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By Stephen Press
Hometown Weekly Staff
On the cloudy morning of September 28, a group gathered on the corner of Dale Street and Route 27. Among the assembled were the Police and Fire chiefs, members of Medfield town government, members of MassHousing, State Rep. Denise Garlick, and several others.
Joining them were representatives from Medfield Meadows, LLC.
On September 12, the town received a Chapter 40B project application from Medfield Meadows; it had been filed with MassHousing. Chapter 40B is a state statute, 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 morning gathering was a walkthrough of the proposed 40B site, on which Medfield Meadows has proposed the construction of two residential buildings with a collective 200 unit capacity. The proposed structures would be three to five stories high and include subterranean parking.
"The objective today is to familiarize Mass Housing - and obviously anybody here - with the actual physical property; the location within the traffic infrastructure, the land itself, what's around it," said Geoffrey Engler, representing Medfield Meadows. Engler's firm has been involved with the permitting of over 15,000 units of multi-family housing in Massachusetts over 150 different municipalities.
"A full presentation," he added, "will be made [on October 18] to the board and everybody interested. Then the process of the town providing all of its municipal comments and the general site approval process will continue."
The process to which Mr. Engler referred involves MassHousing taking comments from the municipality and evaluating the application based on the established criteria stated in the 40B regulations.
("Handbook: Approach to Chapter 40B Design Reviews" provides some specific insight into those guidelines; a copy of it can be accessed here.
An artist's rendition of one of the proposed residential structures.
For those who had come out to the site tour fearing an all-or-nothing dash to build, Engler struck something of a conciliatory tone. "We're open to communication on the process," he told the assembled. "We look forward to the presentation and the comments."
"I would put to everybody attending that the project frequently changes over the period of time based on the input that we receive from the town," Engler added. "The town will have the opportunity to hire experts in their fields - traffic consultants, civil engineers - to evaluate, on a technical basis, all the materials that we submit."
"Today we're here - just as you are - to talk to the applicant, get an idea of the site, walk through, and answer any questions you guys have regarding the process," said Jess Malcolm, a 40B Specialist for MassHousing.
As the group toured both sides of Route 27, some wondered aloud about the suitability of the construction.
For their part, Medfield Meadows responded with an outward willingness to negotiate.
"If there's a middle ground to be found, we're not here to stand in the river and be immovable," developer John Kelly said in conversation with Rep. Denise Garlick. "We want to contribute to the community. I live two or three miles down the road [in Sherborn]. My intent is to be in this community, to be part of this region; not to do anything that would damage that."
"That's a powerful statement," responded Rep. Garlick. "And we will see it play out over time on a community that is deeply concerned about this project as it's presently proposed?"
Kelly vigorously affirmed. "This is not the final thing," he said. "This is not 'all or nothing.'"
As the site walkthrough concluded, there seemed to be more questions than answers. Indeed, perhaps that was the point.
"It's just an information gathering at this point, still. We need to hear from the developer about their project and the details of it, really," said Selectman Peterson. "We need to get data. We need the facts."
The community will have its first major opportunity to seek those facts on October 18, when Medfield Meadows will present its proposal to the Board of Selectmen. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Medfield High School auditorium.
