Scituate plans hearing on apartment proposal

A landowner's request to build rental apartments rather than condominiums on Stockbridge Road in Scituate has raised concerns of some neighbors, who will be able to express their opposition at a public hearing next month.

Stockbridge II Realty Trust has a comprehensive permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to build 48 multifamily condominium units and 20 single-family homes at 96-100 Stockbridge Road under the state affordable-housing law, Chapter 40B.

The trust, owner of the still-undeveloped site, recently requested board approval to switch the planned condo units to rental apartments. The trust also asked to reallocate four of the project's 18 affordable units from single-family homes to multifamily units. With the change, two of the affordable units would be single-family and 16 multifamily.

At a board meeting on Nov. 6, trust attorney Donald P. Nagle maintained that the proposed revisions were not "substantial," and as such could be considered by the board without a formal public hearing. But the board found that the requested changes were substantial, and scheduled a hearing for Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at the public library.

"This is more than just a change in the type of ownership," board chairman Peter Morin said, adding that neighbors "deserve a fuller understanding" of what is being proposed.

Nagle said afterward that he was disappointed, "but we're prepared to go forward with the hearing. . . . We're confident we'll get the approval after a formal hearing."

Kristin Swan, one of about a dozen neighbors who appeared at the meeting, said the residents oppose the proposed permit change and welcomed the board's decision. "I'm pleased that they are going to have a hearing and that we have more time to investigate the changes and that the zoning board does consider it substantial," she said.

The trust, whose efforts to develop the site date to 2000, has an agreement to sell the property to a developer, Dakota Partners, of Waltham, according to Nagle. He said the trust is seeking the permit changes at the request of Dakota to facilitate the sale and development of the site.

In June, the board agreed to several changes to the permit it determined were not substantial, including that the multifamily units be located in two buildings instead of one.

In an Oct. 29 letter to the board and at last week's meeting, Nagle said the proposed change to rental for the multifamily housing was dictated by market conditions.

"The recent downturn in the financial markets has created a critical challenge for developers of residential projects in obtaining financing," he said in his letter. "Unfortunately, condominium projects that are based on the 'for sale' model are now considered high risk by many lenders. Conversely, projects that are based on a predictable rental stream are seen as a safer paradigm."

In the letter, he pointed out that making the 48 multifamily units rental would allow the town to count all 48 against its state-mandated requirement of having 10 percent of its housing affordable. With condominium units, only the actual number of affordable units can be counted. Under Chapter 40B, communities in which fewer than 10 percent of the housing units meet the state's definition of "affordable" have much less power to block developments that set aside some of the units as affordable.

Swan said neighbors are concerned the rental housing would negatively impact their street. "Renting is very transient," she said. "It doesn't fit well with the fabric of our community."

Swan said that while they are not on her street, there is already a considerable number of affordable rental housing units in the Scituate Harbor area, including at the Wheeler Park complex operated by the Housing Authority off Common Street.

If the developer is seeking the change to respond to the market, Swan said, the financial needs of residents should also be taken into account.

"My housing value would go down given that rentals would be right next door," she added. "And my mortgage may be more than my house is worth. We are all struggling."

Nagle replied that "during the hearing, residents' concerns should be heard and addressed." He said he didn't think the change would hurt the neighborhood or property values.