By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – Northeast Metro Tech cleared another hurdle last night as they move closer to beginning construction on their planned $314 million new vocational high school off Hemlock Road.
The Zoning Board of Appeals made the requested findings under the Dover Amendment that certain local zoning requirements do not apply to the planned use of the site as an educational facility.
Under the Dover Amendment, educational facilities are exempt from most local zoning requirements but may be subject to reasonable regulations regarding height, bulk and parking.
Since the site is technically in the residential zoning district, Building Inspector Benjamin DeChristoforo had issued a pro forma denial of NEMT’s application for a building permit based on the fact that the plan did not meet the requirements of the residential zoning district for building height, driveway width and parking lot landscaping.
NEMT’s legal team filed a routine appeal of the Building Inspector’s technical denial of the building permit application to the Board of Appeals. They asked that the board find that the plan’s noncompliance with the residential zoning requirements for building height, driveway width and parking lot landscaping were “unreasonable” under the Dover Amendment.
But at the April 12 ZBA meeting, Chairman David Hatfield and other board members maintained that the ZBA was within its rights to look at aspects of the project beyond the three specific areas of the Building Inspector’s denial.
Attorneys for NEMT strongly disagreed, arguing that the entire purpose of the Dover Amendment was to prevent school building projects from being denied based on unreasonable local zoning regulations that were not intended for schools.
Ultimately, the parties agreed that Hatfield, NEMT attorneys, Town Counsel Thomas Mullen and Town Engineer William Renault would meet to try to resolve the stalemate.
After reviewing the residential zoning bylaws, the group came to an agreement on several other aspects of the plan that the ZBA could look at in addition to building height, driveway width and parking lot landscaping. The NEMT project team subsequently provided additional related information and plans to the board.
After some discussion at last night’s meeting, it was finally determined that the full list of areas that the ZBA could consider included the building height, the driveway width, the parking lot landscaping and the irregular shape of the proposed lot.
Ultimately, the ZBA overturned the Building Inspector’s denial, finding that the residential zoning requirements related to building height, driveway width, parking lot landscaping and lot shape were unreasonable for the proposed educational use under the provisions of the Dover Amendment.
The Wakefield Conservation Commission is now in the process of wrapping up its review of the storm water and drainage plan for the site, which is one of the final steps before construction can begin.
Work is scheduled to commence this year with tree/site clearing and blasting, which will allow for the construction of the new school to begin in September 2023. Once construction of the new building is complete, the existing school will be demolished in early 2026 to allow for site improvements and landscaping including playing fields, tennis/basketball courts, parking, etc. Project completion is scheduled for the fall of 2026.
Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School, also known as “Northeast Metro Tech” (NEMT), is a comprehensive vocational and technical high school, which provides academic and vocational programs for approximately 1,250 students from twelve surrounding communities: Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester, Winthrop and Woburn.
The new 386,000 square foot school will be designed for Grades 9-12 and an enrollment of 1,600 students which is a sizable increase from the 1,250 students currently enrolled.
In March 2022, the MSBA and the District executed the Project Funding Agreement (PFA) defining the scope, budget, and schedule of the project. The PFA authorized approval of a new $317.4 million school set within the wooded hillside on the district’s property. The MSBA will provide $141 million of the total project cost.