Neighborhood group unites against Milton-Canton 40B

What do blue spotted salamanders, prehistoric stone tools, and the idyllic charm of a 100-year-old neighborhood have in common?

As far as a group of 12 families on the Canton-Milton border are concerned, all three would be seriously threatened if a large affordable housing development were permitted to move forward as planned under the state’s Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit Act.

Brush Hill Road is at top right (Courtesy of Deborah Felton of Fuller Village)

The project, proposed by Texas-based Mill Creek Residential Trust and referred to in plans as Milton Mews, would add 276 rental units on a 22-acre parcel between Brush Hill Road and Hemenway Drive — a private country way off Green Street that straddles the town line.

Although primarily in Milton, there is a small portion of the development site that lies in Canton, and the potential impacts, neighbors say, would be far reaching for both communities.

“This open space has been pristine and preserved since historic times,” noted Hemenway Drive resident Denny Swenson in a recent presentation before the Planning Board. “Breaking into this area and taking a 20-acre chunk out would take away endangered species’ habitats, water filtration, and open space.”

Swenson, whose home is literally half in Milton and half in Canton, has become somewhat of a spokesperson for the Hemenway Drive Association — a small yet well-connected and highly mobilized neighborhood group whose focus as of late has been the Milton Mews project.

The association has put together a binder full of information, complete with maps, charts, and other pertinent documents that outline their chief concerns, including traffic impacts to Route 138, potential damage to the ecosystem of nearby Fowl Meadow — designated by the state as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern — and the lack of adequate access for emergency vehicles.

The neighbors are part of a broader coalition of opponents that includes state senator and Milton resident Brian Joyce, the Fuller Village independent living community, the Neponset River Watershed Association, and Friends of the Blue Hills — a rare show of force even for a controversial 40B proposal.

All of these groups have voiced their concerns to the Milton selectmen, who earlier this month sent a 15-page letter to MassHousing detailing their own list of objections. Now the Hemenway group is bringing its binder and “punch list” to Canton, where the consensus among town officials has been one of sympathy for the neighbors and concern for the project’s impacts.

“Rest assured, this board is taking this very seriously,” said Selectmen Chairman Sal Salvatori during a discussion on the project last week. “And we’re not stopping at a single piece of correspondence. We are going to continue to actively monitor the situation, to pursue the situation, and to comment on the situation, and attempt to shape it and do whatever we possibly can to mitigate the negative impacts on Canton.”

The correspondence Salvatori referenced was a letter to the state that he said preserves the town’s right to “continue in the process” and to be able to “participate in comments as the project moves forward.”

Selectmen have also been asked by MassHousing to weigh in on the project by July 1, which has requested Canton’s input as it seeks to determine whether to finance the proposal in accordance with Chapter 40B.

And while the final say on the comprehensive permit would appear to rest with the Milton zoning board, selectmen believe they might have a case for jurisdiction as long as a part of the site remains in Canton.

“Why would they bother putting Canton in this since they know we have exceeded [the 10 percent affordable housing threshold] unless it were needed in some way for their proposal?” suggested Selectman Victor Del Vecchio, adding that “if it is needed, then I think they should be coming before us.”

Hemenway Drive (Courtesy of Denny Swenson)

The Canton Planning Board, meanwhile, has also taken an interest in the project and in fact has already pledged its support for the neighbors’ cause, voting unanimously to oppose the current development after hearing from both Swenson and neighbor Nick Vinke at a presentation on June 5.

Led by new chairman Jeremy Comeau, the board agreed to send its own letter to MassHousing detailing its concerns with the project and demanding that it be forced to comply “without deviation” from Canton’s regulations and bylaws.

“I for one stand behind you,” Comeau told the neighbors, “and I applaud you for what you’re doing.”

Board members shared many of the same concerns expressed by Swenson and Vinke at the hearing, including impacts to the historic nature of the Hemenway neighborhood, which was built by noted Canton citizen Augustus Hemenway Jr., as well as traffic and environmental concerns.

The board’s letter even mentioned the blue spotted salamander, a species that is rare in Massachusetts but endemic to the region. Swenson noted how the area’s combination of upland forest and wetlands are both needed as the salamander travels once a year to the nearby vernal pools to breed.

Both Swenson and Vinke also highlighted the archaeological significance of the area, including the neighboring Green Hill site, which served as a seasonal encampment for Native Americans dating back to prehistoric times.

“When you say Native American, you think, well, maybe colonial times or before,” said Vinke, “but we are talking prehistoric times. We are talking 12 to maybe 15,000 years ago.”

Swenson said there are three known “significant archaeological sites within a half mile of the proposed development” and she suggested that Canton request a professional archaeological survey be done “by an independent firm and paid for by the developer before site approval.”

Besides drafting a letter of opposition, Planning Board members also voted to prepare an article for the next town meeting proposing that Hemenway Drive be designated as a scenic way, which would further help to protect the natural features of the road.

In addition, at the board’s most recent meeting on June 19, members agreed to add the Hemenway neighborhood to a working list of “priority preservation sites” being prepared by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in conjunction with the South Coast Rail Project. Comeau said the special designation, which also includes priority development sites, would open up certain areas of town to grant opportunities and would add “another layer of protection.”

In the meantime, Comeau feels that town officials and fellow residents should “stand behind” the neighbors and support their efforts.

“It really seems to me that it would be a major detriment to the neighborhood and to our citizens, our wetlands, and our historic nature,” he said.

“It’s also a private way, and we do have deeds and covenants and agreements,” added Swenson, “and we are in a position where we have to sort of come together as a unified community and stand up to a $46 million development … we need to call on everyone we can for their assistance to protect our rights and make sure they do take things like safety into consideration now before it ends up falling on us.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jun 27 2013. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.