Lifestyle center III
Some thoughts on the proposed development:
1) I like the overall idea and expect to support it tomorrow.
2) I'm not convinced that this project is a windfall in tax revenue... it may be or it may not be... there are simply too many unknowns on costs.
3) I'm not necessarily averse to residential. I don't want the school system to get an unexpected influx of 300 new kids one year, but that's not necessarily the case. One of the biggest concerns I hear from people is the need for housing for post-college grads. There's not too much for them in CT. Perhaps some retail shops on the first floor with studio apartments (single room apts w/ a bathroom... not even bedrooms... just studios) on the second floor? Just a thought which gives me pause in simply opposing residential.
4) I wouldn't be averse to recommending changes to only the northwest quandrant of the interchange zone. We could change more at a later date.
5) I am convinced that many residents would see this as an improvement in quality of life.
6) Traffic and other issues are the purview of Planning & Zoning (and Inland/Wetlands). And P&Z is elected. As elected officials, we (including me) put our trust in them... that they'll do a good job. This project has lots of unknowns... unknowns that will still be unknown at the time we vote tomorrow. So when I cast my vote, I'm expecting to do so with reservations about the unknowns, but still support the project and trust that Planning & Zoning will do a good job.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
UPDATE: Tonight’s Council meeting will not be televised. The reason is that the town’s cameraman is unavailable. I wish this weren’t the case… that we weren’t entirely dependent on one person, but… so it goes. Anyway, if you’re interested in hearing everything, you’ll need to attend tonight… 7:30pm, Town Hall.
15 comments:
Don't vote it Tim it will destroy our town. Stop it now. We don't need the tax revenue, Cheshire will never be the same.
go for it tim
I'm at a loss to see how this project will destroy the town. What could destroy Cheshire is a lack of ratables that ultimately ends up driving out middle class residents. The Chicken Little mentality about this project amazes me.
Anyone who was at last week's presentation heard the town planner say that there just isn't a tremendous demand for the the industrial park/commercial type uses the Interchange zone was created for. And the chances of another bio-tech or high tech company moving into Cheshire are pretty slim. Those types of companies are more focused on spending the money they have on producing product.
What I find especially distasteful is a resident like Alan Bisbort using his position in the media a personal platform to advocate his position on the matter. Bisbort, for those who don't know, is a columnist for the Hartford Advocate and wrote about the lifestyle center earlier this month without mentioning Cheshire by name. Bisbort is entitled to his opinion, but not every resident in Cheshire has the forum to express their opinion on town affairs that he does
Here is a copy of Bisbort's Advocate column......
The World This Week: Lifestyle Center
Shopping our way to stupidity.
January 11, 2007
By Alan Bisbort
They want to build a shopping mall in my town. They don’t call it a mall, though it would create 500,000 square feet of commercial space and cover 110 acres of meadow. They call it a “lifestyle center.” To call a shopping mall a “lifestyle center” is to call a troop escalation a “surge,” a veritable rape of language.
“They” are the developers who’ve negotiated to buy the land if the town agrees to change zoning regulations to accommodate the plans. No one who works for this developer lives in my town, or even in my state. Nonetheless, my town officials are already hailing their “lifestyle center” as the Second Coming of Wal-Mart. The town manager told one reporter, “No matter how you look at it, this is a positive thing.”
This, despite the fact that there is a huge mall three miles east of town with all the requisite consumerist havens: Macy’s, Target, etc., and another mega-center 10 miles west with JCPenney, AMC Theatres, etc. My town is not hurting for homegrown shopping options either; many of these local businesses will likely be shuttered once this “lifestyle center” is built. To repeat myself, this is also despite the fact that, as zoning regulations now stand, such a mall is forbidden where it is being proposed.
The rationale, of course, is the hackneyed mantra “this will lower property taxes” by “bringing in some much-needed tax revenue.”
This is just one of the two myths implied when commercial development, or any development, is proposed: it will lower taxes. This delusion is responsible for the sprawl that has debased life in all parts of America. The other myth is that there’s a perceived need for more malls, more asphalt, more impervious earth surfaces, more traffic, more crowds, more consuming, more energy waste, more noise, more consuming, more litter, more consuming. To every chamber of commerce, what’s good for sprawl is good for America. Period. To say otherwise is to be treated as if you’re a menace to society.
I know. I’ve seen the looks. I was on my town’s Environment Commission for three years. I know how common sense and progressivism are denigrated when the scent of money wafts through town hall. I also know stupid. I operate under a principle stated by Anatole France: Even if 40 million say a stupid thing, it is still a stupid thing. And this “lifestyle center” is as stupid a thing as the Supreme Court allowing Bush to be president in Jan. 2001.
For town officials to hail a half-million-square-foot monstrosity as “progress” is to play by old rules. A new day is dawning, but town officials appear to be the last to notice. Going to malls has become a thing to dread and endure, not something to enjoy. Given that people are now more frequently purchasing goods via the Internet, mostly to avoid the hassles of malls, why are more malls being built? Shopping malls, to use a battered expression, are a dead paradigm, going the way of the rotary typewriter and the horse and buggy. Call them “lifestyle centers,” but they’re still malls.
Simple truth: No sane person in any town wants a 500,000-square-foot mall built down the block. Yet town residents are the ones who’ll ultimately bear the costs of these quixotic ventures. Oh sure. Public hearings will be held; people will vent; but planning and zoning boards — comprised mainly of unpaid volunteers, often involved in real estate and legal professions — almost always come down on the side of money. They’ll make a few niggling objections; the developer will drop a few thousand square feet or cut a few units out of their age-restricted subdivision, but the deal will go down.
Just so you know, they call them lifestyle centers now. Perhaps, therefore, we should change our lifestyle.●
He has some good points.....mall shopping is down...internet is up....i get an uneasy feeling on this costing us down the road
I think it would be a good idea, but would like to see some outlet stores there too. I wouldn't want to see any residential though, even studio apartments. To me, the biggest problem with our town is that our kids just can't afford to move back in after they finish school. Don't know that a few studio apartments would be the answer.
3:44... with 500,000 sq ft of retail, we could easily add 50 studio apts of 600 - 1,000 sq ft.
I absolutely believe "kids" (single young adults, 21-35) would rent something like that in Cheshire (on the highway) right above a coffee shop or next to a restaurant. I'm not sure of the cost, but expect the smaller studios could be profitably rented for $500 or less per month.
And those "kids" would spend money in the shops, while adding "life" to the center. All the while, I doubt many parents would be willing to live in studio apts.
3:22... mall shopping is down... I can't speak to that. But internet shopping is up.
As for the uneasiness, I agree. But that's why I want to move forward... to get answers before deciding if it is good or bad.
Its interesting how the same 3 people show up to the council mneetigns to oppose everything........they basically want the town to remain as it was in 1950....althwhile middle class and lower income residents are getting killed in property tax increases. Well sorry folks, but this town isnt just about seniors and old townies who want special privileges and their odl town 1950 style. We have kids who need to use the schools, we would like to see this town move forward. The time has come...byt th way, these are the same people predicting the end of the world with the new Stop and Shop.....last I checked the world still goes on...
FYI: The studio apt located on Stony Hill across from the tennis courts (and across from the prison) at Cheshire Park are one room with a mini-fridge and basically a hot-plate and they go for $575 month (at least that was the going price in August when I went to look at one--rear lower level.) Picture a dorm room. There is no way in the world brand new studios at a "life-style" center will go for under $500/month, especially at 600-1000 sq feet.
8:03 Yes, we have kids who need to use the schools. I'd say, judging by your spelling, you could use them too.
Tim, your support of this project is additional proof you are really a Democrat. Ever since the last election and whatever deal you made with Sheldon Dill, Mike Ecke and Matt Hall, your true postion on issues has come forth. By accepting support from Sheldon, Mike and Matt in the past State election further proves the point. You're lucky, the general public of the Republican base has yet to figure this out, but they will. A concerned effort by those of us that supported you in the past State election is no gone. We will actively push the Repbulican Party not to award you the nomination for the 4th district this year. You can go ask the Dem's to nominate you.
5:03 You're not clear. how is the northend a democratic issue?
White, Orsini and Ruocco support retail.
White and Cafero support ending the Brain Drain.
Bisbort opposes the whole project.
dying elephant:
Over the past several years the Dem's have been working to come up with a way to develop the North End. When they were in the minority and now in the majority this is one of their key issues to get accomplished. Personally I'm not opposed to a development in the North End, I am opposed to having the taxpayers fund millions of dollars to pay for it. The Reasoning by the Dem's is that newly devloped tax money from the commercial buildings will be extra money the Town can use for expenses. The issue is the newly collected tax money will be less than what it will cost the taxpayers to build the infrastructure, roads, water mains, sewer treatment plant, firehouse, additional police etc. All I'm asking for is an honest analysis that is agreed upon by concered parties to answer the question. If residential is allowed it may become necessary to build a new school, a new middel school. A new school will cost at least 50 million. Granted the State will reimburse maybe 38% but where does the State get their money. Supporting a commercial development for high end shopping for the right reaosns is fine. I happen to thik that at this point in time, given the info we have been given it is not the right move.
A new school? If the residential was part of the project and it was 160 condos at over $300k how many kids would live there, 20 or 30 tops, I'll bet they will love the new north end school.
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