At its December 13 meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals grappled with the placement of parking for an Ayer Road 40B development and with the traffic that would be generated by the proposed commercial-residential complex. All board members, two alternate members, and town counsel Mark Lanza were present to hear the developer, Massachusetts Housing Opportunity Corporation (MHOC), describe two contrasting parking schemes for the commercial portion of the complex, and to question ZBA-hired consultant Jeff Maxtusis about traffic volume and patterns.
Where to put retail parking
The question of the evening was where to locate retail parking: in the front of the buildings, visible from Ayer Road, or in the back, mainly visible to residents of Glenview Drive and South Shaker Road. Consensus for the back parking came swiftly; debate about the state and local zoning law associated with the plan took a more lengthy, complicated path.
The developer focused on a revised plan that shifted a 32-space retail parking lot from the front to the back of the buildings. The revised plan, with its less visible parking, is meant to show a more pleasant façade to Ayer Road. Most of those present agreed the new parking plan offered more curb appeal. “We’ve worked earnestly with the ad hoc [citizen] committee to give them what they want. The LIP went forward under the parking-in-the-back plan,” said Mark Bobrowski, counsel to MHOC. A signed agreement for a Local Initiative Project means a community and a developer pledge to collaborate on a project, for the good of the town. Jack Guswa of Old Meadow Lane spoke for the ad hoc citizen committee, which consists of concerned residents and abutters, to endorse the new configuration. A straw poll of ZBA members, taken late in the hearing by Chairman Chris Tracey, echoed the citizens’ group’s preference.
The desired parking requires a waiver to a variance from Harvard’s setback requirements, which govern the distance between the center of Ayer Road and the development’s curb. A request for a straightforward variance is unlikely, since developer MHOC does not claim hardship, saying it created the revised plan solely as a betterment, and at the town’s request. MHOC’s fallback position is to build parking lots in the front, an option requiring neither waivers nor variances.
At the hearing, Lanza and Bobrowski debated a legal issue that may affect the mechanism by which the parking plan is handled. Lanza contended the project’s housing, but not the retail, was governed by the state’s affordable housing law, Chapter 40B. Bobrowski maintained the entire project was rightly classified as 40B, and was “not a mixed-use project.” Lanza will update the boards with the outcome of the disagreement and its practical implications.
Searching for retail tenants
The development, currently called the Village at Harvard, was initiated almost three years ago and calls for 32 units of housing, with eight affordable units, and 8,000 square feet of retail space that had been encouraged by the selectmen. “We originally came in to build housing, and the town [selectmen] requested the commercial component,” said MHOC Vice President Michael Ivas in a phone interview December 18. Selectwoman Lucy Wallace confirmed: “The Ayer Road zoning law is designed to encourage small, attractive, commercial development, consistent with the goals of our master plan.”
Ivas elaborated on the search for suitable retail tenants. Despite a strong initial interest, Donelan’s market and CVS pharmacy publicly exited the retail picture about five months ago. “That happened quite a while ago, in July or August,” Ivas said. He explained that other large chain stores, including Whole Foods market, also lost interest. “The retail space on Ayer Road is too small for their requirements. They want big-box stores.” The soil at the site cannot support a large-scale eatery, Ivas said, so he envisions establishments such as specialty foods, a bakery, a deli, or the like. One large business in place of several smaller stores is not out of the question, he said, adding, “At this very moment, no deals are on the table.”
Traffic study generates intense discussion
The new development would have a moderate impact on Harvard’s traffic during peak hours, according to studies by the developer’s consultant and by Earth Tech, the traffic consultant hired by the ZBA with state funds. Earth Tech’s Jeff Maxtusis suggested several changes to the traffic plan, to which MHOC agreed. To minimize curb-cuts and enhance safety, the main entrance will be reconfigured to include two-lanes-out and one-lane-in, and a separate one-way entrance will be eliminated.
The scope of traffic talk expanded as several members of the board and the audience decried the general state of Ayer Road traffic. “My mirror’s been clipped by people who go around me when I try to take a left from Ayer Road onto Old Mill Road, to get home,” Paula Johnston said. Board member Ted Maxant said that he would like to see safety improvements to handle heavy truck traffic headed southbound for Route 2. Meg Bagdonas of South Shaker Road dreaded cut-through drivers, the likes of which, she said, had already increased with the new post office. Kathy Fricchione of Glenview Drive wanted to know whether the development included plans for crosswalks for the new residents of the development, but Maxtusis explained that crosswalks on a busy road were unsafe unless located at an intersection.
“It’s tough for the study at hand to evaluate the issue of people ‘gunning it’ to make it onto Ayer Road. It’s a major source of accidents,” Tracey said. In response, Maxtusis and Denmark wondered aloud about a long-planned study of the Route 2 traffic corridor, which would examine traffic from the Ayer rotary to the Route 2 ramps.
In a follow-up interview December 18, Department of Public Works Director Rich Nota reported that he and the selectmen had chosen consultants Camp, Dresser, and McKee to conduct the corridor study, using money from state Chapter 90 (motor vehicle) fund. “A reasonable traffic plan made from the study carries weight. It lets us tell developers how to improve the road, rather than letting them design it,” he said. Asked for examples of projects that might have benefited from a Ayer Road traffic plan, Nota cited Dunkin’ Donuts and the Harvard post office.
Near the hearing’s end, Tracey summarized the situation. “All issues brought up here are very important, but the fact remains: Harvard has not met its affordable housing quota, so none of these important concerns can actually stop this project,” he said. He recommended building flexibility into the project, to allow connection to future development.
