Yes, In My Back Yard.
The current struggle between the Claremont apartment project and Sawyer’s Reach neighbors at Colony Place is just another episode of the constant and omnipresent struggle between developers and Not-In-My-Back-Yard (NIMBY) neighbors. Developers seek maximum profit from building housing, while neighbors want to protect their style of life and environment.
This confrontation stifles the natural growth of human habitat in the United States in general and in Plymouth in particular. Plymouth’s population is rapidly growing so the new residential and commercial construction is inevitable. The only question is where and how to build. The State of Massachusetts created the 40B “anti-snob law” that allows developers to build more housing than municipal zoning allows, as long as some apartments are affordable.
Apparently, the Claremont developer was forced to use this law by neighbors’ resistance. Now he will build a denser structure, which will result in greater vehicular traffic, but also with more affordable units. I encountered this irony many times before: the 40B law is developers’ last refuge against local attacks. And they often use it.
Unfortunately, Plymouth developers build on pristine land, cutting trees and destroying the natural habitat. It would be better to build on the already disturbed land such as Mayflower Sand and Gravel on Cherry Steet in North Plymouth. That huge mining operation is a blemish on the Plymouth landscape but should be used more productively to build housing.
Other candidates for environmentally friendly development are Richmond Sand and Gravel at 61 Camelot Drive as well as several sites of industrial operations in Cedarville. Plymouth sits on the thick layer of sand, which is good for natural drainage and construction, but also is good for profit to local landowners who clearcut land to sell sand.
This destruction of the natural environment would be reduced and the construction of housing would be encouraged if the Plymouth Planning Board starts planning instead of bargaining with developers, and if the Town Meeting issues respective bylaws.
Anatol Zukerman