10 October, 2014
The Board of Appeals met on Wednesday, October 8th, to discuss the Hopkinton Mews project on Lumber St.
The Board intended to press on with the intended course of hearings for the project, but the timeline was thrown off course by a decision by the Board of Selectmen on October 7th. As Debbie Horowitz, counsel for the project, explained to the board, the initial project was meant to be larger than the 250 unit complex previously discussed. The Selectmen have been mulling over an expansion for over a year, and project managers initially settled on a smaller project while the Selectmen were unable to reach a decision. However, as of October 7th, the Board of Selectmen approved an expansion of the project, increasing its size to 280 units.
Horowitz stated that with this expansion, not only will the town now have 10% of its housing as affordable today, this 10% number will remain valid until 2030. Currently, the town is short 86 units of affordable housing to meet the 10% mark. Horowitz said the construction schedule dictates a building permit be pulled within a year, with different buildings being constructed every few weeks following initial building of clubhouses and other main buildings. Horowitz did note that the footprint of the project would not change; most likely, she said, the plans would now simply include a fourth floor of units, with elevators built into the plans.
With this expansion, some hearings will have to be redone. Traffic impacts will have to be re-analyzed, and storm water was also brought up as a potential re-hearing.
Hopkinton Selectman Mr. Coutinho was present at the Board of Appeals to answer questions about the Board of Selectman's decision. Of particular concern to ZBA vice-chair Mr. Peirce was the stress on the school system. Mr. Coutinho admitted that this will be an additional stress on the schools. The two men agreed that there could be up to 250 additional students added to the system without the need to spend more money. However, Mr. Coutinho also said that the number of additional students would most likely be more than 250 and that the Board of Selectmen may have had "their heads in the sand" in neglecting to think about what would happen if there were more than 250 additional students. Mr. Peirce inquired about the size of the new Hopkinton Mews units, wondering if the additional units would or would not be conducive to families with children.
Given the change in the project's specifications, the Board of Appeals asked for the earliest filing date for new materials. The Board is expected to discuss Hopkinton Mews at the next few meetings pending the filing of new materials; discussion will likely begin again in early November.
The next Board of Appeals meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22nd, at 7pm.
