by Frank Schroth

At last meeting of the Planning Board, held on November 10th two major developments were discussed: The St. Elizabeth’s property on Randolph Avenue and the continued hearing on the Hendries building on Eliot Street. One is taking a breather and the other has issues.

Anthony Ruscito of Corvo Construction, the developer working with St Elizabeth’s has elected to follow the advice of the Planning Board and work toward the presentation of an article at annual town meeting in the spring rather than Special Town Meeting in February. Mr. Ruscito is seeking to build 12 townhouse units on the property. Initially, he proposed 6 buildings of 2 units each. Current zoning does not allow that density or construction type. It would permit 6 stand alone houses. Deferring the request will allow Corvo and the parish more time to develop a plan for some number of townhouse units that will have an opportunity of passing at Town Meeting. There has been an ongoing discussion regarding the configuration of the development. Can 12 units fit in the space, where should parking be located, and if there are 12 units, how many buildings should there be – 2 buildings of 6 units? Four buildings of 3 units? etc.

Whatever is proposed will need Planning Board approval first and at this session nothing was said that addressed the fundamental concern of the board. That concern was succinctly put by Pete Jackson during the previous session. He said that to pass an exemption to allow for higher density housing that would increase profit to the developer, he would need to see a demonstrated public benefit such as historic preservation, green space, affordable housing etc. The issue at the moment is that the board does not have a clear proposal and site plan. Ms. Innes stated,”We are committed to residential, but what type? Mr. Whiteside added, “We really need to know what you want to do?” Whiteside had raised additional issues that will need to be addressed such as traffic. He also requested that if there were a report from a qualified disinterested party testifying that the current granite structure on the property could not be saved, he would like to see it. The Milton Historical Commission has issued a delay of demolition and has advocated that the building be restored as part of any development.

Several neighbors who abut or live near the property spoke in support of the development, stressing their strong desire that the development be residential. More than one also commented on the developer’s willingness to reach out to the neighbors and listen to their concerns.

In a continuation of the hearing on the Hendries building a couple of issues resurfaced that are snags to the development. One has  to do with the how the floor area ratio (FAR). The zoning requires that 50% of the primary floor be commercial. According to the planning board only 44% is currently allocated for commercial. The difference is a result of how they (the Planning Board and hte developer) respectively factor in the parking that is part of buildings footprint. The board states it is not part of calculating the space, the developers do. Whiteside said they should change on of the 3 residential units to commercial space. But then that requires modifying the parking spaces.

This second issue pertains to the opportunity for a bonus. If Connelly had preserved the large tree on the location he would have been entitled to a bonus. He has taken the tree down citing safety concerns and said he was going to forgo the bonus. But at Thursday’s session he indicated he was going to seek some relief by replacing the tree with “in kind” plantings. Whiteside commented, “This makes it critical for a new landscape plan as this [sketches presented at session] isn’t going to convince anyone.” Additional concerns regarding landscaping had were 1) it did not reflect adjustments made to building positioning and structure and 2) the picket fence currently in place did not appear welcoming to encourage public access and use. The next planning board meeting will be held on 12/1. Connelly will present an updated landscape plan at that session and possibly have a traffic study.