With one week until election day, I'd like to share thoughts on why I am voting for Carolyn Dykema for State Representative, representing the people of the 8th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts State House.
I first met Carolyn nearly 3 years ago at a regional planning meeting and since then we have shared numerous conversations on planning issues affecting our towns and our region.
Carolyn's private sector experience and her years of volunteer public service in Holliston, where she has served as Chairwoman of the Holliston Planning Board, arm Carolyn with a direct understanding of the interconnections between local, state, and federal economic and policy decisions. Carolyn's collaborative nature, respect for others, and willingness to seek real solutions have earned her the attention and respect of leaders at all levels in Massachusetts.
Together, her experience, abilities, and cultivated network will make Carolyn Dykema a strong and effective advocate for Hopkinton and the other towns of the 8th Middlesex District.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Stormwater management regulations
At our October 20 Planning Board meeting, we voted to approve recenty drafted Stormwater Management regulations. These regulations were the administrative back-end of the stormwater management article that Town Meeting passed in May.
Managing stormwater run-off is important, because it protects the property investments of individuals and protects our common water resource. Improper management of stormwater can wreak havoc on individual property owners, cause flooding and water pollution. Who wants their basement constantly flooding whenever it rains, or their front yard to pond throughout the year?
Good stormwater management planning during (or after) construction can prevent these kind of issues, which can become costly for individual property owners and the town. That's why our existing bylaws for subdivision development, garden apartments, and others include provisions requiring developments to address stormwater management. Land development that falls outside of existing bylaws are not covered, however, and to meet federal requirements Town Meeting adopted an article that requires stormwater management planning for land disturbances of an acre or more (an acre or more of actual land is dug up) in cases when such disturbance is not already covered under the stormwater management sections of our subdivision bylaws, garden apartments bylaws, etc.
The regulations were drafted with the help of a grant Hopkinton received, which allowed the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), a regional planning entity, to work with Hopkinton. Several local volunteers met numerous times over the summer with MAPC specialists to learn about stormwater management and to draft the implementing regulations for the 2008 Town Meeting Stormwater Management article. The local volunteers brought up many issues and concerns during the meeting and the final draft reflected all the input.
The Planning Board held a Pulic Hearing on the Regulations, which included a joint meeting with DPW and Conservation Commission to review the draft in September. Then, based on input from that review, the draft was revised to streamline the regulations as much as possible. In the final meeting of the public hearing last Monday, October 20, a few additional changes were made to further streamline the regulations and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on individuals involved in land disturbances of an acre or more not covered by the stormwater management provisions of existing bylaws.
I was comfortable with the final version that we voted on, and appreciated all the work of the DPW, Conservation Commission and other town representatives on the committee that worked with MAPC. One learning of the Planning Board public hearing: crafting regulations that remove as much ambiguity, to avoid confusion when they are actually applied, can result in very specific language, lists of exceptions and exclusions, and references that add to the heft of the regulations, while actually minmizing the administrative burden by offering very clear and specific guidance and process.
Managing stormwater run-off is important, because it protects the property investments of individuals and protects our common water resource. Improper management of stormwater can wreak havoc on individual property owners, cause flooding and water pollution. Who wants their basement constantly flooding whenever it rains, or their front yard to pond throughout the year?
Good stormwater management planning during (or after) construction can prevent these kind of issues, which can become costly for individual property owners and the town. That's why our existing bylaws for subdivision development, garden apartments, and others include provisions requiring developments to address stormwater management. Land development that falls outside of existing bylaws are not covered, however, and to meet federal requirements Town Meeting adopted an article that requires stormwater management planning for land disturbances of an acre or more (an acre or more of actual land is dug up) in cases when such disturbance is not already covered under the stormwater management sections of our subdivision bylaws, garden apartments bylaws, etc.
The regulations were drafted with the help of a grant Hopkinton received, which allowed the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), a regional planning entity, to work with Hopkinton. Several local volunteers met numerous times over the summer with MAPC specialists to learn about stormwater management and to draft the implementing regulations for the 2008 Town Meeting Stormwater Management article. The local volunteers brought up many issues and concerns during the meeting and the final draft reflected all the input.
The Planning Board held a Pulic Hearing on the Regulations, which included a joint meeting with DPW and Conservation Commission to review the draft in September. Then, based on input from that review, the draft was revised to streamline the regulations as much as possible. In the final meeting of the public hearing last Monday, October 20, a few additional changes were made to further streamline the regulations and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on individuals involved in land disturbances of an acre or more not covered by the stormwater management provisions of existing bylaws.
I was comfortable with the final version that we voted on, and appreciated all the work of the DPW, Conservation Commission and other town representatives on the committee that worked with MAPC. One learning of the Planning Board public hearing: crafting regulations that remove as much ambiguity, to avoid confusion when they are actually applied, can result in very specific language, lists of exceptions and exclusions, and references that add to the heft of the regulations, while actually minmizing the administrative burden by offering very clear and specific guidance and process.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Community Planning Observations from California
I'm in California this week for work. Whenever I'm here in the SF east bay area, I notice several differences in community development, compared with Massachusetts.
For one, all the new housing is very dense. Condo and apartment communities abound. Even the single family home neighborhoods are dense, with the home taking up nearly 100% of the lot, compared with our 40 foot front set backs and 10 foot side set backs.
Another difference is traffic management. Not only the infrastructure, but the culture too. Roads similar to our Main Street are 3-5 lanes in each direction. And there is a major traffic signalization at every intersection. Let me repeat that: at every intersection. If you know you're going to turn right at the next traffic signal, you are expected to get into one of the two right lanes at or prior to the previous intersection. If you know you're going to be turning left, you're expected to get into one of the 2 left lanes at or prior to the previous intersection. If you plan to continue straight, stay in the center lane.
Roads similar to our Hayden Rowe or Grove Street have 4-way stop signs at every single intersection. You end up coming to a full stop at every intersection, every couple hundred feet. (If you can't tolerate it, you'll likely find a freeway not too far away, running parallel to the local roads).
The amazing thing to me is that everyone follows the rules. At the four way stops, people take the time to keep track of which intersection's turn it is to go. The car in the front position in the westbound side stops to let the cars in the front position on the north and southbound sides cross. Then the front car in the westbound and eastbound each proceed. Orderly.
Except, of course, east coast visitors like me, who, by force of habit creep at stop signs, even when we think we really came to a full and complete stop -- no doubt conditioned by the constant experience back east of having a severely impatient driver honking behind us to get moving.
My experience here in California is that you'll hear a punitive honk aimed at you if you violate a traffic rule; back home in Massachusetts, you'll get honked at by someone frustrated that you are actually FOLLOWING a traffic rule.
Oh, in addition to the multiple car lanes, there is a wide bike lane on all major roads, and sidewalks lining every street. And both cyclists and cars obey the rules of sharing the road.
Without the New England winter freezing to cause contraction and expansion of the asphalt, you will not find any pot-holes out here either.
For all the justified complaints about the severe rush hour traffic congestion on the major freeways in California, experiencing a local road system that can actually accomodate the traffic demand is a sheer pleasure. I guess that's because these communities were designed after the advent of the automobile and for the automobile (but to their credit incorporate better pedestrian and bicycle design as well). Many of our roads were designed for horses and carriages (or, in Boston, famously, for cows) and have expanded to adapt to the automobile age.
For one, all the new housing is very dense. Condo and apartment communities abound. Even the single family home neighborhoods are dense, with the home taking up nearly 100% of the lot, compared with our 40 foot front set backs and 10 foot side set backs.
Another difference is traffic management. Not only the infrastructure, but the culture too. Roads similar to our Main Street are 3-5 lanes in each direction. And there is a major traffic signalization at every intersection. Let me repeat that: at every intersection. If you know you're going to turn right at the next traffic signal, you are expected to get into one of the two right lanes at or prior to the previous intersection. If you know you're going to be turning left, you're expected to get into one of the 2 left lanes at or prior to the previous intersection. If you plan to continue straight, stay in the center lane.
Roads similar to our Hayden Rowe or Grove Street have 4-way stop signs at every single intersection. You end up coming to a full stop at every intersection, every couple hundred feet. (If you can't tolerate it, you'll likely find a freeway not too far away, running parallel to the local roads).
The amazing thing to me is that everyone follows the rules. At the four way stops, people take the time to keep track of which intersection's turn it is to go. The car in the front position in the westbound side stops to let the cars in the front position on the north and southbound sides cross. Then the front car in the westbound and eastbound each proceed. Orderly.
Except, of course, east coast visitors like me, who, by force of habit creep at stop signs, even when we think we really came to a full and complete stop -- no doubt conditioned by the constant experience back east of having a severely impatient driver honking behind us to get moving.
My experience here in California is that you'll hear a punitive honk aimed at you if you violate a traffic rule; back home in Massachusetts, you'll get honked at by someone frustrated that you are actually FOLLOWING a traffic rule.
Oh, in addition to the multiple car lanes, there is a wide bike lane on all major roads, and sidewalks lining every street. And both cyclists and cars obey the rules of sharing the road.
Without the New England winter freezing to cause contraction and expansion of the asphalt, you will not find any pot-holes out here either.
For all the justified complaints about the severe rush hour traffic congestion on the major freeways in California, experiencing a local road system that can actually accomodate the traffic demand is a sheer pleasure. I guess that's because these communities were designed after the advent of the automobile and for the automobile (but to their credit incorporate better pedestrian and bicycle design as well). Many of our roads were designed for horses and carriages (or, in Boston, famously, for cows) and have expanded to adapt to the automobile age.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
What the financial crisis means locally
It occurred to me that in my last post, I might not have made clear how the current financial crisis has a direct impact locally. Here are a couple impacts:
What it really is, is an attempt to take responsible government action -- with bi-partisan support from President Bush to the most liberal Democrats in the House -- to prevent further harm to individual households, local businesses, cities and towns, state and federal government, and all sectors of business by bolstering our credit markets, which are an engine of economic activity at every level of our economy.
My hope is that our U.S. Congress can temporarily set aside ideological finger pointing for the current mortgage mess, and instead focus first and immediately on what action can be taken to avert further economic crisis that will spill over at a much more personal level than we currently feel. That is the responsible thing for government to do.
- Towns and cities in Massachusetts receive aid from the state for infrastructure and schools. If the State finds its access to credit drying up, that means less money for cities and towns for schools, which means more money has to be raised locally through increases in local property taxes.
- As property taxes continue to increase, some people have been refinancing their homes and using access to other credit; with fuel bills in the $1,000/mo. range for many households, and property taxes increasing faster (see previous bullet), access to credit will be even more important for more people -- at a time when the financial crisis is due to make access to credit much more tight, and best case at higher rates.
- This situation inevitably would lead to more foreclosures, which means more homes on the market, lower property values. Declining home values would make it difficult -- even for us homeowners who have been careful to live within our means by not taking out mortgages we can't afford -- to pay down our mortgages faster than the decline in value of our homes.
What it really is, is an attempt to take responsible government action -- with bi-partisan support from President Bush to the most liberal Democrats in the House -- to prevent further harm to individual households, local businesses, cities and towns, state and federal government, and all sectors of business by bolstering our credit markets, which are an engine of economic activity at every level of our economy.
My hope is that our U.S. Congress can temporarily set aside ideological finger pointing for the current mortgage mess, and instead focus first and immediately on what action can be taken to avert further economic crisis that will spill over at a much more personal level than we currently feel. That is the responsible thing for government to do.
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