Published October 10, 2019

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — The town received notification from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) late Friday afternoon, October 4, that its claim of “Safe Harbor” from the 20 Elm St. Chapter 40B comprehensive permit application has not met its burden of proof.

DHCD issued this determination for both the General Land Area Minimum (GLAM) and Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) claims by the town.

This notification explained that the town has 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.

According to Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto, this denial was not unexpected at this stage in the process. Understanding that the possibility of a protracted legal battle may be on the horizon was the impetus behind the Select Board placing Article 7 on the October Town Meeting warrant. This article sought – and received – a nearly unanimous vote Monday night from the 547 voters in attendance for the requested sum of $125,000 to be appropriated from Free Cash into the FY20 Town Counsel expenses budget line item originally originally approved last June.

These funds would be used for “potential technical expertise and legal assistance to address the proposed project at 20 Elm Street, including a potential appeal of DHCD’s determination,” according to the most recent statement on the 20 Elm St. page on the town’s website.

The town has posted the October 4 DHCD rejection letter on the website at: https://www.northreadingma.gov/sites/northreadingma/files/news/north_reading_20_elm_street_40b_.pdf. All other information relevant to the 20 Elm St. Chapter 40B application received by the town to date is also available on the website.

A decision on whether to appeal the decision to the HAC will be made by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) at its meeting tonight (Thursday, Oct. 10) to be held in the Performing Arts Center at NRHS, 189 Park St., at 7 p.m.

Following the issuance of the DHCD decision against the town, Nicholas A. Yebba, Sr. of NY Ventures, LLC, the property owner and applicant of the proposed Chapter 40B development at 20 Elm St., said in a statement: “We hope that we will have the opportunity to take our development plan through the ZBA process so that North Reading residents can both see the changes that we have made since we initially proposed the plan and hear from our experts and the town’s experts.”

Theodore C. Regnante, Counsel to the applicant Nick Yebba, NY Ventures, LLC, offered the following comments: “The Mass Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) summarily rejected the town of North Reading’s claim of Safe Harbor both on procedural and substantive grounds and concluded that the town’s submission was ‘fundamentally inadequate’ in providing a factual basis for its calculations and providing supportive documentation consistent with GLAM guidelines.”

“In view of the decision, any appeal to the Housing Appeal Committee by the town would be frivolous, costly to the town and would be rejected,” Regnante stated, adding, “The town needs to work with the development team to address the need for affordable housing.”

At Monday night’s Town Meeting, Gilleberto defended the town’s position and the actions taken to date by reading the following statement:

“The Zoning Board of Appeals’ invocation of ‘safe harbor’ on August 22 was based on a report that reflected good faith efforts by staff in the Planning and Engineering departments – a report that has been posted online for weeks,” Gilleberto stated.

“While we are disappointed that the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) elected not to conduct the independent evaluation required by the Department’s own regulations, failed to explain how a developer gained access to confidential group home locations, and did not investigate the potential that there are additional state group home units in North Reading that are not reflected on the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI), this determination was not unexpected and is consistent with every other determination DHCD has made denying a community’s assertion of safe harbor based on the General Land Area Minimum (GLAM).”

Gilleberto continued: “Staff in multiple departments have continued to pore through property records over the past few weeks to ensure that every last acre is accounted for in our calculations of land use for affordable housing in North Reading. We will provide an update to the Zoning Board of Appeals for its consideration this Thursday evening.”

The T.A. further stated, “North Reading has had a proud history of working with developers in the interest of siting affordable housing in the right spot, with the right density, in the right buildings. We have not turned our back on those in need, and we look forward to the opportunity for the Zoning Board of Appeals to potentially present this fact on a full record, if it so chooses, to the state Housing Appeals Committee – and if necessary, beyond. That said, there is a legal process under DHCD regulations; we will respect that process, and I am unable to comment further at this time.”

Gilleberto’s statement generated a round of applause from the audience. (See related story for Town Meeting coverage of Article 7.)