No to rezoning R-1

1.     Protect our property value.

2.     Preserve the desirable character of our low density, low traffic neighborhood, open spaces, and scenic charm.

3.     Prevent increases in traffic throughout our community. With no sidewalks for walkers or bike lanes for bicyclists, commercial businesses would likely increase the number of cars on our streets and drivers cutting through residential areas to access the properties, potentially posing safety issues. In addition, traffic issues may arise at times that we never saw before such as early in the morning or late at night depending on when the commercially owned property is open. For example, businesses like fitness centers or urgent care medical facilities may have late or early hours, increasing traffic during these typically off-peak, low-light times and also increasing the number of people in our small residential area.

4.     Prevent traffic congestion and bottlenecks at intersections and streets. As it stands, there are no restrictions on parking on our streets. This means that if parking is full, everyone and anyone can park on our streets—even in front of your house. This is not an issue because we live in a low-density residential area, but commercial properties would increase congestion and businesses only have to have a minimum amount of parking to accommodate their business. Take two examples: a daycare may have legally enough parking for their business but long lines can develop at peak hours (e.g., pickup / drop-off); some doctor’s offices and medical facilities in our state and across the country turned into COVID19 testing sites, resulting in long lines of traffic, heavy congestion, greatly effecting the surrounding areas.

5.     Protect our local ecosystem! Protected wooded wetlands border the proposed properties, and there are potentially wetlands in the proposed properties themselves. Not only do these areas provide a privacy and noise buffer to busier traffic, but they are also home to many local plants and wildlife such as foxes, turtles, and birds to name a few. Builders would be able to cover 80% of this entire area with concrete, which would also drain into Great Bay, a scenic home to local wildlife.

protectourMLneighborhood2020    Contact the author of the petition