Open for Business Breakfast Event

On Thursday May 30th, the Town of Harvard and the Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce will partner to co-host a first ever Open for Business Breakfast in Harvard Town Hall. This event, to be held between 8:00 am and 10:30 am, will feature several notable speakers, and have a full and exciting agenda for anyone with an interest in doing business in Harvard, MA.

The Open for Business Breakfast (OFBB) has several purposes related to the business landscape and climate in Harvard, MA. First, it's an opportunity for me, Christopher Ryan, as Harvard's Community and Economic Development Director, to introduce myself to the business community and other stakeholders interested in the Harvard economy. You will learn about initiatives within the Town that relate to economic development. The Harvard economic development function is featured on a set of new web pages being developed by the department. Just a few of these initiatives that will be noted include:

Photo Credit - See link here

• Open Space Residential Design - significant improvements to existing bylaw
• Rural Life Special Permit - A targeted business opportunity for unique properties
• Ayer Road Corridor Vision Plan and Bylaws
• Several other reveals

Second, you will hear from Melissa Fetterhoff, President & CEO of the Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce regarding what the Chamber can do for you as a member. We also have officials from State agencies sharing how they can assist large and small businesses. Paul Matthews from the 495 Metrowest Partnership will talk about our regional economy, real estate market, and key trends. A full list of speakers includes:

• Melissa Fetterhoff, IOM; President & CEO, Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce
  
• Kelly Arvidson; Vice-President for Business Development, MassDevelopment 
• Peter Milano; Regional Director, Mass Office of Business Development or MOBD
• Paul F. Matthews; Executive Director, 495 Metrowest Partnership

Third, we invite you to share any news or a recent story about your business and you can hear stories from other businesses in Harvard as inspiration or as a potential market connection. We hope you can join us, and if you have a 2018 success story for us, let me know and I'll put you on the agenda. We'd like to hear from up to five local businesses who have a success to share.

Most of all, the OFBB it is an opportunity to network, meet people who could help your business, and maybe start to form a more formal and impactful business network in Harvard. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at cryan@harvard.ma.us or 978-456-4100 x323 anytime.

#harvardopenforbusiness

NYTimes.com: From Apples to Popcorn, Climate Change Is Altering the Foods America Grows

A very informative and alarming article from The New York Times today. As I grew up with both Montmorency cherries and red raspberries, I'd hate to have to go to Sakami, Quebec, Canada for my fruit. While genetic modification seems a good short-term business approach, trying to keep ahead of both new pest threats and greater weather unpredictability with GMOs is likely to ultimately fail. Have a read.

From Apples to Popcorn, Climate Change Is Altering the Foods America Grows

"In every region, farmers and scientists are trying to adapt an array of crops to warmer temperatures, invasive pests, erratic weather and earlier growing seasons."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/dining/farming-climate-change.html

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

If you think it's tough here....

No doubt that California faces many challenges that we can't even fathom here in Massachusetts. Needing to consider earthquakes and fires in building codes is just one set of problems. Yet now, their housing crisis has led to consideration of eliminating single-family zoning statewide. Consider that just for a minute...with this legislation (SB4), any single-family home could legally be converted into a fourplex.  The LA Times article also mentions Minneapolis, Charlotte, Seattle, and Portland having moved in this direction or considering it. However, as progressive and well-meaning as this type of proposal is, there could be huge repercussions or unintended consequences.

Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times

First of all, certainly there have to be limitations imposed by wastewater systems, correct? So only parcels where there is public sewer, a septic tank able to serve four units, or land with the ability to hold such a unit, could such a conversion occur. Water service is also an issue that interacts with wastewater and that must be a factor that guards the gate.

Second, what about parking? Will such parcels become a sea of asphalt in accommodating up to eight or more vehicles? More paved area means less impervious surface and more stormwater runoff.

Third, I can only wonder at the response of the mortgage banking, insurance, and other related markets at how this proposal might impact their industries. Now on one hand, why should sensitivity be had for industries that historically redlined neighborhoods and developed practices that promoted racial segregation? Yet much of our wealth building at the family level relates to home ownership, and any major shift could have a major impact on this key asset in a family portfolio.

Fourplex zoning isn't just saying you allowed one unit on a lot and we're merely changing the density from one to four. That is simplistic and not respectful of the range of criteria that should be considered at that density. Things such as common area, the complexities of condominium-ization that the parcels surely will have to undergo, solid waste container storage, school bus capacities, and much more. Many places, including eastern Massachusetts, are experiencing a housing crisis, but solutions need to be better formulated than this proposed legislation.

Here is the link to the article: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/livable-city/la-ol-sb50-single-family-20190424-story.html

One More Chance to Participate in Harvard MVP Workshop

Residents of Harvard and other stakeholders have one final opportunity to attend a workshop and provide ideas regarding how the Town should address the impacts of climate change. After hearing from both the agricultural community and a wider representation of citizens on what hazards are likely to befall Harvard from climate change, this Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness or MVP workshop is the best chance to debate what local assets should be our focus and what steps the Town should take to protect those assets.

Think of this process as a risk management problem. How would an actuarial determine risk related to automobile accidents, risk of catastrophic health issues, or storm damage to your home? Think of this in the same terms. Wouldn't you want to protect your home, life, and car with insurance? The MVP program is a rough equivalent to climate insurance for the community. We need to be aware of the likely risks, take an inventory of our most important assets that could be impacted by the hazards, and then take steps to protect the assets or intelligently adapt to the inevitable.

Assets are multifold and are both private and public. They include our homes and land. They include the trees and soil on our land. If we farm, it includes all of our fields, farm buildings, and other assets. It includes roads and streets, storm drains and culverts, dams, municipal buildings, power lines, parks, ballfields, and school playgrounds.

While we do not have many local business properties, the ones we have could also be at risk to flooding or other storm damage due to the greater frequency and intensity of storm events in the future. So hopefully you have a few hours on Thursday evening to join us and express your concerns and provide ideas regarding what we should do. The ideas that we generate will not only help us identify what we should protect, these ideas and the report that they will be contained within will be the ticket we need to be eligible for further state funding under the MVP program. For more information on our MVP project, please go to our web page at this link.

Also please help us gather more information by taking our brief survey at this link. If you can't attend our meetings, at least take the time to complete the survey.

Certainly this isn't the last time that we will be talking about this threat to our community, but at this stage, we can be more proactive and less reactive. People concerned about climate change as it may impact us here locally but also how it may have wider implications, can get involved in a variety of different initiatives. But first, consider visiting a few sites that have great information regarding the issue:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - Download the reports. Admittedly this stuff is dense and not summarized well but if you want the latest science from the best source, this would be it.
• EPA Overview of Climate Change
• NASA Summary of Evidence
• Stanford University/Stephen Schneider Outreach Page

 As noted above, there are a variety of ways that citizens can get involved beyond attending our workshop or filling out the survey. You can participate in a range of organizations from the local to the global:

• Bolton Local - Interestingly, the very first "local" was the Harvard Local, which inspired Groton, Ayer, Bolton, Concord, and others. Check Bolton out, and consider reviving the Harvard Local.
• Massachusetts Climate Action Network
• MassAdapt
• More Than Scientists 
• 350.org

 If you have any questions about Harvard's MVP project, what comes next, or anything related to climate change initiatives, please don't hesitate to contact me at cryan@harvard.ma.us or 978-456-4100 x323.

Site Visit to Sherborn's Abbey Road Highlights Quality Over 55 Development

Tucked away behind two pocket parks and the old library is a recent development of over 55 multi-family housing that exhibits a number of features that could be successfully replicated elsewhere. The 18 units include 15 attached townhomes in three unit buildings, a pair of units in a reproduction of the old Peace Abbey Parsonage building, and a single unit occupying the old library, a brick structure on North Main Street.

Described by the developer as a "pocket neighborhood" and walkable to the town center, the Abbey Road development has a comfortable density of 12.6 units/acre and features rear entry garages and a common green where most of the units directly face.

Architectural design was a very important element in the development program and as described by the project website, was "...inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, which revived traditional artistic craftsmanship and was inspired by nature, incorporating themes of simplicity, honesty, and function."  While many suburban Boston communities do not feature a wide range of architectural styles, certain English and American historical styles could be complementary and that is one reason that Abbey Road's design works well in Sherborn Center.


I've maintained that two key impediments to the acceptance of multi-family residences is lack of thoughtful architectural and site design. Poor building design that often features garage doors as a major facade element and little thought not only to the architectural style of the host community but also architectural awareness of the classical styles that would complement the existing stock. Site design is often purely an exercise in fitting a specific site as cost effectively as possible with little thought of how the development can be integrated into the existing "urban" fabric of the community. While not exactly "woven" into the street and sidewalk network of Sherborn, Abbey Road works because it is connected to the pedestrian network through the Peace Park, which was a part of the Peace Abbey when it was operational.

Civico Development and Fenix Partners was the development team behind Abbey Road. Abbey Road was recognized in 2019 for professional excellence by the National Association of Homebuilders Builders (NAHB) with two coveted Best of American Living Awards in Las Vegas. The Abbey Road Development team was awarded four awards: Platinum for Best Multifamily up to 3 Stories, Gold Awards for Best 55+ Community, and Multifamily Community, and Gold Award for Historic Preservation/Restoration. Please see their website for more information.

Housing for Grandparenting

The following link is from the AARP Livable Communities site related to housing that is designed for grandparents and grandparenting.  It is an interesting read related to the goal of creating a lifecycle supply of housing for Harvard.

AARP article at this link.