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| By Erin O'Connor Staff Writer AGAWAM - "I was not in opposition but there was information that I needed to get before I offered my vote on it and I was not able to get the information before the meeting," City Council member Robert E. Rossi said to Reminder Publications. Rossi is speaking of a meeting Jan. 29 between the ordinance committee and the zoning review committee, two subcommittees of the City Council, in which they voted to recommend a zoning ordinance that would allow for the designation of a Historic Preservation Overlay District in the city. Other publications reported Rossi as the only committee member to vote against recommending the Historic Overlay. Rossi said he spoke with Reminder Publications in an effort to clear up these reported comments. "For the record," Rossi said. "The minutes of the meeting should clearly indicate that I said before I vote I wanted more information and I would not do that [vote] until I had more information." The Historic Preservation Overlay District originally proposed by members of the Planning Board is an amendment that would alter existing zoning laws for historic parcels of land. "Using 'the old mill' [the former Agawam Woolen Mill] as a specific example, it is going to make that property useable," Chairman of the Ordinance Committee Robert A. Magovern said. "Under the present zoning rules the only thing that the mill can be used for is industrial purposes and it doesn't suit the structure anymore. If converted to a condominium the property can be made marketable and that will give a tax base to the town." "It is more convenient and less costly for them to keep it [structure] than to tear it down," Rossi said. "What concerns me is what adverse effect it will have on the community as a whole. What this ordinance is attempting to do is the Planning Board would take any zone in the town of Agawam where someone determines it a historical structure, they can then use it for the purpose of residential. I don't know where they are coming from with this? It seems a little bit contradictory in terms," Rossi said. "We support any measure that will help preserve a historic structure," David Cecchi, chairman of the Historical Commission, said. "I think of the good it will do for the town it gives us the opportunity to save and utilize historic buildings for new and modern uses and maintain their historical development," Mayor Richard A. Cohen said. "It is very important. It saves the integrity of the building and allows use for modern purposes. There is nothing negative about it whatsoever. It is smart development." Cohen sited Connecticut and Vermont as states in which this method has been used and has been successful. "It increases the value of that building and it has been done in other states," he said. "It works very well in Connecticut and Vermont and in the Enfield Bigelow Commons." "The problem is that we have lost so many properties up to this point," Magovern said. "So many buildings that could have been fitted into something had the zoning allowed. This is a step in the right direction." "If we don't do this then how will we save these buildings," Cohen said. As far as funding for the developments Cohen said; "That is up to the individual developer. We will certainly be willing to develop." The proposed zoning amendment has yet to go before the City Council for a full vote. "It could be opening up Pandora's Box," Rossi said. "What happens when someone wants to turn an old barn into a hotel?" The Historic Overlay is expected to be voted on by the City Council within the next few weeks. |