by Frank Schroth

It wasn’t the first item on the agenda but it was the most surprising. Chair of the Planning Board, Alex Whiteside, apprised the board of an effort to resuscitate a mixed used proposal for the Hendries site. The effort is a last ditch attempt by officials to leverage the town’s ownership of a small parcel of the property toward a development they believe will be in the best interests of the town.

The proposal is to have the Connellys, owners of the larger piece of the Hendries site, file a new application. This would be a modified version of the original mixed used development. This version came out of discussions among a group convened by Senator Joyce last spring. This modified mixed use proposal addresses issues that resulted in the Planning Board denying the special permit according to Mr. Whiteside. The Planning Board would hold a pubic hearing on the proposal and vote it up or down at that time. In concert with this the Board of Selectmen would request for a transfer of the town’s land to the Connellys in return for a commitment from the Connellys to have the entire structure taken down by September. Senator Joyce would need to get legislative approval for the land transfer.

There was some discussion of vacating the denial of the special permit.  Member Innes disagreed with vacating the denial. Whiteside’s intent with that was to avoid the need for the Connellys to file a new application fee. The board established that there was a precedent that would allow the Connellys to file without incurring another fee.

Filing a new application is important as two members of the board are new to the proposal, Mike Kelly and Bryan Furze. If it was a revision of the existing proposal they would not be allowed to vote on it as they had not been present for the previous hearings. As it is going to be considered a new application they can vote.

Not the least of the issues in this is: none of the members of the board have seen the modified proposal. Innes asked if they would have a complete application and whether it would address the deficiencies identified in a previously developed matrix that was used to highlight those deficiencies.

Whiteside said there was urgency due to the legislative calendar. The legislature breaks for the summer at the end of July. The Board of Selectmen will not pursue the the effort of the land transfer without the “enthusiastic support” of the Planning Board. He polled the members present (Mr. Kelly was absent) all of whom said they were enthusiastic though Ms. Innes’s enthusiasm seemed somewhat curbed.

Whiteside also said that the Connellys intent at this time is to pursue the 40B and they were at this point noncommittal. They did not like the way they had been treated and did not want to do it again (i.e. go before the Planning Board) according to Whiteside.

Ms. Innes said a hearing should not occur until a application was in place. Mr. Whiteside said, “If the board dawdles, they (Carrick) will pursue a 40B. If it is going to be done, it has to be done quickly.”

Member Furze said, “The loss of commercial is huge . . . we have the capacity to do this.” Member Duffy agreed. Whiteside concluded the discussion saying, “That takes care of that.”Persumably the board will work with the Connellys to develop a complete application, schedule a hearing,and notify the Board of Selectmen.

Earlier during Citizen Speak Town Meeting Member Peter Mullin spoke to the issue of reopening the proposal and advised “transparency and caution.” He  acknowledged that reopening the discussion could be in the best interests of the town and that nothing should be ruled out solely on procedural grounds, but he said there skepticism on the part of some residents. He flagged outstanding issues such as traffic and definition of the “public benefit” that has long been part of the proposal.

Following is a summary of the background on the issue.

The town owns the parking lot that faces Central Avenue (referred to as 0 Central Avenue in town documents) and the structure above it. Carrick Realty owns the rest of the property.

Carrick Realty had proposed a mixed use development (Commercial and residential) that would incorporate the town’s portion. The proposal was voted down by the Planning Board after Steve Connelly requested that they take a vote. Chair Whiteside advised against taking the vote as the plans did not meet zoning bylaws. He felt with more time the remaining issues could be resolved. The vote was taken and the special permit was denied.

At this point the Connellys indicated their intent to look into a 40B development. State Senator Brian Joyce called together a group of town officials and residents last spring in an attempt to bring the mixed ues proposal back. This group included Town Meeting members Cheryl Tougias and Peter Mullin, both of whom had been critical of the plan, Planning Board chair Alex Whiteside, Town Administrator Annemarie Fagan, Selectmen Tom Hurley and Denis Keohane, and Steve and Jerry Connelly, principals of Carrick Realty. There were several meetings among this group but how many were held and who actually attended is not known. The meetings, while not private, were not publicly advertised and neither media nor other residents were present. Updates on what was discussed were occasionally reported out by elected officials from time to time. (See post here is which Mr. Whitieside reported out on a meeting. See post here in which Denis Keohane reported out on one of the sessions). The general impression given during this period of negotiation was that the Connellys were generally receptive, had accepted changes recommended by Tougias, and progress was being made.

Another dimension to the development, however, was the exchange of property.which was complicated in part due to a issue regarding the original deed. There is a portion of the building the ownership of which was unclear. There had been a purchase and sale previously that had been terminated. The town put out a new bid of the property. The Connellys were the only bidder. In short, a resolution could not be reached and the efforts to failed (see related post here.)

The Connellys proceeded with the development of a 40B proposal. They have received a letter of eligibility for the project which enables them to move forward with filing a comprehensive permit with the Zoning Board of Appeals. The proposal does not include the town owned portion of the property. The most recent development between the town and Carrick has been for the cooperative demolition of their respective portions of the the building. Town Meeting voted to authorize 250K for this purpose at the last town meeting (Article 33). Those funds will become available on July 1.