ZBA unanimously endorses Langwood plan
Published on August 10th, 2005
The town's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) unanimously endorsed the "alternative" plan for the mixed-use Langwood Commons development at the former Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC) on Thursday night.
Needing only one night of deliberations to decide on the fate of the chapter 40B development, ZBA members justified their approval based on three standards.
"The findings would be that there's a need for affordable housing in the Town of Stoneham. And this project addresses those needs," explained ZBA Chairman Frank Vallarelli. [Secondly], the project is suitable for the site in its design and density. [Lastly], any impacts from the project can be adequately mitigated by the conditions of this board."
Previously pitched by co-developers The Gutierrez Co. of Burlington and Colorado-based Simpson Housing, LP, as a 550-unit development, the Langwood Commons project will now be limited to the 450 count first outlined in an "alternative" proposal unveiled by the petitioners two weeks ago.
Specifically, the break down of the unit types and bedroom sizes would be as follows:
Facing droves of opposition from out-of-town residents throughout the five-month ZBA hearing process, board members explained their guiding decision-making philosophy was based on one common point: That the ZBA must ultimately do what's best for Stoneham.
"Many opponents of this project don't really want to see anything at all there. And I think that's an unreasonable position," Vallarelli commented.
"We've heard much opposition to this project. Has some been from Stoneham residents, taxpayers? Yes. But most of it has come from Melrose and Medford," the ZBA Chairman added. "Throughout this process, [our goal] was to do whatever was the most beneficial to the Town of Stoneham overall."
According to ZBA member Larry Rotondi, his favorable vote on the project was partially based on the advise of the town's various department heads and boards, all of whom signed off on both the 550-unit and 450-unit proposal.
Further touching on the opposition's most common criticism of the development, the potential for negative traffic impacts, Rotondi, who also serves as Stoneham's Safety Officer, believed that the Fells Reservation Parkway was more than adequate to handle the increased vehicle trips.
"I think traffic is no problem at all," said Rotondi. "That's a four-lane highway. As you can see, North Street and Spring Street, those are two-lane roadways that are handling 15,000 to 18,000 cars per day. That's not Stoneham traffic. That's from Melrose and Medford."
"If we're concerned about traffic, we should shut down Route 93 and 128 because there's too much traffic there. [The developers] are being a good neighbor by adding $2.2 million into the traffic [for mitigations]. I think that's a big plus," the Safety Officer added.
Not as confident in the drainage mitigations as in the traffic impacts, several ZBA members noted that the developers had yet to submit fully engineered plans for the site.
According to Vallarelli, while that lack of information did force him to pause and reconsider his thoughts about the project, he was reassured that the drainage plan would be adequately addressed after the ZBA's approval.
Specifically, local Attorney Charlie Houghton, who represents the two developers, reminded the ZBA that the town's Conservation Commission would have to review and sign off on the proposal before construction could commence.
In addition, Houghton further pledged that the petitioners would agree to allocate funds so the town could conduct an independent review of the plans.
Despite the ZBA's formal endorsement of the proposal, the public process will be continued on Aug. 11, when the board will begin considering what specific conditions it wants to impose on the project. The group will be assisted by a town-hired 40B attorney in writing the final decision.
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