SMART GROWTH

SHOULD FOCUS

ON RESIDENTS OF THE CITY

[…]
I think that the city government and the Chamber should be working for residents primarily and not only for out-of-towners; after all, we pay the (majority of the?) taxes. Until Newburyport became a tourist attraction, I did most of my everyday shopping as weIl as Christmas shopping in the down-town. There were useful and attractive stores, like Prays and Kunkels and because of tourists they have now been replaced by other stores — gifty stores especially for tourists but a nothing that would interest residents. In the long run, l think it is better to have people who are permanent buyers instead of transients who pick up gifty items and postcards. In time, permanent residents lose interest and go elsewhere.
[…] Whenever we consider a change in the city's Master Plan or Zoning Code, we need to ask, "Will it benefit the residents, who would like a city with a relaxed atmosphere, without overpowering traffic? Will it keep the flavor of Newburyport's historic beginnings, in seafaring and shipbuilding? Or, will it lead to new development alien to this goal? […]
Some developers and the Chamber, as well as out-of-town store owners, want to draw more tourists, more gift shops, more traffic — and therefore create the need for more parking. You can't accommodate these and also have the open waterfront and other aspects that residents want.
Thirty years ago a group of citizens formed the Port Phoenix Group to keep the lovely oId brick buildings or the downtown from being torn down — instead of replacing them with a new modern complex building of concrete, the historic buildings were saved and found to be feasible to reuse. We alI enjoy the benefits of that decision today. Let's not hand the city's future over to predatory out-of-town financiers whose record of success lies with big shopping malls and who will, of course, try to serve their own interests first. Right now we have a liveable city and if the right decisions are made, it can stay so.