08/03/2022
A final update regarding the Institution for Savings expansion to its State Street headquarters in downtown Newburyport. As reported in today's Daily News, Respect Our Historic Neighborhood (ROHN) will not appeal the Planning Board's July 6 decision to permit the expansion due to high legal costs. Construction will begin in June 2023.
For more detailed information on the history of the expansion effort, check out our news release below. Thanks to everyone citywide who supported us since January 2020. If there is a silver lining in all this, it's that people got more involved in their local government. Let's keep it up.
NEWS RELEASE:
Respect Our Historic Neighborhood (ROHN) will not appeal the July 6th Newburyport Planning Board decision approving the Institution for Savings’ 16,000 square-foot, 2-story addition to its State Street headquarters abutting a small historical residential neighborhood along Otis Place, and Prospect and Garden streets. The group had 20 days to appeal the decision in the Massachusetts Land Court.
The citizens’ grassroots organization, informally known as ROHN and founded in January 2020, will not appeal due to the expected high cost of litigation. ROHN will continue its work to encourage Newburyport citizens to engage in local government to preserve the city’s historic character.
“For Newburyport to flourish and thrive as a historic seaport town and tourist destination, it is imperative to preserve the historic downtown from becoming collateral damage to overexpansion by banks and other businesses,” said Pete Mackin, a ROHN member and direct abutter. “After more than two years of public hearings and litigation, we are disappointed with the planning board’s decision, the bank’s actions from day one, and the city administration’s disregard for its residents. We are, however, looking forward to continuing to encourage Newburyporters to engage in local government on situations that matter to them and to the city. There are so many opportunities to make a positive impact,” said Mackin.
The IFS filed initial plans for the expansion in January 2020 without informing or seeking input from abutters, prompting the neighborhood to form ROHN and mount a sustained effort challenging the bank’s plan. In March 2021, after exhaustive research and review by the Historical Commission and the Planning Board, the Planning Board denied the bank’s expansion plans citing that it was too large and did not meet the Downtown Overlay District ordinance (DOD) regulations that protect historic neighborhoods. The bank then sued the city seeking to overturn the planning board’s decision and to dismantle the Newburyport DOD.
On the land court judge’s recommendation, the city and IFS agreed to settlement discussions with the city’s negotiation team, which included: former mayor Donna Holaday, who spoke in favor of the IFS expansion before the planning board – the first time in her 11 years as mayor; then-Ward 2 city councilor Jared Eigerman, who wrote the DOD, and current city council president Heather Shand. The team ultimately agreed to pre-mediation concessions with the IFS prior to negotiations. Specifically, the city would not challenge the size of the addition nor use input from the Historical Commission. This was revealed by the bank’s attorney, Adam Costa of Newburyport’s Mead, Talerman and Costa, during the June 1 public hearing.
“This important fact was not revealed in the formal proposed settlement agreement document and not shared with the general public,” said Mackin. “Such lack of transparency undermines citizen trust in Newburyport city officials.”
The proposed settlement was rejected by the city council in November 2021. In April 2022, however, city council president and litigation negotiation team member Shand issued an order for the council to vote a second time and send the same settlement back to the planning board. The current council voted in favor of delegating it to the planning board to decide. The planning board, with four new members, ultimately approved the settlement on July 6, 2022.
