First is a public notice from MassDEP stating that the illegal clearing of wetlands in the Mountain Park parcel affected upwards of 15,000 square feet of vegetation. Which is far from the "few tire tracks in a wetland" minimal violation Mr Suher suggested had occurred at last month's zone change hearing. Mountain Park LLC is seeking a zone change on 2 parcels for additional parking.
Second is a certified letter from MassDOT, which as I understand, undertakes enforcement actions only in rare and extreme cases. They demand a written plan to address the "illicit work" of tree removal along Route 5 at the Castle Hill site, where, according to MassDOT, "It was estimated that at least (100) desirable trees (including various Maple and Oak trees) were cleared", illegally from within the State Highway Layout.
And these are a series of 4 letters from the City Engineer's Office, beginning in January of 2010 and ending with one dated December 3, 2010 Demonstrating a year's worth of attempts to get some kind of basic compliance by the city, all apparently in vain, and ending with the referral to the City Solicitor.
Mr Suher has done direct harm by the illegal clearing and failure to abide by various permitting processes, and the enforcement/administrative costs put the city further in debt with his projects around town.
The city has already turned the issue of soil erosion control at Mountain Park over to the city solicitor for further review and possible legal action something made necessary by Mountain Park LLC's having ignored repeated requests from the City Engineer to submit an erosion control plan as required under relevant provisions of law.
So the loss to the city is compounded. Not only are we losing green space when the governing law is ignored this way, but the city's taxpayers are being put to additional expense to attempt to force whatever mitigation can still be made after the damage is done.
So I ask why the city keeps bending over backwards to help Eric Suher when we've already lost control of the situation at Mountain Park?
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2 comments:
To Eric Suher:
Stop illegally cutting down trees in wetland areas, even if you own the property! People are very sensitive about this issue. You don't want to become the most hated person in Holyoke for clear cutting Mt. Tom.
Be a good neighbor. People in Holyoke generally think very highly of you.
Best regards this holiday season,
Ken Johnston
VanDog is right, the city has lost control of Mt. Park and Mr. Suher. He continues to do what he wants and after the fact apologizes, pays a fine, and moves on with development. "kids getting high" comment was ridiculous and I would be more afraid of the drunks (all ages) and tailgating before the shows. Traffic is of course a problem but i've seen a few shows there and is no where near that bad. Why can't Mr. Suher just post his master plan for the 2011 season and be done with the screwing around.
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