Four major developments are in the works for Harvard. Two 40B developments—one on Ayer Road and another on Littleton Road—are advancing slowly but surely through state and local permitting processes. Another 40B proposal, for a 140-home housing development on the Shaker Hills golf course, is at the beginning of the pipeline. The developer, Woodland Company, filed a site eligibility application with the state last fall, as required by state regulations, but has not yet requested a hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Meanwhile, a conventionally zoned plan for an assisted-living and commercial complex at the corner of Old Mill and Ayer roads remains on the drawing board. Engineers for the project, however, are promising more detailed plans for an April 23 Planning Board meeting.
40B Projects at Ayer and Littleton Roads
The Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corporation continues to appear regularly at ZBA hearings. Its goal is to get the comprehensive permits it needs to start construction at two sites. On Ayer Road, the plan is for 8,000 square feet of commercial space and 32 housing units, with eight affordable. At 15 Littleton Road, plans call for 12 units of housing, including three affordable, in four triplexes. A dilapidated home and small barn on the two-acre property will be razed.
The Ayer Road proposal is farthest along in the process. To date, the ZBA has reviewed site plans, engineering and traffic studies, and a landscaping plan. Using state funding, it has also commissioned its own engineering and traffic studies, which have been compared to the housing corporation’s studies and discussed at hearings over the past six months.
Most recently, the Harvard Conservation Commission asked the developer to move the well out of the wetland, requesting and receiving alternate plans for the well and septic. According to commission Chairman Paul Willard, his board preferred a plan for three wells just outside the wetland, with a soil absorption area near the wells. “Of the three alternatives presented to us by [the developer’s] site engineers, this was the best choice,” said Willard. The ZBA’s engineering consultant, Nitsch Engineering, concurred, according to its April 2 report on the well. “Nitsch Engineering endorses [this alternative] based on the DEP wetland policy of no net loss of wetlands.”
The developers also downsized the Ayer Road septic system. The change eliminates two bedrooms from the complex and limits office space to no more than 2,000 square feet of the total 8,000. “Sewage is higher with offices than with retail,” explained the developer’s site engineer, George Dimakarados, at a March 21 hearing.
Littleton Road 40B
In addition to the Ayer Road project, this developer wants to build 12 housing units, three affordable, on a two-acre parcel at 15 Littleton Road, close to the town center. The developer unveiled its plans for the ZBA March 21, showing four traditional-looking clapboard buildings with sloping roofs. Each building would contain three units. “The goal was to extend the town center’s architecture down Littleton Road,” said the corporation’s president, Gerard Welch. Plans also feature a walking path that winds around the property and ends near the intersection of Fairbank Street and Littleton Road. The March 21 hearing attracted several abutters. Fairbank Street resident Michele Page wanted to know exactly where the walking path would end.
“It connects to an existing right-of-way, and it connects to the Sawyer driveway [behind 15 Littleton], which is also a 100-year right-of-way and leads to the center of town,” said the developer’s vice president, Mike Ivas. Page was concerned about the path’s possible proximity to her own and others’ property, she said at the hearing. Kyle Hedrick, also of Fairbank Street, picked up on Welch’s stated desire to build in harmony with the town center. He suggested deciduous trees for the property, “instead of a bunch of little green shrubs and conifers. The deciduous trees are more in keeping with the Common,” he said.
The ZBA’s consultant, Nitsch engineering, has reviewed the developer’s site plan and commented on its proposal to connect 15 Littleton Road to Harvard’s municipal water system. “The applicant should verify with the town of Harvard that the existing water line has the capacity to service the project for both domestic and fire protection service,” the April 5 report stated. The amount of fill for the project also prompted comment: “There appears to be significant fill for the proposed development. The applicant should perform a cut/fill analysis to determine the magnitude of fill required.”
For the record, ZBA Chairman Chris Tracey noted a Planning Board request for the developer to increase affordable units from three to four. MHOC officials took the plea “under advisement.”
The Littleton Road ad hoc committee, an advisory group for the project, consists of the Harvard Housing Partnership and Littleton Road resident Jack Purdy.
Shaker Hills 40B ad hoc group meets
Last September, Joseph Levine, manager of Northeast Site Development LLC took the first step toward creating a 40B housing development on the Shaker Hills golf course by submitting a site eligibility application to the state. The application included preliminary site and architectural plans for 140 four-bedroom homes spread over 175 acres. Attorney Louis Levine represents the development entity, Woodland Company. He has stated in public hearings that construction could span 11 years.
According to Liz Allard, administrator for the land-use boards, the developer has not, to date, requested a hearing before the ZBA.
The Board of Selectmen appointed an ad hoc committee for the project, charging its members to “negotiate with the 40B developer on behalf of or for the benefit of the town,” according to Selectman Lucy Wallace, who is also a member of the ad hoc committee. The group has met twice. The April 5 meeting, said member Meg Bagdonas of South Shaker Road, was focused on “procedural and educational” matters. For instance, it elected Quarry Lane resident Keith Cheveralls as its chairman and decided to ask the golf course’s owner and developer for permission to walk the property.
Bagdonas said that Town Administrator Tim Bragan followed up on questions from the previous meeting by explaining recent changes to Chapter 61B, the state law that lets landowners pay lower taxes on recreational properties. Shaker Hills golf club is a 61B property; as such, its owners must notify the town when removing the property from 61B. It must also offer the town the right of first refusal to buy the land when ownership or use changes. The law states, “Land taxed under this chapter shall not be sold for, or converted to, residential, industrial or commercial use while so taxed or within one year after that time unless the city or town in which the land is located has been notified of the intent to sell for, or to convert to, that other use.”
One of the committee’s goals is to understand exactly what action would signal the owner’s “intent to convert” the property from a golf course to a housing development.
Assisted living on Old Mill Road
A conceptual plan shown to the Planning Board February 5 showed a 92-unit assisted-living facility that would share an 11-acre parcel with 8,000 square feet of commercial space. The complex would be at the corner of Ayer and Old Mill roads, with the bulk of the lot on Old Mill, abutting Bowers Brook. The land is owned by Robert Marhefka of Worcester. The site engineer for the project, Bruce Ringwall, is scheduled to appear at the Planning Board’s April 23 meeting to further discuss the proposal. Currently, the plan is drawn according to Harvard’s standard zoning, not to Chapter 40B requirements.
