By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — At least one regular voting member of the Zoning Board of Appeals still has serious reservations about the size and density of the proposed development at 10 Broadway, even after the unit count was reduced from the originally proposed 124 apartments to 106.
The Zoning Board of Appeals heard more last week about the apartment building proposed for the current site of MG Fitness.
But ZBA member Tom Lucey made it clear at the meeting that he was “still not on board” with the size and density of the project. He said that he appreciated the efforts by project architects to break the building into segments to reduce and soften the appearance of size. However, he said that in his view, “This is just too much.” Aside from the size of the building, Lucey also objected to the amount of impervious surface, even though there would be less pavement under the proposed plan compared to current conditions.
“It needs to be even more green,” Lucey said. “You’re replacing asphalt with building mass. I can’t support this.”
Representing the developer, attorney Brian McGrail said that the project was approaching the limits of financial feasibility with respect to size, suggesting that if the size and density were further reduced, it could put the entire project in jeopardy. If his client’s proposal were to go away, he maintained, something far less desirable could end up on that site. McGrail said that the current proposal represented an opportunity to rehabilitate what is now a “blighted, paved lot.”
ZBA member Jim McBain, a retired architect, was assigned to work with project designers to find ways to make the project more palatable to the full board. He suggested that the proposed project would benefit businesses in the immediate area on Main Street and Broadway by providing a residential customer base within walking distance.
Project architect Brian O’Connor and landscape architect James Emmanuel talked about ideas for the Crystal Lake-facing side of the building, including an outdoor seating area and a looping walking path.
Emmanuel also discussed the latest ideas related to fencing around three sides of the site. He said that a picket fence would provide some of the open feel that the ZBA wanted while also providing a measure of privacy. He talked about using a system of shrubs and vines along the inside of the fence and along the base of the building to create a kind of natural “green wall.”
In response to a question from ZBA member Chip Tarbell, Emmanuel said that it would take about three years for the vines to achieve the desired effect. Tarbell was skeptical when told that the vines would be deciduous as opposed to evergreen and would not provide year-round cover.
McGrail reported that the proposed project had recently been presented to the Conservations Commission and said that, while more discussions with the ConCom are pending, Commissioners were generally pleased with the reduction of pavement and increase in greenery.
McGrail said that he also anticipated positive reviews from the Traffic Advisory Committee and the DPW, in part due to a proposal to reconfigure the Broadway/North Avenue intersection to improve traffic flow and allow a left turn from Broadway onto North Avenue.
When the hearing was opened to public comment, no residents offered any feedback in the Zoom meeting.
The hearing was continued to the ZBA’s May 24 meeting.
