After nearly an hour of discussion, a failed amendment, and a failed motion to pass over the article, Monday evening’s Special Town Meeting approved, by the necessary two-thirds majority, a new zoning bylaw providing an overlay district for senior housing on two land parcels, the 5.7-acre Hildreth House parcel and the 1.6-acre fire station parcel.
Planning Board member Erin McBee explained that this bylaw was the first step toward developing moderately priced senior housing on the land next to Hildreth House, a project that the town hopes will help fund the Phase 2 expansion of the building that houses the senior center.
John Lee, abutter to the proposed overlay district, was one of many who gave their opinion at Monday’s Special Town Meeting. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Peter Warren, a Lancaster County Road resident and former Harvard fire chief, introduced an amendment to remove the fire station parcel from the article, citing the need to keep that parcel for fire station expansion. Warren spoke of files and equipment lining the hallways in the station for lack of storage space, the Quonset hut that firefighters built behind the station to store the department’s boat and other equipment, and the fire truck currently housed in the unheated vault building next to Town Hall.
The Planning Board did not agree to Warren’s amendment. McBee said that the fire station parcel was included because the board did not yet know what could be developed on the rocky land next to Hildreth House and wanted to allow for the possibility of using a portion of the land behind the fire station. Although Selectwoman Lucy Wallace said that the selectmen did not have a formal position on Warren’s amendment, several of them said that having more flexibility made sense. Selectman Ken Swanton said that he supported the amendment, because he didn’t think the town should remove any options for fire station expansion.
Fire Station move needed?
Residents asked whether passage of the article would mean that the fire station would have to move, and Selectman Ron Ricci said it did not. He said that if the article passed, a committee chosen by the selectmen would look into the feasibility of using the land for senior housing while still meeting the needs of the Fire Department. In addition, he said, a town meeting would have to approve the lease or sale of the land before any senior housing development could be done. In the end, Warren’s amendment was defeated by majority vote.
Resident Paul Green of Old Littleton Road then moved to pass over the article, saying he thought it would benefit from a public hearing. Planning Board Chairwoman Kara Minar responded that the board had recently held three public hearings, and she cited numerous articles in the Press on the topic, as well as many meetings with the Planning Board and the Council on Aging. She added that this was only a first step, not the final approval for the project, and that the Planning Board would not be in favor of passing over the article.
Jim Breslauer of Poor Farm Road spoke against passing over the article, saying that delaying the zoning would further delay Phase 2 of the Hildreth House renovation. Breslauer said the Council on Aging was told at the last selectmen’s meeting that Phase 2 would not be considered for funding until the possibility of funding by a developer had been explored.
John Lee of Ayer Road, an abutter to the Hildreth property, spoke in favor of passing over the article. Lee said he had walked that land many times and that “it’s one big rock pile.” He warned that drainage would be an issue and said that the Unitarian Church Fellowship Building has been struggling for many years with runoff from the fire station parking lot. Lee said that the town should do a feasibility study of the land first, define the developable portions of the two parcels, and then put the zoning article to a town meeting vote.
The Board of Selectmen recommended against passing over the article. Wallace said that having zoning regulations in place would provide guidelines for crafting a request for proposals for the housing development. The motion to pass over the article was put to a vote and defeated by a majority vote.
Too much for town center?
The final discussion of the article itself centered around whether the development should be located in the center of town. Lee said that the stated height and density regulations for the senior housing would not fit in with one of the goals in the new Master Plan, which encourages planning in the center of town to coordinate with the town center’s density and character. He added that the development would use up the remaining capacity of the sewer system, preventing the addition or expansion of businesses in the center of town. That argument was seconded by resident Steve Nigzus of Madigan Lane, who thought the remaining sewage capacity should be reserved for any necessary future expansion of the schools.
Proponents of the location of the proposed senior housing development, including Council on Aging board members, spoke to the need for seniors to be located within walking distance of the senior center, town center activities, churches, and the library. The article was finally put to a vote and passed by a two-thirds majority.
