The Zoning Board of Appeals, the deciding authority for the town’s largest proposed housing development in a generation, will be looking for legal guidance on the boundaries of its role.
“There’s a lot more to be discussed,” said member Karl Winkler about plans for a 171-unit mixed-use complex on two sites north of Carlisle Road.
Brian DeVellis, the attorney and landscape architect, has said the plans are in response to needs identified by the town’s 2019 housing study. One hundred twenty units are planned for acreage less than a half mile west of North Road. A 51-unit senior apartment complex is proposed for a site behind Northside convenience store.
The proposal is a Local Initiative Project (LIP), which means that under state law, because of its affordable component, it needs only a comprehensive permit from the Board of Appeals. The plan, as required, has been endorsed by the Select Board and the Housing Partnership, and the state Department of Housing and Livable Communities has signed off on the concept.
Board of Appeals members on Thursday agreed to submit their questions to Robert Kalantari, chair, who will forward them to the best resource for answers, perhaps town counsel or state officials.
Kalantari has distributed text of the state law regulating the comprehensive permit process. “This board hasn’t dealt with anything like this,” he said. A recent LIP approval involved 20 units at the corner of South Road and Summer Street. “We learn as we go,” he said.
Some of the members’ questions that came up during Thursday’s meeting were:
- Can the board reduce the capacity or the density of the development? Member Lucille Wilson commented, “I think we’re really not negotiating the number of units.” Responded member Angelo Colasante, “If this board doesn’t have that ability, then we might as well not meet.” He added, “As a board, we have a right to assess.” Neighborhood opponents have stressed that they feel the density is not consistent with the area.
- When does the Conservation Commission get involved? Winkler noted a history of saturation on the parcel behind Northside. DeVellis has said he has procured the legal wetlands boundaries on the site.
- Is there a time limit? “I’m not going to rush this,” said Kalantari. “I think they understand that this is not a quick four- or five-meetings. We are getting information and have to digest it.” But his colleague Tom Flaherty said it’s not fair to the developer to prolong the process. “We need counsel to advise us on timing, and on what is the degree to which we can require them to do something?”
Winkler pointed out that the board hasn’t discussed the details of the so-called east parcel; DeVellis only recently received the state project eligibility letter on that part of the plan from the state. “There’s a long road before we are going to be able to get to approve both,” he said.
Earlier in the meeting, DeVellis and his planning expert, Mark Fougere of Milford, NH, presented data that they said shows that the new housing will have a positive financial impact on the town.
Part of that formula was the prediction that the 171 units would generate 27 students enrolled in local schools. Fougere said that projection was based on extrapolation from current enrollment in various types of housing.
Kalantari was skeptical. “I can’t imagine adding this many bedrooms and adding only 27 school- age children,” he said. Plans include 48 three-bedroom units, and Kalantari said, “Your number doesn’t make sense to me.”
He said, “This would be a prime place for people to move in and raise their families. And I’m fine with that. But I want the board to make an informed decision.”
Colasante said a more accurate basis of comparison would be the number of bedrooms in a development rather than the number of units. DeVellis said, “I think it’s a perfectly reasonable request.”
“I think the town has a need for a great portion of this project. Where I get concerned is the potential impact of the three-bedroom homes,” Colasante said. “Do you have a specific metric that you have to carry so many? Can you reduce it?” DeVellis replied that a LIP’s financial viability requires state approval and sale prices are a factor. And there’s a ceiling on profit. “I can look at it but I can’t promise.”
Fougere explained that he met with the school superintendent and finance director, and they agreed that the only identifiable cost impact from additional students would be in the area of special education. He said students would in effect be filling empty seats.
Since about 19 percent of Bedford Public Schools students are under the special education umbrella, accounting for an average expenditure of almost $50,000 per capita, the proportional financial impact of 27 additional students would be $254,700.
DeVellis pointed out that even if this number is doubled, the development still generates a surplus. That’s because the estimated real estate tax revenue is $957,000, based on the current tax rate. He added $53,820 for 234 cars based on an average excise tax of $234, and an additional $28,730 in community preservation surcharge. “We’re not looking for approval based on making money, but we are a long way from this being an economic burden on the town,” he asserted.
The methodology for computing these estimates is based on that used by the Bedford Assessing Department, Fougere said.
Fougere also calculated the impact on public safety services after analyzing data and conferring with Bedford police and fire chiefs.
Proportionately, he reported, based on the combination of housing, the project can be expected to generate 87 police calls, 22 fire calls, and 24 rescue calls a year. The cost averaging resulted in an increase of about $30,000 a year. He also projected a $30,000 impact on fire and rescue, $6,300 on Council on Aging programs, and negligible effect on other town departments.
Fougere said the chiefs “mentioned basically the same thing: this project and others like it will increase demands on their departments and may lead to staff increases.” A recent staffing study recommended increasing the police force by several officers.
The planner said his data are about a year-and-a-half old, and Flaherty commented, “We have to use the data that exists today.” DeVellis said this is the most thorough economic impact report he has ever arranged.
Colasante asked if the developer could provide the town with some type of bonded assurance, in case the project has to be abandoned before completion. DeVellis said he would inquire, but stressed, “This is a good project for a good town. I don’t want to leave a blighted site.”
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