The Metrowest Daily News reported earlier this month that the town stands to lose more than $12,000 in permitting fees on the planned Woodland Meadows 40B project as a result of a mediation agreement between the town and developer Robert Heavey.
After years of review, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a plan for a 14-unit development off Oak Hill Road in late 2010. Heavey appealed the decision to the state saying he needed to build 16 units to be profitable. At public meetings last spring, he also accused the ZBA of dragging its feet on the project and of imposing unfair requirements that cost him tens of thousands of dollars.
After private mediation run through the state, the two sides reached an agreement in June. The details of the agreement were made public in August, reports the MWDN.
The Zoning Board agreed to waive all building permit fees, water connection fees, water meter fees and Health Department fees Heavey would have otherwise been required to pay on the project’s four affordable condominiums.
A dollar figure showing the exact amount of revenue the town could forfeit as a result of the waiver was not included in the decision. Zoning Board member Regina McAuliffe said Friday that the exact figure wasn’t available since it depends on which permits must be filed in relation to the project.
“There was 100 percent assurance (from town counsel) that we were not being taken advantage of or hadn’t given away too much,” she said.
You can read all the details – including reaction from other ZBA members – in this article by the MWDN.
Related stories:
Good for this developer! Why the town would put up such a stink and lose out on all that money puzzles me. Get a clue Southborough! This is a failure by town government to be reasonable. This is not 1940 dirt road Southberry anymore.
Keep fighting Southboro against this housing. We have a town worth protecting. If someone wants to move here let them earn it the same way the rest of us did. Some yes can buy a larger home right off, God bless them. Some like us started with a starter home (<200K 15 years ago) and moved up to the larger, good investment, home. This, 401B, forced government cheaper, subsidized housing, is a fine example of forced government policy that needs to and should be fought at every step. Join a Tea Party folks. Read some of the local web sites of Tea Parties in the Boston area. Join one. Get involved. You will find you have more in common with the Tea Party core values than either the Democrat or Republican caucus. Most especially in this far right of center state. Take a look, copy and paste into your browser at:
http://www.teapartyexpress.org/about/ and http://bostontea.us/taxonomy/term/31
and:
http://bostontea.us/taxonomy/term/31
I think you mean far left of center state. Does not appear to right of center at all.
I still do not understand why we need more 40B housing in this town when there are currently 8 houses that are under $300K. Someone please define – what is affordable? How inexpensive should it be to own a house in this town?