Westford is facing an “unprecedented number of units” that are on tap to be built over the next two years, according to a planning professional with almost three decades of experience.
The town is poised to absorb almost 500 residential units all along the Route 110 business corridor that divides the north and south sides.
“This is an unprecedented number of units to be submitted for approval at one time,” said Chris Kluchman, the town’s director of land use management. “In my experience…certainly getting 490 units presented is unprecedented and not only at the same time, but in one area.”
Kluchman joined the town in 2010 as a planner, eventually moving up to supervise that Planning Department as well as the Zoning Board of Appeals. She has 29 years of planning experience in such communities as Belmont, Devens, Springfield, and Stoneham.
On tap are three Chapter 40B affordable housing projects with one application already filed and the other two pending.
- Residences at Westford West would be located behind the Red Hat building at 314 Littleton Road. The developer, the Gutierrez Company, is proposing to build 282 rental units on almost 23 acres with 71 or 25 percent to be rented at below market rates. Thirty-five of the units will be one-bedroom apartments, another 30, two-bedrooms, and six will be three-bedrooms.
- Sugar Maple Lane would offer another 28 townhouses and condominiums at 4 Powers Road. No further details are yet available from developer Walter Erickson who has requested a project eligibility letter from MassHousing. MassHousing is “an independent, quasi-public agency…charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts,” according to the website.
- At Two Robbins Road, Princeton Properties would build 180 rental units. No further details are yet available.
Chapter 40B is a state law that requires 10 percent of all housing stock in each Massachusetts community to be priced at below market rates for renters and buyers. The law gives great latitude to developers who want to build residences in communities with less than 10 percent of affordable housing inventory. Westford’s stock is at 8.32 percent.
A Housing Production Plan just released by the town, lays out goals and strategies for adding to the affordable housing inventory to meet the 10 percent goal. Among them:
- “Create and preserve compatible and complementary affordable housing by ensuring that new development and rehabilitation and retrofits of existing buildings are consistent with surrounding homes and neighborhoods in density, scale and design.
- Promote multi-family housing at an appropriate scale in the villages, mixed-use developments on Route 110 and Route 40, and accommodate mixed-use conversions of the town’s historic mills through redevelopment.
- Encourage the siting of future affordable housing in areas with good access to community services and town infrastructure.”
So far the pending and proposed projects will be located in just the western area of town where Managing Director of Development Israel Lopez of the Gutierrez Company points to the retail operations along Route 110 that attract dwellers.
Noting that Residences at Westford West are expected to attract professionals working in Westford as well as parents looking for a “great school system,” Lopez said, “there are other amenities along the 110 corridor – Whole Foods and Market Basket – that attracts.”
Westford’s population is expected to grow to 25,105 by 2040 from the current 21,951, according to the production plan, with the number of households expected to increase from 7,498 in 2010 to 10,437.
But with growth comes stress on town services and schools. The districts in the Robinson and Crisafulli Schools will be in the most flux in terms of new arrivals, said Superintendent Everett “Bill” Olsen. The student population is projected to grow along with the town’s population, said Olsen, who presented his enrollment projections to the School Committee on Nov. 7.
“Over the next two years,…that’s when I’m going to have to take an even closer look because that’s when the larger scale residential developments…will be approaching coming on line,” said Olsen, referring to the affordable housing projects on tap along the Route 110 corridor.
In addition to the Nashoba Valley Technical High School, Westford has six elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and a pre-school. The Robinson and Crisafuli elementary schools located off Carlisle Road would absorb most of the increased student population from the upcoming developments because the three proposed projects are all located in the same part of town.
Worried about the potential strain on services, town officials are taking action. In a letter dated Nov. 16, Town Manager Jodi Ross responded to a MassHousing official’s request for comments on the Sugar Maple Lane project. In accordance with state law, affordable housing projects are required to get a project eligibility letter from MassHousing or other such funding entity.
In her letter, Ross listed her concerns about the development:
- “The Selectmen are concerned about the cumulative effect of 490 units being proposed in this area of town…
- In general, the Selectmen believe that the proposed number of units is too large for what the area and the Town’s resources can handle, and would like to see the number of units reduced.
- There is no secondary emergency access shown on the plans. The Board of Selectmen feel the public safety of future residents should be closely reviewed by the Westford Fire Department.
- The impact on the schools in this area would be significant and possibly cause overcrowding…”
Ross further noted that a 200-unit Princeton Properties development completed a few years ago along Route 110 added 75 students to the school population although the projections were half that number.
“There is a concern that the large number of units could be a tipping point that triggers the need to hire additional public safety and school personnel,” Ross stated.
Follow Joyce Pellino Crane on Twitter @joypellinocrane.
