LETTER: Group Concerned About Future of Arsenal Street After Planning Board Vote

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TO: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager; Steven Magoon, Director of Community Development and Planning; Honorable Town Council; Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals

FROM: Concerned Citizens Group, Inc.

DATE: 6/18/14

It is disheartening to hear the recommendation on 6/11 for current Cresset-Hanover-WS plans to move forward to Zoning Board of Appeals for consideration.

After many public discussions about “learning from Pleasant St” and not wanting homogeneous, long corridors, canyonization, and projects disconnected from the surrounding contexts, etc , in addition to all the good work put into drafting a new Comprehensive Plan, we are in disbelief.

Concerned Citizens Group “CCG” continues our appeal for a coordinated effort between developers/owners, Planning/Zoning, and the neighbors. As you are aware, as part of our ongoing appeal to Town, we completed a vision statement for our neighborhood four years ago (see attached).

By following a similar process modeled by Athena-Boylston Properties efforts on the Arsenal Overlay Development District, an overlay for the Watertown Square end of Arsenal St corridor could also be accomplished in short order. An experienced independent consultant would bring all parties to the table and work out a design that works for everyone. This could be accomplished in 3 months based on our research.

Both Chico Sajovic “Webster” at RParker/RPhillips and Peter Zagorianakos “Pobeda” at RFranklin/RWashburn have stated that they are open and willing to discuss options, and would welcome coordinated meetings.

Please help us accomplish this “outside-of-the-box” planning for the sake of the big picture while transforming Watertown. CCG is not against redevelopment. We just want it to make sense for everyone.

On behalf of CCG, thank you for your consideration,
Lisa Feltner, President

cc: Chico Sajovic, Peter Zagorianakos

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