Sunday, December 23, 2012
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved The Parc at Medfield, a 92-unit affordable housing complex to be built on West Street.
After months of meetings with town officials and consultants, as well as input from the public and concessions from the applicant, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a comprehensive permit with conditions that will result in 92 units of affordable housing being built on West Street. At its meeting on Monday, ZBA members Russell Hallisey and Charles Peck voted to approve the permit for The Parc at Medfield Limited Partnership. The permit needed only a simple majority vote. The third member of the ZBA board, Robert Sylvia, resigned from the board on Dec. 11 after 40 years when his fellow board members did not take his advice to drastically scale back the project to approximately 60 units. Since the town does not have 10 percent of its …
Monday, December 17, 2012
The ZBA received a filing extension until Dec. 19. At today's meeting (4 p.m. at Town Hall), the board finalize its decision so it can be filed on time to meet the deadline.
The Zoning Board of Appeals was granted an extension to finalize its decision on The Parc at Medfield, an affordable housing project proposed off West Street. The ZBA will finalize its decision today -- 4 p.m. in the Town Hall Chenery Room -- in order to meet that Dec. 19 deadline. The project, which was approved on Dec. 6 by a vote of 2 to 1 (Bob Sylvia was the one dissenting vote and resigned after fellow board members voted to approve the project), calls for 92 (down from 96) affordable housing units to be built on a nine acre parcel (of which only a portion is buildable) off West Street. At today's meeting, the board -- with acting Chairman Russ Hallissey -- will finalize the decision including language that addresses the nearly 50 …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Zoning Board of Appeals will finalize its decision today on The Parc at Medfield, an affordable housing project off West Street. The board approved the project on Thursday with a vote of 2 to 1.
The Board of Appeals on Zoning will meet today to finalize its decision on The Parc at Medfield, an affordable housing project proposed off West Street. The meeting will be held in the Chenery Room at Town Hall at 4 p.m. A final decision in the case must be filed by Dec. 14. After months of hearings and testimony from department heads and professional consultants, the board voted on Thursday to approve the project 2 to 1. Chairman Robert Sylvia was the dissenting vote, and resigned after the hearing was closed. Sylvia, who had served on the board for 40 years, said the board needed to stand on principal and deny the project or at least go with his recommendation to reduce the size of the project -- from 96 units to 60 units, a reduction of…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Board of Appeals on Zoning will meet Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Town House to discuss the final decision letter on The Parc at Medfield.
UPDATE: The meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 4 will be held on Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Town House. Chairman Robert Sylvia will share a draft denial to compare to a draft approval discussed last week. The Board of Appeals on Zoning will meet this afternoon to again discuss its final decision on the 96-unit affordable housing complex proposed off West Street. The board must file a decision in the matter by Dec. 14. Last month, the ZBA asked the town's legal consultant to draft a decision they could use as a starting point in deciding whether to allow the Gatehouse Group to build "The Parc at Medfield." Last week, the board -- comprised of Chairman Robert Sylvia, Russell Hallissey, and Charles Peck -- reviewed the first …
Friday, November 9, 2012
The ZBA has not made a decision on The Parc at Medfield but has instructed its legal consultant to draft a letter of approval with conditions that will serve only as a place to start the decision-making process.
The Board of Appeals on Zoning has instructed its legal consultant to draft an approval letter with conditions for the 40B project proposed off West Street. The proposed "The Parc at Medfield" would include four buildings of one, two and three-bedroom rental units on 9.22 acres of land near the former Potpourri building between West Street and Route 27, according to the Executive Summary of Gatehouse Group LLC's application filed with the state. The ZBA closed the public hearing on the project on Monday night. At its meeting on Thursday, ZBA Chairman Robert Sylvia stressed that the board has not made any decision on the project and its instruction to its lawyers to draft an approval with conditions is only to get a legal decision in front …
Monday, November 5, 2012
School officials say the proposed affordable housing project off West Street could add as many as 80 students and could cost "a couple hundred thousand dollars" a year.
If approved, the 96-unit affordable housing project off West Street could add another 80 students to the Medfield School System, said Superintendent of Schools Robert Maguire. The Zoning Board of Appeals is expected to make that decision tonight. "I wouldn't be surprised if we have to plan on a couple hundred thousand dollars," Maguire said, noting those figures are "back of the envelope with a lot more work to be done." Gatehouse Group LLC, which proposes The Parc at Medfield, has suggested in its application that the project would add 60 students to the town's school system. At a ZBA hearing in May, town officials said those numbers are likely low. Maguire said the number appears to be a simple mathematical average taken from other …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The ZBA's financial consultant will not be able to meet with its financial consultant tonight because his return flight was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.
The Zoning Board of Appeals has postponed tonight's meeting on The Parc at Medfield, a 96-unit affordable housing development proposed off West Street, until Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. The sole purpose of tonight's meeting was to hear from the town's financial consultant regarding the financial implications of the waivers sought by applicant Gatehouse Group LLC. The ZBA office says the consultant had been out of town and his weekend return flight was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy. That consultant is now expected to make a presentation on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. but it will focus on the economical feasibility of the project, not how it will affect the town's bottom line. "What I care about is, 'What is the economic impact of these waivers…
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Zoning Board of Appeals heard from its planning consultant who summarized the issues of the project and expressed her remaining concerns.
The Board of Appeals on Zoning continued its public hearing last week on the affordable housing project proposed off West Street. Concerned neighbors and residents filled the meeting room to learn more about the 96-unit garden-style complex of four buildings on five acres to be called "The Parc at Medfield" where all units are proposed to be "affordable," or below market rate. Residents were hoping to hear from the town's financial consultant who would discuss the impact of the project on the town and the impact of the waivers the applicant, Gatehouse Group LLC, but the town did not yet have all the information the consultant needed to make his recommendations. That consultant is now expected to make a presentation on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.…
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Board of Appeals on Zoning will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Chenery Room at the Town House.
The Board of Appeals on Zoning will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Chenery Room at the Town House for the sole purpose of discussing the affordable housing project proposed off West Street. The applicant, Gatehouse Group LLC, has proposed to build 96 units of affordable housing between West Street and North Meadows Road (Route 27), a garden-style complex of four buildings on five acres to be called "The Parc at Medfield." At its last meeting, the applicant agreed to an extension until Oct. 31 so that the board could meet with additional consultants. Tonight, the ZBA will meet with the applicant as well as the ZBA's Planning Consultant, Judi Barrett, and Legal Consultant, Mark Bobrowski, to discuss progress and the results of working …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Residents say the 96-unit project will take valuable industrial land off the tax role and will add numerous expenses that will have to be paid by homeowners.
On Monday, it was the public’s turn to ask questions of developer Gatehouse Group LLC, the group that proposes an affordable housing project off West Street. The public has been following The Parc at Medfield since it was proposed in January but has not had an opportunity to ask questions while the ZBA gathered information from the applicant and town consultants. “The members of the public, at my request, have been generally silent in these hearings,” said Board of Appeals on Zoning Chairman Robert Sylvia before opening the hearing to the general public. “They have waited for their turn and we’ll listen to it, and listen to it fairly for as long as it takes.” For about 90 minutes on Monday, residents raised issues regarding town …
Jay Gerber
10:57 am on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
So my property taxes went up over 5% with the revaluation. Seems they always go up when the town reevaluates the property assessment. Wonder how much more property taxes we will have to pay when for the extra teachers, fire and police we will need for 96 low income. We need to stop this crap and start thinking what will happen once we have to support the 96 units. When is Medfield going to start … more ›