What's in a Fortnight?

Fortnight in Review

Two weeks, that’s a fortnight. Old English, or olde English depending on your droll factor, gave us the term fortnight from feowertiene niht meaning fourteen nights. Irreverence aside, a 20/20 look in the rear view mirror every two weeks may be just the thing for equanimity.

About two weeks ago residents at town meeting voted to put two school oriented warrant articles (the debt exemption override question for technology and furniture and the Proposition 2 ½ override) on the ballot for a special election June 10. Getting these questions on the ballot, that’s the first hurdle. Passing these items, that’s something else entirely.

Voters also expressed dismay with several development initiatives, including the cell phone tower erected by Verizon for Sprint usage at the south fire station by voting not to grant an easement enabling Sprint to actually use the tower. Another cell tower article died on the floor for a similar reason. Residents denied a development off Pinnacle for townhouses and refused to rezone a small parcel of land on Andover Street, keeping out what promised to be a quaint ice cream stand.

Residents in Tewksbury organized, rallied, and showed that old New England mettle. I love it. This Yankee ingenuity, a sort of stick-in-your-craw way of getting things done, will take this town back from questionable development. If the votes at Town Meeting are any indication, clearly Tewksbury residents know what they want and what they do not.

Does the town need development? Yes. But SMART growth. With the passage of the Community Preservation Act its time to bring back the Master Plan. Perhaps you haven’t heard of the Master Plan, but yes, Tewksbury has one. Completed in 2003, the Master Plan committee developed a comprehensive plan to improve the town through careful development that preserves the comfortable, unpretentious character and semi-rural nature of the town. Readers may view the document online at www.Tewksbury.info and select Master Plan committee from the drop down menu.

If you ever read the posts on Tewksburyissues.org (and if you have not I suggest you run to your computer and check it our right after you finish reading the paper) you may pick up on a somewhat vitriolic vibe against town officials, both elected and appointed. A deep distrust exists from residents toward elected officials; a distrust revealed four years ago in an early report from the Master Plan committee. This lack of trust makes it difficult for residents to discern the kinds of development that fulfills positive objectives in town rather than just contributing to overcrowding in the schools or creating a drain on already scarce resources.

Putting the Master Plan to work, finally, may help the town transition from deep distrust to smart growth. Residents working together to defeat warrant articles at town meeting shows the power of organization and a shared will. However, rejecting growth for the sake of simply rejecting growth rather than a measured, thoughtful approach hurts the town in the long run. Without any kind of growth the town stagnates. Additionally, not resolving our lack of affordable housing also opens the door, legally, to more developments and skeptical planning.

Voters arrived en masse to vote for the school related warrant articles. Voters come out when something important to them personally shows up on the warrant. Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est. Knowledge itself is power. Residents must arm themselves with knowledge because when combined with numbers, knowledge brings about revolutions.

What residents need is unbiased guidance to good growth. What projects make sense? How do we mesh the borders between industrial and residential zones? How do we increase our income without selling out? The Master Plan, researched and written by a fair committee over several years, already tackled much of that work. It’s time for Tewksbury to take out the plan, dust it off, and start putting it to work.