Beach Cleanup, Saturday, March 31 9am-4pm

A beach cleanup will be held at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on March 31 from 9 - 4. 

We have over six miles of beautiful beaches...with just dunes and surf! Come to parking lot #1 at the Refuge (it's at the end of Sunset Drive).

 

Participants in the cleanup will be given bags and offered one of several access points to the beaches. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Newburyport, litter-grabbers will be loaned out on a first-come basis. 

Come for an hour or two and enjoy the scenery while helping preserve wildlife habitats. For more information: Jean Adams, Volunteer Coordinator, 978-465-5753 X 208. 

Those who crawl, fly, swim, walk or wiggle join in thanking you!

Walt Thompson

Conservation Ambassador   

Beach Cleanup Volunteer         

          

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

6 Plum Island Turnpike

Newburyport, MA 10950

 

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/parkerriver/

March 2012: Updates from City Councillor Ed Cameron, City of Newburyport

Updates from City Councillor Ed Cameron, City of Newburyport

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Rezoning: CVS Storey Continues Some More

This rezoning ordinance has been reintroduced by Councillors Connell and Derrivan.  The fresh start was because the Council did not pass the ordinance within the prescribed time limit; the saga started in the last term and is continuing this term.  A change in zoning requires 8 votes of the 11 City Council members.

I’ve said several times that I've gotten more constituent feedback on this than the meals tax, paid parking, wind turbine, and dogs combined.   And I just was asked my opinion last night at Market Basket.  Overwhelmingly the initial feedback was opposed to this change in zoning.   

When this ordinance was reintroduced a few weeks ago, I spoke about why I am against the rezoning based on the current proposal.  I've been open to new information. There are good reasons to support the change particularly as it relates to open space.   It might but good for open space and the current property owners and the developer and the City would get some financial ‘sweeteners’ of approximately $65,000 but I still feel as I did on November 14^th:

the traffic of an intense use on Storey Ave with an in-out only on Storey will be too dangerous

The proposed usage including a drive-thru pharmacy for the rezoned lots is too intensive for an already chaotic intersection.   I don’t think a CVS will bring added traffic to the area.  I don’t think it will be dangerous most times of the day.  But at peak periods of the work day, it is dangerous and it will be made MORE dangerous.  Turn into the Atria at 5:30pm, go down into the property, turn and try to pull out and try to take a left--this will be what like pulling out of a CVS...multiplied by many more cars than go in and out of the Atria or Russell Terrace.  The developer's ideas on traffic mitigation, essentially a suicide lane in the middle of Storey Ave., don’t really address the issue.  As one constituent told me, this proposal turns purgatory into a full-fledged hell.   The developers need to work out another egress.  The most recent news articles seem to indicate they are discussing with the Woodman purchasing land to make that happen.  The most natural egress from the potential CVS to Low Street, the lot of 255 Low Street, was sold in the fall of 2011interestingly, especially since I recall the Minco For Sale sign being there for about 4 years.

Anyway, one of the arguments for the rezoning:

If we don’t do it, a separate developer will move in, make a deal with the Woodmans, and put 150 unit rental units, a 40B project, on Low Street.  My thought: any developer that expects to build units on a property that is largely wetlands next to the notorious and noxious Crow Lane landfill is going to have a tough marketing project ahead.  What will they call it to attract renters?  Stinky Swampy Village might be a more apt name than Seaport Village.  I also have a pop question for any traffic engineers out there: what is going to cause more in and out traffic, a CVS with drive through pharmacy or 150 units of rental housing?

Another argument for the rezoning:

If we don’t do it, Tropic Star will squeeze a CVS on the parcels that are currently zoned commercial.  My thought: If I vote Yes, a CVS gets built.  If I vote No, a CVS gets built.

Another argument for rezoning:

Making these two parcels commercial will ‘harmonize’ the zoning because the area is already overwhelmingly oriented to business.  My thought: This argument ignores the fact that hundreds of people live in the Woodman Way area, the Russell Terrace Area, and the large apartment buildings on Storey and Low.

Like Councillor Cronin, I feel that we need to take a longer harder look at the whole area. I'd be open to something like a zoning overlay or at least a real planning effort around traffic flow and uses.  We need better planning tools for an area which has many contrasting uses.  Surely it would be in Tropic Star and other property owners’ best interest as well.

CVS has sited 354 stores in Massachusetts. Tropic Star has a track history of getting CVS projects approved in places like Amesbury, Salisbury, and Concord, New Hampshire.  And from what I've been able to determine, they are able to grind it out.   I'm sure they can do better than what has been presented so far.

The Daily News article from the beginning of the saga is here.
http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x811213367/Council-blocks-rezoning

LHD: Public Information Forums at City Hall Auditorium

Property Owners in the Proposed Newburyport Local Historic District

Got Questions about the Proposed LHD?  

Get the answers at two

Public Information Forums at the

City Hall Auditorium

1.  Ask the Experts – Monday, 19 March 2012 at 7:00 P.M.

Preservation lawyer Marilyn Fenollosa, preservation consultant Gretchen Schuler, and Massachusetts Historical Commission Director of Local Government Programs Chris Skelly will answer your questions about LHDs in general, preservation law, and additional preservation options among other topics.

2.  Follow-up – Monday, 26 March 2012 at 7:00 P.M.

Informal discussion groups with Study Committee members.

Send in your questions to lhdsc@cityofnewburyport.com or

Local Historic District Study Committee

City Hall, 60 Pleasant Street

Newburyport, MA 01950

Information from the City is at http://cityofnewburyport.com/Planning/lhd.html

Here is the Yes petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-a-local-historic-district-for-newburyport.html

Here is the No petition http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/opposition-to-the-creation-of-a-local-historic-district.html

Vacancies on Municipal Boards

City of Newburyport
Press Release
March 2, 2012

The City of Newburyport seeks interested residents to fill vacancies on several
municipal boards.

Newburyport’s excellence as a community is due in large part to citizen participation in
government and community affairs. Residents serve as volunteers on a wide variety of City
boards, committees, commissions and councils, some of which are listed below:

 Planning Board
 Zoning Board of Appeals
 Licensing Board
 Parks Commission
 Historical Commission
 Conservation Commission
 Community Preservation Committee
 Cultural Council
 Affordable Housing Trust

If you are interested in serving on one of the above municipal boards or any other board,
we encourage you to send a letter of interest with a resume or summary of relevant
experience to:
City of Newburyport
Office of the Mayor
Newburyport City Hall
60 Pleasant Street
Newburyport, MA 01950

Members are appointed as vacancies occur, and letters of interest will be kept on file for
consideration when an opening occurs.

For inquiries please call 978‐465‐4413.

LHD: Public Information Forums at City Hall Auditorium

Property Owners in the Proposed Newburyport Local Historic District

Got Questions about the Proposed LHD?  

Get the answers at two

Public Information Forums at the

City Hall Auditorium

1.  Ask the Experts – Monday, 19 March 2012 at 7:00 P.M.

Preservation lawyer Marilyn Fenollosa, preservation consultant Gretchen Schuler, and Massachusetts Historical Commission Director of Local Government Programs Chris Skelly will answer your questions about LHDs in general, preservation law, and additional preservation options among other topics.

2.  Follow-up – Monday, 26 March 2012 at 7:00 P.M.

Informal discussion groups with Study Committee members.

Send in your questions to lhdsc@cityofnewburyport.com or

Local Historic District Study Committee

City Hall, 60 Pleasant Street

Newburyport, MA 01950

Meals Taxes in Major U.S. Cities

I'm moving to Portland Oregon...only one of the 50 largest cities with no meals tax...

http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/28018.html

March 1, 2012

Meals Taxes in Major U.S. Cities

by Joseph Henchman, Alex Raut and Kevin Duncan

Highest in Minneapolis, Chicago, Virginia Beach, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Fiscal Fact No. 293
Tourists and business travelers quickly learn that taxes on meals are sometimes higher than taxes on other goods. Meals taxes generally apply to purchases of prepared food that are consumed in a restaurant or similar establishment, or taken "to go" for later consumption. In contrast, sales of groceries (or "non-prepared food") are completely exempt from state sales tax in 30 states and the District of Columbia and partly exempt in a further eight states. Meals taxes are usually locally imposed but are sometimes imposed at the state level.
These high "prepared food" taxes are sometimes justified as a "luxury tax" intended to target higher-income individuals, although the wide diversity of takeout dining options suggests that such a tax is poorly targeted to achieve that goal. One could say that it is a tax on individuals with less flexible schedules or who do not like to cook--rich or poor.
Others justify these taxes as tourism taxes, designed to shift tax burdens to business and vacation travelers, similar to high taxes on hotel rooms and car rentals. Because the benefit derived from added economic activity from visitors and travelers probably exceeds the government services they use during their stay, "tourism" taxes are generally bad policy because they shift tax burdens away from those residents who actually demand and benefit from government services.
Regardless of the justification, meals taxes can add significant costs and lead to administrative complexity. For example, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue provides the following examples in attempting to explain which food transactions are subject to sales tax, which are subject to additional meals tax, and which are tax-exempt:

Example: If a restaurant serves a patron a lasagna dinner, then the dinner is taxable.

However, if the restaurant also sells frozen lasagna dinners that patrons heat in their own homes, these dinners are not considered meals and therefore are not taxable because they require additional preparation.

Example: If a patron purchases a pizza and two cans of soda from a restaurant, then both the pizza and sodas are taxable.

However, if the patron purchases a pizza and a two-liter bottle of soda to go, then the pizza is taxable, but the bottle of soda is tax-exempt since it was sold in an unopened original container of at least 26 fluid ounces.

Example: If a restaurant offers a patron, upon presentation of a coupon, two meals for the usual price of one, the price of the free meal is excluded from the meals tax. The tax is due only on the actual amount the restaurant charges the patron.[1]

Those who run restaurants and other eating establishments bear the burden of complying with these often complex rules.
The table below lists the sales tax and meals tax in the 50 U.S. cities with the highest population. Some key findings:

• Thirty-five of the 50 cities do not charge a higher tax on meals than on other goods.

• Visitors to Minneapolis, Minnesota pay the highest meals tax: a combined 10.775 percent rate. Combined rates are also high in Chicago, Illinois (10.75 percent), Virginia Beach, Virginia (10.5 percent), Seattle, Washington (10 percent), and Washington, D.C. (10 percent).

• Visitors to Virginia Beach, Virginia see the highest jump from the regular sales tax to the meals tax: a 110% increase from 5 percent to 10.5 percent.

Table 1: Meals Taxes in the 50 U.S. Cities with Largest Population

Population Rank	City	State	Sales Tax (%)	Additional Meals Tax (%)	Combined Tax on Meals (%)	Combined Tax Rank
1	New York City	NY	8.875%	-	8.875%	18
2	Los Angeles	LA	8.75%	-	8.75%	19
3	Chicago	IL	9.5%	1.25%	10.75%	2
4	Houston	TX	8.25%	-	8.25%	25
5	Philadelphia	PA	8%	-	8%	33
6	Phoenix	AZ	9.3%	-	9.3%	7
7	San Antonio	TX	8.25%	-	8.125%	30
8	San Diego	CA	7.75%	-	7.75%	37
9	Dallas	TX	8.25%	-	8.25%	25
10	San Jose	CA	8.25%	-	8.5%	22
11	Jacksonville	FL	7%	2%	9%	14
12	Indianapolis	IN	7%	2%	9%	14
13	San Francisco	CA	8.5%	-	8.5%	22
14	Austin	TX	8.25%	-	8.25%	25
15	Columbus	OH	6.75%	-	6.75%	45
16	Fort Worth	TX	8.25%	-	8.25%	25
17	Louisville	TN	6%	-	6%	46
18	Charlotte	NC	8%	1%	9%	14
19	Detroit	MI	6%	-	6%	46
20	El Paso	TX	8.25%	-	8.25%	25
21	Memphis	TN	9.25%	-	9.25%	9
22	Baltimore	MD	6%	-	6%	46
23	Boston	MA	6.25%	0.75%	7%	43
24	Seattle	WA	9.5%	0.5%	10%	4
25	Washington	DC	6%	4%	10%	4
26	Nashville	TN	9.25%	-	9.25%	9
27	Denver	CO	4.1%	4%	8.1%	31
28	Milwaukee	WI	5.6%	0.05%	5.65%	49
29	Portland	OR	-	-	-	50
30	Las Vegas	NV	8.1%	-	8.1%	31
31	Oklahoma City	OK	8.375%	-	8.375%	24
32	Albuquerque	NM	6.9995%	-	6.9995%	44
33	Tucson	AZ	9.1%	-	9.1%	11
34	Fresno	CA	7.975%	-	7.975%	36
35	Sacramento	CA	7.75%	-	7.75%	37
36	Long Beach	CA	8.75%	-	8.75%	19
37	Kansas City	MO	7.85%	1.225%	9.075%	12
38	Mesa	AZ	9.05%	-	9.05%	13
39	Virginia Beach	VA	5%	5.5%	10.5%	3
40	Atlanta	GA	8%	-	8%	33
41	Colorado Springs	CO	7.4%	-	7.4%	42
42	Omaha	NE	7%	2.5%	9.5%	6
43	Raleigh	NC	6.75%	1%	7.75%	37
44	Miami	FL	7%	2%	9%	14
45	Cleveland	OH	7.75%	-	7.75%	37
46	Tulsa	OK	7.5%	-	7.5%	41
47	Oakland	CA	8.75%	-	8.75%	19
48	Minneapolis	MN	7.775%	3%	10.775%	1
49	Wichita	KS	9.3%	-	9.3%	7
50	Arlington	TX	8%	-	8%	33

Source: Tax Foundation review of city and state websites.