Update on Maple Street Housing Project

Dear Editor,

We’d like to extend an enormous thank you to all Wenham residents who attended the November 5th ZBA hearing concerning the proposed federally-subsidized housing project on Maple Street. For those of you who couldn’t be with us, here is a recap.

Residents raised concerns over water, septic, traffic, density, and town services.

Here are some of the facts we learned at the ZBA hearing:

• The developer has no experience building anything like this before.

• Total cost is a staggering $22 million. The developer still needs to explain his financing.

• When asked, the developer couldn’t say that this project will not be sold to a private or for-profit company.

• The developer insists that Wenham needs elderly housing. Yet, he admitted that he couldn’t get state funding for elderly housing in Wenham. Now this is no longer a 62+ facility, but rather family housing for 55+, including anyone over the age of 18 living in the same unit. Wenham seniors will not “age in place” - in fact, future residents will come from anywhere in the state, with no preference being given to residents of Wenham.

• Construction will occur within 100 ft. of the wetlands; the septic for a 60 unit housing project will sit just feet away from the wetlands which feed into the Ipswich River - endangering our water supply.

• The developer acknowledged there isn’t enough water in town to support this project. Wenham has already maxed out its water usage.

• The developer has an option to purchase 3.5 acres of Bob Burnett’s property at a price of $1.8 million. That equals $515,000 per acre, far above market rate.

• The developer wants town funds of $1.8 million, equaling the purchase price of the land.

• The developer’s traffic study done last May (before Maple St was widened and repaved) states that traffic will increase by at least 10-25%.

We urge all concerned Wenham residents to attend two important upcoming meetings: The Wenham Conservation Commission Monday, November 24 at 7:30 pm in Town Hall, and the Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, December 10 at 7:30pm at Buker School.

We also urge you to contact our ZBA and Board of Selectman directly. Voice your concerns and opinions. We can, and we must, do better than the federally-subsidized housing project currently proposed to be built within the wetlands buffer on Maple St. Wenham, we can do better!

Sincerely,

Lou & Lisa Terranova

38 Maple St.

Wenham, MA