The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Sept. 27

The forces behind Sean O’Donovan’s withdrawal of zoning amendments allowing a 200 unit condominium at the old Max Pak factory site are misguided.
  A massive building of luxury condos would have raised important questions over traffic and environmental impact in the surrounding neighborhoods. But those questions should have been addressed in a public forum with all sides represented. Instead, the zoning has been withdrawn under unknown circumstances with nary a word from the good alderman.

  The story of Max Pak development should not end here, with nothing, after almost three years of community meetings, shrouded in mystery and a single angry neighbor. It shouldn‚Äôt and it won‚Äôt.  With land in the Boston area at a premium, 5 acres of wasted land in Somerville will always be in play. Here, with KSS owners Stephen Kennedy Smith and Darren Sammaweera, we had a developer willing to go through years of neighborhood meetings, agreeable to compromises and enthusiastic to become a Somerville proprietor.
   The development would have: significantly increased the city‚Äôs perpetually struggling tax base; offered a percentage of the units as affordable for local residents;  cleaned-up an ugly pollutant lying in the middle of one of our communities; created more than an acre of open/recreational space, and, enhanced the bike path. And with a Kennedy as a city landowner, do you think the Green Line would have been far behind?
  These benefits may have been outweighed by neighborhood concerns over traffic on the Lowell Street Bridge and increased density in the Northeast‚Äôs most densely populated city. But a significant portion of the neighborhood had yet to make up their mind and they should have been given the opportunity to do so. Instead on Thursday, Ward 5 Alderman Sean O‚ÄôDonovan withdrew amendments he filed in the Summer at which time he said, ‚ÄúI‚Äôm supporting this for public discussion.‚Äù Too bad it never happened.