Happy New Year

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who's bothered to read the contents of this blog or comment on them. It's been tremendously rewarding for me.

Also, we appreciate everyone who has made our first full year in Newburyport so special. We look forward to enjoying many more.

Happy New Year to all.

Top Story: New England Development

I suppose New England Development continues to be a story of the year candidate here in Newburyport even without doing anything newsworthy, except perhaps existing.

But the group definitely is making news elsewhere. The Nashua Telegraph and The Patriot Ledger both have New England Development among the newsmakers in their own regions.

This is purely a hunch. But does anyone want to give me odds on the Waterfront West site plans, once they're finally revealed, NOT including a hotel?

Top Stories of 2007

What the hell, everyone else is doing it. So what were the biggest stories of this past year?

Rather than read through my boring list I'd ask you all to contribute. If no one bites I'll try to add more as I think of them.

Number one is the override. I think it was the defining moment of the year. It put the questions about school quality firmly on the agenda. It launched a few political careers (Stephanie Weaver, Nick deKanter) and possibly ended or sidelined a few others (did the Pro-Override folks help sink Gary Roberts?). Furthermore, it ain't over yet. It could be the top story of 2008 as well.

Some Props

BTW, I visited several downtown stores during the shopping season, and I got some excellent service from many

So here are some most honorable mentions in no particular order: Grand Trunk, Peter Mark, Lively Girls, Eureka and, of course, Gram's for the free ice cream give away.

The Past as a Present

Our family decided to ratchet back on the gift giving this year. The Boy and his ilk got more than their fair share, but most of the adults opted to enjoy presence over presence, with a few exceptions.

So the one gift I asked for this year was Life in Newburyport 1900-1950 by Jean Foley Doyle. (Okay, I did hint at a second one after seeing the replica Yastrzemski jersey hanging on a rack at the Cuckoo's Nest.) And I'm happy to report that I got what I asked for--the book I mean, not the Red Sox shirt.

I've only finished the prelude, which gives an rundown of the wave of immigrants who flooded into the city in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but I can report that this is an excellent book and a must read for anyone who professes to give a crumpet about this city.

I'm going to sound like even more of a know-it-all now, if that's possible.

Holiday Shopping Poll Results

Well,

Not sure how exactly to interpret the completely unscientific poll on shopping for the holidays downtown.

The fact that one out of five of the participants didn't buy a single item downtown isn't surprising. I actually thought it might be higher. (I'm assuming that readers from faraway didn't bother to participate.)

The good news would be that close to half of the folks taking part did the bulk of their holiday shopping downtown. I put myself in the 50% to 69% category, with the actual figure close to the top of the spectrum. We bought the rest of the items online. (My frenzied Friday shopping spree might have pushed us into the next bracket.)

So the results are good but they could be better.

UPDATE: I'd love to here from those folks who bought nothing or very little downtown. Tell us what kept you away.

Merry Christmas

This is a damn fine gift.

I could restate all the reasons cited in the article as to why connecting Cashman to the Waterfront makes sense. But here's the most important reason.

I walk that route all the time, and those walks will be infinitely more pleasant when this is done.

Man

I just wrapped up Christmas shopping at the Tannery.

I was walking down Liberty Street, just past Praelines when I looked up and WHAM!

Damn, Market Square looks nice with the snow and the tree and the lights.

I felt like George Bailey, without the drastic mood swings between suicidal leanings and raging euphoria.

Merry Christmas Bedford Falls.

More cool photos

On the Newburyport Blog.

Nantucket North--Post Game

So class let's thanks Stephen Tait for enlightening us about Karp's impact on Nantucket. Seriously, I thought the series had a strong finish.

I was particularly heartened to read that there are downtown merchants who recognize a chain store or two could add to the downtown. I sometimes think ordinances like the ones proposed underestimate the ability of our local merchants to compete against the big guys. These are smart folks who know what they're doing.

Anyway, back to the series. Interesting details on the Beinecke-Karp-Lagasse connection. Kudos again to Stephen for finding the right people to interview, like Ann Oliver, Beinecke's daughter. It added a lot to the story to have someone speaking on the late man's behalf.

So what did we learn? I'll offer some thoughts below. Feel free to add more on the comments.

Nantucketers are a rather arrogant folk. But I suppose people might think the same of us.

The Developer you know is always better than the Developer you don't know.

Karp's undertakings on the island and in Newburyport are very different.

His work on the islands seems to involve rehabbing (or destroying) older properties. Newburyport presents a very different scenario. His projects on Waterside West and, eventually, East will significantly alter the face of the downtown.

The longer I live here the more I realize just how big our downtown really is. Toss up some retail and hotel near the Route 1 bridge and he might spin the downtown off its Market Square axis. This is a big deal that goes beyond rents and hand-written signs in windows.

I'm not sure the chain store ban made a bit of difference in Nantucket. Just as I'm not sure it really would make a huge difference to Newburyport. More on this later.

I'm glad we have the Park Lunch and the Barking Dog.

I'm really thankful I don't live on an island. I think I'd go nuts.

Well, I'm stuck right now. Please join in.

Nantucket North-Chain Stores

I was a little underwhelmed by the Chain Store article in the series. I guess I'd hoped for some more meat but I can't exactly say what was missing. Perhaps some more talk of the process of passage.

Anyway, if you are interested in reading more on this subject. I do recommend the New Rules Project site. The group clearly advocates for restrictions on chain stores, but some of the studies like those done about neighborhoods in Austin, Chicago and San Francisco are interesting.

Type in "chain store study" in the search window and enjoy.

Nantucket North-Day 2

Again, a nice job by Stephen Tait. The guy clearly had a game plan going on and he's executing it quite well.

I had one issue with the article about the Jared Coffin house. The piece was fine, but I kept thinking one thing while reading the plight of an island of 10,000 people with no place to eat.

Couldn't someone else open a restaurant?

I mean, to hear Stephen tell it, there's a large number of folks standing around on that dairy farm of an island this winter with no place to grab a burger and a pint.

Hell, we're only a pad of butter and we've got several places in town and quite a few outside of town. (Barking Dog anyone?)

So if there are any entreprenurial restauranteurs out there looking for a new opportunity, you might want to consider opening a pub in Nantucket.

Okay

The below post is lame. I tried.

Oh So This Is How It's Going To Be...

Getting very little love from our island cousins. From today's "Heard Around Town" column in the Daily News

Is Stephen Karp good or bad for Nantucket? That's a question that the popular Nantucket Web site and forum, Yackon.com, just posed to its 1,288 members.

Eighty people responded to the very unscientific poll, with 27 percent saying he was good, 58 percent saying he was bad, and 13 percent saying "I don't know."

The Web site's host, Grant Sanders, posted the question after being interviewed by Daily News reporter Stephen Tait for a series of stories The Daily News is publishing about Karp this week. Karp is the largest landowner in both Newburyport and Nantucket.

Among the comments posted was this:

"Newburyport is lovely; but comparing it to Nantucket is like comparing a pad of butter to a dairy."

Ouch!

A dairy? The only similarities I see between Nantucket and a dairy is the unusually high levels of bullcrap.

I like the "Heard About Town" column, btw.

Am I nuts?

Or is this a really big deal?

NEWBURYPORT - The state has ordered the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority to clean up lead found in 1997 on its downtown waterfront land, or risk paying hefty fines.

The NRA, a five-member public board that for 39 years has owned the waterfront land known as the "dirt lots," is currently working on a plan to redevelop the land into a park and parking lots. There's about 420 parking spaces on the land now; a conceptual plan shows 240 spaces with an expanded park.

Tests performed on the land in 1997 found high levels of lead, and state regulations require additional soil testing and cleanup to be performed within one to three years. Those dates came and went with no action taken, leaving past and present NRA board members to explain how such an oversight could have occurred and to ponder how they will pay for the costly cleanup.

This strikes me as potentially high hurdle for any work being done on the waterfront. I know a great deal depends on the severity of the contamination, but I'd have to think that the contamination is pretty extensive giving the history of the water front.

To quote childhood hero Han Solo, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Wow, that's a big poll

I may move it over to the side column in a day or so, kind of scary.

Anyway, I thought our discussion about the downtown lent itself to a poll question. I initially contemplated a question that asked you to identify whether you bought items at the mall, online or downtown. But I thought this the simplest way to go.

Reminder. You can cast more than one vote from different locations (work vs. home for example.) But why would you?

Makes Sense Now

You can see what it's called Green Street.

From the Newburyport Blog

Imagine those trees on a warm summer day.

We really could use an arborist in town.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Prior to allowing my fingers to type down memory lane, I'd emailed Ann Lagasse.

I wanted her to know I was going to write a post on how merchants used to complain about the tactics used by Piper Properties, which were strikingly similar to those employed by Steve Karp in Newburyport.

Specifically, the merchants didn't like to be told when to open their stores. They also didn't like sharing their financial information. I can't blame them, but I guess there's a price of doing business on State Street.

Anyway, Ann replied this morning to the issue about store hours. She didn't address the financial part of the question but I did restate it so I might have more on that later today.

Her reply.

Thanks for the email and the opportunity to comment. Yes, we do have hours of operations in our leases why - first we want a year round downtown economy. We don't want seasonal businesses. Newburyport is a commercial business center that serves the area 12 months a year and we want merchants who understand that. In terms of hours, the good retailers are open more hours than described in our leases. We want merchants - not hobbyists running stores. The successful retailers are frustrated when their neighbors don't keep consistent hours. They know it hurts the downtown. Customers get mad and probably won't come back. In a chamber meeting probably 5 years ago, a long time merchant downtown (not our tenant) told the retail committee who was discussing downtown shopping hours - 50% of his sales occur after 5 o'clock. Good retailers get it !

Note: Ann didn't provide the name, but I did delete two words that would have identified the merchant. Only seemed fair.

So while Steve Karp's tactics in Nantucket might seem heavy handed to some. They won't be all that unfamiliar to merchants in town.

Thanks to Ann for taking time to reply.

By the way, what happened to the Nantucket North Series? I was a bit disappointed today.

This Has Nothing to Do with Newburyport.

It's just funny.

Holy Christmas

Ed Cameron has a new post

Nantucket North

The problem with reporters like Stephen Tait is that they're able to produce fair and compelling articles even when the principal subject of the piece--in this case Stephen Karp--won't talk to them.

Where's some good ole' media bias when you need it?

Seriously, Stephen did an excellent job on the first day's installments. I'm anxious to see tomorrow's paper.

A few quick thoughts on today's pieces.

If I were a retail shop owners downtown I certainly wouldn't enjoy reading "Karp's shadow looms over Nantucket." But I'm not. I'm a reporter who once wrote about our downtown so instead I felt a bit of nostalgia.

See, I could have written a nearly identical story a decade ago. The subject wouldn't have been Steve Karp but rather Chuck and Ann Lagasse who by that time had accumulated most of their downtown holdings.

It's funny. People tend to romanticize about the past a bit when a new perceived problem arises. With Karp in the picture, people long for the day when the buck stopped with Chuck and Ann.

But 10 or 12 years ago, business owners downtown complained off the record about the Lagasses' rising rents that forced out store owners downtown.

The also muttered about the Lagasses managing the downtown as if it were as shopping mall, asking business owners to open their books and share in their profits.

I don't remember if the complaints ranged to the Lagasses' dictating hours. (It would be interesting to hear if any property owners in the downtown do that.) But evening hours always were a sore spot downtown. I once received a hand written thank you from one notable downtown merchant because I'd noted in a column that the arrival of Starbucks meant one thing for the downtown--at least one business would be open past 5 p.m.

I'm not saying Karp's reported approach right or wrong nor am I suggesting the Chuck and Ann Lagasse did wrong by their tenants. I'm just noting the similarities. Now, it's quite possible that Karp will take this concept a lot further than Chuck and Ann supposedly did so Stephen's article is important.

Would such a structure be good for Newburyport? I don't know. If I were a business owner I certainly would want the ability to determine my own hours, but a little uniformity would be nice. But seven 10-hour days seems quite extreme. Seems like there's room for compromise.

As for Nantucket catering to the "superwealthy," this may be the Revere Boy in me talking but I never really saw the island as a blue collar vacationland. Again, Stephen did an excellent job telling the tales of those folks who feel left behind, and I can empathize.

But let's not pretend that Nantucket was Nantasket Beach. I guess I have a hard time telling the wealthy and the superwealthy apart.

I recognize that sounds a bit glib. But I just think there are larger societal forces at here than just Steve Karp. Our society is creating more wealthy people. Are they going to Nantucket because he caters to them? Or is he catering to them because they go to Nantucket?

Maybe a little bit of both.

Chain Stores-The Studies II

So what are my issues with the study laid out in the previous post?

First, the sample size. Eight companies? Is that truly a representative sample of all independent businesses? I'd question whether eight companies are even an accurate representation of Mid-Coast Maine companies.

Second, the comparisons. Can we really compare Mid-Coast Maine to Newburyport?

The report states that 53% of the dollars spent remain in Maine. Well, Maine is huge. If you're in Mid-Coast Maine you can't get out of Maine for a very long time. Stands to reason your dollars will be concentrated there.

That’s not the case in Newburyport? First, we have some border issues. I’d be willing to be a number of Newburyport store owners live in NH or Maine. They’re employees or their vendors might as well, so wouldn’t this impact that in-state or “local” percentage just a bit?

(BTW, what if the vendors are based out of state. What happens to a dollar going to advertising in the Daily News? Does it stay in Newburyport go back to Birmingham, Ala.? Not throwing stones here. Dow Jones owned the news when I worked there.)

Third, the lack of participation from the chains. I recognize that they researchers did the best they could. But without actual data from the companies it’s difficult to accept that we’re comparing apples to apples. Of course, that’s precisely why the chain stores wouldn’t participate.

The dynamic is similar to Karp’s reluctance to talk with the Daily News (or the Undertoad at the time). If he’s not providing information we should get the information ourselves. The researchers had to do the same thing. But newspaper articles have the luxury of preventing incomplete pictures. They’re not cited as irrefutable data points in an argument. The same can’t be said for studies. In fact, here’s a footnote listed in another study.

In the reports cited in the prior footnote, for example, local spending per $100 of operating expense varied from $30 to $80 for locally-based firms and $9 to $40 for chain stores.

As you can see, the numbers swing wildly.

Finally, and this is my biggest issue. The report operates under a false assumption, the idea that we only have X amount of dollars going into all retail stores in this community, and that we’ll always have X amount of dollars going into this community.

If that were the case, comparing percentages makes perfect sense. But what if a chain store—perhaps an extension of the Kittery outlets or some other high quality series of stores—brings in new traffic. Even if the 53% vs. 14% ratio holds true, we’d be getting 14%s that we’re not currently getting. And I’d be willing to bet more 53%s as well as our local shops benefit from the new traffic.

Proponents of the ban likely will point to studies showing that chain stores don’t draw new traffic but rather draw from customers who are buying from local stores. There’s truth to that. A BJ’s Wholesale or a Wal-Mart isn’t going to draw new people to locally owned shops in a community’s downtown.

But that’s not what we’re talking about here. No one is going to build a BJ’s on the waterfront or anywhere downtown.

What could come downtown are recognizable brand names that come with a following, and with that following will come customers who have never been to Newburyport before.

Isn't that exactly who we're trying to attract?

Chain Stores--The Studies

Back to the Chain Store talk. I'm eager to see what the News reports on Nantucket's handling of things.

So, unlike the Barnstable study cited in the previous post, the "Economic Impact of Locally Owned Businesses vs. Chains: A Case Study in Midcoast Maine" directly tackles the locally-owned vs. chain store issue.

Not surprisingly, things don't look so good for chains.

First, the Objective: In the words of the report:

We wanted to find out, if a local store makes $100 sale, what happens to that $100? How much goes to pay local employees and local suppliers, thereby creating additional economic activity in the region. How much goes to out-of-state suppliers, thereby leaving the Maine economy? If that $100 is spent instead at a big-box retailer, does more or less of it stay in the local economy?

Now, The methodology: The analysts convinced eight locally owned businesses in Rockland, Camden and Belfast to share their economic on their revenue and expenditures for 2002. According to the report, the companies sold a range of goods and had been in business anywhere from five years to 40+ years. They reported $5.7 million in sales during 2002 and employed 62 people.

The researchers then compared this to data they collected on chain or big-box stores. According to the report, researchers relied on "published information on employment and property tax revenue for one of its local stores; statements made by company officials about the volume of inventory, supplies, and services purchased in the state; statements made by company officials about local charitable contributions; and national sales data."

Finally, the results.

As we've read in several articles, the study suggests that the eight companies surveyed spent, on average, 53% of their revenue within the state while chain stores spent only 14% of their revenue within the state. It also presents data that suggests local firms are more charitable then chains.

So what' are my problems? They're coming up.

Good News

The Daily News finally did what had to be done. It sent Stephen Tait down to Nantucket to talk directly with the people there about how Karp has impacted their island.

I'm not sure what the result is. I haven't had time to read today's installment of "Nantucket North" but I'll get to that later today. I already have some thoughts on what little I have read.

But one thing is clear. Karp could have been way ahead of this entire story by just giving the News a half hour of his time. I'll never understand why he wouldn't submit to an interview with the local paper of record.

Such an interview probably wouldn't have impacted these articles one way or another, but now the first printed impression of his Karpship will be "Karp's shadow looms over Nantucket" and "Catering to the `superwealthy.'"

Oh this will sit well with us locals.

Anyway, can't wait to read it. Kudos to the News for finally getting it done. It's going to be fun week.

Incidentally

Salvation Army Capt. James Purvis says their toy supply is a little low. Anyone interested in giving can contact 978-465-0883 or email nbptsalarmy@verizon.net.

Ring, Ring, Ring

I had a great Friday night spending three hours ringing the Salvation Army bell on Inn Street, near the tot lot.

I learned three things.

1) People are very nice.
2) It really does mean a lot when you stop to toss a little money in the bucket, even your spare change. So for those folks who told me they contribute to every bucket keep doing so.
3) Invitation Night rocks the house. I was shocked. I always thought these nights were largely ceremonial, a Chamber of Commerce creation. But the downtown was absolutely humming. I'd say one out of five people were carrying shopping bags so folks were buying.

If you've ever thought of ringing the bell you should do it. It's a very nice experience.

Great Photos

At the Newburyport Blog.

Amen

Letter in the Daily News.

Chain Store Talk

I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to deliver these pieces with more consistency. They take more time than I initially thought. Plus I'm dealing with a few seemingly minor but still rather distracting issues.

I'll get back on track shortly. Thanks for your patience.

Little River

There's an interesting discussion forming in the previous post. The talk centers around my closing concerns about the Little River project. Admittedly, I need to get some more information on the project before I comment further.

But one of the questions I--and apparently many other people have had--center around Newburyport's ability to provide water and sewer to the project. But others also question whether we should provide the water even if we have it given that the businesses in the project would compete with our own.

I'm less enamored with that argument. I think it's a reasonable one, but something about the notion of using water as a protectionist device against a potentially exciting project doesn't sit well with me.

But the question of supply is a legitimate one. The Current has an article on this very question. See it here.

More recently, the Daily News has a report on the projected demands for the project being less than originally anticipated. Yes I did emphasize projected as they are merely that, projections.

Water obviously is a very important issue so both articles and the comments are worth checking out.

Ban Talk--Where Does The Dollar Go?

This is pretty damning point.

•Approximately 70% of an independent’s revenue stays in the city vs. 15% of a chain’s revenue.

But is it true?

It sounds outrageous to me, but every statistic has an origin. So I examined the reports put forth by the SupportNBPT group.

Frankly, I didn't see the connection between other reports and our situation in Newburyport. I did, however, find some other reports that might have been worth citing. I'll get into those in a later post.

As for the two put forth by the SupportNBPT group, the far more comprehensive is the “Fiscal Impact Analysis of Residential and Nonresidential Land Use Prototypes” prepared by Tischler & Associates Inc. for the town of Barnstable.

Excellent analysis of the municipal costs associated with the various types of housing and commercial enterprises. Please check it out. (It’s 22 pages but worth a look particularly the graph on page 17.) The report concludes that of all commercial development types examined-- Business Park, Office, Shopping Center, Big Box, Specialty Retail, Hotel, Restaurant, Fast Food—that specialty retail is by far the most beneficial to a community.

The idea being the infrastructure costs associated with Business Parks, Big Box stores, etc. offset the tax revenue gains. (Hotel use, incidentally, appears to be a wash. Something to keep in mind when we're building on the Waterfront.)

I agree with this concept 100%.

But what I don’t see is the problem. We have specialty retail downtown, and we’ll continue to have specialty retail even after Karp builds what he’s going to build (if he ever builds it.) The report—as far as I can tell—doesn’t differentiate between locally owned specialty retail or small specialty retail chain stores. It merely identifies specialty retail as the most beneficial use.

I can understand this point. But we're not considering a big box store downtown. We're talking about ownership, and I can’t see that mentioned in this report.

Everyone should read this report to better understand the impact that the Little River project in Newbury might have on our area. In my eyes, that's a bigger threat to our downtown shops than any moderately sized chain store along state street would be.

Next: The Mid-Coast Maine Report

Thoughts on the Ban--Is it a ban?

As I noted earlier, I'd like to break my thoughts on the proposed chain store ban so they're easier to read and, frankly, to write.

I wasn't quite sure how, but the response from the SupportNBPT.com folks provided the perfect framework.

So, in the next series of posts I'll take on the points made to bolster the ban.

So here we go.

The first question is the most obvious one, is this a ban or isn't it. (Okay, two questions.

From the SupportNBPT folks:

Tom, the ordinance submitted is not a ban on chain stores. It is simply a mechanism to allow the community to have some input into what is done with our City. The ordinance can always be overridden to allow another chain store. Without the ordinance we have no say. Fowles could be taken over by Friendly’s; the Fitness Factory could become a Borders and the Grog could become a Chiles. This could all happen overnight.

Putting the fear mongering aside for a moment(nothing in this town happens overnight), I say...

I can't see how it isn't a ban.

Let's just examine the ordinance. Here is the ordinance, feel free to print it out and follow along at home.

The proposed ordinance states its purpose clearly.

The purpose and intent of this Ordinance is to regulate the number and location of formula businesses in order to maintain the City’s unique character, the diversity and vitality of the City’s commercial districts, and the quality of life of Newburyport residents.

So the ordinance is designed to regulate the number and location of formula businesses. In reading that, one might think the ordinance introduces some mechanism that could be used to give the public a voice in where these businesses are located or even how many will be permitted. John Well alludes to such a thing in his reasonable column in today's News. Perhaps a hearing in which the pros and cons are presented, and an appointed board (or perhaps the City Council) would then decide if the business was appropriate. (Frankly, I can't see how someone determines what is appropriate and what isn't, but hey...)

But I can't find such a mechanism.

Instead, the ordinance goes on to advise all city departments and commissions to defer to the following regulations in their review of applications for "building licenses, a building permit application, a conditional use permit, an application for occupancy or a design review..."

And number one on the list of regulation is...

A.No new formula establishments other than ones already operating at the time of adoption of the ordinance are permitted to operate in the downtown/waterfront area.

So how isn't that a ban? Furthermore, those chain stores already in town wouldn't be permitted to expand by much.

The one bit of flexibility I see is in the definition of chain or formula stores.

"Formula Retail" for the purpose of this ordinance, means a type of retail sales activity or retail sales establishment, including restaurants, and excluding business types listed in paragraph B, which, along with ten (10) or more other retail sales establishments, maintains any one of the following features: a standardized array of merchandise, a standardized façade, a standardized décor and color scheme, a uniform apparel,standardized signage, a trademark or service mark.

The ordinance goes on to give more explicit descriptions of the features.

So, if I'm reading this correctly, any company with 10 or more stores (or nine other stores I can't really tell) and/or has a consistent line of products and decor wouldn't be permitted to open a store downtown.

But those with fewer than 10 (or 9 stores)would be allowed.

So I guess this is NOT a ban on chain or formula if you consider stores like JL Coombs and Native Sun to be chain stores. Those businesses would be allowed to locate in Newburyport under the ordinance.

But let's be honest. When most folks think chain they're thinking Gap or Anthropologie, and by my reading those stores wouldn't be permitted under this ordinance.

So in my mind, this is a ban. I'm eager to hear if my reading is wrong.

If you have a few minutes

I got an email from a Newburyporter now in college. She asked questions that some of you might like to answer. Feel free to email me or answer in the comment box.

My name is Sarah Turchin, and I'm a college student who grew up in Newburyport. I am writing about Newburyport's Master Plan for an environmental psychology class. I have some general open-ended questions about the creation of the plan and its present use, and I'm also interested in people's personal opinions about Newburyport's development in general. There are a lot of questions, obviously feel free to answer only the ones you have something to say about. Thanks so much for your time!

Questions:

The Master Plan states that the biggest priority for the city is public parking. Do you agree with this? Why or why not? If not, what do you think the biggest priority[ies] for the city should be?

Do you agree with the Master Plan's desire to convert the parking area next to the Firehouse into open space? How do you think the city will support the increasing need for parking?

If you're familiar with the Master Plan, do you agree with its initiatives? Do you think they are currently being implemented as planned?

How do you think the city should balance the need for open space with the increasing amount of people moving to Newburyport?

What do you think about creating "Local Historic Districts" to protect historically significant neighborhoods?

Do you support an increase of business in the Industrial Park? Why or why not?

The Master Plan calls for the city to have 10% of housing in the city be affordable (by state standards) by the year 2010. Do you think this is feasible? Why or why not?

What would you change about the Master Plan?

The motto of the Master Plan is "Shaping our Future, Honoring our Past", do you think Newburyport is achieving this? Why or why not?

The guiding principles for the plan are "environmental quality, economic vitality, and social equity". How do you think the city is/is not balancing these elements?

How do you think Newburyport can support an increase in tourism and immigration to the city while still preserving its historical foundation?

Do you think the Master Plan/future of the city finds a common ground for people who were born and raised in Newburyport and those who are recent immigrants to the city?

The Master Plan states that the "vision of Newburyport in 2020 is not much different from the city of today? How do you reconcile this notion with the recent purchase of land by develop Stephen Karp? And with the increase in property rents that have caused local retailers to have to relocate?

Do you think Newburyport has adequate public transportation within the city?

Finally, what are your general fears and hopes for Newburyport's future?

Support NBPT Replies

First, a housekeeping issue. Work and life has kept me away from actively blogging the past few days. I'll get back to my "Ban the Ban" posts over the weekend.

Second, I got a reply to my first post from supportnbpt.org. Thanks to them for the reply. I'll address these comments in upcoming posts and welcome their participation.

Tom, the ordinance submitted is not a ban on chain stores. It is simply a mechanism to allow the community to have some input into what is done with our City. The ordinance can always be overridden to allow another chain store. Without the ordinance we have no say. Fowles could be taken over by Friendly’s; the Fitness Factory could become a Borders and the Grog could become a Chiles. This could all happen overnight.

The Libertarian argument says we can do whatever we want with our property. Would you like to see a ten story Marriott in place of Oldies? As a member of the supportNBPT/Buy Local Committee, I would like to share some of the facts we’ve learned while researching other cities and towns that have banned chains.

•Approximately 70% of an independent’s revenue stays in the city vs. 15% of a chain’s revenue.
•Chains can pay higher rents. An influx of chains will increase rents throughout the city and push independents out.
•Independents give back more to the community in various charitable ways. A perfect example is our three local banks who contribute heavily to the community.
•Tourists come here for our waterfront and our specialty shops and restaurants. If they want to shop at chain stores, they can go to their local indoor mall. Why drive to Newburyport?
•Chains have the corporate backing to heavily advertise and offer hefty discounts that independents cannot afford – again pushing them out.
•And yes, chains will change the character of Newburyport, just as aluminum siding would on a house in the middle of Fruit Street.

Lagasse, Karp and a Hotel on the Waterfront

In Provincetown.

The worst kept secret is revealed. The Karp is out of the bag.

The Provincetown Banner quotes Chuck Lagasse as saying Steve Karp is definitely part of bid to buy Provincetown's Fisherman's Wharf, and they might just build a hotel on top of it.

A decision on whether to purchase Fisherman’s Wharf should be made around the end of this year, and Lagasse said he plans on traveling to Provincetown this month to continue his due diligence. In addition to Lagasse, his wife Ann and Boston-based developer Steven Karp are also partners in the potential Fisherman’s Wharf purchase, he said.

Karp is a real estate billionaire who, among other projects, has been instrumental in the high-end redevelopment of Nantucket. Karp and the Lagasses are partners in a major redevelopment project on Newburyport’s waterfront, which includes multiple marinas. As part of that project, Lagasse said earlier that one of the first priorities would be to find a hotel partner to agree to come to that city.

“He [Karp] is a very knowledgeable and sensitive guy to be involved. I’m proud of our team and proud of our track record,” Lagasse said.

So there you go.

Ban the Ban

This may not be a popular position with some, but I don’t see a need to ban chain stores.

In fact, I think such a thing might do more harm to the downtown than good.

Before I get into my reasons,let me just say I admire the Buy Local folks. This is an important discussion, and I’m willing to listen to any counter argument. In fact, I offer up this space for a rebuttal to anyone from the group who wants to tell me why I’m wrong.

Furthermore, I'm actually a buy local guy. Tendercrop. Eureka. Greta's. Joppa Foods. Jabberwocky/Book Rack. You name it. When I can, I do buy local. (UPDATE: Add The Natural Dog. Love that place.)

Now, let’s get into the particulars. In fact, I’m breaking these many thoughts up into several posts (three or four I guess) so stay tuned.

My first--and unfortunately probably weakest reasoning--is my philosophical opposition. The notion of telling a property owner who they can and can’t do business with crosses the line for me.

I recognize that we sometimes sacrifice our ability to make personal choices for a common good or for our community.

We obviously have zoning and we should. We have the historic district and we should.

We also zone against use. Fine, we don’t want to have a Jiffy Lube on Broad Street. I get that. Makes sense.

In both cases we’re asking property owners or owners of historic homes to bend toward the will of the community. In some cases they bend a little bit, some cases a lot.

I understand why some true libertarians--not posers like myself--oppose the idea of any restrictions, but these limits or guidance make sense to me. Assuring appropriate land usage and preserving our historic buildings strengthens the community.

But I see a difference between all that and the chain store ban. It’s one thing to tell someone no vinyl siding on that historic treasure or please no strip malls on Malboro Street. It’s quite another to say, yes a sub shop is allowed in that spot, but you aren't allowed to operate that sub shop.

Those arguing in favor of a ban justify such a statement by suggesting that a chain store damages the community as a whole. But I haven't seen any evidence that the introduction to chain stores downtown has been detrimental.

In fact, I'd argue that even with the presence of a few more chain stores the downtown is stronger today than it was 10 years ago. I have more choices for coffee, despite having a Starbucks in the most visible spot downtown. I see more women's clothes stores, even with Talbots filling the slightly out-of-the way Strand.

In short, I don't see the damage that's been done.

Perhaps I could ignore my very narrow libertarian streak if I thought chain stores were a threat to the downtown, but I don't. I've seen the data that supposedly supports this notion and I have to say, I'm not convinced.

I'll address my doubts in an upcoming post.

There you have it folks

Polls have closed.

Nearly two thirds of the 42 participants want to see some type of appropriate development on the NRA lots. Another 14% are open to the idea and only one-fifth are aginst it.

Sounds like a mandate to me.

I do wish we had wider participation. I could have worded the question a bit better I suppose, but I think it conveyed the spirt of the discussion.

Thanks to all who voted.

More coming today on Chico's and The Man. Bad work week.

Poll is closing

The NRA poll closes in 13 hours. Why 13? I have no idea. The poll was supposed to run until midnight. Apparently, I didn't specify which midnight I had in mind. Hawaii maybe? Alaska?

Anyway, we need a few thousand more folks to make this a representative sample. So get on it.

More on the chain stores later. Mary Eaton has yet another excellent post today. (She's got a few in fact, but I'm referring to her take on the chain stores.)

I just happen to disagree with her. More later.

Chico's Link

BTW, someone sent me the link to the News' Chico's story yesterday. I ultimately did find it on the Web site, but it was under the BUSINESS tab which is waaay at the bottom.

Still, it didn't come up when I searched the archives so I don't know what to tell you.

More on this later.

Get out and Vote--Or Else

Since my flashing the blue snow emergency lights on election day idea didn't get any traction, he's another winner.

Hand out the KI pills at the polling station immediately after folks slip the ballot into the machine.

From the Stephen Tait in The News....

NEWBURYPORT - It's time to refill those potassium iodide prescriptions.

The state is handing out fresh supplies of the iodide, also called KI, to residents within the Emergency Planning Zone, a 10-mile area around the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station. The thyroid-blocking tablets help increase survival rates in the event of an emergency radiation leak at the plant.

Newburyport has enough tablets for about 20 percent of the city's population and the state will provide more if those run out.

Residents can pick up the tablets - which are free - at the city Health Department from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursdays.

The tablets are being issued to replace those given out in 2002 and should be stored in a dry, cool environment.

Aargh

I was going to post a link to the Newburyport Daily News' article on Chico's potentially coming to town but I can't find it on the Web site. I initially thought the site just hadn't been updated (which would have shocked me enough) but then I recognized a few other articles from today's Page 1. (Click here for earlier post.)

So it was left off, inadvertently or intentionally. If it's the former, I understand, if it's the latter, I've got to wonder. Is this some way of driving readers to buy the paper? If so, I think it's an ill conceived plan.

We'll wait and see.

So instead of riffing on Chico's I'll go with my plan B, welcoming the Clipper Ship back to the masthead. I was a reporter at the Daily News during the redesign that introduced the ship to the top of Page 1.

I had absolutely nothing to do with the effort so I can say with all humility thought I always thought it was a very nice touch. (In fact, I think I still have the T-shirt we were given during the redesign.)


Anyway, the new--or rather old--look came along with a letter from the Daily News' new publisher, Shelia Smith.

Starting this week, you will notice some changes in The Daily News.

We are a local paper, proud to be a part of Greater Newburyport. Our goal is to bring you the local news, people and events of Newburyport and its 10 surrounding towns every day.

Toward that end, we will be revamping our business page coverage to focus entirely on Newburyport-area businesses, and we will add more local news to the front page of the paper. To fit more local news, we will no longer carry our "Onceover" at the bottom of the page. The "Onceover" dates from a time when it was difficult for people to get national and international news; those days are gone with the advent of the Internet. It's clear from the feedback that we receive that the vast majority of our readers want to see more local news in the paper, and so we would like to honor that request.

Lastly, the banner across the top of the front page has been returned to a more traditional look that we feel better reflects who and what we are. We have changed the lettering in our name and returned the clipper ship on our banner to greater prominence - after all, this is "The Clipper City," the city where Donald McKay, the greatest of American clipper designers, got his start. Though he eventually moved to Boston to build his most famous ships, Newburyport is where he chose to be buried.

In the coming weeks you will see other additions. For example, we will be presenting a more informative and colorful package of local weather, travel weather advisories, tide charts, and marine forecasts.

Welcome news. I have to admit, when I first heard the paper was getting its own publisher I wondered why. Seemed a bit of overkill for a paper of this size. We had one publisher (a very nice guy) for three or four papers back in my day, and that was plenty.

But if this is the outcome then, "here here." Newspaper folks keep rightly wringing their hands about the future of their industry. I think the large regionals like the Boston Globe will face some deep cuts in circulation. But local papers like the news can thrive by being just that--local papers. Hyperlocal in fact.

As a reporter, I assumed a readers in Newburyport would enjoy a well-written, well researched piece about an event in Newbury or Rowley, even if it didn't affect them directly.

I was wrong.

What I do want to read is everything I can about my own community. I understand if you need to toss in some news from other communities to even things out, but gimme local, local, local.

And I'm sure an reader in Amesbury is thinking the exact same thing.

So this is good news for the Daily News. I heard about one of the features they were planning to add to the business page (my old stomping ground), and it sounds like winner. Let's hope it's part of a larger trend.

Oh, I'd love a new Web site if you could. I find this one a little clunky.

Nevermind, here's the guest post

This is the guest post. I'm putting it up tonight and extending the vote by a couple of days. Let's see what happens.

From the man himself, James Shanley who got this dialogue started. (See "Oh No He Didn't" Series to the right.)

Even its current state, the central waterfront is, from an urbanist's perspective, a Dead Zone. The part of it that is actively used, at least for some of the year, is the thin strip along the waters edge: the Board-walk. Excluding Market Landing Park, which is only heavily used for July and August, the Central Waterfront is a storage area. People will use the Ways to the Water to access the part they are most interested in using, which is the board-walk. The rest is something to get through. In my opinion, this will not change whether its an "attractive parking destination" or "attractive park".

One of the challenges we face with both Waterfront West and Waterfront East, is that they are for all intents and purposes cut-off from the core downtown by the undeveloped central waterfront. At one time in our city's history, the central waterfront was developed, and the city flowed from the water to the core, and vise versa. We need to re-establish that connection. Not to do so runs the risk of developments that become entities/destinations unto themselves instead of a seamless continuation of the core. While still providing needed tax revenue, this could have some not so good effects on the core city.

How do we do this? Limited, human scaled development, sited perpendicular to the river, with a mix of retail (especially food), office and residential. Even as few as three or four structures carefully sited so as to maximize views/ways to the river, would do a lot to stimulate the area, and make the West/East parcels connect to the core. Development along the easterly edge of Waterfront West should be sited so that the focus is towards the downtown, not towards Route 1. Get people looking/moving towards the core.

What makes cities work is density and people. Opens space and parks are good things, but they do not posses inherent goodness. Neither do buildings, but properly juxtaposed they can change an area from something to get through, to a place that you never want to leave.

Poll Closes Tonight

Stay tuned tomorrow for some analysis and a guest post.

Important Message

Tom Ryan checks in. Please click and consider.

Why a referendum wouldn't really work

Mary Lou Supple, former chairperson of the NRA, is kind enough to submit some guidance about why a binding referendum on the waterfront wouldn't work. It's simple really and one I should have noted immediately given my earlier questions about what role the mayor play's in Waterfront development.

The reason why there can be no binding referendum on the final disposition of the NRA waterfront property is because the City does not own the property; the NRA owns it.

The rationale for creating redevelopment authorities was to take the development out of the political process. And this worked fairly well when the NRA was selling off lots for redevelopment. It had a large cash flow, paid director and staff. Right now, there would be a hotel, and the city would be subsidizing the hotel's parking had the 1990 LDA with Roger Foster not been challenged by a new NRA board after 3 members resigned.

That contract, declared null in 1999 by Judge Richard Welch because its benefits to the developer were not in the public's best interest, and that HUD had said it would not approve it. Despite HUD's disinterest in the matter later, their approval was necessary at the time the contract was signed. The LDA would allow Foster to purchase the property at a 70% discount on the appraised value and require the NRA, at its own cost to build and maintain a parking lot for the hotel on the West Lot.
Foster would pay the NRA (and subsequently, the City after the NRA disbanded), $35,000 a year for parking. The debt service on the cost of building that parking lot would be many times the payments Foster would make. The City would be required to maintain it, and yet the public could not use it. (Unless the hotel did not need it.? I think that meant when it was empty and no one worked there. I admit I never fully understood what was called "flex" parking.)

After the land was again unencumbered, the NRA sent out the 2000 survey in order to find out what the will of the people was and attempt to carry it out. Anything other than selling the lots to a developer, which is still an an option for the NRA, would require a partnership with the City. That's where the idea that the City owned this property arose. It does not, and a referendum on use of a property it does not own is unenforceable. The City might as well attempt a binding resolution on the use of Karp's land.

What the City COULD do is a binding resolution on what it would be willing to give the NRA to fund a Park or another use of the waterfront. The problem there is that, if the public voted to fund a park, the City would be obligated to fund it. If the public voted to fund another use, the NRA could simply refuse to accept the funds, because it owns the land.

Now, here's an interesting idea. What if at some point the concept of a park went forward and the city holds an Proposition 2 1/2 override vote to see if people want to pay for the costs associated with maintaining the park.

That would be the ultimate binding referendum.

Karp or No Karp

That is the question.

I was surprised to read the headline announcing the the Lagasses and Karp are teaming up to buy Provincetown's Fisherman's Wharf.

Obviously, his participation wouldn't be surprising. In fact, Karp has been rumored to be involved in the acquistion since the announcement was made. But until I read the Comment article they were just that unconfirmed rumors.

The article is sourced well. It quotes Chuck and Ann Lagasse extensively, although neither is quoted saying the Karp is involved.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Provincetown's Board of Selectmen is quoted as saying, “Lagasse and Karp have the means and the expertise. That’s good news.” Now, she's not quoted as saying Karp is directly involved, but that's the implication. She also might have said so in unquoted portions of the interview.

I emailed Ann Lagasse asking her if Karp is indeed involved in the deal. Her reply.

At the moment the Provincetown purchase is still being investigated and the ownership/partnership (if bought) is not defined yet. I think we have 120 days to do due diligence. Will New England Development be part of the deal?- they have expressed interest but again there is nothing firm.

So that's where we're at. Ask me to bet my house, and I'd wager it on New England Development being part of the deal. But the official word is Karp & Co. aren't part of the package--yet.

By the way, here's a little background on the piece of real estate the Lagasses and (perhaps Karp) are purchasing. Apparently, the pier is used to park up to 200 cars during the summer season. But read this article first.

I once contemplated writing a joke post suggesting that Newburyport settle the park vs. parking dispute by parking our cars on piers or floats. But somebody's already doing it.

Truth is stranger than crappy humor, I guess.