The Danvers Herald reported in its June 19, 2008 paper that Selectman Gardner Trask will spearhead the formation of a permanent affordable housing subcommittee, after getting the go-ahead from Danvers selectmen on June 17th. Trask told the Board that the 2010 U.S. Census is likely to tabulate a larger population for Danvers, which means the town may need to provide more affordable housing.
Danvers reached the 10% affordable threshold last year, which means that it is currently immune to Chapter 40B developments. The results of the 2010 census could require Danvers to add an estimated additional 70 units of affordable housing.
The selectmen agreed to the formation of the Affordable Housing Planning Committee of about a dozen members, including 3 citizens. The selectmen also agreed to send a letter to the Danvers Zoning and Planning Boards, and the Danvers Diversity Committee to encourage them to look for opportunities to encourage affordable housing so that the town can meet the anticipated threshold.
July 17, 2008
Danvers Affordable Housing
May 5, 2008
Rail Trail Continuing to be Debated
The Tri-Town Transcript is reporting that the proposed rail trail, a 26-mile trail to run from Salisbury to Danvers, is continuing to be debated by committies and town selecteman.
April 21, 2008
5 North Shore Development Projects Aimed at Boosting Economy
The Salem News reports that there are 5 major development projects in the works in the North Shore aimed at boosting the local economy:
- $106 million Salem court construction
- Northshore Mall expansion in Peabody
- $15 million Bridge Street bypass road in Salem
- Health Care Expansions in Danvers & Peabody
- Beverly waterfront transformation
March 19, 2008
Crane River Dredging in Danvers
According to the Danvers Herald article, the last time these rivers were dredged was in 1983. Since then, environmental laws have changed significantly. The project stalled until last summer, when the town won permission from the federal Army Corps of Engineers to put the spoils in the state’s ocean disposal site. This brought the price tag down from an anticipated $4 million for trucking the material to a certified land site to $1.6 million for ocean disposal. The state, through the Seaport Bond Council, is paying about half the cost.
March 4, 2008
28-mile Bike Trail to Run From Boxford Through Newburyport
According to the Georgetown Record, MassHighway is moving forward on a proposed 28-mile bike trail set to run through Georgetown, agreeing to perform and fund 25% design work on the Border to Boston Trail. The trail will run on top of the historic and abandoned Maine to Boston railway, running from Salisbury to the Danvers/Peabody border. The proposed trail is set to run through Boxford, Danvers, Georgetown, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, Topsfield and Wenham.
The trail has been earmarked for $800,000 of federal safety funding to do the design work, secured by U.S. Rep. John Tierney in 2005. The final cost to complete the 25% design work is expended to exceed nearly $1 million, but MassHighway hopes to be able to provide the balance of funds needed for the project. MassHighway has begun the process of hiring a qualified consultant for the design, which is expected to be complete by the summer of 2009.
Read the entire Georgetown Record article.
December 21, 2007
Rail Trial Bike Path Discussions
The Tri-Town Transcript reports that Topsfield residents are discussing the construction of a bike path to run through Topsfield and possibly connect Salisbury to Danvers. Topsfield’s local access cable channel wants to feature a debate with representatives from the town’s rail trail committee and a grassroots neighborhood organization, formed in July, which has been critical of the plan. The town’s rail trail committee was formed to oversee the transformation of a 4-mile section of an historic railroad into a rail trail for bikers, walkers, or horseback riders.
Read the entire Tri-Town Transcript article
Homes of Deaf Mansion to Become Senior Condos in Danvers
According to the Salem News, the New England Homes for the Deaf will sell its brick landmark Water Street mansion to a local developer, Thomson Companies of Danvers, who plans to construct as many as 14 senior condominiums within the historic building. The building was originally constructed in the 1850’s; developer Gordon Thomson also stated that the P&S included approximately 8 acres of adjacent land for an 8-lot single-family housing subdivision
Read the entire Salem News article
December 12, 2007
Danvers Planning Board Has Full Schedule
The continuation of a public hearing regarding the proposed Route 114 senior housing complex, called Lebel’s Grove, is just one of the agenda items scheduled for the December 11th meeting of the Danvers Planning Board. Another public hearing will be held for a proposed development at 31 Elliott Street; that developer is looking for site plan review and a special permit to construct 20 single-family homes for the 55 and over community. Rounding out the evening is a 3rd public hearing for a proposed CVS store, to be constructed in Endicott Plaza at 139 Endicott Street. The meeting will be held at 7 pm in the Daniel J. Toomey Hearing Room at Town Hall.
Pictures Don’t Tell the Whole Story in Danvers
According to the Danvers Herald, a four-page full color mailing and neighborhood meetings did not smooth the path for the developer of Lebel’s Grove at the November 27th zoning change public hearing. The 291-unit senior housing complex drew an opposition crowd of about 50 to the Danvers Senior Center, where both citizens and Planning Board members questioned the impact of the Route 114 development and the related zoning amendment proposed by Attorney Nancy McCann. That amendment would create a new zone, Residential IIIB, allowing 6 multi-family units per acre. Comments centered on traffic, water shortages, density and possible impact on school population. The meeting, which was being taped for absent-due-to-illness Planning Board Member Ron Baser, adjourned without conclusion when the video tape ran out. The hearing will resume as part of the regular Planning Board agenda on Tuesday, December 11th.
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
December 10, 2007
Plans to Rebuild Danversport Marina Put on Hold
The Danvers Herald reported that a recent Liberty Marine plan to build a 41-foot building to replace two destroyed in the Danversport explosion last year, was put on hold due to demands for multiple fire lanes imposed by neighbors and the town.
The marina sits on one of the prettiest pieces of waterfront property, along the Waters River, which is deep and doesn’t suffer the silting and dredging problems of the other three rivers in town — the Danvers, Porter and Crane rivers.
The owner of the marina, Jim Cheever, testified at the September 10th Zoning Board of Appeals hearing that for the past 15 years, he and his wife have been good neighbors, serving 250 or more boaters each year in a safe manner and that there is and has been a 30-foot buffer zone between the marina and the Bates Street back yards.
The couple won ZBA approval for the new building to replace a former 39-foot 6-inch storage/office building destroyed in the explosion. The new building would have 12,600 square feet, slightly less than the former building. Its higher peak allowed for a fire sprinkler system, which the former building did not have. There were no plans to replace the second building immediately.
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
Danvers Tax Rate Increases for Residents
The Danvers Herald reported that residential tax rates will increase from 10.19 to 10.42%. According to a report by Chief Assessor Marlene Locke, average single-family homes have decreased in value by 6.5%, so individual’s property taxes should not change significantly.
Business rates will decrease from 1.42 to 1.36% and the commercial tax rate decreased from 16.74 to 16.03%. Unlike residential property values, commercial property values remained the same this year, said Locke.
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
November 17, 2007
Verizon Pitches Danvers for TV License
The Danvers Herald reports that Verizon is seeking to be the 2nd cable TV in Danvers. Currently Comcast is the only company licensed by the Town to provide cable services; without a license, Verizon cannot provide the service. Verizon would offer fiber optic lines, or FIOS, and it could package TV service with Internet and telephone.
Amongst the concerns of the Town Selectmen are to be sure any license holder provided the service to every person in town, not just to those living in the more congested areas; that every public building and school had the service; and that a percentage of the fee went to the local community access TV (DCAT).
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
November 14, 2007
Danvers Plans for Plains Railroad Station on Hold
The Danvers Herald reported plans in Danvers to move the Plains Railroad Station are currently on hold; Salem Five Bank has now decided not to give the necessary land to the Danvers Preservation Fund, Inc.
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
November 7, 2007
Route 128 Noise Barriers in Danvers Planned
The Danvers Herald reports that discussions of noise barriers along Route 128 in Danvers, spanning the area between the High Street and Elliot Street exchanges, have progressed to the point of addressing what types of appearances residents prefer, as plans to improve the safety of the highway are set in motion.
The noise barriers are a component of a much bigger venture − the Route 128 Safety Improvement Project, a two-phase plan expected to cost the state a total of $65 million and span approximately five years, with construction likely to begin in 2009. The noise barriers constitute just over $5 million dollars.
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
November 6, 2007
Affordable Housing in the North Shore
According to the Salem News, here is a breakdown of affordable housing percentages in many of the North Shore Communities:
Beverly 11.5%
Boxford 0.7%
Danvers 10.4%
Hamilton 3.3%
Ipswich 8.2%
Manchester 4.7%
Marblehead 3.8%
Middleton 4.2%
Peabody 10.4%
Salem 13.2%
Swampscott 3.6%
Topsfield 5.4%
Wenham 8.9%
Read the entire Salem News article
October 30, 2007
Thompkins Building Plans Tentatively Approved
The Danvers Herald reports that the Danvers Planning Board tentatively approved renovation plans for the former Tompkins Company building at 49 Maple Street in Danvers.
The approved site plan for the building, which contains an extensive list of stipulations, would renovate it into a 2-story modern looking complex of 10,680 square feet of leasable space − the first floor designated for retail use, including the potential for restaurants, and the second floor for professional office space.
Read the entire Danvers Herald article
Danvers Board denies Chapter 40B Permit for 71 Condos
The Salem News reports that the Danvers Board of Appeals denied a permit for developer Michael Demerjian to build 71 condominiums off Route 114.
Demerjian’s designs were to build on 10 acres at the former site of Natalie's restaurant and the Rio Grande Café. The project was to be built under the State’s Chapter 40B permitting regulation, a state law that allows developers to bypass most local zoning regulations if they set aside a portion of their project for affordable housing.
The development would have added 18 affordable units priced at $157,700.
Read the entire Salem News article
October 27, 2007
Danvers Planning Board to Examine Industrial Zone Activities
The Danvers Herald reported on September 27, 2007 that the Danvers Planning Board will use an internet-based survey tool, known as Survey Monkey, to obtain public input regarding the types of activities which should be allowed in Industrial-1 zones. The Board, which plans to pursue a “dual” process by analyzing and recommending use and dimension changes to the existing I-1 zone guidelines and using overlay districts to encourage new uses which would be more acceptable in residential areas, has not decided if they will limit the survey to the Danversport and upper Danvers Square areas or extend it to I-1 areas throughout the town.
Industrial 1 is the most lenient of all zones, and includes the area off Water Street in which the CAI and Arnel plants were located. It is believed that these factories were the source of a massive explosion last November, which destroyed many Danversport homes and businesses.
The Board plans to provide more information regarding the survey in an upcoming edition of the Electric Division’s monthly newsletter, which is mailed to every household and business.
Senior Housing One Step Closer in Danvers
On September 27, 2007, the Danvers Herald http://www.danversherald.com reported that an over-55 housing development is one step closing to construction, after the Danvers Zoning Board of Appeals approved the zoning relief needed for the Thomson Companies to build 20 new single-family homes off Elliott Street, along the Porter River. According to the September 27, 2007 edition of the Danvers Herald, the ZBA will allow construction of multiple structures on a single lot with only 87 feet of frontage. The 2,000-2,400 square foot homes, which will be priced at about $500,000.00, will have a “condominium ownership arrangement”. Attorney Nancy McCann said that the development “is a unique project for Danvers”, providing an alternative to apartment-style condominium housing, and reminded readers that “over 1/3 of the population of Danvers is over 55.”
The developers will provide access to 3½ acres of green space at the end of the proposed cul-de-sac, including 2 parking spaces in a gravel lot and walking trails, all to be maintained by the condominium association. The project still requires approval by the Danvers Conservation Commission.
Danvers Building Permits, October 1−22
The Danvers Herald posted a list of all the Building Permits issued by the Town of Danvers from October 1st to October 22nd.
Click here to link to the article