The Sharon Commons mall was sold to the town as a pedestrian-friendly, upscale, New England village lifestyle mall. They said it would be a unique destination. It has morphed into a conventional big-box me-too mall, anchored by another Target like the Target in N. Attleboro, the Kohl's at the Walpole Mall, or the Marshall's at Cobb's Corner. The ZBA deserves a lot of credit for holding them at least to the "pedestrian-friendly" aspect of their original proposal.

Well Paul I do agree with you but... I think actually what happened is that the ZBA did exactly what Target's corporate managment wanted done at this point in time - kill the deal -without having to do it themselves. Whoever heads up the hew store development in this area was probably called on the carpet and given a new back hole regarding the slowness of getting this project off the ground. Top Management figured that they would cut their losses by making this out of left field request that they knew would never fly. It takes most of the heat off of them and makes the ZBA look like the bad guys. Just another example of how corporate America really works.

Alan, you might be right, but the Target representative at the ZBA meeting seemed quite exasperated with the ZBA decision. Trying to shoehorn a big box department store into a pedestrian-friendly lifestyle mall is creating the friction we witnessed at the ZBA meeting. The Sharon ZBA deserves a lot of credit for insisting on the kind of pedestrian-friendly mall the developers presented back in 2007.

Target has learned that Sharon is unfriendly to business and we all pay for our foolish ways . HELP !

The town of SHARON is run people who shoot down any business and that is why the taxes are so high that I HAVE TO MOVE !

Sharon Patch does not provide fair coverage of town issues !

sooooo....what's the reason that the state won't allow and exit, on and off of 95, to gain access to the commons via the highway?

Todd,

That's news to me. When did that come up?

Michael...I'm asking if the state would be open to the idea of an onramp and offramp specifically to the Commons off of the highway. I assume someone must have brought that possibility up and it was shot down for some reason or another..it seems like a simple fix to the problems...

I suspect we'll learn a lot Wednesday night, when we hear about this proposed SC zoning amendment.

One would think that idea would have been the first thing the developers would investigate.... easy access in and out of the development..I don't think that's up to the town...it be up to the Commonwealth to allow such a venture....

Sharon Patch does not allow opinions that are opposed to the ZBA !

We need new people on ZBA that will be open minded to business !

Max,

Apparently, you missed the comments from Linda and Jackie.

Michael , Lets be honest you have not allowed many negative opinions of ZBA on Sharon Patch !

Some comments were deleted this weekend for falling into one of two categories:

-- Falsely posting under another person's e-mail address
-- Posting under two different names under the same e-mail address

Michael--
Ever stop to think that the dearth of negative ZBA comments is because there just aren't very many?
I think the ZBA actions here serve to underscore integrity of ZBA, as well as its hard work in strudying understanding the Sharon Commons issue. While I certainly don't always agree with ZBA decisions, their impartiality and expertise cannot be questioned.

Kurt,

I responded to Max because I suspect some people may be wondering why comments, which happened to be negative, have disappeared this weekend. The two issues I mentioned are the reason why.

I'm really hoping people start staying away from name-calling and such here. I've said this about other issues facing Sharon: the issue itself has enough substance to debate without throwing stones at people's reputations.

I'd like to think that officials are voting for what they feel is right for Sharon. Debating those decisions is great, as I feel both sides learn in the process.

Some Myths Never Die
“…A 2002 study in Barnstable, Mass., concluded that big box retail, shopping centers and fast-food restaurants cost taxpayers more than they produce in revenue. The study found that big box retail generates a new annual deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet.”

“A study of eight Ohio communities between 1997 and 2003 found that large retail development created a drain on municipal budgets, and that on average, large retail buildings produced a net annual loss of 44 cents per square foot. The study concluded that "the concept that growth is always good for a community does not seem to correlate with the findings from various fiscal analyses," and cautioned cities not to be taken in by the promise of high tax revenue from a new development without also considering the additional costs of providing services.”

http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/UrbanSprawl/htfd_courant_072306_a.asp

Old ways will keep the tax burden going up and we must change an allow business to prosper in our beloved town and then everyone wins .

If Target backs out...the Developer should see if "Cabela's"...similar to
Bass Pro Shops...would consider going in there...

Sharon's motto is "a better place to live because it's naturally beautiful." We seem to have a hard time living up to that ethic.

Sharon Commons clear-cut 30 acres of NHESP Priority Habitat of Rare Species five years ago, prior to signing tenants, and the land still remains barren. That land is also in a Groundwater Protection District directly upstream of two municipal wells that provide drinking water to the town. Which would you rather drink: water that's been purified naturally by a forest, or runoff from a parking lot?

According to its Draft Environmental Impact Report, Sharon Commons mall would spew 9,520 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Check out the rapidly rising atmospheric CO2 at: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/mlo.html, and ask yourself, what obligations do we have to our grandchildren?

PS - Sharon Commons also converted historic Old Post Road, an officially designated scenic road that is one of the oldest roads in America, into a mall access road.

PPS - The 2007 Town Meeting that approved the zoning for the Sharon Commons mall was a veritable Kangaroo Court. Only proponents were allowed to speak. Even those who officially signed up in advance to present reasons why the mall might not be such a great idea were not given an opportunity to speak, and there was no opportunity for residents to speak at the microphone, despite the importance of this decision to the character of the town.

Hi Steven,

How do you know this? Can you provide an example?

As a matter of fact, Steven, the Sharon ZBA approved multiple alterations to the original lifestyle mall proposal, including large anchor stores, big signs, different layouts, etc., to the point where the original lifestyle mall had morphed into a typical Big Box Mall to which many residents object. The ZBA only insisted on a pedestrian-friendly mall, which was part of the original sales pitch the developer made to Town Meeting in March 2007 to induce voters to vote for the zoning change, and which would be compatible with the 200-unit 40R housing development that is planned to abut the mall.

The ZBA proved this by refusing to negotiate with Target leaving them and me exhasberated with ZBA .

Philip, it was Target that made non-negotiable demands. ZBA granted them two of their last three demands (rotate their Big Box and relocate a store). ZBA only insisted that the mall be pedestrian-friendly, as originally proposed by the developer to induce residents to vote for the commercial re-zoning at Town Meeting in March 2007.

Please ZBA , Do not wreck new agreement negotioated with Target by our Selectman or is that your new plan ?

Please, ZBA, continue to insist on a pedestrian-friendly lifestyle mall consistent with the character of the town, as originally proposed by the developer.