In the Newburyport Daily News, June 6, 2006, there was an article by Stephanie Chelf on four infill development projects that were going in front of the Newburyport Planning Board the next day. One of those proposed projects was at 347 High Street.
347 High Street is a large historic house in the Northend of Newburyport on the “Ridge” side of the street. The house is set way back from High Street. There is a great deal of land in front of the house. And there is a great deal of land in back of the house as well. If you go to the GIS map at the City’s website (see earlier post) and put in 347 High, you can see just how much land belongs to the property.
347 High Street is also a deeded 2 family house.
Yup, you guessed it, ripe for an infill project in a major way.
The owners of the property (I haven’t seen the minutes of that meeting yet, so I may not get this 100% right) came before the Newburyport Planning Board for preliminary hearing for I believe a special permit.
What the property owners proposed was a “modern” 2,800-3,200 square foot home that would be built in front of the existing house (4,755 square feet) that would be right along High Street. I believe the proposed house was a Greek Revival replica.
It is my understanding that the Newburyport Planning Board was not too impressed with the proposal because it sets such a bad precedence for building houses in front of the “Ridge.” Good for the Newburyport Planning Board.
Now this is just speculation, but I would imagine that since there is so much property involved and it is a deeded 2 family house that the owners probably would not stop at an unfavorable preliminary hearing in front of the Newburyport Planning Board.
I not sure what the next step could be. They might be able to go in front of the Newburyport Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and ask for a variance. My understanding is that the amount of frontage needed is not off by that much.
They could also build in back without any permission from the Planning Board or the ZBA since it is a deeded 2 family and if they kept within the zoning laws, which in this case doesn’t look like it would too difficult.
If I were a neighbor, I would go and talk (make an appointment) to Julie LaBranche at the Planning Office ASAP. Julie is a city planner. The phone number for the Planning Office is 978-465-4400.
I would also be calling my City Councilor Bruce Vogel, who is very much against “infill” and would be very helpful in this situation.
I would also call Tom Jones the chair of the Newburyport City Council Planning and Development Committee. And also give James Shanley a call, who along with Bruce Vogel is also on that same committee. All three of these men are very insightful and sensitive to the issue of “infill” in our city.
I would also be calling Linda Smiley, the chair of the Newburyport Historical Commission, and Linda Miller of the Newburyport Preservation Trust.
And yes, this is where I miss our ousted Planning Director, Nick Cracknell. Because Mr. Cracknell would know what the property owners would likely be able to accomplish. He would have been able to tell the neighbors and the various boards and committees whether it would be wise to compromise on a smaller, less intrusive project that would have less impact on the surrounding houses. Or whether this is an infill project that could be avoided all together. Or what infill project would be the least offensive on this site.
After all, this is High Street, the Grand Dame of Newburyport, the gateway to our historic city.
Mary Eaton, Newburyport