In 1701 there was a Milton, but there was no United States. There were no planes, trains, or automobiles, no internet, no stock market. Milton had no areas of commerce to speak of. All that would come with time. But Milton did have something then that is still with us today. And so it was that Governor Stoughton wrote:

and to the Town of Milton, I give out of my great Wood Lot there forty acres to be conveniently and equally laid out to them. The whole improvement thereof to be for the benefit of the poor of that Town as the select men thereof shall judge best.

This Monday evening (6/27), 300 years later, the Selectmen, also the Trustees of the Governor Stoughton land, may finally take a vote on what they “judge best” from 5 proposals they received in response to an RFP. The RFP listed three primary criteria against which the responses would be judged:

• Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to the Benefit for the Poor of the Town of Milton, including without limitation housing, programs or services, or financial assistance.
• Impact upon and Benefit to the Community, including: Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to the Milton Zoning By-laws, Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to the surrounding neighborhood, Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to Environmental Concerns, Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to Historical Preservation, Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to Traffic Generation, Proposed reuse of the Property in relation to Access & Impact on Town of Milton services, including without limitation police services, fire services, public works services, and public school services.
• Qualifications of Proposer

The following table outlines the proposals the Selectmen received. Please click on a developer’s name to view their full proposal. Click on site plan for illustration of their proposal.

There are dimensions to all these plans that requrie a full reading of the proposal. For example, the Weston proposal also states that the town could realize $800,000 per year in taxes. This is the only proposal to include a commercial entity, the Alzheimer’s care facility. Thus the taxes going forward would be higher than with the other proposals. Also, this is only proposal that would afford local jobs. However, it also requires a change to the zoning. This proposal would also have a relatively light impact on town services. This is also true of the Governor Stoughton Land Preservation proposal which would target people 55 and older. That proposal is also intriguing for its strategy regarding historical designation. However, those disignations can come with restrictions. The Community Builders proposal is complicated in its funding. That is not atypical of an affordable housing proposal. While it’s financial contribution is on the lower end, it does provide a needed housing resource for middle and low income people. And Milton continues to have exposure to 40B developments given that less than 5% of our housing stock is classified as affordable. (The state requirement is 10%)

The Stoughton Trustees (also Board of Selectmen) have narrowed their choices down to two, Pulte and Copeland. Sweeney favors the Copeland proposal. Shields and Hurley favor the Pulte proposal as discussed in a session last week (Please see “Public outcry postpones Trustees vote on Town Farm“).

At their meeting on 6/27, the Trustees will allow public comment on the proposals. The meeting will take place at the Council on Aging.