I sent the following letter to the members of the Planning Board. I attended the 2.5-hour plus planning board meeting on Sept.10, and added that this CITY property is being sold to a developer without any input from the community. There is not one person on Mill Street that wants this project. Public comments continue next month, October.
To Hudson Planning Board Members,
Thank you very much for your service and time to the City of Hudson.
As 4th Ward City Councilmember – the ward that includes Mill and State Streets – I would like to voice my opposition to the current projects proposed by Kearney Realty and Development.
After talking with residents of Mill Street, I agree with them that the Mill Street project has the following issues:
- The project is too big for the block. Why does the proposal include up to seventy units on a very small residential block?
- The project is located on a flood plain. The street is prone to flooding. A building this large will contribute to the problem, and contribute to flooding of other homes on the block.
- There’s not enough parking for the new building’s residents. From my understanding, there’s less than one spot per unit.
- There’s no city infrastructure on Mill Street – sidewalks, bus routes, retail – to contribute to the lives of the residents of a new development.
- The land should be left as a park.
Mill Street is a wonderful residential block with many single and small multi-family homes built on concrete slabs. The Habitat for Humanities program that helped build those houses should be the model for future projects.
Additionally, the project for State and 4th Streets is an odd design with limited entrances on State Street. Rather, the buildings face the alley.
Neither project fits the character of its neighborhood or community, and both should not move forward.
Thank you again for your time and attention to this urgent matter.
Rich Volo
City of Hudson Councilmember, 4th Ward