Position III: The Rethinking of the Master Plan

People of Holyoke should familiarize themselves with the current city master plan. The plan was completed in the early 90s, and as of now, it's completely outdated. When it was conceived, there was no Amazon. The marijuana industry was not legal; malls were thriving. Today, many of the suggestions in it seem just simply absurd.

Click here to download it as a PDF.

For instance, on page 49 you can see how Northampton Street from the Kmart Plaza all the way to the Smith Ferry Cemetery is supposed to become a highly commercial/service area, something similar to Memorial Drive in Chicopee. Back in 1992, the people who drafted the master plan did not see value in the lovely period residential buildings on Northampton Street, nor did they think of Nick’s Nest or the Auto Sale Center Inc. as little unique local businesses that add character and stability to the community. Back then, people saw no value in the lovely ride by the river from Wyckoff Park to the Smith Ferry Cemetery. They probably even thought that an auto tires center could take the place of the Canoe Club.

The first thing that the new Mayor and City Council must do is tackle the plan and make it contemporary and realistic.

The proper development of the Flats is particularly important. The city’s challenge is to harmoniously develop the neighborhood with a balance of agricultural buildings, industry, arts and entertainment, and a mixture of affordable and market-price dwellings.

We need to monitor landlords. Never again should people die in fires in poorly maintained apartment buildings. We should attract companies like Winn Development, which is refurbishing part of the Farr Alpaca Complex at 216 Appleton St. to create seniors’ apartments. We need to praise and support visionary landlords like Dennis Luzuriaga, who has created a wonderful model with the Cubit.

We must make Holyoke a city for all.