Wilmington Town Meeting Holds Off On Big Development Decisions

WILMINGTON, MA -- Town Meeting on Saturday offered little clarity on what -- if anything -- will be built on Sciarappa Farm. The meeting warrant had contained dueling articles that, on one extreme, would have created a multi-unit housing development and, on the other, would have had the town taking the land -- possibly by eminent domain -- to preserve as open space.

Jacqueline Welch, the daughter of developer Michael Welch, withdrew Article 53 that would have allowed for the construction of 250 housing units on the Sciarappa property. In a special town meeting immediately following town meeting Saturday, two articles spearheaded by Selectman Michael McCoy in response to Article 53 also failed. The first would have removed multi-family housing from areas zoned central business and neighborhood mixed-use in Wilmington. The second would have had the town raise $8.4 million to buy Sciarappa Farm and possibly use its power of eminent domain.

While some residents echoed McCoy's sentiment that the town needed "orderly development," many said they did not have enough information to support the measures. There was a sense that the measures had been rushed onto the warrant -- a sense reenforced that the town finance committee had recommended no votes on the McCoy-backed measures.

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Photo of Sciarappa Farm by Dave Copeland.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).