THE TOWN is seeking to halt a 40B project proposed for this site by claiming “safe harbor” status under state law.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — In an effort to halt a proposed 100-unit Chapter 40B affordable housing project on Nahant Street, the Zoning Board of Appeals has invoked one of the “safe harbor” provisions of the statute.
The ZBA held a brief special meeting last week to open the hearing on the application to construct a 100-unit 40B rental apartment building at 119 Nahant St., 0 Nahant St., 127 Nahant St. and 135 Nahant St. Much of the site in question was once occupied by a business called Precision Honing.
It is not the first proposal to redevelop the site. In late 2019, the same developer, Jason Kearney, sought Special Permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals that would have allowed him to construct a 26-unit garden-style apartment building. At the time, ZBA members expressed their opposition to the proposal, saying that it “brought too much density” to the site and wouldn’t fit in the neighborhood, which has mostly single-family homes with a few two and three-family homes sprinkled in.
The ZBA approved Kearney’s request to withdraw that application without prejudice in April of 2020. He has since returned with the current 40B proposal.
After opening the ZBA hearing on the application last Wednesday, chairman Thomas Lucey read a statement into the record outlining the board’s position invoking the “safe harbor” provision.
“The Board has opened this hearing within 30 days after receipt of the applicant’s application in order to comply with the schedule imposed by 760 CMR 56.05.,” Lucey stated. “However, I do not wish to waste the time and money of the applicant by conducting a hearing that will likely prove to be moot.
“As we all know, the Town of Wakefield has made tremendous progress – and even more impressive recent progress – in growing its subsidized housing inventory,” Lucey continued. “We may not yet be at the 10 percent threshold, but I believe that we have developed so much qualifying housing in recent times that the Town now fits into one or more of the so-called ‘safe harbors’ created by the 40B regulations for communities that have achieved various statutory minima or that have made recent progress toward doing so.”
Lucey noted that, under 760 CMR 56.03(8), if the Board believes that it has satisfied the requirements of such a safe harbor, and that as a result it would be entitled to deny the pending 40B permit application.
“Let me therefore suggest that we continue this hearing until a definite date and time to permit the Board to write to the state to assert its safe harbor status, to allow the applicant to file any rebuttal and to receive a decision,” Lucey said.
The ZBA voted 5-0 to continue the hearing until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Last August, Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio wrote a letter to MassHousing, the state agency that oversees Chapter 40B affordable housing. Maio’s letter outlines the concerns that town officials have regarding the proposed Nahant Street project and offers a glimpse into their arguments in asserting “safe harbor” status.
In his letter, Maio recounts a May 8, 2023 site visit that was attended by numerous town officials, including Police Chief Steven Skory, Deputy Police Chief Craig Calabrese, Fire Chief Michael Sullivan, Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Purcell, Fire Prevention Office David Shinney, Town Engineer William Renault, Community and Economic Development Director Erin Kokinda, and Maio. Also present for the site visit were Wakefield Town Council members Mehreen Butt, Michael McLane, Edward Dombroski and Robert Vincent as well as representatives of the developer. Maio also notes that the developer’s representatives made a presentation at a Town Council meeting last August.
At the site visit in May, Maio’s letter notes, many concerns were expressed from Town departments relative to increased traffic; pedestrian and vehicular safety; fire safety and apparatus access; lack of access to public transportation; complete lack of green space; negative impact on the Town’s water and sewer services; as well as the sheer size of the project.
Maio notes that while the site is located within two zoning districts – business and single residence – it is located mainly in a residential neighborhood with many two and three-family structures.
Maio notes that 85 homes front Nahant Street, adding that the proposed five-story, 100-unit structure would more than double that amount.
He also lists in his letter some of the other concerns related to the project. Car, bike and pedestrian safety still need to be addressed, Maio writes, and Fire apparatus would be unable to service all sides of the proposed building. The project remains deficient in open/green space with a percentage in the 4 to 9 percent range.
“The comments from members of the Town Council at the site visit as well as the Aug. 14, 2023 meeting clearly indicate that the proposed, albeit revised, project remains far from appropriate for this site,” Maio wrote, for the reasons stated.
In the letter to MassHousing. Maio also cited the town’s “commitment to create both market-rate and affordable housing.” In 2015, he notes, the Town adopted an inclusionary zoning/mixed-use district contiguous to our commuter rail station.
“This zoning bylaw includes an 18 percent affordability component and has helped create over 1,300 housing units (with 419 units or 32 percent affordable).”
Also, over the last two years, Maio states, the Town has approved two 40B projects creating 76 new units for our community. In addition, in October 2019, Wakefield approved a 173-unit 40B project.
“Even though we are just shy of the 10 percent subsidized housing inventory (SHI) due to some timing delays in construction,” Maio wrote, “if we were to include those projects currently in the hearing process and/or approved but not yet built, we indicate a subsidized housing inventory of 10.05 percent based upon the new 2020 census numbers. Our progress in housing production has been so prolific that Wakefield was designated a Housing Choice Community on April 18, 2023. Accordingly, Wakefield has made recent progress toward the statutory minimum, permitting 250 SHI-eligible units over the last year.”
The ZBA has 15 days from last Wednesday’s hearing to give written notice of the town’s “safe harbor” claim to the applicant, with a copy to the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). The notice must state the basis for the town’s “safe harbor” claim and enclose any necessary documentation. The applicant may challenge the Board’s contention within 15 days after receiving the Board’s notice. The EOHLC will then make a decision within 30 days of receipt of both parties’ materials.