By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Residents are reminded that the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will hold a public hearing tonight, Thursday, June 26, on the comprehensive permit application for a 200-unit rental complex at 20 Elm St.
The in-person public hearing begins at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at North Reading High School, 189 Park St.
The state’s Housing Appeals Committee remanded the process back to the town’s ZBA in the fall of 2023 after the town lost its appeal under Safe Harbor.
The applicants, NY Ventures, LLC, and Maple Multi-Family SE, LP, have submitted a Modified Petition of the original application and this hearing restarts the clock on the 180-day streamlined permitting process under the state’s Ch. 40B statute.
The Modified Petition proposes two 4-story buildings on the site with 25 percent to be rented in perpetuity under the state’s formula for affordable rent. The application did not include any new documentation or plans specifying how the new plan differs from the original plan. This will be an introductory presentation by the applicants with revised plans and other supporting documentation provided to the ZBA at the hearing. The town maintains a page on its website with information related to 20 Elm St. and will update it as new information is submitted by the applicant. The website includes information related to the denial by the Housing Appeals Committee of the safe harbor claim. The data can be viewed at: https://www.northreadingma.gov/community-planning/pages/20-elm-street-40b-proposal.
The site is located adjacent to the existing Teresa’s on property formerly owned by the Thomson Country Club. It also abuts Riverside Drive and the Ipswich River to the rear.