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Home My WebLink AboutPublic Comment - Kelley Sarnie - email to Jean Enright over concerns for project - Correspondence - 0 Prescott Street 8/29/2025 8/29/25, 11:25 AM Town of North Andover Mail-Fwd: Prescott-High Street Project Dov gchu' Terri MacNeil<tmacneil@northandoverma.gov> j ....,.,.,.,. ............. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. .....,.,.,.,. ......,.,... Fwd: Prescott-High Street Project 1 message ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jean Enright<jenright@northandoverma.gov> Fri,Aug 29, 2025 at 11:13 AM To:Terri MacNeil <tmacneil@northandoverma.gov>, Justin Lafond <jlafond@northandoverma.gov>, Ron Rudis <rrudis@northandoverma.gov> Hello, Please see the email below. Jean ---------- Forwarded message--------- From: kelley sarnie <doubiekthc:2nd@hotmaiu.com> Date: Wed,Aug 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM Subject: Prescott-High Street Project g g j o: o:nuu t no��t an ororo:un�a. oror<o:nuug t Hoot an ororo:unia.goror> Cc:Andrew Sarnie <asaunio:@hotmaii.c.om> Hi Ms. Enright, My name is Kelley Sarnie. My husband Andrew Sarnie and I live at 39 Prescott Street. We would like to voice some of our concerns to the planning board, zoning board of appeals, historic commission and machine shop village. We are aware of the application for mass housing by RCG. We realize that this application allows them to skip the planning board and ask for the special permit by zoning board of appeals if the state agrees with this development. We are unsure if the state has granted their approval. We also haven't received any notification from the town, and we are direct abutters to this project. We have seen recent work by RCG landscaping company to address drainage areas. We can only assume the state approved it at this point due to recent work. We have obvious concerns being direct abutters, but we have heard from residents on high street, summit, upland and moody street with their concerns of this project as well. My husband and I can only address our concerns. The first has to deal with traffic. We have lived at this address for 12 years now and have seen traffic increase, especially over the past couple of years. We love the machine shop district with the shops and restaurants. Cars drive very fast up Prescott Street. Since the 505 Sutton Street Apartments, the apartments on 125 and Avalon Bay apartments, it is basically impossible to make a left turn from high street onto Sutton street at certain times of the day/evening. The traffic backs up well past China Blossom. Sutton Street should have 2 lanes on both sides at this point if not a light at the intersection. This project by RCG will overwhelm this area. We see they are asking for a parking garage of 390 spaces. We know the mass housing apartments would be 296 units but also another 51 units on other side of garage. These apartments range from studio to 3 bedrooms. There is a high probability that each apartment may have 2 cars. There is not enough parking to accommodate this. We have seen there parking lot full most of the time, minus summer months due to the businesses. Our understanding is there are apartments going up on Main Street/Second Street. This project along with that and the current Avalon apartments impact the Thomson School District, especially during the time that Kittredge is closed. Please do not think we are against mass housing. We are strong supporters of it but feel there is an appropriate amount of space it should have. If you drive down Prescott from 125 the houses on the left have fairly large backyards before there is open space, then the Walker Road apartments. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/O/?ik=fObefc9b3b&view=pt&search=all&permthid=thread-f:l 841803254743670008%7Cmsg-f:1841803254743670008&s... 1/3 8/29/25, 11:25 AM Town of North Andover Mail-Fwd: Prescott-High Street Project We and 47 Prescott Street have smaller yards, both under 0.33 of an acre. We would request a good amount of open space from our lot line to where this project would be. This project puts a large apartment complex about 10 to 20 feet from us. It is just too close. We know a variance will be needed and we will oppose that variance as we feel it is just too close to our property. There are a lot of trees between the current parking garage and our property line. However, most of the trees are dead and have fallen or are leaning on other trees. We get barely 6 months of foliage coverage from the trees, otherwise it is wide open. My husband and I actually mow part of RCG property to prevent overgrowth and brush fire risk. The owners before us also did that as well. They even planted bushes on RCG properties. We do have pictures of this. Another concern is snow removal. They currently make big piles of snow mounds at the end of their property near the end of Prescott Street. If they continue to do this with this development, it becomes a sight line issue especially in the winter. Throughout RCG property, there are signs posted for no snow stockpiling. RCG does not plow their sidewalk up to our property line. It has been like that for the 12 years we have lived here. Only in the past few years have they even gone up to where the trees start. My husband and I snow blow and shovel past our property line to at least the fire hydrant to make sure that is accessible for the fire department during the winter months. The sidewalk on Prescott Street needs to be redone. It does not even extend up to rte. 125. RCG does not take care of the overgrowth and poison ivy from the woods that took over about half of the sidewalk space. One of the town residents recently cleaned up that area, so the sidewalk can be utilized fully. Adding this project affects the historic part of the machine shop village. When we looked at plans during phase 2, the height of the now Avalon on 67 High Street was only supposed to be 3 stories and 1-bedroom units. It was not to exceed the height of the mill building. It definitely is taller, along with the other two on the West Mill side. I am surprised that the historic society would allow this and the fact that its exterior does not fully blend into the district itself. If this project is approved, we hope that the machine shop village district along with the historical society weighs in heavily on design. We have a picture of what the area looked like when the railroad tracks ran through it. A big concern we have is the drainage. This district should not have to go through another flooding like it did before. Even before Avalon was developed, in light rain Prescott Street would start to look live a river going down the sides. When we first moved in, we did not see this. The infrastructure needs to be addressed. It will only get worse. Houses on Moody Street, High Street and other neighborhood streets also recently flood when they did not have that in the past. We recently put an addition on our house. We now know we will not obtain the true value we should for this addition with this project. Our neighbors at 47 Prescott Street recently moved. They lost offers for their house because of this project. It will affect our property values and not for the better. We realize the town is growing. We know there are members of the town that are strong supporters of apartments. My husband and I do not feel every apartment building needs to be built in the same area. This is the town of North Andover not the City of North Andover. We would appreciate it if the town would keep the green space that the Machine shop village has remaining. We appreciate you reading this lengthy email and hope you take our considerations into your decision making. Thanks, Kelley and Andrew Sarnie https://mai l.google.co m/mail/u/O/?i k=fObefc9b3b&view=pt&sea rch=a II&pe rmth id=th read-f:l 841803254743670008%7Cmsg-f:1841803254743670008&s... 2/3 8/29/25, 11:25 AM Town of North Andover Mail-Fwd: Prescott-High Street Project Sincerely, Jean Enright Planning Director Town of North Andover 120 If a'un Street Novth Andover, MA 0'1 845 Phone 978.688.9533 Fax 978.688.9542 Email: ye:nuAght@novthandovevma.gov Web: www.NovthAndoverMA.gov Ol ycid:image001.jpg@010E0F52.F68A5980 https://mai l.google.co m/mail/u/O/?i k=fObefc9b3b&view=pt&sea rch=a II&pe rmth id=th read-f:l 841803254743670008%7Cmsg-f:1841803254743670008&s... 3/3