John Cronin, former Town Administrator and current member of the Master Plan Committee provided the following historic perspective and background on master planning here in Milton.
by John Cronin
Milton’s first “Master Plan” was voted unanimously by the July 10, 1922 Special Open Town Meeting and remains in force. Milton decided to be a “residential community”. 91 years ago, the entire town was zoned “residential” except for the small East Milton, Milton Village and Central Avenue business districts at the railroad stations. The 1922 plan was Milton’s first zoning bylaw and the first Master Plan.
In 1938 the residential zone was partitioned into three size lots, “A” 40,000 sf, “B” 20,000 sf, and “C” 7,500 sf. “AA” and the “D’s” and “E” were added later. They are all for residential purposes. The business districts remain exactly as voted in 1922.
The 1922 decision to keep Milton residential was prompted when developer Samuel Spector sought to develop 12 storefronts in a residential neighborhood near Mattapan. Quickly the Selectmen proposed the first residential zoning bylaw which won broad support and immediate adoption. Spector sued the Town. In 1924 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the Town’s action.
For eight and a half decades the townspeople have fought to preserve Milton’s residential qualities, sometimes called its “semi-rural character”.
Thwarted or defeated were proposals in “residentially zoned neighborhoods” including:
“The Mall” on Rte. 28 involving the Town Yard
Jordan Marsh warehouse on Presidents Golf Course
Rubbish transfer station Courtland Circle/Riverside Ave.
Drive-in-theatre at Silverbrook/Reynolds Farm (Houghton’s Pond)
Brockton Veterans Hospital at Indian Cliff/Canton Ave.
Milton Savings Bank near St. Agatha’s rectory
Air Right deck and 3 story building at Wood St. ramp
Milton Commons 40B – now Milton Market Place
Fox 40B on Neponset Valley Parkway-now DCR resrv.
Algonquin Gas pipeline station at Cedar Rd/Cunn. Park
CVS at Temple Shalom site, Rte. 138
Traditionally, Town Meeting members have been empathetic to threats facing neighborhoods. Small property tax revenue gains have not warranted the perceived despoliation of any neighborhood in Milton.
Aesthetics, the appreciation of nature, the landscape, and beauty, drives much of Milton’s decision making. Some cite the resulting differences witnessed on Brook Road and Reedsdale Road sections of Rte. 28 in Milton, compared with the views along Rte. 28 in Randolph, or commercialized sections of Rte. 138 in Canton.
The town is a treasure with 7,000 acres of Blue Hills and Neponset River Reservations, three golf courses, several ponds, a ski facility, ice skating rink, a yacht club, swimming pools, Cunningham Park, Milton Academy, Curry College, Fontbonne and Delphi Academy campuses. Milton is a family oriented community with many houses of worship.
In Milton, the largest property taxpayer is Fuller Village, a park like, 60 acre, private senior housing complex with 312 units. No school age children, a non-traffic generator, and minimal burden to Town resources.
In recent years (since 1965) Milton has carefully sited about 1,000 residential units and 2,500 bedrooms of tasteful multifamily housing, some for seniors, some affordable and some market rentals or upscale condominiums. Each evolution contributed to the residential community, yet required minimal municipal services. The combined valuation of these residential units now exceeds that of all businesses, commercial and non-conforming.
Typically, and unique to Milton, most of these multi-family structures were required to be setback at least 150 ft. from the street to preserve the open space and residential character of the setting. These facilities include:
Milton Hill House
MRE Unquity House
MHA Miller Avenue
MRE Winter Valley
Pine Tree Brook Homes
Brushwood Condominium
Quisset Brook Condominiums
Milton Health Care
Tucker Burr Condominiums
2 group homes, Mass. D.M.R.
Fuller Village
36 Central Ave
88 Wharf Street Condominiums
Of these, 427+ are “affordable” units.
The population of the Town of Milton has remained stable at about 27,000 since the 1950’s in spite of an increased number of dwelling units. This has been the result of smaller family sizes, empty nesters and greater longevity.
Master Planning is now under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board, a department which did not exist in 1922. Surveys, brainstorming, hearings, numerous meetings and consultants are employed to develop a new Plan. Planning Boards in Milton have developed two detailed Master Plans in the past. The first was fifty years ago and the second was in the 1970’s. A new one is now under discussion.
Curiously, master planning has not substantially influenced some of the most significant land use changes in Milton over the last fifty years.
Examples of important changes which were not part of any Master Plan include:
Investment of $150 million in new schools
Purchase of 25 acre Turners Pond
300 acre Harland St. Dam impoundment
New Wollaston Golf Course
The new Milton Hospital
Landfill closure
27 hole Granite Links Golf Course/ 9 in Milton
Acquisition of 35 acre Popes Pond
Park on the East Milton deck
Norfolk County’s President Golf Course
Medical Office Building at Milton Hospital
30 acre Lamb estate purchase (Brooks Field)
1,000 multi-family residential units
Expansions of Curry College & Milton Academy
250 acre expansions of Blue Hills and Neponset Reservations
Large office building at 2 Granite Avenue
$9 million Public Library
Planners explain that the above were the result of “site specific planning” rather than “master planning”. It may be hard to distinguish. Master Planning is difficult. But, for 91 years, the original intent of keeping Milton “residential” has been maintained, for better or worse.
One consequence is that Milton’s Town Center has a Public Library. Town Offices, Police Station, Hospital, Fire Station, Senior Center, basketball court and two parcels of dedicated open space. No gasoline station, pharmacy, convenience store often found in town centers. Our shopping centers/ supermarkets are located just over the border in Quincy, Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Randolph.
Most, if not all, of the significant land use changes listed above and the “carefully sited” new multifamily units, have been relatively consistent with the 1922 ‘Master Plan”, i.e. residential.
The objective has been to keep the residential character of the Town and preserve its semi-rural character by adhering to the foresight of the Townspeople in 1922. If any neighborhoods were commercialized as some have advocated, would their residential real estate values suffer and would Milton have repeatedly won national recognition as one of the most desirable places to live? Will the Town seek to gain tax revenue at a neighborhood’s expense?
The Town Meeting has appropriated $100,000 for a new 2014 Master Plan. The Planning Board has hired an experienced consultant. A Committee has been appointed. Soon a website will be established and public forums will be announced. The process will provide a fresh look. The Chairman of the Board of Selectmen has been quoted “that the long term growth may be better served by office parks, condos, and possibly a supermarket. There is a change happening in Milton, definitely because of the younger generation—“. Boston Sunday Globe South 11-17-13.
Ultimately, it is the Town Meeting which controls zoning. A 2/3rds vote is required to make changes. Since 1922 Town Meeting has declined to deviate from the Residential Character which remains Milton’s Master Plan.
By
John Cronin
Member, Master Plan Committee
I am very encouraged to see that the Town of Milton is undertaking a much overdue master planning process. Operating the town under an archaic master plan written when most residents were not born fundamentally does not make sense.
Milton’s current financial structure of relying on overrides is unsustainable. Responsible and selective pockets of commercial development will create much needed commercial revenue to free the town from reliance on these expensive and unpredictable funding mechanisms and allow certainty in annual revenue through property taxes.
Milton is changing as young families move in to take advantage of our schools and community. This requires resources to support these families, and the resources simply cannot be on the back of residential property owners alone. Responsible development will help fund our town appropriately to provide great schools and amenities that enhance the town’s character and encourage these young families to stay in Milton and become the next generation of this community.
Milton must adopt responsible zoning that encourages new business and investment that respects the residential character of the town. The town should work to create a partnership with community-minded developers to work together to improve and better Milton. Milton should avoid adversarial relationships and view developers as partners that have the financial well being and the development experience to help Milton achieve a new, modern master plan.
Well said, Bryan!
Today’s story about the long overdue update of our almost- 100 year old Master Plan is well-timed to coincide with the story about the 40th anniversary of the Fruit Center, an anchor of commercial development next to a wonderful, popular residential neighborhood (where, incidentally, my wife and I lived for 5 years when we first moved to Milton). Milton has shown before that commercial development does not need to come at the expense of vibrant neighborhoods. It can, in fact, strengthen residential neighborhoods, and benefit the community as a whole.