One of the two parcels of land off Carlisle Road earmarked for an ambitious and diversified housing development is taking a back seat, at least for now.
But Brian DeVellis said he is still on track to deliver detailed plans as soon as the end of August for construction of a neighborhood of single-family houses, duplexes, townhouses, apartments for senior citizens, walkable streets, a community center, and a village green.
DeVellis, a landscape architect and land-use planning attorney, is proposing a Local Initiative Project (LIP), which under state law streamlines the approval process if at least 25 percent of the new units meet the criteria of affordable housing.
The plan will bypass zoning considerations and require only a comprehensive permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals if the Select Board, Housing Partnership, and state Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHD) endorse the plan.
Originally the proposal included units of “co-housing,” on a parcel a little west of the intersection of North and Carlisle Roads. Plans were to construct a single building with common living and cooking space and individual bedrooms.
“We floated it by the DCHD,” DeVellis said Friday, “and they’re having a hard time figuring out” how to incorporate co-housing in the LIP criteria. “We knew from the beginning co-housing was something not entirely tested in the process,” he said.
DeVellis said he is continuing to pursue the idea, assembling case studies for DCHD consideration. Meanwhile, he continued, the original plan is now essentially two projects, and he is moving forward with the larger parcel, further west on the north side of Carlisle Road.
“If this ends up being just the west parcel, I think it’s still a real opportunity,” he said. DeVellis hopes the permit is approved by winter.
The co-housing plans could be appended later “if we can convince DCHD in time and co-housing is something the town wants.” The fallback, he said, is a separate conventional planned residential development with single-family houses.
On July 14, the Energy and Sustainability Committee was the latest local board to respond favorably to the housing proposal. The town, DeVellis said Friday, “is really embracing this. Finally, we have reached the point where we’re seeing the real need for this.”
DeVellis, a Bedford native, explained to the Energy Committee that the plan is an effort to respond to housing needs identified in the 2013 comprehensive plan and the 2019 town housing study. He cited starter homes, workforce, and senior housing. “We’re offering a housing development that has a mix,’’ he said, making it easier for young people to remain in the community and “sustain continuity of historical knowledge.”
DeVellis said buildings in his portfolio over the past 15 years try to maximize the use of green energy. He cited the solar array on the Edge sports center on Hartwell Road. At an indoor sports center in Wellesley, he continued, heat-exchange pumps transfer energy from the hockey rinks to warm water in the pool.
“We’re really looking to bring this thought process to Carlisle Road,” he told the committee. “We’re looking at solar on the rooftops for at least the larger structures; we know the importance of having a solar array on a single house and it’s certainly in the works for what we’re doing. All will be built in the highest energy code for residential.”
He added that there is land available that could serve as a source for geothermal energy. Member Christine Rabinowitz asked a specific question about geothermal, and DeVellis replied, “We are at the beginning stages, and I’m open to anything.” He also said electric vehicle charging ports are part of the plans.
Plans also call for trailhead parking connecting to adjacent conservation land, as well as a sidewalk along Carlisle Road to the commercial area at the Routes 4 and 225 fork. Committee Chair Emily Prince said, “Let us know how we can assist you. Consider us a resource.”
DeVellis said he is preparing the financial pro forma required by the state and will continue to seek input from relevant town boards – Council on Aging, and the Trails, Bicycle Advisory, and Transportation Advisory Committees.
He also welcomes comments from the public and is planning specific neighborhood meetings closer to autumn. He is anticipating questions about traffic, noise, and groundwater.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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