Medfield ZBA Sets Public Hearing with Gatehouse Group on 40B Proposal for April 11

Gatehouse Group, the company proposing a , has submitted an application for a comprehensive permit to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The ZBA will begin the public hearing process of the application on Wednesday, April 11 at 8 p.m. at the auditorium. The public is invited to attend.

“The applicant will be allowed to make its presentation of the project [at the April 11 meeting],” said Norma Cronin, administrative assistant for the Zoning Board of Appeals. “Town officials will be able to make comments and reports [throughout the public hearing process].”

Cronin added there will be a time designated during the public hearing process for residents to comment and ask questions but it is not likely to be at the April 11 meeting.

“Obviously that will not all happen on the first night of the public hearing as there is not enough time,” Cronin said. “Thus, the hearing will be continued numerous times. This is not a small project that can be processed in a short time. At the end of each meeting, the [ZBA] chairman will announce the next date to meet.”

Cronin said under the state code, the hearing can last up to 180 days from the date the hearing begins.

“[That timeframe] can be extended by mutual agreement between the applicant and the ZBA,” Cronin said. Once the hearing is closed, the [ZBA] must render a decision in writing and file the same with the Town Clerk within 40 days.”

The ZBA is expected to open the April 11 public hearing with a presentation from Gatehouse Group on the design and overall proposal of , according to the ZBA’s agenda for the public hearing. The application submitted by Gatehouse Group is for 96 apartment homes on 9.22 acres of land off West Street in the “vicinity of the former Potpourri building,” according to the agenda.

On March 29, representatives from Gatehouse Group met with town officials and Medfield’s Affordable Housing Committee to introduce the company, provide background and history of the company, to present its proposal for a 40B development off West Street and field questions.

Beginning Thursday, April 5, Medfield Patch will be running a three-part series on who the Gatehouse Group is, what the 96-unit 40B apartment complex details and the Affordable Housing Committee’s reaction to the proposal.