Swampscott's Elm Place Developers Propose Rail Trail Easement

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The developers behind the proposed 120-unit Elm Place 40B housing project in Swampscott said they are willing to include an easement for an MBTA underpass entrance to a proposed Rail Trail extension but remain unwilling to substantially change the scale of the building at 21 Elm Street during Tuesday night's Zoning Board of Appeals.

The Rail Trail easement proposal comes as the hearing process appears headed to a conclusion after more than a year. The next public meeting will be an in-person session scheduled for April 12 where the Zoning Board could consider a decision on whether to support or oppose the project.

In a statement to Patch Tuesday night, developers said: "Based on our review, an underpass appears feasible for the town to construct once the Rail Trail has been planned and funded. The underpass concept will require WinnDevelopment to sink deeper footings for the building, increasing the cost of the development. Minor design changes also will be needed to maintain adequate public safety access in the back corner of the property.

"We are discussing the concept with town officials and will continue to set aside the privately owned land, as we have since we first proposed this project, that would be needed for an exit out of the underpass to Pitman Road.

"We are also discussing the cost implications of the change in footing depths as part of the effort to secure town approval for the Elm Place project."

Developers told the Zoning Board of Appeals that it feels concerns about traffic in the neighborhoods associated with the development have been adequately addressed by an independent peer reviewer who said at the Feb. 15 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting that current designs are sufficient to handle any added congestion from Elm Place residents.

While developers have offered redesigns of the project since the original 128-unit building was introduced last year, neighbors and some town officials have continued to argue that the size of the project is too big for the area considering the congestion and population density of the town.

Yet, since this is a 40B affordable housing project, and the town is well below the state's 10 percent affordable housing threshold at 3.7 percent, the project is eligible to bypass most local zoning ordinances because the project fulfills "a critical town need" of creating more affordable housing.

"From my close to 30 years as a litigator, knowing exactly what will happen if we deny the permit, (I know) that the town will get involved in litigation with this petitioner and we might not night get all of the things that we might get if we work collaboratively and work to design a project that has the least amount of (neighborhood impact)," Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Marc Kornitsky said near the end of the three-hour meeting. "I am not saying this is a done deal. I am but one person (on the voting Board). I haven't made my mind up. But I am telling you there are substantial limitations the law puts on us."

Public safety concerns are one of the few areas where the Board could argue to deny the comprehensive building permit, yet Kornitsky allowed that peer reviews have determined that the developer has made alterations to address many of the initial safety concerns presented to them.

"You've got to realize that there is state law that is crystal clear (on 40B developments)," Kornitsky said. "I have spent hours researching it. Hours and hours before we ever began this process. I start out the meetings making sure that I know, and convey, what jurisdiction our Board has.

"I'm troubled by the lack of authority that this independent Board has. But that's what the law says."

WinnDevelopment has proposed that 49 of the units be priced at a below-market rate, which is well above the 40B's statute requirement of 20 percent, but developers have argued that only a project of that size makes the financing work to provide that many units at the lower price point.

The Board proposed that town fire and public safety officials be at the April 12 meeting to address ongoing concerns from residents — especially the abutters and neighborhood residents who will be most affected during construction and beyond with development likely to bring up to 300 or more new residents to the area of Swampscott.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)