To the editor,

After many decades, Tiverton has a new general retail store that is a completely new-built structure. Although this may not be the ideal retailer that many of its citizens had anticipated coming to own, it serves a client market.

It will increase the commercial tax base, thus lessening the dependency on the town's residential tax base.The tax assessment on the town's residential property owners is out of balance. This is a known fact, due the lack of taxable commercial properties in town that can be applied to the needs of the town services.

Also, it has given eight residents of Tiverton employment opportunities.

Another good aspect of this retail outlet is that it has been developed and constructed following the guidelines of form-based coding with Pedestrian Friendly Designation zoning, all in an effort to conform to the quality of place within the existing neighborhood .

Under the above mentioned guidelines, the building is sited to abut Stafford Road, with the parking along the south side of the building. This avoids the negative impact of a jam-packed car lot on Stafford Road to mar the historic area of this section of the own.

The planning board was also able to convince the developer to make several improvements to the design of the building (pitched roof, windows and awnings, quality construction materials, and compatible color palette), provide for substantial landscaping (saving and moving one property tree), a new concrete street sidewalk, an outside public sitting bench and even a bike rack (a first for a retailer in town).

When the above steps are pursued, retail development becomes a possibility for the Town of Tiverton.

Peter Moniz

Tiverton

(Mr. Moniz is a former planning board member.)