January 15, 2025

To the editor:

Nomad was buffeted by waves and winds of the modern world. Could it survive the storm? Could “traditional Gloucester” weather the storm? Is it shipping water? Amidst the raging tempest, the sailing ship battled the ferocious waves, its wooden frame creaking under the immense pressure of … Three-family home development? And a strategic plan for the future?

Gordon Baird’s Fishtown Local column of Jan 13, “A Gloucester trance and a Gloucester chance,” paints a dire picture. It’s a tempest!

But it’s really a tempest in a tea cup.

If the MBTA Communities Act/3A multifamily overlay district generates more than 10 new units in a year, that will be a miracle. If the strategic plan is implemented as written, that will be a miracle as well.

Gordon laments that we “Can’t understand why people would not want to give carte blanche to boards and developers that merely strive for more density,” ignoring the reality that the Planning Board listened to the very loud voice of “No on 3A” and created a plan for minimal development (200 new “possible” units) and the City Council passed it. Zoning was already in place for 2-family homes by right, this just creates 3-family homes by right. You still need to jump through all the hoops, requirements, rules and regs. Nothing’s changed. All this does is remove the requirement for (what is normally) a rubber stamp from the Zoning Board. If your project violates any of those complex and restrictive rules and regulations, there are processes in place for neighbors to stop a project dead. All these projects still require building permits which is how you find out what’s going on next door (if you’re too lazy or shy to walk next door and just ask), same process as now. There’s no “carte blanche.”

Gordon also misunderstands the motivations of developers. They want to make money, not create density. That’s why most of the two-family and three-family conversions have happened outside the multifamily overlay district, which is unaffected by 3A. As any developer will tell you, a high-end two-family can generate a much better margin than three low-end units. 3A will not change the economics of development nor the geometry of what you can fit on a “conforming lot.” Again, no “carte blanche.”

“But the change! The CHANGE!” he cries.

Gloucester has been changing for 400 years. From the days of native settlements to a harbor packed with masts of fishing fleets, ringed with tourist hotels, to urban renewal and a scar across the city’s center to today. We’re not some European town pickled by history. We’re not some medieval fishing village. We’re a working city that’s evolving and responding to the needs of both existing and new residents, business and ventures.

Gordon, maybe get out of your becalmed skiff and get yourself a battery wake board with a hydrofoil and take it out in the Outer Harbor some time. The future can be a lot of fun.

Rich Carlson,
Rocky Neck

ARTICLE PUBLISHED HERE