Letter to the Editor from Andrea Doherty

I am proud and fortunate of being a lifelong resident of Milton. I married someone who also is a lifelong resident of Milton and we are raising two children here. We are proud that Milton is an award winning residential community and it attracts good families because of this. 

For this reason, I am writing about the direction that the town is heading in, potentially proposing a hotel for the Park & Ride site on Granite Ave. To be clear, as direct abutters to this lot, myself, and most of my neighbors are not opposed to some development of this property, but a hotel absolutely does not belong across the street from single family homes.

Have you ever stayed at a hotel across the street from single-family homes? Probably not, because most decent towns would never consider it.  Why? There are multiple reasons, but the fact is, there are serious crimes that have occurred at nearby hotels. If I included the entire list of crimes that have occurred in the recent past, we could have a double version of the Milton Times.  Can you imagine your children walking out your front door in front of the windows of a hotel?

The town of Milton has formed a committee to propose ideas for this lot. Even though multiple residents have implored that this committee consider alternative options as optimal, a hotel remains forefront in discussions, and a hotel several miles away was even proposed as a meeting place for this committee. A Milton town official stated that a hotel was the direction that he wanted to go, prior to this committee being formed.

We all have heard promises that development will lower taxes, but at what price? Whatever taxes this property brings, it won’t even be a drop in the bucket of Milton’s budget. There will be virtually no tax relief to homeowners. There have been well over 1000 calls to police from the Braintree Motel 6 since it was built; even higher end and extended stay hotels nearby have had their share of serious crimes occur on their premises. Are these the headlines that Milton needs?

The Granite Ave Committee’s charge is to propose ideas that: “Will be of maximum benefit to the community, create a source of revenue for the town, while minimizing any potential cost to the town.” Developments such as a Medical building, Assisted Living facility, a Solar panel farm, or Commercial office space, could fulfill the committee’s charge, provide some tax revenue for the town and be welcomed with open arms from the neighborhood abutting the site.  A hotel will only harm Milton and especially the family-friendly neighborhood directly across the street. Why is it even being considered?

Andrea Doherty