Zoned land to stay residential

Jenny Marder

No one denies that a vacant lot across the street from the city’s

garbage plant is a less than ideal place to live.

Early morning traffic, relentless noise and unpleasant odors

wafting into yards and through windows are only some of the problems

that could beset residents who choose to buy a home at the Nichols

Street site.

But the City Council chose to honor the pleas of a struggling

85-year-old woman, when it denied a proposal Monday night to rezone

the use of her old flower farm from residential to industrial or

commercial.

Rezoning would have put the land in limbo, thus worsening Martha

Furuta’s financial struggles, said her son, Norman Furuta, who spoke

Monday night on her behalf. The land is on the market.

“We are quite relieved,” Norman Furuta said of the decision. “We

realize that any new development will have to go through several

layers of review by city. At least this doesn’t impose a one- or

two-year delay, which would have pushed sale even further into the

future.”

Councilwoman Connie Boardman felt that housing was an

inappropriate use for the site, which is directly across the street

from Rainbow Disposal, which collects commercial, industrial and

residential garbage from the entire city.

But other council members said that the family deserved a say in

the fate of their land.

The land was purchased by Martha Furuta’s father in 1912. For

almost a century, her family farmed flowers -- water lilies and sweet

peas -- on the land. Farming came to a halt in 1995 when her husband

died.

“When Dad died, Mom couldn’t manage to continue the farming

operation on her own,” Norman Furuta said.

His mother is now living elsewhere in a condominium and paying two

sets of property taxes and a mortgage with social security as her

only source of income.

“[Rezoning] will make it impossible for my mother to sell that

portion,” he said.

A proposal to build 53 two- and three-story Mediterranean-style

condominium units was withdrawn by developers last fall. Developers

had concerns about whether a residential use was appropriate for the

site, said Paul DaVeiga, associate planner for the city.

But the family is confident that the housing demand will attract a

buyer.

The City Council voted 5 to 2 against rezoning the lot, with

Councilwomen Debbie Cook and Boardman voting to rezone.

“It’s not my intent to hurt your family, “ Boardman told Furuta at

the meeting. “But odors in the summer despite Rainbow’s best efforts

to control them can be overpowering.”

Advocates of the proposal worried that future councils would be

forced to deal with problems from residents living at the site. There

should be some kind of buffer between the refuse plant and the homes,

Cook said.

But in the end, the council was swayed by the family’s request.

The family should be able to choose the use of their own land,

Councilwoman Jill Hardy said.

“We’re taking away their ability to choose what they can do with

their property,” Hardy said. “Housing is hard to find and there are

people who would choose to live there without even knowing that

Rainbow is there. In exchange for future concerns of residents that

may exist, we’re taking away choice from this family.”