Highland Village stirs up debate
Published on August 20th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - With Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) member John Biggio no-where to be found, the ZBA voted unanimously last Thursday night to continue a hearing for a proposed 20-unit town house complex on Isabella and Christopher streets.
Citizens packed into Town Hall's banquet room and members of the ZBA waited over 40 minutes for Biggio to show up before continuing the hearing until September 11.
"I have a dilemma here. I'm waiting for my fifth member," ZBA chairman William Sullivan told the patient crowd and representatives from Malden-based R. DinNano & Sons.
"As far as I know, he's coming. I would say common courtesy dictates that you call and let people know that you can't make it for a thing of this magnitude," Sullivan continued.
Because Biggio would not be allowed to sit in on future hearings for the Highland Village Development if the hearing was held without him, board members argued that it would only be fair to allow the petitioners to meet in September before a full-board.
Neighbors living in the area impacted by the development, have opposed the 20-unit town house complex since the ZBA first met to address the issue in mid-February.
Reasoning that the large development would loom over the primarily single-family home neighborhood and that the project was riddled with public safety concerns, including improper access for fire apparatus and the need to blast out several feet of rock ledge in the area, residents have urged their neighbor to scale down the scope of the project.
However, because the petitioners filed for Chapter 40B protection, a designation provided to some developers who construct affordable housing units, Town officials have little course of action in blocking the project.
Despite the Highland Village's Chapter 40B status, Stoneham officials and R. DinNano & Sons representatives reached several compromises over the past months that will limit the size of the project, according to Stoneham's Community Planner Michael Gallerani and William Adams, the project manager for the Highland Village town houses.
"We've had a couple of negotiating sessions and they've been very positive in terms of getting [the project] to a scale we feel comfortable with," commented Gallerani, who added that several Town departments and officials have participated in the negotiations.
According to both Adams and Gallerani, the number of town houses included in the development have unofficially been reduced to 16-units and some ground has been made in further diminishing that figure to 12-total town houses.
In addition to those changes, Adams claims that the buildings' height has been lowered from 42 feet to 29 feet, and that the roads have been widened to allow for the Town's largest fire truck to enter and turn around on the site's cul-de-sac.
"Everything the Town has asked us to do, we've been trying to accomplish. All of the Town's fire apparatus can get in and out of there. We've widened the road and creating a turning radius on the cul-de-sac," remarked Adams.
In two other significant compromises, Highland Village representatives have agreed to restrict the age of its tenants to persons 55-years and older and give preference to retirees and municipal employees applying for affordable housing, says Gallerani.
Yet another result of the negotiations, Gallerani also listed several adaptations that will make the town houses more aesthetically pleasing.
"We're moving forward with the design issues about how the buildings will look...Town officials are just really shaping it to something we'll be comfortable with," boasted Gallerani.
"The design is very different. Instead of looking like row houses, it now looks like three big houses sitting up there that just happen to have four doors," the Town Planner added.
Despite the negotiations, Isabella Street resident John Mitchell claims that the neighborhood, which has mobilized to counter the development, still isn't satisfied with the proposed changes.
"Obviously the neighborhood is encouraged by the continued decrease in size. But 12 is still unacceptable. Our standpoint is that the land is going to be developed there. But we'd prefer single-family homes and they're still trying to shoestring 12-units in there so they can turn a profit," explained Mitchell.
Mitchell also took issue with Gallerani's involvement in the process, claiming he has no authority to do so.
"The Town Planner has been negotiating with outside of the Zoning Board of Appeals. I don't believe the Town Planner's role is negotiating with developers. That responsibility resides with the Zoning Board," complained Mitchell.
However, Gallerani disputed Mitchell's statement, stating that is exactly his job responsibility and that he's acting under the charge of Town Administrator David Berry.
"I'm negotiating on behalf of the Town and at the direction of the town administrator. Ultimately the ZBA will make the decision, but our job is to shape the project to the best it can be. It's not uncommon for staff such as myself to work with developers to shape a project," responded Gallerani.
According to Mitchell, the neighborhood has found new-found hope that the project can be reduced far below the working number of 12-units after recently obtaining Cambridge-based lawyer Daniel Hill of Anderson & Kreiger.
In a phone-interview with Hill, the lawyer outlined a reasonable profit defense that could withstand an appeal to higher courts.
"What the board has to show is that public health and safety concerns outweigh the need for affordable housing. The Zoning Board has two options, they can deny an application or approve it with conditions," began Hill.
Claiming that if the ZBA approved the project with conditions that limited its size due to health or safety concerns, Hill said that the developer would then have to prove to the courts that the Town's decision would significantly impact the project's ability to turn a profit.
"He would have to prove that scaling back the project would make it impossible or him to realize a reasonable profit. At this point, we don't know whether downsizing the project would make it impossible for them to realize a reasonable profit," stated Hill.
According to the real-estate lawyer, he submitted an 11-page letter to the ZBA asking them to request Highland Village's Pro Forma, or financial statement that outlines the projected profits and costs. After obtaining that documentation, the board can determine how size reductions would impact the economic gains of the town house complex.
Asked about Gallerani's role in negotiating with the developer, Hill said he would not oppose the discussions unless they became official negotiation sessions.
"I think discussions is the better word for what Michael's doing. I think statutorily, he has no authority to negotiate. Only the ZBA has that authority. If it does get to that point, it's going to be a concern, but I'm going to give Michael the benefit of the doubt that he's doing his job correctly," said Hill.
Mitchell also wanted to dispel any myths that the neighborhood surrounding the proposed development harbored anti-affordable housing sentiments.
"This really isn't an anti-affordable housing issue. We encourage our neighbors to build three single-family homes and have one or to of them be affordable. So it's not like we're being snobs here," remarked Mitchell.
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