Brian DeVellis will update plans for a 170-unit mixed-use housing development on two Carlisle Road sites at a public meeting on Tuesday, March 5, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Reed Room of Town Hall.
DeVellis, the attorney and landscape architect who unveiled the first version of the proposal in 2021, is calling it a “neighborhood meeting.”
“We want to let everyone know where we’ve been,” he said. “It’s still very much what we presented to the town last fall.”
The version approved by the Select Board a few months ago on a 35-acre parcel features 10 single-family houses along Carlisle Road, 12 triplexes on the perimeter road, eight duplexes in the interior, 16 townhouses on the north boundary, and a three-story building with 42 apartments.
A 51-unit rental apartment complex for older residents is proposed for a separate 14-acre site near the junction of Carlisle and North roads.
The proposal has been endorsed by the Housing Partnership and the Select Board as a Local Initiative Project (LIP). Under state law, that means it is exempt from zoning density requirements because at least 25 percent of the units will meet the state’s definition of “affordable housing.”
DeVellis is anticipating a regulatory agreement from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Then the plan will advance to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a comprehensive permit. DeVellis said he will check with the board on its workload, and probably will file for the permit in March or April.
The proposal, DeVellis has said, is a response to the 2019 local housing study indicating a demand for a range of housing options, particularly for the “missing middle.”
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I am Tom Barnett and I live across the street from this huge departure from existing zoning laws that has been proposed by Mr. DeVellis . Two 4 story buildings , garage under , if built will be a blight to this side of Bedford . I understand that we need housing but the triplexes and duplexes and the 10 row houses down Carlisle road will contribute to those housing needs that by law Bedford has already met .These 10 row houses will be 35 feet off the road and 25 feet apart .Many of the people I know including professionals in all fields think this is to much . The Selectboard that has approved this are creating a town the current residence are leaving in discuss . Please show up March 5 but more importantly let the Zoning Board know that this size of a development , although good for the developer , will be one more step to making the Town of Bedford a memory .