31D-217 Opposition letters to 34 Dewey CourtTo the Planning Board:
I have been a Northampton resident since 1986 when I moved to town to
open my restaurant, Curtis and Schwartz Café. For the first seven years I
lived on Main Street in an apartment above what is now the Haymarket
Café. From there I moved to Gothic Street where I lived until I bought my
house on Dewey Ct. in 1999. I have loved living in or within walking
distance to downtown for all the obvious reasons: the ease of running into
town for a quick errand, shopping without the hassle of looking for a
parking spot, strolling through Pulaski Park to meet friends for lunch,
walking to any number of amazing concerts or plays. Therefore I
understand and sympathize with the city’s effort to create more housing in
proximity to downtown. It’s a great lifestyle and one I truly appreciate.
In the twenty years since I’ve lived on Dewey Ct. the street has grown
busier and more congested. It used to be that people would park on
Dewey for notable events like the Pride March and Hot Chocolate Run.
More recently, people who shop and work downtown are leaving their cars
on Dewey throughout the day, often parking right up against our driveways.
Dewey Ct. is a narrow dead end street with parking on both sides and
drivers are constantly turning around in my driveway because there is no
alternative.
My primary concern with the project being proposed for 34 Dewey Ct. by
the developer, Ben Lewis, is its size. The building itself resembles a
dormitory and each of the thirty bedrooms has its own bathroom and each
apartment has its own “common area”. While those may seem like
attractive features, in my mind they will encourage groups of people living
together to share the rent, not the families Mr. Lewis described to us in his
initial meeting with the neighborhood. My issue isn’t with groups of people
living together per se- it’s that the potential for each of those people having
a car and needing a parking space will far exceed the 22 parking spaces
allocated for the building’s use. Add to that the cars belonging to visitors to
the building and we now have a situation where people will be looking for
parking on an already busy street.
Anyone who lives on Dewey Ct. can attest to the difficulty in entering and
exiting the street to and from South St. Cars on South St. are often backed
up for blocks at the traffic light at South and Old South Streets, making right
and left turns from Dewey onto South a dangerous proposition. Turning
into Dewey Ct. from South St can be just as daunting as the left turn comes
up quickly once one is through the light. With the addition of so many more
cars entering and exiting Dewey Ct., it isn’t hard to envision a dangerous
intersection becoming more so.
Another concern I have is the proposed use of the existing house on the
site as a “community” space for the residents of his rental units. What does
that mean? Will additional groups of people being staying there? Will it
become a place for parties? Can we trust his management company to
monitor and control the activities there? While it may sound good on
paper, reality may look entirely different. I am not sure such usage is in
keeping with a residential street such as ours.
Reasonable infill is laudable and promotes a healthy, vibrant downtown.
But, shouldn’t new construction at least attempt to enhance and blend in
with already established neighborhoods? In my opinion, Mr. Lewis’s plan
does neither of those things. The potential for an additional 30 residents to
our quiet street is just too great.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns regarding this
project.
Sincerely,
Linda Schwartz
15 Dewey Court