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Rezoning for Lowe's, Yes or No?
 Proponents have been saying what a "yes" or "no" vote on the rezone will bring us. Since no plans have been approved for this site, much discussion about what will actually be built on the site is conjecture. (The only thing we can actually be sure of with a "yes" vote is that 12.8 additional acres on Route 9 will be zoned commercial. Even the $150,000 "gift" to the town has contingencies. See below.)
Proponents say that voting "yes" will achieve the following.
| Claim |
Response |
| Slow down development on Rte. 9 |
This claim seems based on the idea that this vote will prevent houses from being built on this site. As the landowner won't agree to limit further development on this site, houses could still be built on it, as well as several more acres of commercial development. (Currently in Hadley, developers are limited to building no more than 10% a year of houses in subdivisions of 20 or more.) |
| 20 fewer houses in town |
Nothing about this vote will stop a housing developer from building those 20 houses somewhere else in town. (Or even still building houses in the future at the rear of the lot. While maintaining that "no houses could be built because there is no access" to that portion, the owners still refuse to protect it.) |
| This is about protecting landowners rights |
The people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have determined that its in the public's best interest to regulate what landowners may do with their land (See state zoning law). While Hadley has some choices about land use, these choices must be consistent with
state and federal laws. Without these laws, an out-of-town developer could buy a few acres in Hadley and turn them into a hazardous waste dump. Over the years, Hadley has enacted zoning restrictions to ensure that land use is appropriate and compatible. Zoning acknowledges that with property rights come community responsibilities.
The bison farm owners have requested that 12.8 acres of their property be rezoned from agricultural/residential to commercial. Currently, commercial property in Hadley is worth at least twice the value of non-commercial (even more on Route 9). Should every landowner in Hadley have the right to convert their property to commercial?
To protect everyone's rights and make sure that Hadley gets the kind
of development that will help the town long-term, it makes sense
to only make zoning changes through a town-wide master plan. Hadley's
Long-Term Planning Committee is developing just such a plan. For
decisions that will affect the future of our town for decades to
come, doesn't it make sense to include the Town's best thinking from
the committee that has surveyed the entire town's residents and spent
several years looking at development issues?
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| Positive tax revenue for the town year after year to help combat the tax burden new housing developments bring. |
Other towns (such as Barnstable, MA (PDF) and St. Albans, VT) have found that big box retail stores would cost their towns more than they brought in. There's actually no way to know the actual economic impact on Town
finances without an economic analysis, which the town has not performed. Hadley Neighbors, using tax impact calculation tools easily available from the Massachusetts
Office of Environmental Affairs, has done a preliminary
economic calculation that shows well over half of the tax
revenue paid by the Lowe's development would be required
for town services. |
| Lowe's will be less visible and nicer looking set back (With the building set back you will still be able to see open space and Bison roaming from Rte. 9.) |
The recessed Lowe's, the size of four football fields, will be surrounded by acres of asphalt. There will be a 6,000 square foot restaurant right on Route 9. Whether this will look better than a smaller Lowe's on the road is a matter of personal preference, not public policy. |
| Lowe's will use only 2500 gallons per day. With a rezone, there are
no additional houses adding to that water usage. |
The proposed Home Depot Mall expects to use 13,000 gallons of water a day (See Gator Pearson's Draft Environmental Impact Report EOEA #13055). If Lowe's uses water at the same rate, at 56% the size of the Home Depot Mall, it would use over 7,200 gallons a day. (Developers claim that the average Lowe's uses 2,500 gallons a day. This information was not independently verifiable.) About the house argument, as noted above, there is no reason to expect that the housing developer will not merely build houses elsewhere. There is also a restaurant proposed for the site. Restaurants are typically heavy water users; one restaurant in Hadley uses over 4,000 gallons of water a day. |
| The Bison Farm stays in business. |
The Bison Farm will only stay in business on Route 9 as long as the owners choose to retain it. Nothing about this vote will guarantee that the owners will keep the farm; they have denied requests to restrict further development. |
| $150,000 to APR |
Whether the rezoning is approved or not, the developer may still be required
to contribute $150,000—or even more—to agricultural protection by the
Secretary of Environmental Affairs during the MEPA process. This is a common
requirement for state approval.
The deal states that the developer will limit the
building size to 181,000 square feet "after the relevant
appeal period pursuant to M.G.L.A. c. 40A sec. 5 has passed
without appeal." This means that if anyone, even someone
without legal standing, files an appeal, the deal for a
limit on building size is off. The filing of an appeal is
an event that is completely beyond the control of the town
or the developer. And, an appeal wouldn't even have to be
successful to void the deal. Instead, this clause acts as a
kind of insurance policy for the developer by discouraging
any objections to the rezoning. After all, who wants to be
the person who caused the town to lose out on limiting
building size?
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| A little more traffic within the next years. |
Lowe's developer estimates 6,000-8,000 additional car trips a day (add that to an estimated 8-10,000 car trips generated by the Home Depot mall). Lowe's alone would account for a 25% increase in traffic on Route 9. That's not "a little more" traffic. See traffic studies. |
We have been told that a "no" vote would achieve the following:
| Claim |
Response |
| No money to the town's APR |
The $150,000 is contingent on the developer receiving a permit—AND an
absence of any legal challenges to the development. While money for APR is good, if this development
costs the town more than it brings in, the project would still cost
the town. Additionally, such developments in other towns have been
shown to attract further development—putting additional pressures on
open space. |
| Bison farm out of business and the entire site developed commercially. 60 acres developed instead of 18 acres. |
It cannot be repeated enough: a vote to rezone DOES NOT prevent
further development of this site. Except for land in APR, this land can be fully developed at the whim of the landowner, be it the Ciaglos or a future owner. And this vote does not put the Bison Farm out of business—that would be up to the Ciaglos. Montgomery Rose has sucessfully moved their business to another site. There is nothing to prevent the Ciaglos from doing the same, if they chose to sell all of their Route 9 property. Nor does a "no" vote prevent the Ciaglos from selling the commercial portion of their property and using the proceeds to help the farm. The rezone does nothing to prevent further commercial development of the bison farm property. We could end up with a giant Lowe's AND more commercial development along Route 9. |
| 20 additional houses burdening the town. |
If 20 houses could actually be built on this property, and the developer chooses to do so (the developer has not filed a site plan for houses), he would be limited to building 2 houses a year. If a developer wants to build these 20 houses elsewhere in town, there is nothing in this vote that would stop him. |
| Lowe's and other big buildings set close to Rte. 9 detracting from open space. |
I don't know anyone who considers parking lots to be open space. |
| A lot more traffic within the next years. |
It's not clear why proponents of the rezone believe that a "no" vote would cause more traffic. |
What will voting "no" really do? It will help protect the planning process of our town from being manipulated by special interests. Hadley is currently creating a long-range plan to protect its land, residents, and quality of life—a fair and balanced plan that treats all landowners equally. Rezoning the bison farm will create the biggest store in Hadley's history. Add this store to the proposed Home Depot Mall and Hadley will have over 1.5 million square feet of mall space with acres of asphalt to go with it. Is this the future we want for Hadley? Do we really want to do this without seeing a long range plan? We have a great opportunity to protect Hadley's character and farmland while creating a more vibrant economy—through the long-range planning process. Vote "no." Wait for the long-range plan.
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