Planning Board on the master plan for the proposed affordable-housing project at Sowams Nursery in Barrington plowed some old ground and some new soil on Monday night in the library auditorium. Approximately 60 residents, most of them opposing the “Palmer Pointe” development, listened to Union Studio founding architect Don Powers, who has designed the complex, run through a similar presentation on the proposed project that he has made at several previous public meetings for the developer, the East Bay Community Development Corporation in Bristol. Then representatives of CODDER 02806 (Committee Opposed to Detrimental Development and for Environmental Responsibility), the citizens group that is …
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Barrington Planning Board is holding the first of two hearings on the master plan for the affordable-housing development in the Barrington library auditorium at 7 pm.
The first of two separate public hearings on the master plan of the “Palmer Pointe” affordable housing development proposed for the Sowams Nursery site in Barrington will be held tonight. The hearing will start at 7 pm in the Barrington library auditorium in anticipation of a large turnout. The Planning Board has scheduled the hearing. All abutters, in particular, should have received certified letters from the Planning Board inviting them to the hearing, according to Phil Hervey, town planner. The two hearings have been scheduled because the Planning Board believes that one will not be sufficient to handle the turnout -- especially from the citizens’ group, CODDER 02806, which has been circulating a petition against the development and …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The Barrington Housing Board of Trustees weighs in on the affordable housing project proposed for the Sowams Nursery site in Hampden Meadows.
Barrington’s Housing Board of Trustees found fault Tuesday evening with about half a dozen aspects of the master plan for the proposed affordable housing development on the Sowams Nursery site. The trustees will forward those faults as recommendations for the Planning Board to consider as the “Palmer Pointe” development moves through the review process over the next few months. The housing board also fended off a bit of criticism from several representatives of CODDER 02806, the citizens group that opposes a development at that location between Sowams Road in the Hampden Meadows neighborhood and the Palmer River. The housing board’s recommendations will involve the following aspects of the plan: Steve Martin, chairman of the Housing Board…
Monday, April 22, 2013
Barrington's Housing Board of Trustees to discuss master plan for the affordable housing project.
Barrington’s Housing Board of Trustees will weigh in on the master plan for the controversial Palmer Pointe affordable-housing development on Tuesday evening, April 23. The board will meet at 7 pm in the Barrington Senior Center. A large turnout is anticipated for the monthly meeting, which is usually held in a small library meeting room. A previous meeting by the developer with the housing board drew several hundred people to the Council Chamber in Town Hall. The proposed project was still a concept at that time, not a formal development. The trustees also will hear an update on the Bluemeade Farm development proposed for Chachapacassett Road. It includes two affordable housing units. And the trustees will go over the request for …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Planning Board has scheduled public meetings on the 'master plan' for the affordable housing project for May 13 and May 30.
Two separate public hearings on the master plan of the “Palmer Pointe” affordable housing development proposed for the Sowams Nursery site in Barrington have been set up by the Planning Board. The first hearing will be held on Monday, May 13, in the library auditorium in anticipation of a large turnout. The second hearing will be held on Thursday, May 30, in the Council Chamber in Town Hall. The auditorium was not available. Both hearings will start at 7 pm. The hearings will be advertised, said Town Planner Philip Hervey. All abutters will be notified of the meetings with certified letters. Two hearings were scheduled because the Planning Board believes that one will not be sufficient to handle the anticipated turnout, especially from …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Barrington Technical Review Committee will review the initial proposal for 'Palmer Pointe', which was filed with the Town Planner last week.
The “master plan” for the proposed "Palmer Pointe" affordable housing development at the Sowams Nursery site in Barrington gets its first official look on Thursday evening, April 4. The plan for the 48-unit development was filed with Town Planner Phil Hervey last week by the developers, East Bay Community Development Corporation. It goes before the Barrington Technical Review Committee at 7:30 pm on April 4 in the Council Chamber in Town Hall. The TRC meeting is not a public hearing, though, said Hervey. No comments from the public will be taken. “It’s the first official look at the plan,” he said. “But it is not a public hearing.” In short, do not come to the TRC meeting and expect to be heard by the seven-member advisory board to the …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Here is an outline put together by COD 02806, the citizens' group opposed to 'Palmer Pointe', the affordable housing development proposed for Sowams Nursery in Barrington.
Submitted as a letter to the editor by Pam Van Ness for COD 02806: AN OUTLINE OF DISCUSSION AT THE PRE-APPLICATION CONFERENCE CONCERNING THE PROPOSED 48 UNIT RENTAL APARTMENT COMPLEX PROPOSED FOR THE SOWAMS NURSERY ON SOWAMS ROAD HELD ON JANUARY 15, 2013 A couple of public comments stand out. One person said the process appeared backwards. i.e. an application is submitted and the studies and evaluations follow. Why not have the evaluations first to determine if the project is appropriate and feasible? (we agree). Another person asked how Barrington would benefit if the project was allowed? A prolonged silence ensued. Many have asked “what can I do” or “how can I help” in the fight against this new development. There are several ways:
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A joint meeting of three Barrington boards and dozens of residents gather in the library for a 'pre-application conference' on controversial 'Palmer Pointe'.
A rather unusual “pre-application conference” for the proposed Palmer Pointe affordable housing complex in Barrington took place Tuesday night in the library. It took place even though Andrew Teitz, assistant solicitor for Barrington, said several times that the 48-unit development “can’t be treated any different” than any other project. The project planned for the former Sowams Nursing site was presented at a joint meeting of three boards, the Planning Board, the Technical Review Committee and the Housing Board of Trustees, and in front of 50 to 60 residents in that neighborhood. Everyone was allowed to ask questions of representatives of the developer, the East Bay Community Development Corporation, which operates the Sweetbriar …
Monday, January 14, 2013
If it's 'not in my back yard', why have 517 Barrington residents signed a petition to oppose the Palmer Pointe affordable housing development?
There is an inclination, in some quarters, to label with the pejorative acronym NIMBY (not in my back yard) all resistance to undesirable projects touted as a public necessity. It’s catchy. And it has been used in conjunction with the 48-unit apartment rental complex being proposed by the East Bay Community Development Corporation (EBCDC) on approximately 7 acres of buildable land at the Sowams Nursery located on the Palmer River -- an area currently zoned R25, i.e. no more than two residential units per acre (R10 zoning means no more than 4 units per acre). But the NIMBY label begs the question: Why have 517 Barrington residents (almost all living in the Hampden Meadows community) signed a petition in opposition to the plan? In fact…
Representatives of the developer of the Sowams Nursery affordable housing project to meet in a 'pre-application' conference with three Barrington boards and residents who already oppose it.
The developers of the proposed Palmer Pointe affordable housing complex at the Sowams Nursery site in Barrington will continue to test the waters Tuesday evening, Jan. 15, in a rather atypical venue. Representatives of the East Bay Community Development Corporation will meet with the Planning Board, the Technical Review Committee and the Housing Board of Trustees in the library gallery room. It starts at 7 pm. This session – known as a “pre-application conference” – also is expected to draw scores of residents opposed to the housing development, particularly a group that calls itself COD 02806 – Community Opposed to Development. Residents will be allowed to ask questions, said Town Planner Philip Hervey. A pre-application conference …
N8
11:21 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013
I'm having a hard time making my "financials" work with my current tax burden. Where do I sign up for a subsidy? Got a registered letter in the mail this week from the town informing me that 4 units of "affordable housing" are now planned for the corner of Maple and South streets. 75 feet from my house and 1/4 the property tax burden? Hmmmm....maybe I'll just move across the street. I'm sure I … more ›