Michigander in Mass

Denise Provost's latest newsletter has a strong focus on development--I encourage folks to read it and sign up for the e-mail version. (The latest newsletter hasn't been archived online yet, but when it is, I think it'll be here.) Meanwhile, here are some extracts:

On January 7, I had occasion to be speaking to the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Robert Golledge, Jr., regarding the state's proposal to change existing regulations to allow "substitutions" for transit projects, which the Commonwealth agreed to build in mitigation for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T). To my surprise, Commissioner Golledge stated that his agency would be extending the public comment deadline on the substitution proposal, originally set for today. He also said that his agency would be hosting an evening meeting in Somerville to elicit public comment during the extension period.

The Department of Environmental Protection has since confirmed that they have extended the deadline to 5:00 pm on Friday, January 28, 2005. I have had no indication that the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT), the other agency taking public comment on the substitution proposal, is extending its deadline, so my advice would be to send comments to both agencies by the original deadline. The public meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on Monday, January 24, probably at Somerville High School, but the venue is not definite yet. Those who could not testify during the day on December 14, 2004, should take the opportunity to speak on the subject, and we can all think about "postscript" remarks we might want to make to DEP further down the road.

Later she writes:

Governor Romney's much-touted "Smart Growth" proposal has been enacted as Chapter 40R of the Massachusetts General Laws, adopted last summer in a form that seems to satisfy few stakeholders. The statute, like most laws, embodies a very general concept of encouraging mixed uses of land, intensifying development near mass transit, optimizing existing infrastructure, and protecting open space. As with most policy initiatives, the devil will be in the details, and the details will appear on Friday, January 14, 2005, when the state's draft regulations implementing Chapter 40R are posted on the website of the Commonwealth's Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), at www.mass.gov/dhcd.

[snip]

Although Chapter 40R has the "Smart Growth" tag, it remains unclear that its regulatory framework will promote what most planners consider "Smart Growth." The history of this statute, and a brief preview of the regulations, suggest that its real mission is simply to promote more densely-built housing, with a higher proportion of affordable units, than to encourage a healthy, balanced mix of land uses in communities. Chapter 40R is acknowledged to be the "carrot" companion to the widely despised "stick" statute for promoting affordable housing, Chapter 40B of the General Laws.

The danger for Somerville?
Increased population, and higher densities of building, without adequate funding to improve and maintain necessary infrastructure, or to provide services to new residents. More congestion, people, and cars, but no guarantee of transit improved mass transit, or expansion of our commercial tax base - a recipe for increasing this community's unmet needs, and resulting stresses.