Plymouth voters face some tough choices on March 13. The most difficult of these might be the easiest for some. Article 4 is an attempt by a group of citizens to ‘clarify’ language of a zoning law created in the late 1980’s that created a protected area in Plymouth called the Environmentally Safe Zone (ESZ) that could only be built on under special conditions. The problem for some is that the clarification opens the way for big-box developers to come in.
“It comes down to the kind of town people want to have,” said Barry Walker, the Town Administrator. The debate comes down to a single word, “incidental.” The Environmentally Safe Zone is not pristine, explained Walker, and the language of the law says that developers can build as long as the impact is “incidental.”
The word is not defined by the state legislature because they want towns to vote and create their own definitions for it. Those in favor of a “Yes” vote on Article 4 want to go by the legal definition of “incidental,” which means “second usage”, according to Walker. Those against it prefer the social definition of “minimal.”
Developers who want to put a Lowe’s near Tenney Highway have stirred debate over this. The Lowe’s project would use 16 of the current 77 acres of Environmentally Safe Zone, and by law, any project in this zone cannot raise the level of the Baker River by a centimeter or more. To mitigate the flood zone, developers would have to excavate 220,000 cubic yards of earth. To many, this might not fit the social definition of “incidental.” Developers did promise, though, that 64 acres would be put into managed conservation area.
Paul Wilson, an adjunct professor of the Math Department, and member of Plymouth’s Conservation Commission, expressed worries about this land being used in this manner. “Many of us in town are deeply concerned because of two reasons: first, the ESZ along the Baker River contains the town’s aquifer (that’s where Plymouth’s well draws its water from), and second, the land in the ESZ along Tenney Mountain Highway is under a great deal of attention from big-box store developers,” he said. The Planning Board and the Water and Sewer District stand together with the Conservation Commission in opposition of Article 4.
In response to the aquifer fears, Walker said, “Those aquifers are so far down that it won’t affect them, studies have shown that.” According to the studies, Walker continued, the effects only percolate about 14 feet down; and the aquifers are well below that.
“The master plan of the Tenney Mountain Highway,” Walker said, “was for it to be commercial. Nobody really anticipated the big box stores. That’s the way the economy has gone, though.”
It really does come down to the kind of town people want to have. People who favor a small town, with local businesses, probably want to vote against Article 4; whereas those who want to introduce businesses like Lowe’s, and similar restaurants and retail outlets, probably want to vote for it. Anyone who is a registered voter in the town of Plymouth can cast their vote on March 13.