Meetinghouse Road Housing Plan Has First Airing At ZBA; Criticisms Similar To Ones Raised On Buckley Project

CHATHAM – Even as it continues its review of a planned 48-unit rental complex at the former Buckley property down the road, the zoning board of appeals last week began its examination of a 42-unit affordable housing development on Route 137 in South Chatham. So far, some of the concerns are the same: building heights and setbacks and the location of the planned community room.

 The ZBA has been called on to issue comprehensive permits for both projects, to be built on town-owned land by housing contractor Pennrose. It held its first hearing on the application last Thursday, Sept. 4.

 The Meetinghouse Road project will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, housing an estimated 82 or 83 people in seven townhouse-style buildings arranged around a central parking area. Pennrose plans to ask state regulators to reserve up to 70 percent of the 42 units for people who live or work in town or have children in Chatham schools. Both projects are the result of years of planning and have been approved by town meeting voters.

The land is a parcel sold to the town at below market value by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River on the advice of Holy Redeemer Parish, which operates a seasonal church across the street. The property is accessed across a steep ravine on the east side, which is currently an access road for two properties to the north. Under the Pennrose plan, that road will be replaced by new driveways linking each neighbor directly to Route 137, done at the developer’s expense.

Under the comprehensive permit application, Pennrose is seeking a number of waivers from the town’s usual zoning rules, allowing for higher density, greater lot coverage, reduced setbacks and loosened height restrictions. Attorney Andrew Singer, representing Pennrose, said the waivers are similar to those requested for the Buckley project and are necessary to make the project financially viable.

Access to the development would be via a single entryway on Route 137 located directly across from the northernmost driveway to Our Lady of Grace church. The eight buildings — seven with apartments and one with an office, maintenance space and a common community room — are arranged mostly around the edges of the property. The management office is located to the rear of the property near a small courtyard with mailboxes and a pathway leading to the adjacent Twine Field conservation area to the west.

 “This is sort of the community hub,” landscape architect Mark Warfel said. On the southern side of the development will be a sloping path leading to the Old Colony Rail Trail, along which there is planned a small playground and outdoor seating area. There is also a flat, wooded area suitable for outdoor activities, Warfel noted.

The townhouse apartments each have their own entrances, and the largest stand two-and-a-half stories with front porches. The buildings will be designed to be energy efficient and solar-ready, and will be equipped with fire suppression sprinklers. Once built, they would be awarded to income-qualifying applicants by lottery, and would be managed by on-site staff employed by Pennrose.

Both the Meetinghouse Road and the Buckley projects are smaller than most Pennrose developments, which typically have at least 60 units, Pennrose’s Rio Sacchetti told the zoning board. They will have mostly separate staff but will have some shared staff space and amenities, he said. 

 “This project would only be done because we have [the] Main Street [development],” he said. “Because we have the two projects together, we can overcome the obstacles that usually prevent us from taking on projects of this size.”

In a letter to the board, resident Sylvia Kolb joined others in complaining that the development is too much for the village of South Chatham.

 “We love our quiet, beautiful, peaceful and friendly community and we want to keep it that way,” Kolb wrote. “We have enough town projects. Choose somewhere else.”

Others, like resident Carol Gordon, said she doesn’t oppose the project but believes it should be scaled back and redesigned to be sensitive to the neighborhood’s historic and natural resources.

Resident Michael Schell said the development is needed to move ahead with the town’s housing creation goals. Currently, 4.81 percent of the town’s housing stock is classified as affordable, well below the state’s 10 percent goal; if these two housing projects are completed, Chatham’s percentage will rise to 7.22 percent. 

 “We haven’t made a lot of progress. We need to,” Schell said.

South Chatham resident Jack Gillis, who said his family has been in the village for more than a century, said he supports the project. “Unfortunately, many...South Chatham residents can’t afford to live in Chatham,” he said. “It is extraordinarily important to keep the fabric of this town available to the people who grew up here.” 

Fr. John Sullivan of Holy Redeemer Parish also supported the housing initiative.

 “It’s a natural right. People have a right to housing,” he said. “We need to be a diverse community. We need to be a community that’s welcoming to all people.”

Neighborhood resident David Farrell said he personally supports affordable housing, but noted that the Pennrose proposal is more ambitious than called for in the town’s request for proposals from developers. The requested waivers could be reduced had it downsized its “over-dense, over-height and under-setbacked, maximized-development proposal.” Lot line setbacks have been proposed at 20 feet in some locations rather than the 25 feet usually required, and several of the buildings will exceed the usual 30-foot height requirement by as much as six feet.

Appeals board member Virginia Fenwick said those concerns are likely to be raised again in future meetings, particularly the reduction of setbacks that help separate the development from neighbors.

The board voted to continue its hearing until Oct. 16. Having heard an overview of the project last week, the appeals board will now make a closer study of various aspects of the plan, including heights, setbacks, traffic and environmental protection.