What happens now with Weiss Farm?

Tonight we heard from Atty. Witten about the status on Weiss Farm and Corcoran Company’s application under 40B for Mass Housing.  It was disheartening to realize that in a country that prides itself in its Constitution and our rights under the Bill of Rights and the First and Fourteenth Amendment that residents of the town of Stoneham and the City of Melrose are held captive by Chapter 40B and Mass Housing. Mass Housing does not hold a public hearing where we as citizens of the United States can appear and state our serious concerns for a project “Too Large for Stoneham”

Court cases in the past have ruled that it doesn’t matter that a town may not have adequate apparatus to put out fires at a complex of this magnitude. The town is obligated to provide proper equipment and in the case of Stoneham a new fire station to facilitate the storage of proper vehicles to cover 5-story buildings.   Will Mass Housing give us the funds to purchase the necessary equipment?  Will the state?  Will our taxes increase to pay for these items?   Not only will we have a development stuffed down our throats but we will doubly pay for it also.  Nice!!!! The amount derived from taxes on this complex will probably cover less than a third of the services it will require.

Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution the Due Process Clause prohibits state and local government officials from depriving person of life, liberty or property without legislative authorization.  The Equal Protection Clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction.  After the meeting tonight I felt deprived since I cannot face in person the individuals at Mass Housing who rule on this developers application under Chapter 40B.

We are not alone in this serious problem, as the City of Melrose will also feel the impact due to serious soil erosion and potential flooding.  Will Mass Housing take that into consideration along with the acute density of the area?

What are the alternatives to not appearing in person at a public hearing?

Voice your opinions to our town officials and continue to write letters to Mass. Housing.  The power of the pen must rule and many precise, factual letters must be continually sent to Mass Housing, Town Officials and State Officials about the serious problems such a development will create to our communities.  Be polite but firm and absolutely factual of the need of Mass Housing to reject Corcoran’s project. 

Keep informed and check out http://friendsofstoneham.org/

, Friends of Stoneham Facebook page and http://www.stoneham-ma.gov/

Secondly inquiring minds want to know why the Board of Selectmen went into Executive Session on Weiss Farm tonight and the Standing Committee was not present at that session.  Did we not allocate $250,000 legal fees at Town Meeting for legal representation with the addition of a Standing Committee to be a part of the protocol on the Weiss Farm project?  Unlike other executive sessions held by the Board this item was explicitly voted on by Town Meeting with a Standing Committee and therefore under the umbrella of the Board.  Why were they not part of this specific session?