TM voters approve senior housing, FY14 budget

Though it took nearly three hours of debate and many questions, Canton voters eventually gave the green light to a 225-unit senior housing development on Route 138 at the second and final session of annual town meeting last Wednesday, May 15.

The end result was the formation of a new Senior Housing Overlay District (SHOD) and the subsequent application of that district to a property at 125 Turnpike Street, the site of the current AA Will Sand & Gravel pit. With the zoning now in place, the developer, Baltimore-based Brightview Senior Living, can move on to the site plan review process with the planning and zoning boards.

Brightview, which operates four such centers in Massachusetts, including New Pond Village in Walpole, will develop and operate the Canton site but will not file any permits until the Avalon affordable housing project is completed on Randolph Street. This will allow the town’s affordable housing percentage, which is hovering around the state minimum of 10 percent, to climb to a comfortable level somewhere between 11 and 12 percent.

Selectman Avril Elkort said the SHOD district represents a new housing option for Canton seniors who would like to stay in the town.

Attorney Dick Staiti, who represented Brightview during the process, said Canton residents will get priority residence at the center “as much as the law will provide.”

Although the final vote had very little opposition, much of the debate focused on the selectmen’s agreement with Brightview, which was passed before the 7 p.m. start time of the Wednesday town meeting session.

As part of the negotiations, Brightview agreed to double a payment to the town from $300,000 to a minimum of $600,000 in lieu of setting units aside for affordable housing. Selectman Victor Del Vecchio said the payment could be as much as $1 million based on the number of independent units that are constructed.

The cash contribution will be controlled by selectmen, and Chairman Bob Burr said the money will likely be used for affordable housing projects throughout the town.

According to Staiti, the project will transform the site on Turnpike Street from a gravel pit to a quiet, safe and attractive residential community with vast open space while fulfilling a growing need for a specific type of senior housing. The minimum age for residents is 62 years with an anticipated median age of 85. Brightview will provide meals, recreation, cleaning services, and other amenities to all residents.

The 225 units will be housed in a three-story, 175,000-square-foot building, leaving much of the 32-acre site as open space.

The project is expected to generate an additional $200,000 in property taxes for the town without adding any school children and will have a minimal impact on other town services, such as police, fire, and public works. Brightview will employ a private ambulance for non-emergency calls.

Burr said selectmen built upon a prior agreement between the developer and the Planning Board and “made it better.” He noted that the final agreement, besides doubling the cash payment and limiting the development to 225 units, stipulates that the project cannot be started until the town is certified as being over the state’s 10 percent affordable housing threshold.

After the meeting, Burr said the selectmen’s agreement will be the template for similar developments in the future, although he feels the real estate market will be limited for this type of housing.

The debate first centered on a motion proposed by resident Joseph Spades to set aside the same ratio of affordable units for independent living, assisted living, and memory care — the three types of housing contained within the development. This motion was rejected by a counted vote of 58-41.

The rest of the discussion focused on the timing of the selectmen’s agreement and the fact that residents did not have sufficient time to review the details before voting.

Resident Dean Miller opposed the selectmen’s agreement, noting that the town “should not be paid off to have affordable housing.”

Planning Board Chairman Chris Connolly commended selectmen for the agreement, noting it was more beneficial for the town.

Budget passes without opposition

The budget plan for fiscal year 2014 passed without a hitch as voters accepted the Finance Committee’s  recommended operating budget of $76.5 million. The budget covers all new contract obligations for town employees while also allowing for modest program enhancements.

According to the Finance Committee, the FY14 budget represents a 3.5 percent increase over last year’s budget, including a 4.4 percent increase for the schools, 4.3 percent for the municipal departments, and 1.3 percent for fixed costs. Revenues were bolstered by the additional meals tax, which was approved at last year’s town meeting, as well as property taxes from Canton’s first hotel, Homewood Suites, and lease payments from the solar farm at the former town landfill.

As written in the FinCom report sent to residents, the current revenue estimate for FY13 is $1 million greater than the budget because state aid was $715,000 more than anticipated and local receipts have also increased.

With new growth, Canton’s property taxes could have increased by as much as 3.7 percent, but the FinCom recommended — and voters approved — an increase of 2.4 percent.

Because of the unanticipated revenue, the town did not have to “tax to the max” to balance the budget. While the severe winter did cause the snow and ice account to be overdrawn by nearly $520,000, the FinCom’s reserve fund and surplus in the town’s health insurance budget should be sufficient to cover the shortfall.

Even with the $1.36 million transfer to pay for renovations to the new senior center, the FinCom anticipates the town’s cash reserves (free cash, stabilization fund and assessors overlay) will remain at the minimum 10 percent level required to maintain the town’s AAA bond rating.

In other news, residents and town officials held a moment of silence to remember the late Marilyn Rodman, a longtime School Committee member and philanthropist who passed away on Monday, May 13, following a lengthy illness.

Residents also applauded Dr. Pat Johnson, who is stepping down from the FinCom after seven years of service.

Prior to town meeting, selectmen appointed Jim Sims to the Cable Advisory Committee and Ann Resca to the Council on Aging.

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Posted by Mike Berger on May 23 2013. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.