Neighbors balk at plan for square

In an all-too-familiar tussle over a municipality's need for tax revenue from commercial growth and the desire to preserve the character of a neighborhood, some Belmont residents are butting heads with a developer over preliminary plans to revitalize Cushing Square.

Developer Chris Starr, who owns several buildings in the square, has presented conceptual plans to neighbors and town leaders for a housing and retail village that would bring in an estimated $1 million in tax revenue.

But neighbors say the Cushing Village project is too big and would ruin the residential feel of the community.

"We understand it's only a concept, but we're extremely concerned about it," said Donald Becker, a local attorney who formed the Cushing Square Neighborhood Association to work with Starr on scaling back the plan.

Starr's concept for Cushing Village includes a variety of upscale amenities such as a small grocery store, health club, restaurants, and boutiques. The concept would incorporate buildings with one, two, three, and four stories as allowed under the current zoning.

Starr has not filed formal plans with the Planning Board and needs Town Meeting approval on two items in order to move forward. One would give the Board of Selectmen permission to negotiate the transfer of a town-owned parking lot that would be used as part of the development. The other would close off Horne Road to through traffic.

There is an article on tomorrow's Town Meeting warrant that would address both those issues, but it is unclear what will happen when the item comes up for debate.

Neighbors would rather work with the developer on a more appealing plan before voting on the article, Becker said.

Starr said he has asked the Board of Selectmen to withdraw the article so he can have more time to work with residents and town officials.

"We floated some ideas and had a lot of positive feedback, but obviously the Horne Road residents don't like it so we're reevaluating it," Starr said. "Right now, it's very clear to me that we need to understand better what people want and need in the Cushing Square area."

Selectman Daniel Leclerc said he will probably try to dismiss the article because he thinks it will fail and worries that an opposing vote would kill the project. The article requires a two-thirds vote.

"A coherent strong neighborhood group would likely sink it," Leclerc said. "It's not a good way to start a project. It pulls a pall over it. We need a cooling-off period."

Leclerc said he supports the preliminary concept and is confident the Planning Board process would take neighbors' concerns into account before approving a plan.

But he thinks more time is needed for the neighbors and developer to work together, and he hopes that could take place over the summer. The article could then be brought back at Town Meeting in the fall.

"In the meantime, we'll get a conversation going to build some trust," he said. "There is kind of a trust issue here."

Starr said he wants to create a project that will be a "beautiful place," for people to live, work, dine, and socialize.

To accomplish that, Starr said he will spend the next few months meeting with residents and community leaders to get a better sense of what the town will support there. "We're really just going to try to create an inclusive process," Starr said.

Angelo Firenze, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said he thinks the article should still be discussed at Town Meeting. He said the question of selling the parking lot should be debated whether or not Starr moves forward with his plan.

The parking lot would be put out to bid and anyone could submit a proposal for its use, he said.

Firenze said it might be in the town's best interest to see if there are other developers interested in doing something with the parking lot.

Becker said neighbors don't want to stop all development and they are eager to work together. But they feel as though it's been a one-way street, he said.

"We're willing to compromise and have a give and take conversation so we can all come to a mutually agreeable concept," Becker said. "So far, [Starr has] said it's my way or the highway. We hope we hear some movement from him. It's got to be a two-way street in order for there to be some progress."

Becker said many neighbors voted to pave the way for new development two years ago when Town Meeting approved a mixed-use zoning for the square. A developer discussed plans for a small-scale development that neighbors were excited about, he said.

The neighbors acknowledge that new growth is essential in order to take some of the tax burden off homeowners, but they say Starr's plans are too dense and would have a significant impact on the character of the neighborhood and town.

"It's not a good place to start discussions," Becker said. "We're ready for change, but it's got to be the right change, not a change that's going to destroy our neighborhood."

Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com.

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