Published October 17, 2019

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING —The action taken Thursday night by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) was swift and uncomplicated.

Acting Chairman James Demetri and ZBA members Jennifer Platt and Joseph Keyes voted unanimously to appeal the decision by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to deny the board’s claim of Safe Harbor from the Ch. 40B comprehensive permit application of NY Ventures to build a 200-unit five-building apartment complex at 20 Elm St. with 50 units designated for affordable rents to qualifying households. All of the units would count toward the town’s subsidized housing inventory because they are rental units.

The DHCD decision had stated its determination applied to both the General Land Area Minimum (GLAM) and the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) claims by the town. The denial also gave the town the option to file an appeal of this decision with the state Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) within 20 days of receipt of the decision. The deadline to file such an appeal would be Thursday, October 24.

At the outset of the October 10 meeting, Demetri explained to the 30 or so people in attendance at the NRHS Performing Arts Center that although it was a public meeting their deliberations would not be part of the public hearing process for the 40B application, therefore no comments or questions would be entertained by the board.

“It is not a public hearing… we will not be taking input from anyone. It is strictly for the Zoning Board of Appeals to discuss and make a decision on an appeal,” he explained.

Town counsel Barbara Huggins Carboni of KP Law was also present at the meeting to advise the board on how to proceed. The board has been represented by a member of the town counsel team at each meeting since this process began August 8.

Back on August 22, when the ZBA voted to invoke Safe Harbor, the board concurrently continued the 20 Elm St. public hearing to a time and date certain, Thursday, November 14 at 7 p.m. at the PAC.

Getting to this point

Demetri summarized the process, stating that after the ZBA invoked the Safe Harbor declaration the applicant had the option to appeal that declaration to the DHCD, which they did, resulting in the decision that prompted the ZBA to make the appeal to the state’s Housing Appeals Committee (HAC).

The vote taken by a packed Town Meeting crowd of over 540 townspeople on October 7 to transfer $125,000 from Free Cash to the Town Counsel line item in the FY20 operating budget has given the ZBA the funds it needs to hire those with the expertise needed to launch an appeal on behalf of the town.

“We met at a public hearing and we made a decision to invoke Safe Harbor. After that hearing the applicant had a right to appeal that decision to the DHCD and they exercised that right. DHCD had 30 days to render their decision, which they did,” Demetri said.

“That brings us to tonight. Based upon that decision by the DHCD we have the ability to appeal, within 20 days, that decision, to an agency, the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC). So that’s what we are discussing… whether or not we want to exercise our rights, within that 20-day period, to appeal the decision that was rendered by the DHCD,” Demetri said.

“I read the decision. I trust you all read the decision by DHCD,” Demetri said to his fellow board members.

“I would like to see a decision that is rendered by HAC that is based upon facts — information that is submitted by us and the applicant and our attorneys — and not on technicality. If you are inclined to agree with me I would like to ask for a motion to appeal this,” Demetri added.

Platt said, “I agree with chair on this. I think there are reasons to appeal this and we should take the opportunity to do that.”

“I agree as well,” said Keyes, who offered the motion to do so after clarifying with town counsel that the 20-day appeal period started October 4, the date of the DHCD decision sent to the town.