To the editor:
There is no doubt Gloucester would benefit from some new development.
However, not all development is healthy nor good for a city. There are real tradeoffs and they need to be weighedcarefully and appropriately.
What Gloucester needs is "constructive development" — the type that adds value and is also compatible with the existing base. The types of developments that bring synergy and reinforce what Gloucester is in more interesting ways.
When you get beyond the anger here and actually converse with people on the Fort or in East Gloucester you realize that they are not against change per se.
What they are actually saying is they want change that makes sense to them. Change that adds better-paying jobs, change that adds buildings that blend in with existing neighborhoods and streets. They want to retain some of the character and feeling of the port, after all that is why artists have painted it and tourists visit.
They want a vibrant downtown — but not at the cost of losing a working harbor for a third-world tourism model.
As we move forward in discussions on the draft harbor plan and the Fort rezoning, bear in mind that whatever we do will have real consequence for the existing industry, and our ability to attract new compatible research facilities and water-related business on the harbor.
Hotels and residences and yacht marinas have a place as well, but they have always been proven to discourage further investment in commercial uses. Those commercial uses tend to provide a year round economy with far more revenue.
So before we toss one for the other, we need to examine how Gloucester would really be economically affected.
We need to move beyond the rhetoric and propaganda and do our homework, Gloucester. Show me the numbers — where is our business plan?
We need constructive development and growth, and it is time we act like a real city.
Do a business plan, please do the feasibility study and give us some hard data to make a real decision, Mayor Kirk — not a wish list.
Ernest Morin,
Main Street, Gloucester
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