The fight is over: Town reaches accord with Westwood Station developer

Following four-plus years of legal wrangling and failed negotiations, the longstanding dispute between the town of Canton and Westwood Station developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes appears to finally be over after both sides reached an agreement in principle late last week that would satisfy virtually all of the town’s demands.

Selectman Victor Del Vecchio, speaking via conference call along with Selectman Bob Burr, said he would remain “cautiously optimistic” until the final details between CC&F and the state could be ironed out, but otherwise hailed the settlement as a “big victory” and said he was “delighted with the results.”

“This is a success story,” Del Vecchio said. “This is a good resolution for the town of Canton.”

The settlement not only grants town officials their biggest wish — construction of “critical infrastructure” on and around Dedham Street to handle the additional traffic that the project is expected to generate — but it also includes a provision for future traffic mitigation if necessary, as well as an “enforceability” clause that would prevent the project from going forward if Canton’s needs were somehow not being met.

On top of that, CC&F has agreed to provide Canton with a “full and complete” reimbursement of all costs incurred while defending itself, including all legal fees as well as money spent on traffic studies. The developer has also agreed to “materially reduce the size and scope of the project,” which initially called for 4.5 million square feet of retail, residential, hotel and office space on 135 acres near the Westwood/Canton border.

Del Vecchio said that last provision would not rule out the possibility of future expansion, although CC&F President Jay Doherty has stated publicly that his focus for now has shifted away from residential units in favor of “big box” anchor stores such as Target and Wegmans grocers.

Lastly, both sides agreed to the termination of all associated lawsuits, present and future, and Canton agreed to cooperate with the town of Westwood to help mitigate the effects of ongoing construction in the area.

Del Vecchio said that while the town did not get everything it wanted, it still got a number of key benefits, not the least of which was the recovery of over $1 million in town funds.

“And most importantly, we got the ability to handle the traffic,” he said. “We thought that any development had to be tied to infrastructure, and we achieved that.”

Significantly helping matters, of course, was Governor Deval Patrick’s renewed interest in the massive mixed-use project and its ability to create thousands of new jobs. The state even agreed to spend $55 million on infrastructure improvements as long as CC&F agreed to two stipulations: commencing construction of at least 400,000 square feet of new development in 2010, and striking a reasonable deal with the town of Canton.

“We are fortunate with the timing that the state is motivated,” Burr said. “I think in the end that is what made the difference.”

Del Vecchio added that Canton owes a debt of gratitude to Representative William Galvin and Senator Brian Joyce for representing its interests throughout the entire negotiation process. He also said certain members of the Patrick administration, including Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki and Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan, were “instrumental” in achieving a resolution.

In addition, Burr personally thanked Del Vecchio for all of the wisdom and experience he brought to the negotiations as an attorney. He then thanked his fellow selectmen for “remaining steadfast and committed to doing the right thing for the town,” and he reserved his final thanks for the town’s residents for publicly supporting the board’s efforts on multiple occasions.

“Many towns may not have had that type of cooperation among all residents to be able to stay in this as long as we did,” Burr said.

Del Vecchio also echoed a sentiment expressed by Burr, namely that the agreement — and all of its associated mitigation — is even more impressive when one remembers that the project is not even in Canton. At the same time, he said it took a tremendous amount of time and energy on their part, and faith on the part of residents, to achieve the desired results.

“This has been a very difficult process, and it’s been a costly process,” he said. “But I think in the final analysis it’s been a successful process for the town of Canton.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1632

Posted by Jay Turner on Mar 11 2010. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.