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Super-Pofits or Community Development
Michael Sweeney, Lawrence Planning Director
08/02/06
 The rush for profit sometimes
pushes proper development and public safety to the side.
The desire to please the developer and the interest in
making something happen can run roughshod over a
neighborhood. Protecting Lawrence from improper growth
and hazardous developments should be the concern of local
businesses, residents and newspapers.
Lawrence is facing such a dilemma now as a number of
developers are trying to take advantage of the city and
residents. When developers come in with major projects
for residential units, local government, businesses and
residents must work together to ensure that ownership,
whether of homes or condos, are central components of the
development. What Bob Ansin is doing in the Wood Mill is
an example of a good development project that benefits
the city.
Having developers come in to strip-mine the city for
their personal profit is not the direction to go. Large
residential projects calling for 30, 40 or 50 residential
rental units that target low-income renters is not the
direction for the city of Lawrence to head in. With a
number of church properties recently sold or on the
market, developers only interested in super-profits will
be trying to hypnotize the public with promises of
preserving the “historical” character of the
property, while destroying the character of the
neighborhood.
Working families in Lawrence need more opportunities to
move into residential settings that they have an
ownership interest in. Ownership provides families with a
financial anchor and a passport into the community. Once
ownership enters the equation, a magical transformation
takes places and suddenly the family is more interested
in the neighborhood, the tax rate, the school system and
the crime rate.
Lawrence has reason to be proud of its long history of
being the leader in affordable rental units. We still are
among the leaders in the commonwealth in meeting our
legal and moral obligations to provide affordable rental
units. Now Lawrence needs to take the lead in developing
and providing for residential opportunities that provide
for affordable ownership.
Too many developers are looking to make a quick
super-profit and pack hundreds of low-income rental units
into the city. They are simply looking to maximize their
super-profit and move on to the next money-making
project. The vision for long-term neighborhood success is
not on their radar screen. But it should be on ours.
It’s time for the citizens of Lawrence to demand the
same things those citizens in Newton, Newburyport and
Lowell demand – development that makes long-term
sense for the community.
Young couples and children deserve developments that
provide a path to ownership and equity in the
marketplace. Creating more rental projects that hold
people back from the opportunity to become stakeholders
will hurt Lawrence in the short and long term. Let’s
send a message to developers looking to exploit Lawrence
for super-profits – Just say no!
Some Random Baseball Thoughts
John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil not only
deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, it is a disgrace to
baseball that - because he and other players were denied
the opportunity to play professionally in Major League
Baseball due to racial hatred - he has not been inducted
into the Hall of Fame yet. Baseball has taken a major
step by electing 12 individuals. Let’s get Mr.
O’Neil there before he dies.
Michael Sweeney is the planning
director for the city of Lawrence, a former member of the
Lawrence City Council and School Committee. You can
e-mail Mr. Sweeney at Esqsweeney @aol.com.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The August, 2006 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2006, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 9,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
North Andover,
Methuen, Haverhill, Chelmsford, Georgetown, Groveland,
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Lawrence, Dracut, Tewksbury, Hampton & Salisbury
Beach, and Lowell.
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