Tomorrow night, Jan 28, the new director of Comm Devt (she's damned impressive; don't believe the usual carping over at always-good-for-the-cheap-shot TwistedTanners (sorry, TT, your commentship is pretty lame) until you check her out for yourselves) has been invited to talk about the update to the zoning ordinance that has languished several years in City Council committees. (fyi: if you are just now joining the party, the CC doesn't have much of a track record in proactive legislation; they prefer to shoot down other people's ideas rather than standing behind and enacting any of their own. Naysaying being easier than doing real work, as so many bloggers know...)I don't know what the substance is of the proposed zoning for downtown Peabody. I don't see a lot of chat about zoning substance on Peabody blogs. Here's what this downtowner would be looking for:
- Will the zoning create lively, attractive, exciting streets, with commercial land uses that generate pedestrian traffic and SALES?
- Will it be possible to create streets that are pleasant to walk along, instead of 4-lane "car sewers" that are just carrying through traffic to Salem and M'head? (oh, hi, GP, didn't see you there!)
Tell me why, in these economic "tough times," the downtowns of Salem and Beverly (for example) are chock-full of upscale restaurant patrons and shoppers, while Peabody (which has much better roadway access) has dollar stores, check-cashing establishments, Bingo, and insurance office storefronts (hello? don't we all buy insurance online now??). We have every advantage - wide streets, good access, reasonably atttractive buildings, plenty of parking.
Here's what we do NOT have: interesting restaurants; crowd-drawing cultural events (sorry, Peabody Institute Library); art galleries; one-of-a-kind shops; coffee shops with wifi (hey, bloggers!); did I already say interesting restaurants? C'mon City Council - stop hiding behind boring special permits and MAKE IT HAPPEN!
