What is the town’s first priority in developing the commercial district? Is building a commercial tax base the primary goal, or is it providing services for town residents?
The selectmen tackled that question at their meeting this week at the request of the Master Plan Steering Committee, represented by Victor Normand and Selectwoman Lucy Wallace.
For board member Leo Blair, the first priority is providing services. Many residents are drawn to Harvard by its beauty and choose to live here despite the lack of conveniences, Blair said, but there is growing competition from nearby towns with easier access to shopping and other amenities. Blair asserted that houses in Harvard are selling below assessed value in part because people want services they can’t get here.
>
‘We don’t need strip malls’
Selectman Ron Ricci agreed with Blair. “We don’t need strip malls, but we do need services,” he said.
As for building a commercial tax base, board member Stu Sklar remarked that Harvard’s commercial district is not big enough to provide significant tax relief to homeowners, particularly when you consider the increased police and fire protection costs that come with commercial development. There was mention of enlarging the commercial district, but Blair pushed for redeveloping the existing space instead. He said that one small change in the zoning bylaw would provide enough incentive for Hannaford’s to build a grocery store here instead of moving its existing store to another location in Ayer.
What about Devens?
When Normand asked what other issues the selectmen want addressed in a new Master Plan, Blair said the town should get a legal opinion about the disposition of Devens. In recent years, town officials have been operating under the assumption that MassDevelopment’s work is done and that the towns comprising Devens should make plans either to take the land back or relinquish it. But now it appears that MassDevelopment is in no hurry to leave, Blair said, adding, “There’s no point in talking about it if MassDevelopment will be there until 2033.” In particular, Blair wants to know what determines the town’s current jurisdiction over Devens. Residents of the former Army base vote here, he observed, but is Devens part of Harvard or not? “I simply don’t know,” Blair said.
Progress to date
The first phase of creating a new Master Plan was completed in 2012, with the identification of five priority areas for further work in the second phase. According to Normand and Wallace, those areas of interest were Devens, the Ayer Road commercial district, housing diversity, the town center, and conservation.
