Planning Board supports zoning amendment for Paine Estate development
By John Hilliard
STAFF WRITER
Hoping to preserve the town’s rural character, the Planning Board is supporting a zoning bylaw amendment to allow a 69-unit senior housing development in town.
“We believe that this is the best alternative for the town,” said board Chairman Alfred Aydelott. “We want to protect this town’s character as much as we can.”
Developer Lee Barbieri wants to build 69 high-end units on the 44-acre Paine Estate on Highland Street. The units will be a mix of about 20 different styles and will combine both single- and multi-unit homes.
The project will limit prospective buyers to those above 55 years of age who can afford the estimated $900,000 to $1.75 million per unit.
“There’s a huge demand in Weston for over 55 (housing),” said Barbieri, who paid $20 million for the site in February 2004.
Seven of the 69 Highland Meadows units will be available to lower-income buyers as affordable housing at an estimated price of roughly $180,000, Barbieri said.
To allow the project in town, the board spent 15 months working with developer Barbieri to create a zoning bylaw that would allow age-restricted housing developments in town.
“He’s tried to be cooperative with what the Planning Board has asked him to develop,” said Aydelott. “The Planning Board has worked hard to minimize the impact as much as we possibly could.”
Public hearings at the Town Hall will review the proposed bylaw on March 30 at 8 p.m. and April 13 at 7:45 p.m. A hearing on Barbieri’s project will be held on April 13 at 8:15 p.m.
Voters will decide the fate of the bylaw at Town Meeting in May.
The proposed zoning bylaw would allow age-restricted developments for buyers 55 years of age and older. Projects would need a site with at least 40 contiguous acres of land “ excluding wetlands “ and require landscaping steps to blend a new development into the surrounding neighborhood.
The bylaw would require 10 percent of the project’s housing stock to be considered affordable, as determined by state guidelines. Affordable units do not have age requirements for residents.
Currently, 3.3 percent of Weston’s housing counts as affordable. Neighboring Wayland also has about 3.3 percent affordable housing and Sudbury has just under 4 percent.
Weston’s effort to cultivate affordable housing is a “positive thing,” according to Aaron Goldstein, executive director of the nonprofit Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). Since 1967, the Boston-based group has promoted affordable housing through advocacy with local, state and federal officials, as well as coordinating housing development activities throughout the state.
“It’s always better to be planning ahead and working with developers,” he said. Officials worry that without the bylaw, Barbieri would sell the site to another developer, leaving it open to denser development.
Aydelott said the Paine Estate could possibly support as many as 200 units under the state’s Chapter 40B laws, which allows builders to trump local zoning if at least 25 percent of a development is considered affordable by state guidelines.
“This development would realize a much higher return (for the developer) with a 40B project,” Aydelott said. “We know there are 40B developers who are interested in that (site) and the political climate is right for that.”
Town officials admit they would rather see the Paine Estate remain as open space.
“I think everyone would love it if it could remain pristine, beautiful open space,” said Aydelott. “I think the project will have a huge impact on the town “ there’s no escaping it.”
Goldstein said communities like Weston and nearby Sudbury have been revamping zoning laws and encouraging developers to include lower-priced housing in projects. But larger increases in affordable homes usually come from developments built according to Chapter 40B of the state law.
“I don’t think 40B is something to be feared,” said Gornstein. “It doesn’t have to be an adversarial process.”