A housing development planned for Lawrence Street in Norfolk is drawing opposition from neighbors and abutters. The Preserve at Abbyville, the largest of seven affordable housing projects under review by the town, will include close to 200 units, including rentals (Abbyville Commons). The development will fall under the state’s affordable housing law, known as Chapter 40B. Under the law, 25 percent of the units must be affordable.
Chapter 40B streamlines development projects that include affordable housing units in towns with less than 10 percent affordable housing. The state law, also known as the “anti-snob zoning act,” allows developers to skip the normal permitting process in favor of a comprehensive permit from a town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The ZBA has six months to hold public hearings before rendering a decision on a project.
Four such public hearings have been held so far on the Abbyville development, with a decision due in early December by Norfolk’s ZBA.
Concerned Norfolk residents say the scope of the Abbyville project is too large for the site, and hope the development will be scaled back. They say that 200 new dwellings will have a negative impact on the neighborhood, the roads, the schools, and public safety.
“This development is adding 7% to the town’s population,” said David Mastro, a Lawrence Street resident. “That’s a dramatic increase. If you have young kids, you should be concerned. This is going to impact you by affecting the school system.”
The Lawrence Street bridge and causeway crossing Bush Pond is already too narrow for current traffic, said Mastro, pointing out that the road is only 20 feet wide at that point. Lawrence Street becomes Mill Street when it crosses into Franklin, and is already heavily traveled by Norfolk residents heading to stores in Franklin.
The parcel is over 200 acres, but only about 50 of those acres can be developed. A former industrial site, the parcel contains an old gravel pit, as well as remnants of Buckley & Mann, a factory and mill.
The project will involve the removal of 1.3 million cubic yards of fill, which will entail over 100,000 tractor-trailer truck trips down Lawrence Street onto Park Street for 6 to 8 years. The site itself, now replete with walking trails through woods and hills, will likely be flattened and even dug down 60 feet in places, with huge retaining walls at property perimeter points.
Lawrence Street resident Patrick Engeman’s home backs up to the parcel. He says he is concerned the removal of fill and gravel will have a negative impact on his own property, as well as on the safety of other area residents due to constant truck traffic.
“My wife and I always knew that the woods behind our house were not national parkland, so we have been waiting for the day that development would come,” he said. “And still we are alarmed to find out that our house is planned to sit at the edge of a 60-foot hole. I don’t really know how what is going on is distinguishable from a gravel mining business. And that’s of concern to me as an abutter.”
Buckley & Mann was vacated in 1994. Concrete foundation slabs still remain, and 12 acres of the site are under an activity-use limitation (AUL) due to previous industrial contamination. Passive and active recreational activities are permitted in AUL areas, or any non-invasive activity that does not disturb the protective barrier over the soil.
The proposed development cannot be constructed on or near the AUL area, which was last inspected in 2015 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. No issues were found during the inspection.
Still, nearby residents are worried about the impact of blasting and earth removal on the parcel.
“It’s a capped landfill with lead and chromium,” said Nancy Murphy, who lives across from the proposed development. “If they start digging and then find more contamination, then what happens? There’s no assurance that our well water will be safe.”
Neighbors and abutters are quick to point out they are not against affordable housing in Norfolk.
“I’m not averse to 40B,” said Peggy Bedard, who also lives on Lawrence Street. “I am averse to 216 units. I pay exorbitant taxes to live in a quaint little town that won’t be quaint any longer. I understand development, but not to the scale they are describing. It’s got to be appropriate to the town. This is extortion by the state. They are strong-arming us into something that doesn’t belong here.”
“The essence of 40B is to put a development near public transportation,” added Mastro. “I’m for affordable housing, but you’re putting it in a rural area. There’s nothing here. And our taxes are going to go up to sustain that development.”
Area residents believe the proposed development as it stands will be detrimental to the whole town, not just the Lawrence Street neighborhood, and are hoping more residents will attend the remaining ZBA meetings and speak out.
“We just want the board to be aware of our concerns, which are real and legitimate concerns,” said another nearby resident, who declined to be identified. “We moved here because we love the town, we love the neighborhood, and this will change it so drastically forever.”
For more information on the proposed development, visit the ZBA page under Boards & Committees at www.virtualnorfolk.org. The Abbyville projects are under the 40B Projects link at the bottom of the page.
The next public hearing for the project is scheduled for October 11, location to be determined. For up-to-date information, residents can sign up for meeting notifications on the town’s website (www.virtualnorfolk.org).
Issue Date:
October, 2017
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