Re-examine Site Eligibility for 648/652 Canton Ave Proposed Developments

The Issue

We, the undersigned residents of the Town of Milton, specifically Canton Ave., Gulliver St., Elm St., and Wendell Park and other concerned neighbors (collectively “The Neighbors”), hereby add additional support for, and urge the collective Boards (ZBA, Select Board, etc.) to request the applicant(s) for the projects at 648/652 Canton Ave re-start the project eligibility process with MassHousing.

The Neighbors are in full support of the memo dated January 4th, 2021 written by Edward J. Corcoran on behalf of the Canton Avenue Neighborhood addressed to Select Board Chair Ms. Melinda Collins.

We are confident the Town will do its due diligence and do right on behalf of the surrounding residents affected by the initial proposal at 648 Canton Ave. and further impacted by the substantial change that the proposal at 652 Canton Ave. would bring.

Stephen JohnsonPetition Starter

Media inquiries

This petition had 279 supporters

The Issue

The Neighbors are in full support of the memo dated January 4th, 2021 written by Edward J. Corcoran on behalf of the Canton Avenue Neighborhood addressed to Select Board Chair Ms. Melinda Collins.

Stephen JohnsonPetition Starter

Media inquiries

Petition Closed

This petition had 279 supporters

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The Decision Makers

Melinda Collins,

Chair, Select Board

Responded

“Thanks very much for reaching out. Hopefully, I can provide some clarity. Under the 40B statute and regulations, Site Eligibility is determined by the Subsidizing Agency, which in this case is MassHousing. MassHousing has confirmed that it views the 648 and 652 Canton Avenue proposals as two separate proposals, and it has determined that the 648 Canton Avenue project meets the criteria for eligibility for an affordable housing project under 40B. The Select Board has no authority under 40B to appeal this determination, nor does it have authority to request that the 648 Canton Ave application – which is now under review by the ZBA – be sent back to MassHousing to have the site’s eligibility reconsidered. If there is a substantial change to a project which affects its eligibility, there is a regulatory mechanism for this to be raised to MassHousing by either the applicant or the ZBA. With respect to the 652 Canton Avenue proposal, the Town Planning Director has outlined for MassHousing the issues regarding site access, and the Town will reiterate these in its comments on the PEL. Pursuant to the regulations at 760 CMR 56.04, the Subsidizing Agency will determine that an applicant has “site control” based on “evidence that an Applicant controls the site, based on evidence that the Applicant or a related entity owns the site, or holds an option or contract to acquire such interest in the site, or has such other interest in the site as is deemed by the Subsidizing Agency to be sufficient to control the site.” If MassHousing determines that these access issues preclude a finding that the applicant has site control, then it will not issue a PEL for the project. The Town's 40B consultant and special legal counsel reviewed 40B with the Select Board on February 2. The video should be available on Milton Cable Access soon: https://milton.vod.castus.tv/vod. I will see about getting it linked from the Select Board website as well. The first review of the response letter takes place at its meeting on February 10 at 7:00 p.m.”

Melinda Collins

Chair, Select Board

Responded

Michael Dennehy,

Town Administrator

Michael Dennehy

Town Administrator

Michael Zullas,

Select Board Member

Michael Zullas

Select Board Member

Richard Wells,

Select Board Member

Richard Wells

Select Board Member

Kathleen Conlon,

Select Board Member

Kathleen Conlon

Select Board Member

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Petition created on January 26, 2021