By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – Members of the Town Council’s new 40A Subcommittee spent much of last Thursday’s meeting parsing the language of a survey that will be sent out shortly.
The three-member subcommittee is looking to create a new plan to bring the town into compliance with section 3A of Massachusetts General Laws 40A. The law requires communities with MBTA service to create a district or districts near public transportation where multifamily housing is allowed by right. The subcommittee includes Town Council Chairman Michael McLane and Town Councilors Edward Dombroski and Robert Vincent.
The goal of the survey is to guide the subcommittee in creating a new compliance plan for the town.
At last May’s Annual Town Meeting, voters rejected three different compliance plans. One of those plans, created by the Planning Board, proposed a district that exceeded the state requirements in terms of unit count and geographical size. Two “minimum compliance” plans – one created by the Planning Board as an alternative to its main proposal and another submitted to Town Meeting by citizen petition – were also rejected by Town Meeting voters.
The town has until Dec. 31, 2024 to come up with a compliance plan acceptable to the state. A number of communities, most notably Milton, have outright refused to comply with the state mandate. The state has threatened loss of grant funding as well as possible litigation for communities that don’t comply.
Before getting into the survey discussion, the subcommittee took the time at last Thursday’s meeting to choose McLane as chairman and Dombroski as vice chairman of the subcommittee. Also in attendance at the meeting were Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio, the town’s Senior Planner Samantha Elliot and Communications Director, Jennifer McDonald.
Elliot presented a draft survey that she had created for the subcommittee’s review. One of the 14 questions on the survey will ask residents how they feel about the loss of grant money, which is one of the penalties threatened by the state if a community outright refuses to comply with the zoning mandate. The subcommittee wanted to be able to say with some certainty which grants and how much money would be at stake.
Maio told the subcommittee that the town has received approximately $3.7 million in state grants over the last several years. He noted that the law does list the grants that would be compromised for noncompliance, most of which relate to housing and community planning.
But he also cited the state’s warning that a community’s noncompliance “may inform other funding decisions.” He said that earmarks that the town gets via legislation would not be affected.
Maio noted that the possibility of losing an additional $1.5 million in state grant funds to the Municipal Gas & Light Department had been mentioned, but he has since learned that those funds are probably not at risk.
“We’re going to lose something if we don’t comply,” McLane observed.
Dombroski said that the town could also wait and see what, if anything, does happen regarding grant money after the compliance deadline and then revisit the matter early next year. There would not be any immediately devasting financial consequences if the town were to wait, he said.
Subcommittee member Robert Vincent noted that Wakefield recently became a Housing Choice Community and grant money related to creating a housing production plan would be at risk.
Elliot displayed the draft survey, which included a number of graphics showing examples of the types of buildings and the geographical areas that could be part of a new compliance plan. While the compliance models rejected at last spring’s Town Meeting all focused around the North Avenue train station and the downtown, a new plan could place some of the district near the Greenwood and/or Melrose Highlands commuter rail stations. Foundry Street was also mentioned as an area that could be included in the new plan. Also discussed was the idea of allowing more mixed-use buildings along North Avenue.
It was agreed that the survey should go out relatively quickly. The subcommittee also agreed to hold a public forum on Wednesday, July 31 in the Community Room at the Wakefield Police Station.
When the subcommittee opened the meeting to public comment, Julie Scott of Central Street urged the subcommittee to consult with the Conservation Commission, as some of the areas under discussion for a new multifamily zone are near wetlands.
In response to another question, Communications Director Jennifer McDonald said that, when ready, the survey will be available on the town’s website, Facebook page, via WCAT and the Daily Item. She said that paper copies will also be available at the library, the Senior Center and Town Hall.
