Update on the Swains Pond 40B Project

The City of Melrose was recently notified that MassHousing, a state development agency, has issued a Project Eligibility Letter (PEL) for a proposed development that would involve the construction of 36 homeownership units in six townhouse buildings with access to roads off of Swains Pond Avenue and Hillside Park. By issuing the PEL, MassHousing has approved the project to move forward with applying for a Comprehensive Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

 

This approval follows many months of back and forth between the City and MassHousing in which we relayed our significant and unwavering concerns about the project in the hopes that a PEL would be denied. On December 6, 2018, the developer, Swains Pond Development LLC, initially submitted an application to MassHousing asking for permission to construct 124 units in two multifamily buildings on the Swains Pond Avenue site. After significant pushback from my administration, the developer resubmitted an application for 44 townhouse units. MassHousing issued a Site Approval Application Notification to the City of Melrose on March 18, 2019, which was our first official notification from MassHousing and which set in motion the review process that has occurred over the past six months.

 

On March 28, MassHousing representatives visited the site as part of their review process. The City responded to MassHousing in writing on May 1 with our opposition to the project and we also encouraged residents to submit their own comments. After we sent this communication, the developer’s attorney, Regnante Sterio LLP, responded in a letter to MassHousing on May 28, 2019. The City sent another follow-up letter to MassHousing on June 17, 2019.

 

After MassHousing raised a site control concern about whether the proposed new residents have a legal right to use Maple Terrace as a means of access and egress, the developer resubmitted their application again on August 15, 2019, this time for a 36-unit development that removes the two townhouse buildings off Hillside Terrace. Given that the new proposal did not alleviate any of the City’s concerns, we instructed our 40B attorney to submit additional comments to MassHousing regarding other legal issues posed by the development. Much to our dismay and objection, MassHousing opted to issue the PEL and allow the project to move forward with the Comprehensive Permit process. 

 

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is the Permit Granting Authority for Comprehensive Permit Applications. The ZBA will hold public hearings on the proposed project after an Application has been filed, which will include multiple opportunities for public comments on any aspect of the project. Notice of the public hearing will be provided through written notice mailed to abutters and legal notice in the local media and my administration will provide updates on the Mayor’s blog and the City’s web site so all residents can participate in the public hearings and engage in the process. We intend to push for changes that result in a project that complies with state and federal laws and regulations, genuinely adheres to sustainable development principles and addresses all of the local concerns we have raised and that have been echoed by the overwhelming number of residents who submitted comments to MassHousing.

 

All correspondence from the City of Melrose, MassHousing, and Regnante Sterio LLP, as well as an updated application for the 36-unit project, is available to view on the city website.