UPPER CHARLES TRAIL CONNECTOR AND PARKING

 As you may be aware, the Town has constructed a small parking lot off Whitney Street as well as a trail from the parking lot to the Upper Charles Trail. This now provides access from Sherborn to the trail which extends through both Holliston and Milford. The connecting trail is very nice. This is a great asset for Sherborn and the region.

Unfortunately, there is a down side to this great asset. Both the parking lot and trail are constructed on private property through an easement granted to the Town by the developer of the Meadows Edge at Whitney Farm housing development. The parking lot is accessed via an emergency access road for the benefit of the housing development. Furthermore, the parking lot is limited to 3 spaces plus a handicapped space. We have had several instances of people parking their cars on the emergency access road and even in front of the chain that now blocks access to the housing development. Cars have also been parked on the grass next to the parking lot. This is unacceptable and is an abuse of this great asset. Police have been called multiple times to address the situation.

The Town is taking steps to prevent future abuse, including installation of signs indicating that violators will be towed at owners expense and rules for using the facility, as well as physical barriers. However, this message is an appeal to please use common courtesy and respect for private property when using this awesome Town amenity:

• Park only in the designated spaces.
• Do NOT park on the emergency access road or on the grass.
• Car pool to the parking lot if walking with friends.
• Ride your bicycle to the trail if possible. Whitney Street is marked with sharrows indicating it is a bicycle route. 
• Do not enter the private property that is the housing development. The road within the development is private and is owned and maintained by the condominium association. There is no public access to that road. This includes pedestrian and bicycle access as well as vehicular access.

Thank you for understanding the limitations on use of the parking lot and trail connection.

SHERBORN AWARDED $71,952 GREEN COMMUNITIES GRANT

 The Baker-Polito Administration has announced that the Town of Sherborn has been awarded a Green Communities grant in the amount of $71,952. The grant is part of the 2021 Spring Competitive grant round. 

The funds will be used to replace 133 streetlights with LEDs, and  implement weatherization measures, including insulation, air sealing and weather-stripping,  at Town Hall and the DPW Garage. The projects are estimated to result in annual energy cost savings of about $16,000, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40 tons per year. 

This is the 4th Green Communities grant received by Sherborn totaling more than $325,000.

Sherborn Affordable Housing Status

As you may know, for many years Sherborn's official number of affordable housing units in the State's Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) stood at 34. This included 24 units at Woodhaven (6 are affordable but in rental projects, all the units are counted for purposes of the SHI) and 10 at Leland Farm. This represented 2.3% of total housing units based on the total number of units identified in the 2010 U.S. Census of 1479.

We have made significant progress recently. With the approval of the 120-unit apartment complex called Coolidge Crossing, we have achieved "safe harbor" for 2 years because we increased our stock of affordable units by more than 2% in one year (and we get credit for projects approved even before they are built, but we lose that credit if they are not issued building permits within 12 months). Furthermore, that approval puts our SHI percentage at  10.41%.  However, that is based on the 2010 U.S. Census count of 1479  units. Our certification letter from DHCD  says that the certification is good until June 17, 2023 unless we lose units (i.e. we haven’t issued a building permit for Coolidge Crossing by then).

The 2020 U.S. Census housing units figures are out. It shows Sherborn with 1562 total units. I am not sure when DHCD will start using that as the baseline, but our current level of 154 units would put us at 9.86%. I just submitted an additional 15 units ( 8 from The Fields, 5 from Whitney Farm and 2 from 59 North Main) to be approved. Upon approval of those, we will have 169 units bringing us to 10.82%. We also have another 15 units in the pipeline (7 each from Whitney and Meadowbrook Commons and 1 more from 59 N. Main) which would bring us to 184 and 11.78%.

Not to jump too far ahead, but with 184 units, if we had no additional affordable units, we could end up with 1840 total units in the 2030 Census and still be at 10%. That would be an increase of 278 units from the 2020 Census. Coolidge Crossing and Meadowbrook Commons would account for 187 units so that leaves room for 91 units elsewhere. The increase between 2010 and 2020 was 83, and that included Abbey Road and part of Whitney Farm.

The affordable housing bylaw that was approved at the 2020 Town Meeting requires that 15% of new housing developments with 6 or more units be affordable (and it requires a payment to the Affordable Housing Trust for units under 6 and for fractional units). That will ensure that we keep pace and not fall below 10% for the foreseeable future.

 

CHARLES RIVER WATERSHED FLOOD MODELING PROJECT

 Sherborn is participating in a regional effort to create a model of potential flooding within the Charles River Watershed as the impacts of climate change result in larger storm events. FEMA flood maps illustrate historic flood data, while the purpose of the model is to identify areas that may flood as a result of future precipitation events. The Charles River Watershed Association is spearheading the effort using a consultant to develop the model. 

Public input is an important component of this project. The first public workshop was held on December 10, 2020, and a webinar was held on January 28, both on Zoom. More public participation events are planned, including a second workshop and meetings focusing on the middle watershed (of which Sherborn is a part) and the upper watershed. To learn more about this project, please use the following links:

Project Website

Results from December Workshop #1 Survey

Feedback From January Webinar

MEADOWBROOK ACRES (THE SEQUEL)

 You may remember that several months ago, I wrote a post about the Meadowbrook Acres subdivision. I explained that it was not something that was proposed to be built, but it was only proposed in order to freeze the the zoning as provided for by Massachusetts Zoning Law (Chapter 40A, Section 6).

Well, the Preliminary Plan was approved by the Planning Board back in September. That froze the zoning for 7 months. A Definitive Subdivision had to be submitted and approved in order to extend the zoning freeze to 8 years.  The Definitive Subdivision Plan has now been submitted. It needs to follow all of the same rules as a real subdivision. So there will be a legal notice in the newspaper and abutters have been notified, but please be aware that this is just part of the zoning freeze process. The Plan is essentially the same as the Preliminary Subdivision Plan showing 2 lots and a short cul-de-sac but now it is fully engineered. A public hearing has been scheduled for April 6 at 7:30.

The Coolidge Crossing 40B apartment project (for part of the same land as Meadowbrook Acres is moving through the comprehensive permit process with the ZBA and the next hearing on that project is on March 31. 

For more information about the zoning freeze process, please see the earlier post about Meadowbrook Acres.

DO I NEED A PERMIT FOR THAT?

This is just a reminder that sometimes we may be uncertain as to what types of work on our property require a permit. In order to assist residents in determining whether a permit or other type of approval is needed, the Town web site has a document called "Permitting Procedures Manual." It can be found on the Planning Board page of the Town web site. On the left side of that page is a link called "Do I need a permit for that?" It is at the top of a list of links.

This document includes a brief (1-page each) description of the responsibilities of most of the permit granting boards, commissions and departments of the Town. It also includes a chart at the back that lists what types of permits are needed for which projects and identifies the entity that issues those permits. Finally, there is a flow chart that illustrates the process for building a new house or addition. 

As always, it is important to contact Town Hall prior to starting a project and you will be provided guidance as to what, if anything, is needed in terms of approvals. 

MEADOWBROOK ACRES?

 In case you have seen a subdivision called Meadowbrook Acres on the Planning Board, Board of Health or Conservation Commission agenda, you may be wondering what it is about. This is especially true if you have seen the plans. This "subdivision" proposes a short cul-de-sac off Coolidge Street at 84 Coolidge and then it divides the parcels that comprise the sites of the proposed Meadowbrook Commons 67-unit age-restricted project and the proposed Coolidge Crossing 40B 120-unit  apartment project into 2 lots. 

Those other projects have not been abandoned. Under Massachusetts zoning law (Chapter 40A, Section 6), if someone submits a preliminary subdivision plan to the Planning Board followed by a definitive subdivision plan within 7 months,  "the land shown on such plan shall be governed by the applicable provisions of the zoning ordinance or by-law, if any, in effect at the time of the first such submission while such plan or plans are being processed under the subdivision control law, and, if such definitive plan or an amendment thereof is finally approved, for eight years from the date of the endorsement of such approval."

So, the purpose of the plan is to freeze the zoning, not to construct the subdivision. A Preliminary Development Plan (not to be confused with a preliminary subdivision plan) was approved by Town Meeting in 2017. That plan called for 67 units of age-restricted (over 55) housing of which 7 (10% of the total) must be affordable. On August 15, 2020, Town Meeting approved an affordable housing bylaw that requires new developments to provide 15% of total units as affordable.By submitting the preliminary subdivision plan prior to August 15, that land remains governed by the zoning and subdivision rules in effect at the time it was submitted. Interestingly, it is the LAND for which the rules get frozen, not the SUBDIVISION PLAN that was submitted.