Update on RIO-B

The public hearing on the RIO-b has been continued until July 13.  In the meantime, there will be a traffic study conducted of the nearby intersections.  The study should be submitted in June to the Planning Board.

Letter to Planning Board and Ordinance Committee

To The Planning Board and City Council Ordinance Committee,

We would like to express conditional support for the proposed RIO-B and Jackson St. apartment complex.  The conditions we support are in accordance with the letter submitted to the planning board by Mayor Howard and Stephen Wishoski, Executive Director of the Malden Redevelopment Authority and are as follows:

1)  Exclusion of the sites at 350 Main St. and 200 Exchange St. from the RIO-B.  As stated in the above mentioned letter, “As proposed, the RIO-B could result in the creation of up to approximately 1,000 additional residential rental units.  This is greater than the housing volume called for in all four of the sites incentivized under the first RIO.”  

2)   Inclusion of ground floor retail.  As stated in the above mentioned letter, ”based on input from Malden citizens during both the Visioning and Master Planning process, [that] residential properties in the RIO-B should contain some retail on the ground floor along the Exchange St. corridor to enhance and complement the other retail activity currently along that roadway.”  We would like transparency regarding how the proposed and existing (160 Pleasant St.) retail spaces would be marketed.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully submitted,

Lori Rittner
Paul Tetta
9 Otis St.         
Members,
Citizens Association for Responsible Development of Malden 

Results of Planning Board Meeting of 2/9

The Planning Board and Ordinance Committee decided to continue the public hearing on the RIO-B (and Jackson St project) until their next scheduled meeting on March 9.  We can again be heard and gather more info between now and then.  This is what we were going for, so congrats everybody!

The Malden Patch did a great job of summing up the particulars of the meeting in this article:
http://malden.patch.com/articles/disagreement-accord-over-malden-center-zoning-development

Thanks to everyone who got involved!

Info on Planning Course

If anyone is interested in a conference and/or course on Planning and Zoning, see info below: 

Citizen Planner Training Collaborative
Tenth Annual Conference - Advanced Tools and Techniques for Planning and Zoning

Featuring 18 different sessions, including basic core courses and new "hot topics".

Conference details:
Saturday, March 19, 2011
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Hogan Conference Center
Holy Cross College
Worcester, MA

Mass Audubon’s Heidi Ricci will present at the workshop “Saving Land and Money: Protecting Your Community’s Natural Assets and Fiscal Stability through Planning and Zoning”.

For session descriptions or to register, see:http://www.umass.edu/masscptc/pdfs/cptc_spring2011_conference.pdf

Important Notice: Next Planning Board Meeting

The next planning board meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 9, at 7:00PM at City Hall. As of this writing, this is the only meeting at which the public will be able to speak about this issue. We urge you to attend.

At this meeting, these committees will decide whether to recommend granting a new zoning district to a large swath of land in downtown Malden.  The land under consideration runs from Commercial St. to Main St., between Exchange St. and Rt. 60.  It includes the now vacant site of the former Super Fitness Gym.  Combined Properties, Inc., the owner of the site, has proposed to build three new six-story rental apartment buildings there.

A detailed description of the plan can be found here:

http://malden.patch.com/articles/apartment-complex-proposed-for-mals-site