Parkway Planning Takes Skill

Mayor Carlo DeMaria is right now in the midst of planning a zoning measure aimed directly at giving a new shape and form to future development along the length of Route 16.

The Revere Beach Parkway, as it is known to all of us, is presently an amalgam of many different businesses both large and small, industrial and commercial and there is even some manufacturing.

The Parkway is a bustling, important commercial road, somewhat akin to the Appian Way of ancient times.

There is banking, food, commerce of every kind and there is room for growth. In addition, thousands upon thousands come to the various businesses and workplaces on the Parkway everyday.

So changing anything having to do with the success that has been achieved there is a transition that must be handled with great care.

The mayor is thinking about requiring new design requirements and wants to establish a Parkway Overlay District in order to more closely establish a protocol for future design and development elements destined to change the look and the feel of the place.

The city wants business and development. The mayor is the mover of nearly all major developments to come into the city. So an effort such as that which he is suggesting should be approached with great care.

He also wants a city linkage fee, that is to say, that developers of all new construction along the Parkway would be required to pay a fee for to mitigate the impact of their projects on the city.

That is a sore spot for us.

As disconnected as all the Parkway development appears to be, it is a definite commercial success with thousands of employees as well as shoppers buying millions of dollars in good services week to week, year to year.

In other words, the Parkway doesn’t need to be made into something it can never be by changing zoning.

Rules and regulations can be added to those that already exist but major new development will not appear if the city puts a special tax on it.

So the mayor and his minions at city hall need to be very careful about imposing new taxes on new business seeking a space to operate on the Parkway.

The Parkway is precious as it is as a business community.

It should be left alone.

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