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LEICESTER, Mass. — A request to rezone Pleasant Street properties to be included in the business district gained the support Monday night of the Leicester Board of Selectmen. It voted 4-1 to support the plan, even though it was unanimously voted down last month by the Planning Board.
At the last public hearing, the request resulted in a backlash from residents, mostly stemming from concerns over traffic as well as aesthetic worries.
The poor reception seemed to spell doom for the plan. But Monday's vote, with only Sandra Wilson in opposition, may have renewed the proposal.
"From the economic development point of view, if we can't get a light retail place in this town, what the heck are we telling the rest of the businesses? And you know what, I'm not sure why we even have an Economic Development Committee," said Selectman Douglas Belanger, who also serves as a member of the Economic Development Committee.
Selectman Tom Buckley said, "We need to move forward, and we need a facelift in the center of town and this is a good opportunity."
"Some people don't realize that even if a company goes forward with developing those properties, they still have to comply with the rules that we have," he said. "There are all kinds of checks and balances throughout the entire building process to make buildings look a certain way."
But Wilson opposed the change.
"The whole purpose of the central business was, yes, to promote business, but also to promote mixed use and to preserve the character and the historic buildings in the center of the town — and the one location being discussed would totally destroy that here," said Wilson.
"The purpose of central business was to preserve a small town historic picture of Main Street, and I am just against approving this when the sole purpose is to tear down a house built in the 1700s. I'm not against them coming, I am just against that specific location."
Comments (9)
the people that are trying to push this through don`t even live in the center of town , when was the last time any of the selectmen tried crossing route 9 ? i`m guessing ummmmm never , the last time they had a so called good idea was when WalMart went in and the crime rate went up. Where are all the businesses that were supposed to go in near Walmart? on land actually designated for that purpose?. CVS requires a footprint of at least 2- 4 acres
I find it hard to understand where they are supposed to squeeze in there?
Yeah, the abandoned gas station is an eyesore, so lets make the other side of the road an eyesore too. The selectmen just don't get it.
There is all kinds of land available on route 9 past the country club, let them build a CVS there.
Really,the towns people speak the planning board sees it as a bad idea and now the selectman are going to try some back door way of gettinng this by. Because for some reason the three letters CVS is all you heard for years now its the 2nd coming of Christ next to Walmart.So instead of messing up the Center of town the land of Walmart is so avaliable
The Master Plan document spells out having the center of town consistent with a small town atmosphere. That's why the area is zoned the way it is. The next step I think would be for someone to seek an article at Town Meeting in the fall if they felt strongly enough about it. The town bylaws spell out the process and they're available in the library and the town clerk's office.
So if there is an issue with spot rezoning, the solution is quite simple, rezone the entire area. is that building occuppied? If the owner wants to sell and demolition, let it be so! Its time for this town to get the heck out of the wayof progress. As for the small town feel, what small town feel? the dirty looking mind green pizza building? Or the boarded up gas station?
Shucks, so many small towns have these stores. People in town need to admit that going small is why we are in so much fiscal trouble.
to Whyspend - you have the wrong house. The one being discussed is the brick house between McKenna Insurance and Benoit Lighting on the left hand side of Pleasant Street (if you are traveling North) at the intersection of Rt 56 & Rt9.
If I'm thinking correctly the lot in question is on Pleasant Street in the area behind Dunkin Donuts. The Planning Board voted not to rezone because they felt that it would be considered spot zoning which is something the Attorney General's office would negate. Additionally when the Master Plan was updated a couple years ago it designated that actions should be taken to maintain the small town atmosphere at the center of town. That document was worked on for a year with several public hearings. So the Planning Board is simply working in the bounds that it believes are correct from past direction and experience.
If not there, where? As for the house to be destroyed, isn't the the house in question abandoned with gross growing three feet tall around it? Or am I thinking of a different building?
And as for traffic. People were stressed out about Wal-Mart, yet, I have yet to see an influx of traffic in town that wouldn't occur if people were just cutting through 9 and 56 to head into neighboring districts that welcomed development with open arms.
It's a house. And if it's unoccupied, it's a house that isn't living up to it's intended purpose and ought to go. Assuming it's the house I think we're talking about here.
You are thinking of a different building. I am totally opposed to CVS being at the center of town. There is already enough traffic confusion with the Dunkin Donuts at the center. There are many other locations on Rte 9, which are already zoned for business, where the CVS could be located.
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To put CVS right at the center is ill thought out and the zoning is an issue besides. We have five or six business in the buildings being discussed and I am wondering just how much more tax revenue we will receive from ONE CVS compared to the revenue from five real estate tax bills along with the business these companies bring to the town. Let CVS come to Leicester but in a better location.
The historic nature of the town is another reason to leave this area alone. The ugly gas station is not even part of this plan nor is the Pizza Parlor in the green building. The beautiful brick home on Pleasant Street deserves to stay....and that is the building zoned residential.