Three letters from my neighbors have appeared in your pages expressing opposition to the approval of a 32-unit apartment building at the corner of Middle Road North and Court Street/US Route 7 in Middlebury. This letter is to present a different view.

The project received a tentative go-ahead, at the sketch stage, from the town’s Development Review Board and will be the subject of a hearing in front of the DRB soon. Mr. Phillip Rosenzweig, the developer, and his local architects (Vermont Integrated Architecture) came to a June 25 community meeting held at the Residence at Otter Creek, to show off their plans and answer questions, and on July 2 did the same for the town’s Design Review Committee. The development team have been open about their plans and their reasoning for them and have made modifications based on the input received at these venues. You can see their presentation to the Design Review Committee on-line, at https://tinyurl.com/5n83uuds, and see concerns raised by neighbors.

There are several points I would like to bring out in this letter.

• Some of my neighbors’ concerns have sounded like classic NIMBYism* — “yes we need housing, but it should be somewhere else.” I think the developers have made a good faith effort to find the best currently available location. And the need for reasonably priced housing is very strong in our community. (* “Not in my back yard”)
• I don’t see the building as too massive or out of character for our town. As our town grows it will have some city-like features. The building is similar in size to three other apartment buildings in the same area.
• With the requested setback variance, the building will be the same distance from Route 7 as the nearby pediatric dentistry office.
• Twice on each school day, traffic on Middle Road North is quite congested for 20 minutes or so because of parents driving children to and from the Middle School. I am told that parents fear that the school buses and walking or biking to school are unsafe. (Nonetheless many children do take the bus, walk, or cycle to school.) If the buses really are unsafe or unfairly have that reputation — it seems like ACSD should take action to make them safe and/or reassure parents. I am optimistic that the rebuilt crossing at the entry to the Middle School will increase pedestrian and cycling safety. We should be addressing these issues as a community regardless.
• Go to any of the three existing apartment buildings nearby and watch for 15 minutes to see how much traffic they generate on nearby streets. You will quickly get very bored.
• The two empty lots are zoned commercial. If an apartment house is not built there, before too long some other commercial enterprise will be built — a fast-food restaurant, a bank, a store, an office building, a hotel, etc. The real alternative is not for the lot to remain vacant. Each possible use will have its own profile, including traffic impact.
• The town has a zoning map and zoning regulations, all adopted by a publicly warned community process. If the building meets those requirements, and meets the approval of the Design Review Committee, I don’t know how much flexibility the Development Review Board has to deny its approval.
• The mix of apartment sizes and the amount of parking are, in the judgement of the developer, going to make the building profitable. If he is wrong, the building won’t always be full. That possibility is not a reason for the town to disapprove the project.
• As a climate hawk, I am delighted to see plans for an increase in residential density near the center of town, where those who live in the apartments can walk, cycle or take the TVT bus for many trips that otherwise might require a car. I am also pleased that the building will be all electric and so, will not require any fossil fuels for heat.
• I am pleased at the idea that there will be a pleasant restaurant in walking distance from my house.

Please do pay attention to when the Development Review Board hearing is. Come express your concerns but also express your approval if you like the project and what it will do for the community.

Richard Hopkins

Middlebury