A Tyngsborough-based development company has submitted paperwork to the state signaling its intention to build 24 homes in 12 duplex buildings at the corner of Old Mill and Ayer roads. Juno Construction LLC purchased the 11 wooded acres—including a pond and wetlands—this month. The project would be built with a comprehensive permit under the state’s affordable housing law, which enables local zoning boards of appeals to approve affordable housing developments under flexible rules if at least 20-25% of the units have long-term affordability restrictions.
The project, called Mill Pond Estates, is in the first stages of a state-mandated process required for any developer who intends to build a so-called “unfriendly 40B,” where the developer goes straight to the state to start the process, instead of first consulting with the town. Friendly 40Bs are initiated under the state’s Local Initiative Program, where the developer first approaches the town for some input.
But whether friendly or not, the town’s zoning bylaws can be bypassed in both kinds of projects—most significantly for increased density—in the interest of creating affordable units. State standards for water, sewage, and wetland protection still apply; but, if a town’s bylaws are more stringent in these areas, as they are in Harvard, state standards of Title V and the Wetland Protection Act prevail.
According to the application Juno submitted in August to the state’s housing finance agency, MassHousing, six of the 24 homes would be affordable according to state standards, and the rest would be sold at market rate. The application describes the style of the homes as “modern duplex farmhouse,” with 12 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units. One-car garages are planned, as are solar panels on each home. The housing would not be age-restricted.
MassHousing must now evaluate the site, design, and financial feasibility of the plan before the developer can take the next step of applying to Harvard’s Zoning Board of Appeals for a comprehensive permit. The state agency is also supposed to assess the project’s “appropriateness in relation to local housing needs and strategies.”
The latest document against which MassHousing would be evaluating “appropriateness” of the project is the housing production plan of 2017, which is due for update this year (see story on page 1). That plan says a “high percentage” of those responding to a 2014 survey about housing believes in diversifying Harvard’s housing, especially for older residents seeking to downsize—even if it “meant increasing density in some places.” With the median size of homes built between 2000 and 2015 at 3,560 square feet, the 2,000-square-foot homes proposed for Mill Pond Estates appear to address a need. The duplexes might also qualify as a plus for the project, given that 90.8% of current housing falls into the category of “single-family ownership.”
A brief discussion of the project at this week’s Select Board meeting prompted member Kara Minar to observe that it was against Harvard’s planning policy and current zoning for homes to be built in the commercial district, though they would be allowed under 40B. Mixed-use, she said, would be more in keeping with the district.
MassHousing’s letter to the Select Board asks for input from “local boards” by Sept. 12, though the board did not decide upon their input at the Tuesday meeting. MassHousing planned an Aug. 31 site walk with local boards and the developer, but the agency did not respond to phone and email requests for a Press reporter to join it.
Meanwhile, the Press will keep an eye out for applications to Harvard’s ZBA, the permitting authority for this project. The last application for a comprehensive permit was filed in late 2017 for Craftsman Village on Ayer Road, where 18 homes (five affordable) are nearly complete.
