Friday, March 2, 2001

Officials set stage for hearing on PDD

By Steve DeMarco

BURLINGTON – The Planning Board Thursday night heard an initial presentation on the proposed three-way land exchange including the Planned Development District (PDD) for land located between Wall Street and Mountain Road, learning it will play a key role in the proceedings.

The Board of Selectmen unveiled the entire plan earlier in the week, calling it “a development-preservation project.”

The process started in late 1999.  The components are a town-owned parcel off Wheeler Road; Grandview Farms on Center Street, owned by local developer Gary Ruping; and land owned by the Gutierrez Co., between Wall Street and Mountain Road.

Before Town Administrator Robert Mercier made the presentation, Planning Director Tony Fields told the board, “I would not recommend a significant question-and-answer period, because this is not part of the public-hearing process.”

Fields then said the public hearing for the Wall Street – Mountain Road PDD would be opened at the next Planning Board session, scheduled for March 15.

“It is not a final product, the Planning Board will have a lot to say in what the final product looks like,” said Mercier.  He added that the plan changed “as recently as yesterday, although it was nothing substantive.”

“We feel good about the process,” Mercier told the planners.  “We have here a conceptual plan that can work.”

Mercier explained the housing component proposed for the Wall Street PDD would involve 144 market-rate units and 36 senior affordable units.

All the housing would be constructed by Ruping, with the market-rate units on land he owns, and the other apartments on property conveyed to the town.

The site would be broken into four sections, and on one of them, the Gutierrez Co. would construct a 170,000-square-foot office building (for which it has already gained approval from the Planning Board) with a parking structure.

Other aspects include a re-location of the Winn Street Towing facility to the end of the Wall Street cul-de-sac, and about seven acres set aside as a habitat for the Eastern box turtle.

Mercier stated that access to the area will be off Wall Street and “Mountain Road access will be precluded, except for emergency access.”

The town administrator added that there will be “amenities, such as a pool” at the market-rate units, and that the senior units would have a restriction “in perpetuity” for Burlington residents.

As part of the deal, Gutierrez will pay $75,000 to the town each year for 20 years. 

Mercier then referred to the proposed PDD for Grandview Farms, which would include 48 senior affordable units.  These would be managed by the Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council, a not-for-profit group that has expressed interest in constructing the units.

“We have asked them to stay away from federal money,” said Mercier.  “We asked them to go the route of conventional financing, but they will need 48 (units) to at least break even.”

Mercier went on to say that they would be for “Burlington residents” and there would be “controlled rents.”  Stipulations of that still need to be finalized, the town administrator said.

“So far, we haven’t talked about any tax dollars,” said Mercier.  “We are trying to avoid tax dollars to make this work.”

“There are four sets of attorneys’ eyes on this,” said Mercier.  “It is a difficult, time-consuming process.”

“I think the key issue is hopefully no tax dollars will be needed,” said Selectman Gary Gianino.  He also noted the fact that of 220 apartments, 84 would be set aside for Burlington residents, a total of 37 percent.

“A lot of this work falls under your purview,” said Gianino.  “Hopefully with your help, we will meet our goal… We are ecstatic we’ve gotten this far, we look forward to moving ahead.”

Gianino said he believes a key matter will be explaining the PDD bylaw to Town Meeting members.

“I don’t think we’ve explained fully what a PDD is,” Gianino stated.  “We should educate them, fully explain what the benefits of a PDD are.”

Gianino added that “we’ve only heard negative comments” about the PDD, at Town Meeting.

“We want everybody to be on board in knowing what this is,” said Albert Fay, a member of the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen.  “The big issue is the PDD and people knowing what it is.”

Fay added that “nobody will be left out of the fold” with regard to this land exchange.

Mercier said he is targeting a special Town Meeting for “the end of April or early May,” and that ultimately, there could be “between 10 and 12 warrant articles and they have to be sequential or it doesn’t happen.”

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