COMMUNITY PROFILE
Some fear apartments will mar Merrimac
By Alice Giordano, Globe Correspondent, 3/16/2002
MERRIMAC – Some residents of this North Shore town of 6,000 think its old-fashioned charm is about to be marred by a 468-unit apartment complex proposed under the Bay State's affordable-housing law.
The anti-snob-zoning law, known as "40B," allows a developer to bypass local zoning as long as 25 percent of the proposed development is designated as affordable under state income guidelines.
Madden said he has nothing against affordable housing; he lives in one of the town's two mobile home parks. And, he said, cheaper home prices is one of Merrimac's draws.
Here in this rural town 38 miles north of Boston – as well as in nearby Amesbury, Haverhill, Newbury, and Newton, N.H. – the current cost of a single-family home averages $295,000. That typically includes two acres of land, Merrimac's minimum lot size in residential districts.
For a home in Merrimacport, a section of town that borders the Merrimac River, prices typically begin at $400,000.
Judy Baehr Barkley moved to Merrimacport with her husband four years ago, after living in a host of Greater Boston communities, including Concord, Lexington, and Groton.
Like Groton, Merrimac is a small and sleepy. But Barkley said Merrimac appealed to her and her huband because it has a "tremendous sense of community."
"When we moved in, the neighbors came over to greet us with pastries," she said. "It's very old-fashioned here."
Merrimac's fashions include a volunteer fire department, a town meeting, wells, septic tanks, and a tax rate of $14.20.
But Barkley said she is worried about allowing a 468-unit affordable housing development, proposed by long-time resident Richard Waterhouse, who until a few years ago was Merrimac's only real estate agent.
The town's water commission recently said Merrimac has enough water capacity to accommodate just 100 new apartments. The sewer department said there is enough sewer capacity for a maximum of 350 more units.
And then there's the concern about the impact the complex would have on schools.
"This is going to increase the population of Merrimac by 20 percent just about overnight," Barkley said. "That`s no doubt going to change the character of the town instantly."
Madden said the town would also need to buy a $600,000 ladder truck, because the current one isn't tall enough to reach the top floor of the three-story buildings that would make up the development.
A 55-unit development for senior citizens has also been proposed in Merrimac under the 40B law.
Madden said the irony is that the new apartments wouldn't really be affordable by Merrimac standards.
There are waiting lists, he said, at the mobile home parks, where about 1,100 square feet of living space and an acre of land sell for under $90,000.
The modular homes that would make up the senior housing development would start at $167,000 and peak at $350,000, he said. "To a long-time resident of Merrimac, the affordable units still look very expensive."
Merrimac also has Merri-Village, a public housing project near downtown.
Along Route 110, a major route, well-kept and imposing antique homes dot the roadside. There are also a couple of small subdivisions being built.
Laurie Carbone, a broker at Carlson GMAC in Amesbury, said new construction is the most popular option among buyers in Merrimac. She currently lists a 4-bedroom, 2-bath Colonial reproduction with a two-car garage on two acres for $449,000, for example.
Buyers for such properties are often looking to cut their current mortgages by $100,000 or so while staying within an hour's commute of Boston.
Besides housing, there isn't much else in town. Downtown Merrimac sits on a knoll and is made up of town offices, a bank, a pizza parlor, a few antique shops, and the Town Market, a quintessential country store with wood floors – and Sunday liquor sales. That's allowed under state law because Merrimac is within 10 miles of the border of New Hampshire, which has Sunday alcohol sales.
The town's few restaurants include Skip's Snack Bar, a North Shore landmark.
The Merrimac Valley Transit Authority bus, which makes daily runs to the commuter parking lot in Newburyport, stops in front of the store.
A state boat ramp can found at Lake Attitash, another desirable area among home buyers as well as a great fishing spot. Merrimac also has a 240-acre town forest known as Red Oak Hill. It was set aside as conservation land in the late 1920s.
And then there's the Yankee humor: A sign on Locust Street says "Old Duffer Crossing."
"I'm upset about; we're all upset about it," said Ed Madden, a realtor and 35-year Merrimac resident.
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AT A GLANCE
Incorporated: 1876
Area: 8.7 square miles Distance from Boston: 38 miles Population: 6,000 Tax rate: $14.20 Government: open town meeting, three selectmen Median home price: $295,000 Public schools: 2 elementary, Pentucket Regional Junior and Senior High Library: Thomas Hoyt Memorial
Houses of worship: 1 Catholic, 1 Congregational, 1 Methodist
Nearest hospitals: Anna Jaques in Newburyport, Hale in Haverhill
More information on Merrimac from Boston.com's Your Town section.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company
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