by Frank Schroth
At the last meeting of the Planning Board they began a discussion of a bylaw to permit condominium developments in Milton. Chair Whiteside said the board has been approached by developers seeking to do condominium projects and that there are several properties where such a development may be appropriate. One being the St. Pious Property. The developer and his counsel, Ned Corcoran, were present to discuss their ideas.
The project as currently conceived might include about ~30+ units on an 8.5 acre site or about 4 units per acre. An alternative would be a 40B which might put ~70 units on the site. This is not the preferred approach. Mr. Corcoran is hopeful that a bylaw can be prepared for fall town meeting that will allow for condominiums developments.
Issues that came up during the course of the discussion were: should Milton follow Dover’s example and have any given condominium proposal go before Town Meeting for approval, should there be age restrictions, what portion should be affordable.
Daphne Politis from the firm managing the Master Plan process was present and asked, “What are you trying to do? Are you trying to encourage or discourage condominium development and for whom?” Member Kelly said it was about control. Whiteside said it would need to be attractive to developers. “People in Milton do not trust the Planning Board to do the right thing.” he commented. New member Bryan Furze said that requiring town meeting approval would be unappealing to developers because it would introduce a high level of uncertainty. (Editorial aside: Mr. Furze said more in the first 45 minutes of being on the Planning Board than some members have said in the last 45 months).
Member Kelly asked if any zoning was needed given there are only so many 30 acre parcels in town, Furze, pointing to Milton Mews, cited the opportunity of “assembling properties.” Whiteside said that they needed to “avoid doing a piecemeal approach.”
Core to the discussion was whether the bylaw was being developed as a deterent to 40B proposals or as a tool to permit a form of housing in a manner that will address Milton needs while preserving its character. As Politis noted, “What is the purpose of all this? What is your actual need now? [You] have to talk about what you want.”
The Planning Board is meeting this evening at the Blute Conference Room in Town Hall at 6:30. The primary agenda item is a housing workshop. You can find the full agenda here.
At the meeting of the Board of Selectmen last Tuesday Chair Conlon made two recommendations: that the board meet more frequently (i.e. 3x a month) and that they push the meeting time back to 7:00. After discussion both were agreed to and they will take effect in September. Her reasons for starting the meeting at 7:00 were 2: 1) it is more convenient for members and relieves stress of rushing from work and 2) it might allow for more citizens to come forward for citizen speak as they will have more time to get to town hall. The need to meet more frequently is driven by number and complexity of issue before the board. Things are expected to quiet down during the summer but with the budget preparation and other issues anticipated in the fall it was agreed that meeting 3 times a week was sensible. It was noted that previous boards had met as frequently as weekly.
The Board also discussed the issue of airplane noise and the possibility of forming a committee. Hurley noted that there is a pending lawsuit with the FAA and consequently they will not speak to anyone other than members of the CAC. Not all neighboring towns share the concern over airplane noise.However, Member Keohane said the issue was “snowballing” and he is taking a more active interest in it. After some discussion it was agreed that Member Keohane would reach out to contacts in Dorchester to gauge their concern on the issue and Town Administrator Fagan will follow up with the congressional delegation (i.e. Congressmen Capauano and Lynch) that was in town several months back for the public hearing held on the issue.
One item regarding East Milton parking that was not mentioned in a recent post was that of parking meters in East Milton. At the forum held last Monday the issue was briefly mentioned. The status is that it is still an open issue that is being reviewed and no decision has been made. Meters are seen as an effective method of improving parking access and enforcing parking regulations. Some merchants are against them as they may have an adverse effect on business.
Nothing would discourage business in East Milton square more than the hassle of parking meters. If I had the choice between making a take-out call to Mr. Chan’s and finding a quarter to make the pick-up possible, or making the take-out call to Great Chow and parking for free, I would avoid finding that elusive quarter every time.
For those that are looking at this as a money making venture for the town, don’t forget we’re already collecting local meals taxes from those businesses. Let’s not jeopardize the larger revenue from those taxes with some piddling revenue found in the seat cushions of our cars. Keep the parking free, please.
Not sure that this meter option is really meant to act as a revenue source but rather as a means of providing open parking spaces in a high demand area.
The 4-5 businesses , Chan’s, package store, two sandwich shops could be given 15 minute parking spaces in front of their establishments to help take out customers.
At the last parking meeting, the planners said that the proposed new parking lot would not provide sufficient parking to meet the demand .
This lot will be paid for with federal tax dollars Unless we improve the turnover in parking another lot will be needed and this time it will be paid by town tax dollars. Do the math, a quarter or an increase in your tax bill , your call.
Is Great Chow in Milton?
Anyone who advocates for parking meters or who claims that parking in East Milton is unavailable when needed is clearly not a regular user of commercial services in that area. I’ve lived in Milton for 30 years and Never have been unable to find parking when I go there to shop or eat. Please. Please. No parking meters! I do not carry change in my pocket and that will never change. I’ll drive to Quincy instead. No question, parking meters would kill the businesses there.
Thanks Mr. Burke for your comments. My point about the revenue is to keep the parking free to not jeopardize the local meals tax revenue. Great Chow and countless other competitors to Mr. Chan’s are in Quincy, where parking is free.
I value convenience, and find parking meters to be a nuisance. Next time you dine at Mr. Chan’s, Ichiro, Milton House of Pizza, Dunkin D’s, Starbucks, Stella’s, etc etc, take a look at that local meals tax line on your bill, and ask yourself, “Is it better that the town get this, or the quarter I would’ve popped into a meter?”. Yes, some people will pay both, but many others will also seek the more convenient substitute.
Hi Mark,
I guess we can agree to disagree. I’m not sure that paying 25-50 cents is going to justify me driving to Quincy for a submarine, or sushi but that is just me.
A 15 minute free parking for take out solves part of the problem but not all.
Needham, Hingham, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline Belmont , Dedham all have parking meters as a way to keep limited parking open. i know we like to say Milton is different, but I’m not convinced, right now, we have it right and they are wrong.
I am also not convinced meters is absolutely the way to go but I have not been convinced it should not continue to be discussed as an option to free up parking .
I’m not in favor of meters either but from what I have read there seems to be conflicting opinions about the use and real need for parking in the square. Is there a need for more convenient parking or do we need more parking in general? I have heard both statements from the experts. The thing is that we are only going to get one chance at this so let’s not mess it up. That means no more experimental traffic pattern changes. The square is already miserable to get though at rush hour and the streets east of Adams are taking ona large amount of cut thru traffic. Let’s not make the area worse, let’s make the square the best it can be for all visitors, merchants, pedestrians and commuters.