At the Oct. 16 Town Meeting, the Planning Board is proposing five warrant articles on senior housing, following up on the first two passed in the spring. Four of these articles are largely housekeeping amendments that either clean up loose ends or provide clarity on existing provisions.
The one significant amendment proposes to add continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) as a new use that provides several living options for seniors at varying stages of life. A CCRC, which often includes independent living units, assisted living, skilled nursing care, and sometimes a memory care unit, provides a single integrated community where seniors can transition from one type of living to another without having to find a completely new and different facility. Residents can stay connected to their friends, neighbors, and sometimes family members even if they need to transition to another part of the community. Passage of this bylaw will allow for this type of facility to be built by special permit in the commercial district.
But you may be asking, “Why a CCRC for Harvard?” and it is a very good question. At the beginning of our senior housing development research and outreach, we heard from members of the Planning Board and the Council on Aging that the need and demand were there.
Wanting more concrete information to justify the pursuit of this or any other senior housing option, we conducted two surveys of town residents. The first was targeted at seniors themselves. You can find the summaries of these surveys on our website, but in short, we had 129 responses and 26 respondents said they would like to live in a CCRC. Other high responses were for types of housing that are included as components of a CCRC like independent living units (93 responses) or assisted living (13 responses). The Planning Board felt that while each type of housing that a CCRC would include is important to have, a single self-contained community would be more efficient, more community-oriented, and use land less intensively.
A bylaw and design for Harvard
Taking these responses plus the other important information from the surveys regarding community character, the Planning Board drafted bylaw language that allowed a CCRC only in the commercial district and scaled it down to be a good design for Harvard.
We believe we have included a reasonable variety of dwellings (like cottages and condo units); provided for all the types that could be included within a community care retirement community but did not require all of them; and identified accessory uses such as dining rooms, recreational areas, hairdressers, and cleaning services typical in such a project.
We have included 10 design objectives that provide requirements for the design of buildings and the site and as a part of this, we have incorporated open space design principles that will result in a rural look and feel and match the feel, scale, and style of Harvard. These principles are carried over into the site and dimensional criteria, which mandate 40-50% open space and a maximum density of 10 units per acre. Project size maxes out at 12 acres. Finally, the draft bylaw incorporates roadway, parking, and circulation requirements; wastewater disposal requirements; and a strict set of procedures for seeking the special permit.
Note that with all of this, projects will also be limited by the maximum number of senior units allowed, which would be 100 units approved annually, 30 permitted annually, with a cap of 15% of total units in Harvard.
A range of questions has been posed in regard to both the senior housing work generally and the need for a continuing care retirement community in Harvard specifically. Most of the criticism about senior housing relates to wanting to maintain community character and believing that any new housing, particularly anything other than a single-family home on a large lot, would erode that character.
Yet some survey responses strongly indicated that Harvard does not need senior housing and that seniors should go elsewhere if they need or want it. It should be reiterated that both COA senior surveys, our surveys, and word of mouth both at the Planning Board and elsewhere, consistently stressed both the need and desire for senior housing options.
Size is an issue
Regarding CCRCs, the concern was largely and justifiably about the size of such a project. Many CCRCs are sized in the hundreds of units, and one of the Planning Board’s concerns was making sure we did not size them so small as to not be financially or market viable. But we did try to balance the size to try to make sure it was viable but also not too imposing and out of character for Harvard. If we erred, it was on the side of caution and sized perhaps a little low. But there was no question that our surveys and discussions emphasized that a CCRC would be desirable for many older people in Harvard.
We hope that citizens can get behind this proposed bylaw and provide an option for developing such a facility for Harvard so older people can remain in Harvard, close to friends and family. We encourage residents to visit the project web page (go to www.harvard-ma.gov/planning-board and click on Senior Housing Development Bylaw Information), contact me at 978-456-4100 ext. 323 or cryan@harvard-ma.gov, or drop by for a chat if you have any questions or just want a better understanding of the proposal.
Chris Ryan is Harvard’s director of community and economic development.
