NO TO CARVANA IN SOUTHWICK, MA
Donation protected
(photo by John Lacey)
News articles:
Carvana interested in building facility along College Highway in Southwick
Residents concerned over Carvana proposal
Please donate to help stop the corporatization of small town America! The residents of Southwick, Massachusetts are asking for financial donations to hire a qualified attorney to advise and assist in preventing Carvana Northeast from building a 70 acre distribution center in the middle of our small town. Our timing is critical as the decision to issue Carvana a permit to proceed with their plans happens on June 29th , 2021 at the Southwick Planning Board meeting. Our goal is to be present at that meeting with legal support and present qualified objections. This is our last chance to stop this project!
The residents of Southwick are not against growth and/or development, but what Carvana is proposing would completely destroy and decimate this small town with environmental and cultural ramifications that threaten the local quality of life. There are several reasons that would factor into that destruction but below are just a few of the bigger issues:
1. Traffic:
- Traffic that would lead to an excess of 2000 additional trips a day, mostly by tractor trailer trucks and car carriers. Southwick does not have the infrastructure to support this type of traffic.
- Southwick is not located anywhere near the main highway routes in western Massachusetts of interstates 90 or 91. A Carvana in town would lead to excessive traffic congestion on the local small town roads of not just in Southwick, but in the surrounding communities of Westfield, West Springfield and Agawam, as well.
2. Pollution:
- Air quality is already a major concern here in town due to the geographical location of the Pioneer Valley and a local atmospheric phenomenon called an inversion, which traps air pollution in this region. This means pollutants and poor quality air already are settling into our town. The Carvana project and its traffic would only add to this. Carvana has not proposed any environmentally-friendly options for vehicle transportation.
3. Water Consumption:
- Carvana is projecting that they will use over 3 million gallons of water a year for the washing and repurposing of vehicles. The unknown variables of this water use are and will be unknown for years to come. Additionally, the effects the wastewater will have on the environment are also unknown at this time.
4. Rural Community Preservation:
- We aim to preserve our small, quintessential New England farm town and maintain its character and charm, which is important to a majority of the town's residents. We are seeing small town in America disappear every day; let's not let this happen here in Southwick!
In short, Carvana is not a good match with Southwick. Carvana brings no substantive benefits to Southwick as it would only offer 400 minimally-paying jobs but it would bring about the destruction of precious farmland as well as forever change the footprint of our town. The people of Southwick want to save the soul of our town and see other more economically viable and sustainable businesses here.
Please consider making a donation. Please help the people of Southwick save our town. All funds from this fundraiser will be transferred into a bank account that has been created for the sole and express use of depositing these GoFundMe donations and all funds from that account will be used to pay for a laywer that SaveSouthwick has retained to represent the people of Southwick who oppose the project. Our lawyer is Tim Ryan of Egan, Flanagan and Cohen LLC.
Thank you so much.
News articles:
Carvana interested in building facility along College Highway in Southwick
Residents concerned over Carvana proposal
Please donate to help stop the corporatization of small town America! The residents of Southwick, Massachusetts are asking for financial donations to hire a qualified attorney to advise and assist in preventing Carvana Northeast from building a 70 acre distribution center in the middle of our small town. Our timing is critical as the decision to issue Carvana a permit to proceed with their plans happens on June 29th , 2021 at the Southwick Planning Board meeting. Our goal is to be present at that meeting with legal support and present qualified objections. This is our last chance to stop this project!
The residents of Southwick are not against growth and/or development, but what Carvana is proposing would completely destroy and decimate this small town with environmental and cultural ramifications that threaten the local quality of life. There are several reasons that would factor into that destruction but below are just a few of the bigger issues:
1. Traffic:
- Traffic that would lead to an excess of 2000 additional trips a day, mostly by tractor trailer trucks and car carriers. Southwick does not have the infrastructure to support this type of traffic.
- Southwick is not located anywhere near the main highway routes in western Massachusetts of interstates 90 or 91. A Carvana in town would lead to excessive traffic congestion on the local small town roads of not just in Southwick, but in the surrounding communities of Westfield, West Springfield and Agawam, as well.
2. Pollution:
- Air quality is already a major concern here in town due to the geographical location of the Pioneer Valley and a local atmospheric phenomenon called an inversion, which traps air pollution in this region. This means pollutants and poor quality air already are settling into our town. The Carvana project and its traffic would only add to this. Carvana has not proposed any environmentally-friendly options for vehicle transportation.
3. Water Consumption:
- Carvana is projecting that they will use over 3 million gallons of water a year for the washing and repurposing of vehicles. The unknown variables of this water use are and will be unknown for years to come. Additionally, the effects the wastewater will have on the environment are also unknown at this time.
4. Rural Community Preservation:
- We aim to preserve our small, quintessential New England farm town and maintain its character and charm, which is important to a majority of the town's residents. We are seeing small town in America disappear every day; let's not let this happen here in Southwick!
In short, Carvana is not a good match with Southwick. Carvana brings no substantive benefits to Southwick as it would only offer 400 minimally-paying jobs but it would bring about the destruction of precious farmland as well as forever change the footprint of our town. The people of Southwick want to save the soul of our town and see other more economically viable and sustainable businesses here.
Please consider making a donation. Please help the people of Southwick save our town. All funds from this fundraiser will be transferred into a bank account that has been created for the sole and express use of depositing these GoFundMe donations and all funds from that account will be used to pay for a laywer that SaveSouthwick has retained to represent the people of Southwick who oppose the project. Our lawyer is Tim Ryan of Egan, Flanagan and Cohen LLC.
Thank you so much.
Organizer and beneficiary
Save Southwick
Organizer
Southwick, MA
Maryssa Cook-Obregon
Beneficiary
