What makes Harvard town center unique is the balance it has achieved between its various uses: residential, institutional and commercial, over the nearly 200 years since its founding. Finding the right balance is tricky. When does too much commercial impose too much noise, lighting, and odors on the residential uses? When does too much residential dampen the vitality of the commercial and institutional uses? When does too much traffic to the institutional and commercial uses feel congested to the residents?
The town center has become what it is over the past century organically, adapting and reusing its existing buildings. Its uses and density have been controlled by the residents and the community-based institutions that exist here, all of whom care deeply about the town center and want to preserve its character and understand its critical role in the continued vibrancy of the town.
This is a very delicate time for the town center. One of its most important buildings—the General Store—will be sold over the next few months and while change can be good, it can also leave the door open to unintended consequences. Loosening zoning restrictions, as the Town Center Overlay District bylaw proposes to do, may be a well-intentioned effort to bring buildings into conformance and allow for some desired changes, but loosening restrictions at this moment cannot guarantee that the new owners of the General Store building will have the same values or care about the balance the center has achieved.
The first rule of a zoning change should be “to do no harm.” Once this transaction has closed, the Planning Board can bring this zoning change back before a town meeting, but for now I urge the appropriate boards to table this zoning bylaw at the Sept. 27 Annual Town Meeting to be held at noon at the Bromfield School.
Scott Hayward
Elm Street
