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For Immediate Release
September 8, 2000

Contact:
Ed Huminick
(603) 479-7087
E-mail: beryl@wolfenews.com

Beryl Wolfe
(207) 775-5115

Kittery Marketplace Developer Says 'NO' Vote Only Way to Avoid Costly Legal Battle with Town

September 26 referendum raises important issues for Kittery

KITTERY - A Seacoast-region developer who hopes to continue with the approval process for the proposed Kittery Marketplace mall along Route 1 near Cutts Road says a 'No' vote in a September 26 referendum will help stabilize Kittery's tax rate and avoids a lengthy and costly legal battle for the town.

Ed Huminick, managing partner of Kittery Retail Ventures, LLC, a company that practices socially responsible development, is concerned that residents may not realize the importance of the referendum to the town's future and is launching a public awareness campaign to make sure voters are informed.

"Basically a 'yes' vote takes away local control of planning and hands it to the courts," Huminick said. "Our project was grandfathered under town ordinance, and this referendum seeks to take a step back in time and prevent us from moving through the approval process. We think that's unfair and illegal. And if the referendum were approved, we would exercise our right to have the courts decide. So we are urging people to get the facts, and come out and vote no. A long, expensive legal fight isn't good for anyone."

Huminick is hosting an informational open house on Sept. 16 for all interested residents to come and learn more about Kittery Marketplace. The open house will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Days Inn on the Route 1 Bypass in Kittery. Attendees can view a scale-model of the project, talk to the architect and question Huminick and others about the project and the referendum.

Huminick's proposed project, the Kittery Marketplace, consists of shingle-style architecture in a campus-like design with roomy walkways, green spaces and just one curb cut onto Route 1. In addition to paying all costs to move the on-site mobile home park residents to larger lots in a nearby park and freezing their rents for five years, Huminick is paying the entire cost of a comprehensive traffic study of the Route 1 corridor in Kittery. The developers also are providing the land for a new, improved, state-of-the-art nursing home to replace the Homestead facility. A much-needed senior center in the facility will be open for community use, free of charge.

"That's why we say we're practicing socially responsible development," said Huminick, who serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals in Salem, N.H. and has a long and distinguished record of business and community service in the Seacoast area.

The September 26 referendum asks Kittery voters to decide if a land-use ordinance amendment approved in June should be retroactive to September 1999. The Kittery Marketplace project was already before the Planning Board at the time of the June referendum and received preliminary approvals before the ordinance change went into effect. But a small group of anti-growth residents gathered signatures to force a referendum.

Huminick contends it is unfair and illegal to "rule by referendum" and make such a change in an ordinance after the fact. He insists Kittery Marketplace will be good for Kittery, generating about $600,000 in net property tax revenues each year for town coffers and providing more than 1,000 jobs.

"A 'no' vote means support for a stable tax rate, local control of planning and socially responsible development," Huminick said. "It's the best way to go."

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