Last night the Newburyport City Council unanimously passed the Towle Complex Redevelopment Overlay District in the first reading.

The Newburyport City Councilors expressed appreciation for all the hard work done by the Newburyport Planning Board, the developer, First Republic Corp. of America, and the Newburyport Planning Office. The city councilors seemed to have a sense of relief and even delight about this overlay district project.

(In a quick response to the earlier post by Ron Martino, this is an excellent example of a developer working with the City of Newburyport for a win-win situation. The developer won the trust of the City of Newburyport by addressing historic preservation issues (the developer will restores a 315-year-old home on the property), open space and public access concerns, as well as the issue of affordable housing. In return the developer will get the chance to build luxury waterfront condominiums. This is also an excellent example of combining the old with the new. Any thoughtful development takes time both on the part of the developer and the City of Newburyport. As far as I’m concerned, there should be no short cuts in regards to good sound development for the City of Newburyport. The long-term consequences for the City of Newburyport are just too important.)

The Newburyport City Council also took the NRA Water Front survey out of its two committees and voted to included it in the Newburyport City Census.

Two nice Valentine presents for the City of Newburyport.

The Newburyport City Council made sure the City Clerk’s office was temporarily well staffed and the staff adequately compensated. They also began to address how to start looking for a new City Clerk all over again. The issue of the Newburyport City Council finding a new City Clerk to replace Mayor John Moak has been discussed at length in The Undertoad, the Newburyport Daily News, and the Newburyport Current. The ongoing “saga” will most probably be further reported on. Unfortunately, The Undertoad is not online and only paid subscribers can read the Newburyport Daily News online. However, the Newburyport Current can be found at www.townonline.com/newburyport.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport