Neighbors opposed to_276_mill_rd_7-24-13_signed

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July 22, 2013 Matt Hansen Chairman Pat Wojtas James Lane Janet Askenburg George Dixon Paul Cohen Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board, Mr. Cohen, As concerned residents of the neighborhoods within the Mill Road corridor, we submit this letter to register our firm opposition to the July 3 rd announcement of a proposed 120 unit Chapter 40B low income apartment complex to be situated on the 4.87 acre site situated at 276 Mill Rd. We, along with other neighbors and members of the community, see major failings in the selection process that make any housing plan at this location untenable. The Town’s desire to stave off a Statelegislated mandate in order to gain a shortlived three year moratorium on hostile housing projects is illconceived and shortsighted when compared to the twentyplus years of thoughtful planning and development undertaken by previous Boards, Committees and the residents of Chelmsford to shape the locale in question into a cornerstone of Chelmsford’s Commercial/Industrial complex. Furthermore, a residential development at the intended location is wholly inconsistent with prior positions taken by Town officials regarding a similarly situated largescale 40B project (Aspen), disregards the State’s primary guidance for 40B locations and tacitly ignores the many careful conclusions published in the Town’s Affordable Housing Master Plan (AHMP) of 2011. In fact, upon closer examination of the overall selection criteria in the published that plan, the Mill Road site is ranked as one of the four worst locations within all of Chelmsford for a project of this type. Specifically those shortcomings are; Conflicts with Town Planning Mill Road is identified as ranking worst among all fourteen sites studied in terms of compatibility with the Town’s newly ratified Master Plan (MP). In fact, a decision to develop the site residentially runs completely counter to the MP’s directive that this parcel be reserved for commercial/industrial use. Amenities – Mill Road also ranked second worst in terms of access to regular amenities, none of which are located within safe walking distance of the site. This failure is further aggravated by Stop and Shop’s stipulation that there be no supermarkets located within the redevelopment zone of their recently vacated Chelmsford Center site. To be specific, any attempt to travel from Mill Road on either direction along 129 would require one to safely negotiate the access roads to Hittite, Elizabeth Drive and the on/off ramps linking the two most heavily trafficked thoroughfares in Town; Routes 3 and 129.

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Neighbors opposed to_276_mill_rd_40B project_7-24-13 Chelmsford,MA

Transcript of Neighbors opposed to_276_mill_rd_7-24-13_signed

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July  22,  2013    

Matt  Hansen  -­‐  Chairman  Pat  Wojtas  -­‐  James  Lane  Janet  Askenburg  George  Dixon  Paul  Cohen    Mr.  Chairman,  Members  of  the  Board,  Mr.  Cohen,    As  concerned  residents  of  the  neighborhoods  within  the  Mill  Road  corridor,  we  submit  this  letter  to  register  our  firm  opposition  to  the  July  3rd  announcement  of  a  proposed  120  unit  Chapter  40B  low  income  apartment  complex  to  be  situated  on  the  4.87  acre  site  situated  at  276  Mill  Rd.  We,  along  with  other  neighbors  and  members  of  the  community,  see  major  failings  in  the  selection  process  that  make  any  housing  plan  at  this  location  untenable.    The  Town’s  desire  to  stave  off  a  State-­‐legislated  mandate  in  order  to  gain  a  short-­‐lived  three  year  moratorium  on  hostile  housing  projects  is  ill-­‐conceived  and  short-­‐sighted  when  compared  to  the  twenty-­‐plus  years  of  thoughtful  planning  and  development  undertaken  by  previous  Boards,  Committees  and  the  residents  of  Chelmsford  to  shape  the  locale  in  question  into  a  cornerstone  of  Chelmsford’s  Commercial/Industrial  complex.    Furthermore,  a  residential  development  at  the  intended  location  is  wholly  inconsistent  with  prior  positions  taken  by  Town  officials  regarding  a  similarly  situated  large-­‐scale  40B  project  (Aspen),    disregards  the  State’s  primary  guidance  for  40B  locations  and  tacitly  ignores  the  many  careful  conclusions  published  in  the  Town’s  Affordable  Housing  Master  Plan  (AHMP)  of  2011.  In  fact,  upon  closer  examination  of  the  overall  selection  criteria  in  the  published  that  plan,  the  Mill  Road  site  is  ranked  as  one  of  the  four  worst  locations  within  all  of  Chelmsford  for  a  project  of  this  type.  Specifically  those  shortcomings  are;    

Conflicts  with  Town  Planning  -­‐  Mill  Road  is  identified  as  ranking  worst  among  all  fourteen  sites  studied  in  terms  of  compatibility  with  the  Town’s  newly  ratified  Master  Plan  (MP).  In  fact,  a  decision  to  develop  the  site  residentially  runs  completely  counter  to  the  MP’s  directive  that  this  parcel  be  reserved  for  commercial/industrial  use.  

 Amenities  –  Mill  Road  also  ranked  second  worst  in  terms  of  access  to  regular  amenities,  none  of  which  are  located  within  safe  walking  distance  of  the  site.  This  failure  is  further  aggravated  by  Stop  and  Shop’s  stipulation  that  there  be  no  supermarkets  located  within  the  re-­‐development  zone  of  their  recently  vacated  Chelmsford  Center  site.  To  be  specific,  any  attempt  to  travel  from  Mill  Road  on  either  direction  along  129  would  require  one  to  safely  negotiate  the  access  roads  to  Hittite,  Elizabeth  Drive  and  the  on/off  ramps  linking  the  two  most  heavily  trafficked  thoroughfares  in  Town;  Routes  3  and  129.  

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Geography  -­‐  The  AHMP  goes  on  to  state  that  development  at  Mill  Road  would  require  dealing  with  steep  slopes  and  ledge,  both  of  which  would  aggravate  issues  already  present  on  site.  Further  clearing  the  slopes  that  make  up  the  sides  and  frontage  of  this  acreage  will  exacerbate  the  well-­‐  documented  run-­‐off  from  the  Fuchs  furniture  and  Hancock  Builders  site  onto  Mill  Road  and  be  yet  another  contributor  to  the  full-­‐roadway  flooding  that  already  occurs  in  front  of  the  address  during  the  standard  heavy  weather  the  location  is  exposed  to  year-­‐round.  As  other  members  of  our  community  have  come  to  find  and  suffer,  ledge  creates  innumerable  technical  issues  in  terms  of  supplying  reliable,  functional  supplies  for  water  and  sewerage.  

 Aquifer  Exposure  –  As  the  recent  tanker  spill  less  than  a  mile  away  on  Rt3  illustrated,  our  water  supplies  are  at  best  fragile  and  at  worst  easily  susceptible  to  damage  from  abuse  or  lack  of  thought.  Development  on  the  Mill  Road  site  would  expose  elements  of  the  Center  Water  Aquifer  Protection  District  to  the  short  term  abuse  of  heavy  construction  and  the  long  term  exposure  of  the  negative  emissions  from  a  large  residential  cluster.  

 Traffic  Hazards  –  276  Mill  Road  is  in  an  extremely  poor  location  to  provide  proper  access  to  a  large  scale  development.  Bounded  by  the  entrance  to  the  Quorum  office  park  less  than  100  yards  to  the  South  and  the  entrances  to  Hittite  Microwave,  Elizabeth  Drive  and  Lifelinks  at  the  same  distance  to  the  North,  egress  from  this  location  would  have  to  deal  with  large  volumes  of  commuter  traffic  from  these  sites  and  would  also  require  safely  navigating  the  dangers  inherent  with  the  inside  radius  of  such  a  sharp  blind  corner.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  sightline  problem  was  further  exacerbated  for  the  properties  on  the  inside  of  the  turn  when  the  Town  chose  to  modify  the  roadbed  during  the  Quorum  site  construction.  Development  at  the  site  would  also  aggravate  the  existing  traffic  volume  by  the  random  and  unpredictable  nature  of  trips  that  120  residential  vehicles  would  contribute  to  the  flow  each  day.  

 Conflict  with  neighboring  facilities  –  The  Mill  Road  area  has  welcomed  and  embraced  the  addition  of  LifeLinks,  an  important  neighbor  that  provides  essential  services  and  support  for  those  with  intellectual  or  developmental  disabilities.  Twice  daily  throughout  the  year,  upwards  of  twenty  transport  vans  and  buses  queue  from  the  LifeLinks  entrance  back  past  276  Mill  all  the  way  to  the  blind  turn  at  Quorum  in  order  to  discharge  and  pick  up  their  passengers  making  it  problematic  for  anyone  to  egress  the  proposed  site  regardless  of  which  direction  they  turn.  

 As  responsible  residents,  we  support  sensible  development  within  Chelmsford.  In  fact,  at  the  Spring    2013  Town  Meeting,  each  of  the  five  Town  Meeting  Representatives  undersigned  below  voted  “YES”  for  the  affordable  housing  project  at  233  Littleton  Road  a  site  far  more  favorable  in  terms  of  compatibility,  amenities  and  overall  selection  criteria.  Unfortunately,  the  proposal  at  276  Mill  Road  shares  none  of  that  upside  and  in  fact  is  ranked  as  poorly  for  development  as  the  Oak  Hill  site  which  Town  Meeting  designated  as  suitable  only  for  use  as  Conservation  Land.  Given  these  facts,  we  ask  that  you  take  all  appropriate  measures  to  prevent  this  project  from  proceeding.                  

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Photographs

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Figure  1  –  LifeLinks  Queue  looking  SE  with  276  Mill  at  right        

 

 Figure  2  –  LifeLinks  Queue  looking  SE;  opposing  traffic  with  276  Mill  at  right  

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Figure  3  –  LifeLinks  Queue  looking  NW  with  traffic;  from  driveway  of  276  Mill  

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276  Mill  and  view  toward  Elizabeth  Drive  and  129.                  

 

276  Mill  and  view  toward  blind  curve  at  Quorum  

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Mill  Road  Looking  South  to  Quorum  at  curve  

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Above:  Hancock/  Fuchs  Sites    Below  Looking  East  on  Mill  Road  toward  blind  Curve  at  Quorum      

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Mill  Road  Grade  looking  west  from  Quorum  toward  Hancock/Fuchs  sites    

   

 

   

Blind  curve  at  Quorum  entrance  

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Roadbed  modification  at  Quorum  entrance  

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Site  Lines  looking  West  at  Quorum  

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Limited  site  line  and  proximity  of  curve  relative  to  276  Mill    

 

 

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Limited  site  line  and  proximity  of  curve  relative  to  276  Mill    

 

 

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Limited  site  line  and  roadbed  damage  from  persistent  run-­‐off  

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Site  line  exiting  north  on  Mill  from  Quorum  

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Site  line  exiting  north  on  Mill  from  Quorum