|
|
Norwell's Experience Could Help Kingston
Defeat Beacon's 40-B Application
by Dennis N. Randall
(July 30, 2003)
Good news for
Kingston! Developers in Norwell of two separate 40B
 proposals
had their building plans rejected by the State Housing Finance Authority.
MassHousing cited traffic safety and environmental impacts as two key
reasons for deep-sixing the projects. The Queen Anne’s Corner and Baker
Street projects rejected by the state called for a combined 62 condos on 32
acres of land. Each project was far smaller in scope and impact than the
monster 780-unit project Beacon is trying to build in Kingston.
Anti-affordable housing forces use every tactic in the book to block
unwanted projects. It’s an old game and the courts and state are very
familiar with the ruse. Traffic is considered one of the trump cards and is
played often -- usually without much success. The Norwell ruling is proof
that when legitimate traffic concerns are raised they can be sufficient to
stop a project dead in the water.
On its face the Beacon Proposal fails the traffic test. Sticking a small
city at the end of a two-lane road already facing rush hour gridlock at
times of peak traffic is a recipe for disaster and/or rejection. The
suggestion that the town is somehow responsible for fixing Beacon’s traffic
problem is nuts. It’s their proposal, their traffic and their problem. No
town roads or ways should be upgraded or opened at taxpayer expense to help
this project fly. The simple truth is the cost of building the necessary
access roads and traffic control systems to support this project’s projected
traffic flow could bankrupt even Bill Gates.
It’s our own fault we have a 40B gun pointed at our head. Over the last
three decades town officials have refused or failed to draft a meaningful
affordable housing plan. With no housing plan in place, there is no vehicle
to block an unwanted 40B proposal. Only greed and poor planning by Beacon
can save the town.
Beacon is likely to fail because they tried to cram as many housing units as
physically possible into the 100+ acres next to the T-Station. They ignored
local conditions and tried to fly in under radar with the assistance of four
selectmen. It was Selectmen Mark Beaton who stopped the juggernaut in its
tracks when he demanded a public hearing. Had Beaton not acted, the other
four selectmen would have voted in June to adopt an affordable housing plan
co-authored by Beacon Development and custom tailored to meet the needs of
the developer.
Join
40B Discussion -- Read what Kingston thinks and add your thoughts |
