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Select Board Response to Anonymous Letter- March 05, 2022

Posted on: March 7, 2022 - 2:52pm

The Erving Select Board would like to address an anonymous letter that has been circulated through some of the community.  A few residents have brought this to our attention to which we are appreciative as the letter was not sent to any Town officials.  We are disappointed that that author(s) of this letter has decided to spread misinformation throughout our community as we would have welcomed them to attend any Board meetings or public hearings on these matters, stop into Town Hall, or to speak to us directly about any questions or concerns they may have.  Personal attacks against the Select Board members, our employees and our families are unjustified and counterproductive. 

Without fully understanding the motivations of the individual(s) it appears that this attempt at fearmongering is meant to generate concern among voters and to encourage voters to attend the Special Town Meeting that is being held today, Saturday, March 05, 2022 with the explicit purpose of voting down a proposed bylaw change that would create a Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay district and an update to the Zoning map.   The proposed PUD overlay district will include the IP Mill property, Erving Papermill properties, the French King Commercial District properties, the Renovator’s Supply properties, and the town-owned properties on Care Drive.   The proposed bylaw is meant to provide an additional development option for unique areas like the IP Mill and to provide the Planning Board more tools with the Special Permit process.  The proposed PUD could apply to commercial, industrial and/or residential uses and, if adopted, would become part of the entire Zoning Bylaw and would work in relation to the rest of the sections and zones.    The proposed bylaw is the result of more than a year of work by the Planning Board members and town staff that was conducted at public meetings and that has been presented at a public hearing.  In an effort to fully warn Erving voters, the Select Board intentionally mails the Town Meeting warrants home to voters so that they have an opportunity to read any proposed changes and then attend Town Meeting ready with questions.  The Select Board hopes that voters understand what the proposal would do for unique properties and the tools it would provide the Planning Board to control development in the best interest of the Town of Erving.

This proposed bylaw has been conflated with another conversation that has been ongoing in public meetings about if and how the Town would work to incorporate affordable housing in town.  The Town currently has 0 affordable housing units according to the State’s inventory and according to State law, each community is required to work towards an inventory of at least 10% affordable housing.  The Town’s Master Plan, which was adopted in 2002, included clear statements about the Town’s intentions to work towards this goal and as a community we have not made that intended progress.  The Town’s long sought development of a senior housing complex will likely need to incorporate an affordable housing component.  This topic came up in a prominent way in the fall of 2021 while the Select Board has been working on the sale of the former Graded School building and the former IP Mill complex, where one interested party expressed interest in submitting proposals for acquiring the properties that would include housing.  While the Select Board believes that housing is more appropriate for the former Graded School building, as it exists in a predominantly residential neighborhood, the Select Board has remained open to all forms of development for the former IP Mill site and has always anticipated a commercial and/or light industrial mixed re-use of the site.  The conversations in the fall were the first time that a primarily residential use has ever been discussed. 

Related to the concerns for traffic in Erving Center, we have been actively working on the FY2023 budget planning process.  Through that process the Capital Planning Committee has put forward a recommendation to the Select Board and the Finance Committee to ask the voters at Annual Town Meeting if they would like to replace the Church Street Bridge and if they will support the engineering to prepare to replace Swamp Road Bridge.   The Select Board will be discussing the preferred final design at our next meeting with the Finance Committee.  If approved by the voters, we would be able to proceed with design and construction activities.  For many years the Town has advocated to MassDOT for Route 2 safety improvements and recently has received communication from MassDOT that indicates they are willing to work with the Town and community members on the design for Route 2 safety improvements.  We look forward to engaging with the State and our community members to improve safety along Route 2 and address the traffic related concerns that are experienced on the connecting residential roads, specifically as they relate to the neighborhoods of North Street and Church Street.

We are pleased to see that park improvements have been noticed by community members.  The Select Board thanks the Recreation Commission for working on their multi-year strategic plan that includes town-wide park improvements.  The recent improvements to Church Street Park and the park on Reynolds Street are part of that work.  We look forward to supporting their efforts at Zilinski Field this year and additionally want to thank that Town staff members and our vendors that have worked to make these improvements.

The Select Board appreciates that members of the public want to engage in these topics, express concerns, and think critically about solutions.  We hope community members will choose to attend meetings, stop into Town Hall to review documents and ask questions, and volunteer to serve on boards and committees to work on these issues.  We encourage community members to speak directly with elected and appointed officials to express concerns and ask questions.  While officials cannot always provide the answer someone wants to hear, we always appreciate the opportunity to talk directly to community members and weigh their concerns and recommendations when working through Town issues.

Further questions or concerns about anything else in the anonymous letter, or any other topic, are welcomed at any regular Select Board meeting.  The next meeting is scheduled for March 14, 2022 at 6:30PM.  Any questions related to the specific Special Town Meeting articles are welcome when those articles are presented.

Thank you,

Erving Select Board

Additional resources related to the topics addressed above include:

Proposed Zoning Bylaw Amendment

Former International Papermill Project Information

Affordable Housing Rate Information