Concerned that their fears had not been heard at a Nov. 12 public forum on a proposal to consider an affordable housing project on Littleton Road, more than 20 residents who live near the property attended the Planning Board meeting Monday night to express their worries. On Tuesday, many of the same residents aired their concerns to the Board of Selectmen.
Tensions resurface at Planning Board
“I can feel the anxiety in the room,” said Planning Board Chairwoman Kara Minar before opening the meeting to public commentary.
Residents collectively reiterated their concerns about potential traffic and water issues, the perceived lack of experience of the proposal developers, the number of units, and the classification of the project—which is under the direction of the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT)—as rental only.
Trust member David Hopper told the board that MAHT met with the developers–Metro West Collaborative Development–to discuss ways to incorporate feedback from the Nov. 12 forum into a revised site plan. He noted that the fact that the units would be exclusively rentals had not seemed to be a concern at the forum. This prompted scoffs and side comments from residents in attendance.
As tensions from the previous forum resurfaced at the Planning Board meeting, Minar repeatedly reminded speakers to remain civil in their commentary. “We’re all neighbors here,” she said. “There will be no decisions made at this meeting.”
After all public comments and questions were heard, Hopper encouraged residents to attend regular MAHT meetings, which occur on the second Monday of every month.
“Hopefully we’re on a path toward greater communication,” said Minar.
The housing project dominated public commentary at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting the next night as well, with each commenter drawing emphatic applause from about two dozen attendees.
“How could you let this happen?” Susan Hansen, of Park Lane, asked Selectman Leo Blair, who is the BOS liaison to the housing trust. She noted that she had looked for the MAHT minutes but had found only a single set of minutes for all of 2013. She asked the selectmen to “put on the brakes” for the project.
Maribeth Marcello, of Pinnacle Road, said that neighbors do support affordable housing. She said abutters were very supportive of the original plan, which she described as calling for about 15 units of mixed owner-occupied and rental housing, of which 25 percent would be classed affordable. What they oppose, she said, is Metro West’s plan for 36 rental units, all of which would be affordable. She called for “more transparency and communication.”
Jason Pinney, of Park Lane, said 120 residents had signed a letter saying that the MAHT has a responsibility “to develop property in this town … that is consistent with its rural character.” (See Letters, p. 2.) He called for the selectmen to reject Metro West’s proposal.
While the selectmen did not respond directly to the commentary, the board returned to the topic later to hear an update from MAHT liaison Leo Blair. Blair reported that the MAHT had discussed the residents’ concerns with the developer. So far, he said, there was no written agreement between the trust and Metro West; everything had been done “with a handshake.”
Blair said it was time to draft a purchase and sale agreement to lay out all the concerns of both sides; that process, he said, would clarify whether there was any basis to continue with the project. Later he emphasized again, “We are a long, long way from any committed path.”
Selectman Ron Ricci suggested asking Town Planner Bill Scanlan about a grant program for site planning that might allow a project closer to what neighborhood residents had expected.
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace noted that any developer needs a certain density to recover costs, and that a major factor is what the developer pays for the land. She asked Blair if the MAHT might lower its price for the land in exchange for getting a lower-density project. She suggested that one way to lower the density is for the town to agree, that as a community “we recognize what the trust is trying to do … and say ‘We don’t penalize you for not trying to get all your money back.’” The MAHT purchased the property in the summer of 2013 for $1.2 million and has spent a considerable amount on development costs.
Blair emphasized that the whole development proposal is at a very early stage. The trust, he said, was being unusually open in asking for public comment so soon—a comment that provoked mocking laughs from spectators.
Blair noted that if 10 percent of a town’s housing stock is affordable by state standards, then the town has more choice about what to build. If a town is not making progress toward that goal each year, then the town is open to an “unfriendly 40B” development in which the developer can ignore local zoning and need only adhere to state codes.
