At Annual Town Meeting on May 1, Marguerite Concrete wishes to impose a zoning change at the corner of South Street and Hayward Street that would fundamentally damage the Lake Maspenock neighborhood. All Hopkinton residents must be at Town Meeting to vote no to this proposal.

The proposed zoning change and 24,000-square-foot, three-story corporate building would create dangerous traffic patterns that will increase accidents and threaten pedestrians, setting a precedent of corporate encroachment into residential neighborhoods, while negatively impacting the environment.

To touch on three issues:

Traffic at the corner of South Street and Hayward Street is already challenging. Motorists travel at high speeds. Hayward Street is very narrow, and school buses stop there to pick up and drop off children daily. The busy parking lot for Dunkin Donuts and Ko feeds onto Hayward Street. Residents with kids have driveways directly across from the site. Trucks and vehicles bringing boats to the lake travel the roads that would be affected by the concrete company’s plan. Our analysis of distance, speeds and braking times in this very tight corner means a ‘perfect storm’ traffic disaster, leading to more congestion, and worse — dangerous conditions for drivers and residents.

Further, if a zoning change passes at Town Meeting — changing the lot from lakefront “residential” to “commercial” — there is no guarantee whatsoever that the development will stop at a three-story building. The concrete company’s current site includes a concrete plant. With this zoning change, nothing could stop the firm from building a concrete plant on the lot. Any promise made today would be worthless tomorrow.

Finally, the environmental impact on this neighborhood and for all who use the lake would be significant. The pollution of Lake Maspenock would be real, as there is a river on this lot that empties into the lake.  Foxes and coyotes would be forced from woods into residents’ yards, threatening kids and pets. Light, noise and visibility into residential homes from a three-level building is simply wrong. Also, any tax dollars from Marguerite Inc. would be worthless due to destruction of roads and the environment.

In recent weeks, corporate representatives for Marguerite Inc. have belittled residents’ concerns. As neighbors and Hopkinton residents who care about our community, we must stand up to this sort of residential destruction.

The responsibility is in the hands of you, the Hopkinton voters. Please vote wisely on May 1. Vote no on Article 29!

— Sabine St. Pierre and others in the Lake Maspenock neighborhood

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