Wilmington Won't Sell Town-Owned Land To Build Affordable Housing

WILMINGTON, MA -- Wilmington Special Town Meeting won't get a chance to consider whether or not to sell town-owned land to address an affordable housing shortage. The Board of Selectmen voted 4-1 Monday night to not prepare a warrant for the Special Town Meeting on Dec. 16 which would have called for the sale of a 7.5-acre parcel near St. Dorothy's Church on Main Street.

Wilmington needs to add between 60 and 70 affordable housing units by 2020 or risk falling under the state-mandated threshold for affordable housing. If 10% of the town's housing isn't classified as affordable, developers to override local zoning laws if they propose a development that includes such units and build "as big as they want, wherever they want," said Wilmington Planning Director Valerie Gingrich.

The proposal selectmen rejected Monday night would have allowed the town to sell the parcel to a private developer under the condition the developer would build senior housing and at least 25% of the units would be affordably priced. Under a quirk in the state law, if 25% of an apartment complex's units are affordably prices, all of the units can be classified as affordable.

Chairman Michael Champoux was the lone vote against the motion. Champoux said he was uncertain whether or not the town should sell the parcel, but felt the proposal should be put before town meeting so it could be fully discussed and debated.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, former town manager Michael Caira advised selectmen to vote against the plan, saying "we're not making new land anymore. This is all we have." Selectmen had expected an overflow crowd for the discussion and moved the meeting to the high school auditorium. In the end, however, just a few dozen people showed up.

Chapter 40B is aimed at increasing the state's stock of affordable housing and suspends local zoning regulations in towns where affordable housing makes up less than 10% of the total available housing. Wilmington is currently 31 units above the threshold, which puts it at 10.4% and above the threshold. But that will change in 2020, when the federal census will be used to recalculate Wilmington's total number of housing units.

The state's definition of affordable varies by town, the town's media income and by the size of the home. In Wilmington, the median home price is $469,000. Under the state's formula, an affordable three-bedroom house would cost $223,500 or less. Wilmington's median rent is $1,600 per month; for a one-bedroom apartment to be considered affordable, it would need to be priced at $1,287 plus utility allowance per month. A two-bedroom would need to be priced at $1,412 plus utility allowance per month.

The percentage of affordable homes is based on the 2010 census, when Wilmington had 7,788 total housing units. But the town has added 228 since then, and at the current rate of 30 to 40 new houses per year, Gingrich projects the total number of homes to be above 8,000 when the 2020 census is conducted. Additionally, some of the 810 affordable units currently recognized under 40B will no longer be classified as affordable, meaning with no changes, the town's affordable housing stock would be 9.4% when the state recalculates compliance with the law.

If that happens, the zoning board of appeals "would be forced to approve projects that are larger and denser and that don't have to follow are local zoning laws," Gingrich said in presenting the town's options under the Massachusetts Comprehensive Planning Act, also known as Chapter 40B, to selectmen.

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Patch file photo.

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