Residents at land forum still want study of wildlife

By Michael Wyner
STAFF WRITER

Residents at Saturday’s land conservation forum seemed mainly in favor of the proposed Highland Meadows senior development on the 44-acre parcel of land on Highland Street formerly known as the Paine Estate.

However, a handful of residents remained worried about the wildlife impact of any development on the site.

“I’m concerned that the community isn’t thinking about habitat for all living things,” said one woman, hoping that the new bylaw to allow Highland Meadows in town will consider such issues. “If it’s in the bylaw â“ the attitude that we live better among all living things â“ then perhaps it will happen, but if we get frightened by this is the best we can do, I worry.”

The proposed bylaw allowing active adult residential developments (AARD) for people over age 55 on tracts of land in town over 40 acres will need two-thirds approval from residents at Town Meeting, which starts on May 11. Also up for a vote is the concept plan for the Highland Meadows development itself, a 69-unit cluster subdivision that would be the first to take advantage of the AARD.

A Planning Board hearing on Highland Meadows took place last night after press deadlines.

Kay McCahan, a member of the Weston Land Trust, believes Highland Meadows would have less impact on the land than other possibilities such as a standard subdivision of 26 single homes or a Chapter 40B project of up to 200 units.

“The land planner for Highland Meadows is named Sasaki, and they’re one of the best in the world,” McCahan said. “They’re a very environmentally sound land planner. They try to figure out how to work with the land.”

McCahan noted that Highland Meadows would only require one septic system for the entire subdivision as opposed to 26 individual septic systems for 26 homes, and that the developer has expressed interest in saving older trees and historic stone walls wherever possible.

“What exactly is going to happen to the birds and turtles, I don’t know, but I think the land will be less disturbed with a clustered subdivision,” said McCahan.

With the 69-unit cluster, two-thirds of the property will remain as open space. However, one attendee at the forum questioned whether that would simply be the land in between the 69 units.

“The project has a deep vegetative buffer around the perimeter,” said Robin Reisman, president of the Weston Land Trust, “but it’s not all undisturbed open space, some of it is threading between the houses.”

Last week, the Finance Committee discussed the economic impacts of Highland Meadows versus a standard subdivision or a Chapter 40B project, and found that Highland Meadows would bring the largest net gain to the town of about $775,000 a year. In contrast, a 200-unit Chapter 40B project could cost the town as much as $1.5 million a year in police and school services.

With the seven affordable units at Highland Meadows, Weston will stay about the same in its percentage of housing stock being classified as affordable, remaining at just above 3 percent.

The state has been encouraging towns to reach a goal of 10 percent in order to avoid being presented with Chapter 40B proposals, which override many local zoning protections. They call for as much as 25 percent of a development to be affordable.

“We’re not losing percentage points but we’re not gaining any either,” said Reisman of the town’s affordable housing percentage with Highland Meadows.

Chapter 40B

One resident at the land conservation forum on Saturday asked whether any towns have been successful in fighting off large-scale Chapter 40B projects at the state level, to which panelist Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens Housing and Planning Association, said the chances are slim.

“The vast majority are ruled in favor of the developer, it’s just a fact. A lot are withdrawn, a lot are settled and negotiated before a decision is rendered,” Gornstein said. “But in terms of the Housing Appeals Committee ruling in favor of town, it’s a relatively small percentage, maybe 10 percent. Most end up getting negotiated.”

“We can’t stop it,” Reisman said of Chapter 40B. “It’s a state law. It’s to encourage affordable housing, and it’s working, towns are going up.”

Gornstein said one way towns can stay ahead of Chapter 40B projects is to work with nonprofit agencies to get to their affordable housing goal.

“I think there’s an opportunity to work cooperatively with a nonprofit or even a for-profit, take the initiative, and take more control over what you want,” he said. “Maybe it’s less density, maybe it’s more preservation of open space, so you’re not subject to the whims of a 40B developer. Putting together a housing plan is the best way to do it.”