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Health & Fitness

Countdown to Town Meeting: Articles in Depth Part 3

This post by Ann Marie O'Neill cross-posted from the Growing Stoneham blog: http://growingstoneham.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/countdown-to-town-meeting-articles-in-depth-part-3/

In continuing our series that examines the Warrant Articles that are on the May 5, 2014 Town Meeting agenda, Chairman Tom Boussy and I are focusing on Article 2 in today’s post. Article 2 is a proposal to remove the residential overlay at Fallon Road. Article 2 does two things: 1) sends a message to potential investors everywhere that Stoneham is a place to be avoided, and 2) highlights the need for a Town Planner. The following is the back story which will allow you to better understand why this is so.

Before doing so, let’s take a moment to understand the difference between Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting and how Warrant Articles are introduced for voting. In Stoneham we have an Annual Town Meeting every May. Warrant Articles are submitted for consideration by any citizen of Stoneham whereby they must be accompanied by 10 signatures and be submitted within the window of time defined by the Board of Selectmen. A Special Town Meeting is called when a citizen submits Warrant Articles for consideration outside of the defined window for submission, and they must be accompanied by 200 signatures. For convenience, the Special Town Meeting is held on the same night as the Annual Town Meeting. Within the Annual Town Meeting in May will have a Special Town Meeting that has 4 Warrant Articles for consideration of the voters.

Article 2, written and submitted by Paul Maisano, proposes the removal of the residential overlay at Fallon Road. It is important to remember that the residential overlay was unanimously voted on by the citizens of Stoneham at the October 2012 Special Town Meeting.

What is the residential overlay? Essentially it “overlays” a second zoning on top of an already existing zoning. In this case, it is adding a residential zoning on top of an existing light industrial zoning and together they exist as one. As a result of the overlay vote in October 2012, a developer made a substantial investment to the town to get started on a project. Now the rug may be pulled out from under them.

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The Fallon Road land has been a point of contention for many years. The owner of this property – The Richmond Company – proposed the erection of a Home Depot on that site. Richmond owns the property and, as a private owner, is entitled to do with their property what they please as long the plan fits into existing zoning and bylaws. Because neither the Home Depot nor apartments that would have been part of the project were properly zoned, the owner had to bring an overlay proposal before the voters of Stoneham. At that time, the citizens of Stoneham, especially the residents who live in the area were vehemently opposed to Home Depot and the project was stopped.

After it was clear that the residents of Stoneham did not have the appetite for a Home Depot, The Richmond Company brought an alternative idea forward for the property – a 290 unit apartment building. The proposal was brought to the Special Town Meeting in October 2012, which required the residential overlay, and it was overwhelmingly granted.

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As we already mentioned, after the overlay was approved, The Richmond Company made a significant investment on this project. The company handed a check to our Town for $90,000. Stoneham has spent this money on road repairs. Further, Richmond has pledged mitigation money to Stoneham for a total of $1.8 Million. The money is to be used for things such as resurfacing sidewalks along Fallon Road, a new pumping station, and new traffic signals on the corner of Maple and Fallon in addition to cash.

It is not farfetched to imagine that a great amount of additional time and money has already been invested by Richmond. If this overlay were reversed, what kind of message will that send to any investor looking to do business with Stoneham? It will send a message to other potential investors that this is how Stoneham does business: the Town will give you a green light to go ahead with a project, but the Town may change its mind in a couple of years after you have spent time, resources and real money. What company in their right mind would want to do business with Stoneham if we take this action? This is not a good message at all. In addition, if Article 2 passes at Town Meeting, there is a high probability that the town will be met with a justifiable lawsuit where Richmond would probably look to retrieve the money they already paid and compensation for other time and resources already committed to the project.

If we could turn back the hands of time when this building project was first considered, and if we had a Town Planner in our employ, most likely the Planner would have explored the beneficial potential of adding a Chapter 40B component. Unfortunately we cannot turn back time, but the project in the works by Richmond will provide $500K to Stoneham as soon as the building permits are granted. A portion of these funds will be committed to fund a Town Planner for the next 3 years. We believe a Town Planner is a critical piece of the puzzle for the vision and controlled advancement of Stoneham’s future.

Do we think that the development project on Fallon Road are excellent plans for Stoneham? No. However, the citizens of Stoneham voted an approval and we must respect the democratic process. More than likely the reason the article went through in the first place was that it was a more palatable plan than having a Home Depot bring more cars and trucks through Stoneham. The next proposal could have been even more displeasing. Therefore, to the voters of Stoneham, the apartment complex proposal seemed the best alternative at the time.

The lengthy and contentious history of the Fallon Road property is a clear example of why Stoneham is in dire need of a Town Planner.

 


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