Making Good Yardage, But We Need To Stay In The Game!
The relentless effort of Chebacco Hill Capital Partners, LLC (CHCP) to decapitate and develop the 133 Essex Street site continues to stall. The months-long mediation period allowed by the court, following the submission of CHCP's original appeal of the unanimous Hamilton Planning Board permit denial, has expired. There is no apparent change in the Planning Board's stance on denial nor any information available to us to suggest that settlement before scheduling a trial is even possible. Nevertheless, the court has approved a four month extension of the mediation period until November 17th so that CHCP can “give it another try.” We note that the court has stated that requests for additional time for mediation are unlikely to be granted.
Save Chebacco Trails & Watershed, Inc. (SCT&W) is encouraged by the demonstrated confidence of the Hamilton Planning Board in the strength and legitimacy of its permit denial. And we remain comfortable that CHCP's efforts to appeal to the court and resurrect site development will fall flat. However, confidence and comfort regarding CHCP's continuing failures do not allow us to be complacent. We are in this for the duration to preserve this pristine, 66-acre parcel at 133 Essex.
The primary player(s) in CHCP are no strangers to this “keep grabbing for the apple” strategy. They have a history for playing the long game for site development approval. We need to be prepared to stay involved and vigilant to ensure that this mega-development and site destruction does not come to pass.
In its appeal, CHCP blamed the Planning Board's permit denial on “…the buzzsaw of an aggressive and well- organized PR campaign by an abutter” stating that “…it's our belief in our assertion in this case that it's that PR campaign that essentially caused the denial.” It's no surprise that CHCP would denigrate SCT&W's many months of detailed technical/legal analysis and testimony by highly-qualified professionals, demonstrating a myriad of deficiencies in CHCP's proposed project and permit application, as mere “PR.” It is worth noting that in so doing, CHCP also demeans and apparently attempts to trivialize many months of exceptionally comprehensive and thorough review by the Hamilton Planning Board. CHCP had well over a year, almost two, to prove how their proposed project met the requirements in the Town of Hamilton. The unanimous denial of the permit illustrates how miserably they failed.
BUT … although CHCP doesn't like it, or us, SCT&W can play the long game too! We will continue to monitor, participate and engage to ensure that this destructive exploitation of the 133 Essex Street site will never happen. We ask you to stay tuned as we stay vigilant and prepared, but this takes resources AND WE NEED YOUR CONTINUING HELP!
Our organization built what some have called an unprecedented robust defense against the misplaced and misconceived development in this case to prevent massive site environmental devastation and the transport of tens of thousands of tons of rock and debris throughout Hamilton and surrounding towns. NOW, and in the immediate future we need your help to 1) repair and replenish our financial resources spent on consultants, attorneys and member services during the first (highly successful) phase of this battle, 2) meet the continuing costs of maintaining our organization and 3) be suitably prepared for the next (perhaps inevitable ) stages of or threats to preserve this uniquely beautiful site. Saving this site for now and the future is not yet assured, but it is clearly possible. Please contribute what you can on a one-time or monthly basis through our GoFundMe link on our website. Or you may send a check to SCT&W, Inc., PO Box 2184, South Hamilton, MA 01982. We want to continue the fight, and we can't do it effectively without you.
