By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – At its meeting this week, the Zoning Board of Appeals is expected to review and vote to sponsor a Town Meeting article related to several of the conditions on the Special Permit for 200-400 Quannapowitt Parkway, the project dubbed “The Basin,” currently under construction at the head of the Lake.
At the Feb. 12 ZBA meeting, attorney Brian McGrail reminded the board that his client, developer Cabot Cabot & Forbes, had agreed to a number of conditions that relate to financial contributions and other facets of maintaining the property along the Lake. The conditions were part of the Special Permit for the project issued by the board in 2022.
One condition called for the reconstruction of Quannapowitt Parkway at a cost of up to $1.75 million. McGrail said that the developer is well along in terms of completing that requirement.
Other conditions called for CC&F to provide $600,000 for future roadway and traffic mitigation as well as $1.3 million for Lake cleanup. McGrail said that those checks have already been delivered to the town.
Another condition required the developer to provide 12.7 acres of land in perpetuity for conservation purposes.
The developer must also construct and maintain a recreational pathway and footbridge along with an agreement guaranteeing public access.
In addition, the conditions attached to the ZBA decision require the developer/owner of the property to maintain a portion of town-owned land along the Lake.
Certain amenities, such as restrooms on the property must also be available to the public, as called for in another condition.
McGrail said that Town Counsel Thomas Mullen is reviewing all the conditions and will prepare an article for the May 5 Town Meeting. McGrail said that he expects the article to be ready for the ZBA to review at its meeting this week. The board is then expected to vote to sponsor the article at Town Meeting.
ZBA chairman Thomas Lucey said that he, McGrail, Mullen and Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio had recently met to go over all of the material related to the conditions that will be covered by the Town Meeting article.
Lucey called the value of having CC&F maintain public land at the head of the Lake “enormous,” adding, “I think we got some good benefits for the town.”
In response to a question raised by ZBA member David Hatfield, a representative of CC&F said that they have not yet found a tenant for the restaurant space that is part of the project, but the search is actively underway.
After more than a year of hearings, on July 13, 2022, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted to approve CC&F’s plans to construct 440 units of housing in three buildings at 200-400 Quannapowitt Parkway. Attached to that ZBA decision was a long list of conditions, including the aforementioned financial contributions to the town.
The original concept called for a total of 600 residential units to be constructed on the site. But after feedback from the ZBA, the Friends of Lake Quannapowitt and the public, the project was first reduced to 485 units and later dropped to 440 units.
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