29 January, 2015
On Wednesday, January 28th, the Board of Appeals met to exclusively discuss the Lumber St/Hopkinton Mews development. By the end of the meeting, the Board closed the public hearing on the project, and approved the requested comprehensive permit.
Before they approved the permit, they questioned several aspects of the proposal, some of which had been addressed in a working group in the weeks prior. The first line of questioning came with regards to access and traffic issues. There was concern that there is only one access road from the project to Lumber St. The board was concerned about the level of traffic, especially considering another proposed commercial project next to the new residences. The developers said that their traffic proposals had been approved by the Planning Board, and they could not predict the effects of the commercial project, which is not under their jurisdiction.
They also went through the orders of conditions. The issue of adequate parking was returned to, with the concern raised again that 482 spaces would not be enough for the proposed 280 units. The board questioned the concept of garage and covered parking, and the developers explained that townhouses would get garages included in the rent, whereas separate detached garages could be purchased for an additional monthly sum. They stressed that there would be a limit to how many of these detached units could be rented by each apartment. They also agreed to a prohibition on commercial vehicle parking. Even with these concessions, vice chair Mr. Peirce calculated that if as few as 10% of the units had guests, there would not be enough parking.
Another issue addressed was the proximity of the housing complex to the local gun range. The board proposed that there should be some sort of disclaimer to potential renters that they might be able to hear gunshots from the complex. Counsel and the board agreed that "gunshots may be audible from the proposed development" would be sufficient warning to potential renters.
The Board of Appeals also made sure that, when building the complex, the affordable units would not be distinguishable from the non-affordable ones. Counsel Debbie Horowitz stated that Mass Housing will not allow "stacks" of affordable units, or designate certain size rooms as affordable and other, different sized units as not. However, the board pointed to another 40-B project in town, where all of the affordable units are on one side of the complex, facing the highway. Ms. Horowitz assured the board that they would not make a similar mistake, and would intermix the units appropriately. She also explained the process of how one may raise their income outside of the "affordable" bracket and still stay in the complex, and how they would adjust ratios to allow another affordable unit to open up.
This questioning by the board was followed by a review of the waivers and their analyses by BETA. At the end of the night, the Board of Appeals closed the public hearing on Hopkinton Mews/Lumber St. They then moved to approve the requested comprehensive permit for the project.
The Board of Appeals meets next on Wednesday, February 11th.
