At a meeting July 10, the ZBA began deliberative hearings for Harvard Commons Condominiums, a proposal for 12 condos, including three state-defined affordable units, at 15 Littleton Road. The board is trying to decide whether to grant the developer, Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corporation (MHOC), a comprehensive permit to build the condominiums. The development is a local initiative project under state law Chapter 40B, or “friendly 40B,” and as such was endorsed by the selectmen and Harvard Housing Partnership.
ZBA member Robert Capobianco decried the lack of guest parking; the plan shows just three guest spaces for the complex and “asks for guests to park on the roadway.” Capobianco said that each unit should have a parking space for guests. However, fellow board member Steve Moeser observed that more impervious surface would affect the already steep grade and possibly the layout of the buildings.
Member Ted Maxant was critical of the septic system: the developer wants to use expansion trenches, which would replace the primary drainage in case of septic failure, as a backup for the primary leach field. The developer also wants to place the backup drainage closer to the primary drainage than is currently allowed. “There is no good secondary system,” Maxant said. The property cannot accommodate a secondary leach field. “They would have to build a new system between these trenches, which could also be contaminated,” Maxant said. “There’s no longevity there.”
The board briefly reviewed a memo from water commissioner Dave Swain that explained how to modify the town water lines to accommodate the condominiums. MHOC would pay for the improvements. The memo specifies that the “contractor shall provide temporary water service to Old Littleton Road residences affected by this work.” At the time of this meeting, supplying water to 15 Littleton Road was not a topic of debate. Later in the month, however, Quarry Lane resident Keith Cheveralls raised a red flag by suggesting that extending the water pipes would require a town meeting vote.
The meeting ended with no decision on the comprehensive permit and was continued to August 9. MHOC officials did not attend the hearing.
