[Summit] Comp plan proposal -- what do you think

[Sumati Eberstadt]

Thank you Art. If North Main is not, at the moment, a great place to live, why not put the resources into improving it? Then we have one more desirable neighborhood instead of one fewer. 

Sumati

> On Jun 8, 2024, at 4:38 PM, Art Norwalk <art at norwalkcom.com> wrote:
> 
> The idea that a row of 4-6 story apartment buildings in the Hope Street shopping area would make a meaningful dent in Summit's housing shortage or add anything significant to the neighborhood's diversity does not compute for me. There just wouldn't be enough units and the number of affordable apartments would be a small percentage of the total, if any at all.
> 
> What the change suggested by city planners would do is to radically alter the quality of life on Hope and the streets that cross it, and not for the better. Hope St. would potentially become a canyon like Brook Street because the depth of the commercial strip wouldn't allow the new taller buildings to be set back far enough from the street to allow much sunlight. It's been argued here that the eclectic collection of locally owned shops would give way to national chains; I don't think anyone knows how that would actually play out, but change seems likely. Auto traffic would  certainly become more congested because, as others have mentioned, most of the apartment dwellers would have and use cars.
> 
> Mentioning cars brings me to the side streets where, in full disclosure, I have lived for more than 45 years. Over the past few years I've seen steady growth in the number of cars parking on my street, presumably belonging to employees and customers from Hope St. Add in apartment dwellers and the parking crush would surely spread East and West. There is no chance that the apartment buildings would include enough parking spaces for all units. Apartment dwellers would want to park on the side streets but  overnight parking is only allowed by permit to residents of the street. Without easy parking, the apartments could be unrentable at rates needed to support the property.
> 
> The arguments against multi-family residential development on North Main Street seem to center on the idea that we would be "pushing" lower income people into a less desirable area. But it need not be that way. If creative developers put up mid or even high rise apartment buildings designed for a variety of ages and income levels, North Main would have a constituency of voters that could push the city and state to make the necessary improvements in traffic flow for bikes and pedestrians as well as cars, and beef up law enforcement. The street could be transformed into a desirable address with room for a significant number of people.
> 
> In sum, creating a small apartment strip on Hope St. would damage a vibrant commercial and residential area to no significant benefit. Creating a much larger collection of multi-family buildings on North Main Street would dramatically improve an area that has been problematic for decades while effectively addressing the housing and diversity goals of the Summit neighborhood.
> 
> -- Art
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