To the Editor:
I would like to commend the Marion Planning Board for how they handled last Monday night’s meeting with CVS. It was a packed Music Hall filled with opposition to CVS moving the Captain Hadley House and building a 12,900 square foot building on that corner lot. After hearing and reviewing the CVS proposal, the Planning Board got it. Chairman Kokkins set the tone by pointing out that the size was too big for the location (four times the size of Cumberland and five times the size of Dunkin’ Donuts) as well as changing the “gateway to Marion” by moving an historic building. Traffic, congestion, drainage, parking, and curb cuts all exacerbate a difficult corner already congested by the Cumberland Farms traffic nightmare. And who knows what the 40B project will add to traffic in that area.
Each member spoke up about how they felt and what issues were of concern. Eileen Marum pointed out that CVS corporate is moving overseas. Robert Lane stated that we have no assurance about the occupancy of the building should CVS abandon it and we end up with a vacant building like the old Cumberland Farms. Ricco Ferrari urged residents to get involved in the Master Plan process. He pointed out that Route 6 today is not reflective of the character of Marion.
We need to attract good, small, local businesses with proper zoning and planning and stop just fighting the formula stores we don’t want. I hope that all who showed up Monday night will continue to show up and be part of the planning process.
Sincerely,
Margie Baldwin, Marion
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.