Hamilton Planning Board Open Meetings - Gordon Conwell

Hamilton Planning Board Open Meetings

Hamilton Residents, You’re Invited to the
Hamilton Planning Board Open Meetings:


Tuesday, May 16 | 7:00 p.m. at the Hamilton Library
Tuesday, May 30 | 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Tuesday, June 6 | 6:00 p.m. at the Hamilton Library

 

  • The Town of Hamilton Master Plan Committee recently identified the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary property as the best location for much-needed commercial development in the Town. This has coincided with the Seminary’s desire to sell some or all of its underutilized assets.
  • This has presented the Town with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to increase the Town’s tax base, and the Seminary with the opportunity to secure its own financial future.
  • The Seminary’s use of the property over the years, with almost half a million square feet of buildings, over a thousand people, and hundreds of cars coming and going daily, has demonstrated the ability of the property to coexist peacefully with its neighbors for decades. In addition, it is quite probable that the Seminary will continue to operate on a portion of the property and will have a continuing stake in how the land is developed and used.
  • The Town needs to expand its tax base, through sensible, scalable, flexible, and economically viable commercial development.
  • Thanks to:
    1. The exceptional cooperation and goodwill that the Select Board and the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary have demonstrated during this process. The Town and Seminary recognized early on that the final result can be mutually-beneficial to both the Town and the Seminary;
    2. The attentiveness and wisdom of the Independent Consultants hired by the Hamilton Select Board and the Seminary to determine the “best use” of the property going forward;
    3. The involvement of Abutters and all stakeholders in the consultation process, which included two community meetings;
    4. The hard work of the Planning Board in envisioning a zoning bylaw that is sensitive to the concerns of Abutters and the character of the Town but maximizes the economic benefit to the Town;

There are development options being considered that could generate approximately $2.6 million dollars in tax revenue per year for the Town (which is approximately 7% of the Town’s annual budget).

 They Want to Hear from You!  

  • Please attend the public meetings listed above. Share the ways in which the rezoning process and the expansion of the Town’s tax base would be beneficial to you, your family, and community. You will also be able to fill out a survey for the Planning Board at the end of the meeting on May 16. Your voice matters!
  • Please also write to the Planning Board to express your support of the rezoning process and the expansion of the Town’s tax base. You don’t have to go into a lot of detail; just thank them for their hard work and encourage them to follow the recommendations of the Consultants and be bold in drafting a sensible, scalable, flexible, and economically viable zoning overlay district that best supports the future of the Town and the Seminary. Please address this to the following people and boards: