The Revere Journal has asked each candidate for Ward 3 the following question: The proposed development of increased housing is impacting many neighborhoods of Ward 3. What legislation can you offer in the next two years to meet the concerns of all affected parties?   The following are their responses:
We need to talk to both private and public sectors
By Councillor Arthur Guinasso
It appears to me that increased housing in our community is of major concern for most, if not all, residents. How do we effectively control development? Certainly residential housing is one way to put a stop on it, but bear in mind that this is a broader subject that requires in depth review. A single house can hold up to three families and in the past it would only be one and a three family house up to 6 families or more. Going door to door, walking every street, I’ve noticed several names on single family homes and more on multi-family homes. That is an impact on our city’s development. It has nothing to do with additional growth. We can put a short term moratorium on housing. Short term being a year to give an opportunity to research and come up with a plan. We have to step up our inspection of the usage of homes that display many mailboxes and there are several in our community. Again, it’s a serious issue that we are all experiencing but there are so many variables that exist. One variable is traffic, standing on the corner of Revere Street and Broadway waving to commuters I am able to get a better picture. It is regional traffic that is affecting our community. The city of Revere provides access to the Sumner Tunnel, Logan Airport, the Mystic Bridge and Boston. What I’m noticing is that the heavy traffic is before 9:00 a.m. and then drops considerably until the evening commute back home to cities north of Revere. We need to have conversation with the public and private sector to find out how to best control the development. I will support the wishes of the neighborhood when the occasion arises and continue to be a voice of reason, working for you, Arthur Guinasso, Ward 3 Councillor
Construction of multi-unit housing is a real issue
By Anthony Cogliandro
Construction of multi-unit housing has become a real issue in our community over the last two decades. From the Rumney Flats and Ocean Avenue apartments to Overlook Ridge, Revere has added thousands of new apartments, condos and multifamily homes in each and every neighborhood. Today, we are impacted more than ever by these developments. We now face added traffic, increased classroom sizes, reduced open space and decreased quality of life for our residents. All resulting in long-time residents becoming unhappy and even moving out of Revere.
It’s with this context in mind that I would propose the following:
A six-month moratorium on new residential construction greater than four units in the City of Revere. I would include an exception for both Wonderland and Suffolk Downs (although I’m pulling for Amazon!) so we may finally develop these areas which are long overdue. Then, while on hiatus, I would lobby for the council and city officials to collaborate with residents to create a comprehensive plan for residential development moving forward. The moratorium gives the city a chance to catch its breath and develop a new plan that could contain new guidelines and requirements for developers moving forward while the six-month-only tag on the moratorium lessens the negative impact this will have on our ability to attract top developers.
This problem will never be solved until the underlying issue is addressed. Our current situation did not occur overnight. Over-development is not something that just happened. This has been in the making for quite some time. Fueled by a serious lack of discipline and an inability to think long term. Revere will continue to make the same mistakes until its residents stand up for change and do what is necessary to keep our city moving forward collaboratively with both government and residents joining forces on all issues.
No more welcoming new apartments to the city until we take care of the people that are already here first. You are and always will be my priority.
Please contact me at www.anthonycogliandro.com or call 781-953-6178.
