Susanne Smith Meyer lives in Concord.

In his Monday, Jan. 22, My Turn, Roy Schweiker made a number of valid arguments related to the Monitor Way and Steeplegate Mall mixed use development proposals. The zoning board and planning board will have to review and either deny or approve these proposals.

I agree with most of his observations and concerns. I was a member of the planning board for almost 20 years beginning in 2005 and ending this January. During this time, I was involved when the Master Plan 2030 was written and adopted by the planning board in 2008.

The Master Plan 2030 states: “A master plan is intended to chart a course for managing the growth, development & change that is likely to occur in the community in the future…This vision or understanding of where Concord is trying to go and what it wants to be as it grows and changes is a key element in the master planning process.”

Currently, the Monitor Way parcel is zoned industrial. The proposal calls for a mixed-use development that is not consistent with the existing zoning. As Mr. Schweiker outlined, the impacts will be significant, especially when considering the future of the existing rail line. This is a substantial parcel of property seeking many variances from the zoning board. A hardship must be shown and other requirements must be met in order to grant variances.

Consideration in this case should be given to a rezoning of the property with a report and recommendation by the planning board to the City Council as was the case with the adjacent land which now is the site of the Market Basket. The impact of this development is too consequential to be approved by granting multiple variances from the zoning board.

Conversely, the Rail Yard development in the South End, which I supported, was approved without any variances. This development provides two 12-unit, two 36-unit, and two 48-unit apartment buildings as well as two commercial mixed-use buildings on Langdon Avenue on a 34-plus-acre parcel that once served as a railroad hub for the city.

The proper path would be to have the planning board review and amend the Master Plan, if warranted, and recommend a rezoning if appropriate. A decision of this importance should not rely on the granting of numerous variances by the zoning board. The residents of Concord should be aware and concerned.