Ten things I learned at the 10/19/17 Warwick Village Planning Board Meeting

1. It’s possible for 200 people to be in the same small room, have disagreements and behave in a civil, respectful manner with each other. Good for us.
2. John Christison, owner of Yesterdays, is a generous man, a good citizen, well-liked by all of us. He runs an intimate “family-friendly” pub that now closes at 11:30 p.m. He wants to expand four times bigger, with outdoor seating and stay open to 1:30 a.m. or more in close proximity to 20 village homes. That’s a different animal.
3. Warwick Village may have passed the tipping point of bars. There are many and on weekends, from 1 to 3 a.m. is the Pub Crawl between the bars.
Locating a new bar in a neighborhood, widens the Pub Crawl Zone. There were stories of late night yelling, cursing and “blood on the sidewalk.” New Village motto: Warwick: a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
4 The Planning Board did not seem to require very thorough reporting on noise, traffic or environmental issues. The list of inadequacies was long.
5. The 16 Elm property may be dangerously contaminated from previous uses. There are indications. The arsenic levels in the soil are at maximum. The new owner would be responsible for consequences of the poisoned land. There is already one Superfund Site in the Town of Warwick. Is this another?
6. Much of the Village is in violation of the Noise Ordinance. That does not excuse allowing one more noisy place to open up. It calls for better enforcement.
7. The Planning Board seems most comfortable focusing on the Letter of the Zoning Law, than figuring out how to apply the Spirit of the law, protecting the residential character of the Village.
8. The Planning Board process needs rethinking. Residents should have an opportunity for input much earlier in the Application process. One public hearing at the end does not respect the right of citizen participation.
9. Let’s help Yesterdays find the right new location.
10. Let’s work together to figure out what will work on that 3-acre piece of property that helps make Warwick’s future richer. A permanent Public Market?
Daniel Mack
Warwick