The Donovan District is a quiet neighborhood of 79 middle-income homes, residentially zoned for a very good reason: to protect them from encroachment by commercial enterprise. Many have been acquired recently by families with babies and young children. Some owners are retired people, and a few have lived here all their lives. The houses, built in the 1920s, are distinctive in their architecture and quality. A majority of the homes gleam with pride of ownership. Some have undergone painstaking restoration. On any given morning all you can hear are the birds singing, and on any pleasant day you will see neighbors outside talking to each other.
The zoning change requested by Providence Everett Medical Center, from residential to commercial, in order to expand its facility into the land under 21 historic Donovan District houses it has purchased over the past 20 years, raises some very serious ethical questions. The hospital’s need for growth is undeniably for the greater good, and yes, it does own the houses slated for demolition, but it does not own the inalienable right to a zoning change that will disrupt the entire neighborhood for another 20 years.
The hospital has several options available to it. The Donovan homeowners have only their justified determination to save their neighborhood. We have been very focused on preventing the demolition or possible removal of historic houses. We need also to draw attention to the hospital’s 20-year plan of demolition and construction, with its attendant constant intrusive noise, mess, inconvenience and heavy truck traffic, which will affect the entire greater Northwest neighborhood. If this were to happen in your own back yard, right across the street from you, or on the next block, would you be so supportive of PEMC’s current plans?
Janice Hall Hoban
Everett
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