Michigander in Mass

Here's a recent plan for Assembly Square development. The parking lots don't look too bad here!

Bravo! Redevelopment has begun at Assembly Square. The old Building 19 store is out, and Christmas Tree Shops is on its way in. And after all, with the light show that Somerville puts on during the holidays, what better place for the shop. What would be nicer is the arrival of Ikea, which may still happen.

But redevelopment of Assembly Square has been mired in lawsuits, threats and bureaucracy. Curtatone is a take-charge Mayor, and is trying to push what may be a windfall for the city, but may not.

Trying to figure out why in earth someone would object to cleaning up this underused corridor of Somerville? I sure as hell have been. This Conflict Assessment is a good starting point for understanding the concerns of groups like the MVTF.

I still don't understand all of these concerns, but I guess three major ones are traffic, revenues and environment. Traffic I understand. I'm already an angry driver when I'm coming down Mt. Vernon Street and trying to cross Broadway to get to Mystic Ave. and Rte. 28. Traffic at that intersection, which would be a major artery feeding the new Assembly Square, is already bad. All the drivers opposite me think that the green light is an exclusive left turn signal, and because the major Sullivan Square intersections don't empty quickly enough, traffic is already backed up on Broadway heading into Sullivan. The result? Even though there are only two or three cars trying to cross Broadway from Mt. Vernon St., it still might take two light cycles and several horn toots to make it.

Revenue I can also understand. There are more profitable uses of the land, surely, than a "big box" store like Ikea or Home Depot. But as far as I know, the proposal includes residential buildings as well, so there's some more income. And it's dense residential use that will get the Orange Line stop that people want, not just big box stores. The developers' latest plans accomodate more mixed use (and don't accomodate a new Home Depot), and that's better. But...

Then there's the whole environment thing. And this is really where the MVTF gets most of its power. And this is also where I tend to be slightly more sympathetic to their tactics than many. For instance, even the latest "Main Street" idea looks like one big--however tree-lined--parking lot. Mind you it's a nice-looking parking lot, but a parking lot nonetheless. Of course, MVTF detractors would say it's already a parking lot, and a crappy-looking one. But there are other issues...

We're talking about development that is very close to an important marine resource. We're also talking about a city with the smallest park space per resident in the area. I don't want anything going in to Somerville that will make people angrier than they already are!

So with all this said, where do I fall in the debate? Well, as you'll see, I'm making my mind up as I go along. I'll try to present both sides to the case in this blog, weigh the evidence, and come to my own conclusions.

My conclusion here is that some good faith progress has to be permitted the developers, or they will pull back. The Zoning Board's unanimous decision to approve the grounbreaking for the Christmas Tree Shop is the right thing to do. It keeps Ikea on the hook, dangling a carrot in front of them and keeps hope alive.

Ensuring that the Ikea development plans accomodate the needs of Somerville residents as well as the out-of-towners is very important. This is a real gateway to our community, so it must be carefully integrated with the East Somerville communities and provide sufficient green space, pedestrian and bike access. MVTF is right to call this into question--all development is not good development.

As to their tactics, well, I withold judgement. If, as the MVTF claims, Home Depot refused to meet the environmental requirements put forth by regulations, then their actions were probably warranted. But Curtatone's got to find some new revenues somewhere, and what better place to start?

I was a big fan of Ikea when I first moved here--thinking that any kind of development would increase my home value (because let's face it, that's a major reason why I care--though I am, as a dear old friend put it, pretty liberal in my environmental and political leanings). But after experiencing some of the traffic on Broadway and McGrath Hwy., I'm a bit more cautious. Right now there are essentially only three, maybe four entrances to the whole complex as I recall. Traffic on Mystic Ave., Broadway, Sullivan Square and McGrath Hwy. will definitely be significantly impacted by any successful development effort, so actions need to be taken to mitigate this.

In terms of the environment: Make sure the design includes enough green space, pedestrian access, bike access and "leisure space" as possible. Make sure we're meeting regulations governing development near the Mystic River. And remember that the Bike to the Sea route connects up with the Somerville Community Path through the Amelia Earhart Dam and... yes, Assembly Square!

I've already started doing it: Just look at my last post. And since there's really not enough material that happens to delve on both Michigan and Massachusetts, I'm going to officially devote this blog in 2005 to the issue of urban development, and specifically on our new home town: Somerville, Mass. Why? Well...

Urban development has always fascinated me, though for some reason I never realized it. MSU even had a program in it, but somehow (no doubt because of my suburban roots), the word urban somehow just didn't connect with me. Yet tell me you want to plan a new highway, or a new park, and I'd be all sorts of excited.

This anti-urban bias, which I never realized I had, stuck with me for quite a while. When I first moved to Boston, Somerville seemed, well, a little scary to me. Mind you, I led a fairly sheltered life in a small midwestern town (think Wellesley and you'll get the general idea). Somerville seemed like a dank, dense, dark city... Not decrepit, but definitely past its prime.

But then again, so did a lot of Boston-area towns, at least to my eyes, trained as they were on the sprawling, relatively modern midwestern cityscapes I experienced growing up.

So how then, did I possibly end up in Somerville? Same way we ended up in Massachusetts: Serendipity. Well, and cheap home prices. And location. And public transit (at least where WE are, but more on this later). Etc. etc.

Okay, so when we really started thinking about it, there were a lot of reasons to live in Somerville. In fact, the only reasons we could think of to not live there were noise, pollution and crime. Specifically, we were afraid that street noise would keep us up at night, pollution from nearby power plants would stink up the air, or there might be some gang violence in our part of town.

None of these have happened yet... Well, okay, a few neighbors got coupons for muffler shops on their windshields for Christmas, and if anybody's selling a highly-focusable EMP gun so I can disable a couple car stereos as they drive by, please contact me... But earplugs have helped, and it's in fact quieter than I had expected.

In fact, we're loving our place. We got a good deal on a decent amount of space, with a buff kitchen, new fixtures, etc. We have a parking space. We get along with our neighbors. We feel safe. In short, we're getting used to city living.

Now that I'm a homeowner, I've gotten very interested in local politics. And urban development is one of the most important functions local governments handle. So here we are. I'll be talking about various topics here, and sharing news on all aspects of development in Somerville, but with a focus on:

• Assembly, Union and Sullivan Squares
  
• Green Line Extension
  
• Somerville Community Path
  
• The Urban Ring
  
• Inner Belt/North Point Redevelopment
  

So check out some of these links, and let me know what you think. If you live in Somerville, Charlestown, Cambridge, Medford, Everett, etc., you may want to check back in from time to time...

Dear fellow Somervillians (recent and present):

Next Tuesday, the State of Massachusetts will begin formalizing the process of backing out of its environmental commitments to the City of Somerville. The process began earlier this year when the Senate and Governor's office refused to allocate funding from the 2005-2008 state budget for key transportation initiatives affecting the city.

One of these initiatives is the Green Line Extension, one of several binding committments the state made in the early 1990s to compensate cities like Somerville for the environmental impact made by the Big Dig.

The City of Somerville needs your help! The Green Line Extension (several maps are available) would not only provide environmental benefits, but health, transportation and commercial benefits as well. And these are all at risk!

Make a difference! First, learn more. The website www.somervillestep.com provides a comprehensive background.

Next, tell other people about it! I'm attaching a flyer that you could print out and share with other folks in your neighborhood. Pass this e-mail on to friends!

Next, do something about it! Attend the public meeting next Tuesday at the Massachusetts State House. Tell the state what you think about reneging on this important promise.

Public Meeting
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Massachusetts State House
Gardner Auditorium