149 search results for "temple shalom"

Bella English: If temple leaves Milton, all lose

from The Boston Globe

Temple Shalom in Milton was built 65 years ago and once had more than 600 families in its congregation. Membership has declined to 140 families, though young couples with children continue to join. (Read the full story here.)

Globe: Temple is denied zoning change

from The Boston Globe

The town of Milton may soon be without a Jewish temple, following a failed zoning change that leaders of Temple Shalom, the town’s only synagogue, say would have given them a chance to rebuild and stay at their present location. (Read the full story here.)

Presentations to Special Town Meeting regarding Temple zoning overlay

Following are the presentations given to Special Town Meeting by representatives of Temple Shalom and Save Tucker Neighborhood regarding  the zoning overlay to advance commercial development at the Temple Shalom property. This relates to Article 2 on the Warrant.

Temple Shalom

Save Tucker Neighborhood

Warrant Committee votes to recommend Shalom article to Town Meeting

After a brief but vigorous discussion the Warrant Committee voted last night to recommend the zoning overlay article that will be on the Special Town Meeting warrant in February by a vote of 7-3.

Tom Hurley, chairman of the Warrant Committee, began the discussion by having Emily Innes of the Planning Board join them to answer some outstanding questions from the previous session. These pertained to how the current proposal compared to the Fruit Center Marketplace regarding the size of the commercial footprint and parking spaces. The Fruit Center is approximately 32,826 sq ft including both floors and has about 222 parking spaces.

It was also confirmed that:
  • the overlay would also apply to two other properties in Milton;  St Mary’s (the school not the church) and St Elizabeth’s (on both sides of Reedesdale). These properties both satisfy the criteria specified
  • this is the first change from commercial to residential to come before the Planning Board. The Fruit Center did not come before the Planning Board. It was handled by Board of Appeals.

Planning Board finalize revisions to Shalom zoning article

The Planning Board met last night to grind through the final copy edits and revisions to a zoning article that would be the first step in the potential redevelopment of the Temple Shalom property to contain a CVS, second retail structure, and new, smaller temple.

Together with Coffman Realty and their attorney Milton resident, Ned Corcoran, the board reviewed everyone’s comments in turn and made edits accordingly after some discussion on the point in question.

Alex Whiteside had the lion’s share of revisions to the draft which he authored with input from Corcoran and one of his revisions sparked the most debate. Whiteside proposed inclusion of a property value analysis. Peter jackson, Chairman did not see the need for it arguing that the board had heard sufficient testimony. Whiteside pressed the issue expressing concern for residents whose values might go down as a result of the development, “What do you say to these people? Tough luck?” After discussion with regard to the area encompassed (e.g. should it only be the abutters?), time frame (do values go down in 3 years, 5 years) and consequences of other development on property values (i.e. if a 40B development went in would impact on property values be any more or less?) the board agreed to include language on a property analysis. Most likely it will be restricted to abutters at the time development is complete and conform to appraisal industry standards. The final language will be in article to be reviewed this evening.

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Citizen group retains attorney in opposition to Shalom development

Among the people who rose to address the board during the citizen speak portion of  the 11/12 Planning Board meeting was Andrew Upton of DiNicola, Sobel, and Upton. Mr. Upton was retained by Neighbors Against Commercial Development, a group of local residents who oppose the redevelopment proposal of the Temple Shalom site. The proposal, which is being put forth by Coffman Realty, consists of a pharmacy, a new, smaller temple, and a third stand-alone retail structure.

Mr. Upton voiced concerns with regard to the transparency of the process, traffic congestion issues, the economic process, and “inclusionary claims”.  He had been retained 48 hours previous but did note that the developer was “supported by an army of consultants” and that there was a disparity in the bargaining power of the respective groups. Prior to being told to “wrap it up” by Peter Jackson, the Chairman, Mr. Upton asked that the board not take a vote on the overlay at this time.

Mr. Upton was not the only citizen speaker asked to “wrap it up.” At the commencement of Citizen Speak, Mr. Jackson instructed speakers to limit their comments to 1 minute and restricted the speakers to those who had not spoken at the previous meeting.

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Planning Board names two more to Shalom committee; wrestles with multiple scenarios

Despite the concerns they expressed previously about the size of the committee formed to evaluate options regarding the Temple Shalom property, the Planning Board named two more residents to the group last Thursday night. The reason for adding the members was to address the concern that “people of color” were underrepresented according to Planning Board Chair Peter Jackson.

The committee is now composed of 12 members. Two from Temple Shalom, 6 from the neighborhood, and 4 residents at large.

During Thursday’s session the board heard from Laura Cahill, a real estate agent in town. The board is in the process of collecting information and developing and vetting a variety of scenarios for development of the Temple Shalom site.

According to Cahill, the market in Milton is “red hot” for condos and single family homes priced $500K and below. The higher above $500K, the harder a sell it is. “A $1 million dollar home would be a problem.” Cahill voiced support for a commercial site with a CVS and Trader Joe’s as co-tenants. She felt a 70 unit condo development would be a burden to the area. She pointed out that it is not like Milton Landing where there was sufficient space to absorb that number of units. The area around Temple Shalom is already fairly congested.

Representatives from Coffman Realty, the Temple’s development partner, continued to advocate for consideration of commercial development and pointed to a couple of examples of recent developments, one in Pembroke and one in Centerville, which possess an architecture that would work well in this setting.

Most of the discussion centered around various options for residential units whether homes or condos. The amount that the Temple reports it needs is between $3.5 – $4 million.  Joe Sloane, one of the neighbors on the appointed committee, questioned if they were only to review scenarios that met that figure. Jackson, the board chair, stated that was not the case. However, Buddy Packer, one of the Temple Shalom congregants on the committee, said, “We are not going to sell for something that does not allow us to exist.”

The board is entertaining around 14 different scenarios. Coffman has committed to provide greater detail, but they need to have the options narrowed before they can do that.

To establish a vetting process, the board divided the committee into three groups and assigned them a set of scenarios to review. Packer pointed out that since there were only two members on the committee from Temple Shalom, there would not be temple representation in all groups. Jackson had them count off by threes to establish the groups. Mr. Whiteside, a board member, expressed concern that the financial figures for the various scenarios all came from the Coffman group.

Mr. Coffman, one of the principals at Coffman Realty, became a bit frustrated, saying, “This process does not work.”

The Planning Board will meet this Thurday, July 23, @ 6:30 at Milton Town Hall.