As some of you may know by now, I have been following the zoning issues between the Planning Commission and the owners on Park Row. I did a bit of research on the specific question of the impact of residential dwellings next to parks. I pulled studies from Texas A & M, the cities of New York and Philadelphia, the National Trust and other reputable sources.
Among them was a report from the The Trust for Public Land which summed up all the others. It said, “In successful cities the equation works. Private and public spaces animate each other with the sum greatly surpassing the parts. In unsuccessful communities some aspect of the relationship is awry: production, retail, or transportation may be inadequate; housing may be insufficient; or the public [park] realm might be too small or too uninspiring.” [The underlining was done by me for emphasis.]
This information was given to the Planning Commission 10 days before the meeting reported upon in the last issue of this paper. They had plenty of time to read and do their own research. Instead, they persist in saying that they personally would not want to live in the center of town so they base the zoning regulations on their personal feelings.
The fact is that I found no studies that suggest residences have a negative impact on parks. Negative impact on the value of dwellings can happen if the park is not well maintained. Many jurisdictions report that the property values of dwellings next to good parks rise as much as 25% more than dwellings far from parks. As the economics of a neighborhood improve, the residents tend to monitor those neighborhoods more closely. This creates and upward spiral of prosperity.
There have been offers to buy a couple of the buildings to restore as residential space. We have all seen the improvement of such a restoration on the Victorian house at the corner of Queen Street and Maple Avenue that was once the parsonage. However, without the flexibility in the zoning that would allow the various buildings to function as they are currently designed, each of those offers to buy have been withdrawn or put on hold.
In these times, I think that increased prosperity might be what all of Chestertown is looking for. So I ask the citizens of this town to tell the Planning Commission to reconsider and replace inflexible zoning with something more in tune with the history of Chestertown.
Holly Geddes
Queen Street
Past president of Main Street Historic Chestertown
MBTroup says
Question: What is being done with the property right now?
I have a feeling that this should also be the answer.
Clark says
Far better to have some occupied residences than vacant commercial properties. Mixed use is the way to go. BTW, I wouldn’t mind living downtown. Let the commissioners keep their houses by the country club.
rcg says
i think it is time to remove the blinders…please, decision makers – let chestertown grow…
MBTroup says
@rcg – Unfortunately, growth has become associated with Keynesian spend and build models. The trick is to convince people that growth can come from lifestyle enhancement projects and leveraging existing assets to get a return on the community’s investment (think marina, Kent Plaza, and armory).
Billie says
If memory serves me correctly, Park Row was residential years back but I can’t ever recall it being such a town for the arts, use to be a town for the people to enjoy, I mean the people born and raised here, not the ones that may have lived here 20 years or so. I think Park Row should go back to what it was, some really nice houses with porches on them to sit, rock and enjoy watching the kids play in the park which today is unheard of.
Janet Brandon says
Living near a park is a grand adventure! “city life” is exhilarating and keeps one in touch with our fellow beings. It was customary to have residences as part of shops and still is in many places. Actually to restore this town as a historic model would include the mix of residences and shops which thus would be a true historic enterprise. Let me know when I can move in.
rcg says
i feel silly that i can’t find a line to which i responded in another piece on this subject – basically – there was a one-liner from one of the PCs indicating the residents on Park Row would negatively impact the park and Farmer’s Market – i didn’t understand it then, and i am not sure i understand it now.
my first thought was that they are afraid the folks that will be living there won’t be the ‘right kind’ of people…maybe they won’t keep their porches clean – maybe…they won’t shop at the market – maybe they won’t care about organic radishes and goard-feeders…
maybe the PC et al won’t have contol…ahha – control…maybe that’s the main issue, after all…