Category Archives: Affordable housing / 40B

Gatehouse’s engineering firm, Merrikin, delivered a letter today to the Zoning Board of Appeals that responds to the points raised by the town, point by point, over 25 pages.

The Board of Selectmen has asked the town’s Affordaable Housing Committee to develop an affordable housing production plan, and the Board of Selectmen is currently seeking people to join the Affordable Housing Committee to assist in the creation of that affordable housing production plan for the town.

The affordable housing production plan is what defines the town’s policies and goals in terms of affordable housing, and having and implementing an affordable housing production plan can also provide protection against unwanted 40B developments.

Anyone interested in working o this issue for the Town of Medfield should contact the Board of Selectmen’s administrative assistant, Evelyn Clarke, at 508-906-3012.

Gatehouse came to Medfield twice yesterday, to present the same materails both times, first to the town administrators in the morning and then to the Affordable Housing Committee in the evening. I attended the evening meeting.  The main points I picked up:

• Gatehouse plans to hold complex for the long term
• units will remain affordable for at least 30 years, and probably 50 years
• # of 3 bedroom units is dictated by DHCD, and cannot change
• town can get two years protection from other 40B developments from this one if we adopt an Affordable Housing Production Plan that includes this one (protection maxs out at two years)
• 24/7 management on site
• buildings cannot be moved back from West Street (as I requested) due to the wetlands
• rent levels are set low (that is the affordable part), but tenant payments of rents are not otherwise subsidized
• no balconies
• sidewalks not yet planned from the site to the rest of the town
• they promised a projected # of school children and turnover rates based on surveys of their other complexes
• $25 m. expected cost

I have attached the materials that I gathered:

1. Gatehouse brochure – https://medfield02052.blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120330-gatehouse-handout-brochure.pdf
2. Gatehouse handout on rents -https://medfield02052.blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120330-gatehouse-handout.pdf
3. Gatehouse presenters’ business cards – https://medfield02052.blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120330-gatehouse-presenters-cards.pdf
4. My notes on the meeting – https://medfield02052.blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120330-olp-notes-on-gatehouse-presentation.pdf

Gatehouse representatives met with town  personnel this morning, and will meet with the town’s Affordable Housing Committee this evening at 6:15 PM, at the Town House.  This was the email from Mike Sullivan this morning when I emailed to ask for the time of the AHC meeting –

“It’s at 6:15 pm. in the Selectmen’s meeting room. The meeting this morning went until about 9:45 Kris took notes and will put them on the web site. Gatehouse had three people there, Brian McMillan, vice-president from Gatehouse, James Koningisor from Koningisor, Luciano & Associates (construction management/owners representation) and Ted Cannon their attorney. They gave a presentation, and answered questions. They will be repeating this tonight at the Affordable Housing Committee meeting.”

Mike Sullivan just told me that Gatehouse is meeting tomorrow evening with the town’s Affordable Housing Committee.  I have asked and he has not yet told me the time of that meeting. I am also waiting to hear back from his polling of the Affordable Housing Committee members whether they are interested in creating an affordable housing production plan for the town, so that the Board of Selectmen can figure out whether a new citizen advisory committee on the 40B issues is needed.

The town is also holding a working meeting with Gatehouse, at which the Board of Selectmen will be represented by Ann Thompson, where she is taking over as chair at the next meeting of the Board of Selectmen.  Judy Barrett, as the town’s newly hired 40B consultant, will also be at that meeting.

The town has scheduled a meeting with Gatehouse about its 40B proposal on West Street for next week.  I will attend as the representative of the Board of Selectmen.  I have suggested to Mike Sullivan that he arrange to have the state approved 40B consultant, Judy Barrette sit in with the town at that meeting.