Developer Michael Carrigan made a compelling case for his proposed 34-home subdivision called Annisquam Woods on 32 acres off Tufts Lane and Hutchins Court, before the Gloucester Planning Board this past week.
About 100 neighbors who came to the hearing, including several city officials and a police officer, made just as compelling a case against it.
Now it is up to the Planning Board, which is expected to conduct hearings on the proposal until well into the fall, to sort out the competing claims and decide if Annisquam Woods is worthy of a special permit.
If Monday's four-hour hearing is any indication, this should be a spirited, but substantive, debate. Board member Henry McCarl correctly observed that, "the level of discourse was much higher than the norm. It was one of the better presentations on both sides."
That should be true of all such hearings. And may it continue with the discussion over this project.
Carrigan clearly has a long way to go to approval, if he ever gets it. He will probably never convince most surrounding residents that 34 new homes, even if they are clustered on the site, "will increase the rural character of the neighborhood," as his engineering firm says.
His declaration that the subdivision will not cause traffic problems was called "uninformed and misinformed" in a letter from the Police Department.
He will have to convince the board that adding another 34 homes to the so-called STEP (Septic Tank Effluent Pump) system that serves the area will not cause further problems. The STEP system has a history of trouble, and there is already considerable controversy over the tentative agreement last March of Mayor John Bell to let this project tie into it. Bell overrode a Feb. 17 decision by his Engineering Department to deny the connection. And he overrode the recommendation of his sewer task force, which had called for a moratorium on additions to the system.
Carrigan has done some homework on this as well, however, saying that the development will include holding tanks, so the sewage from Annisquam Woods will only enter the STEP system at night, when the regular flow is low.
But overall, the key for Carrigan is transparency. Neighborhood opposition has been instrumental in killing other developments - a proposal for more than 90 homes near Wingaersheek Beach is one example. If he is open and willing to compromise, some of that opposition may soften.
The key for neighbors is to have open minds. Station Place, a shopping center and restaurant complex that is the centerpiece of a revitalized commuter rail station, did not have unanimous neighborhood support at the start. But developers Jay McNiff and Todd Twombly were willing to communicate and compromise, and neighbors were willing to listen. And the result is something that is a benefit to the developers, the neighborhood and the city.
That is the kind of open communication that should guide the deliberations on Annisquam Woods.
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