Swampscott to deal away 4 buildings

SWAMPSCOTT – Town Meeting voted to sell four town owned properties at a special Town Meeting on Monday evening.Town Meeting voted to accept zoning changes recommended by the Town Building Oversight Study Committee, which would allow the parcels being sold to be developed.Any article relative to zoning changes or the sale of town owned assets requires a two-thirds majority vote of Town Meeting to pass.Town Meeting members voted to allow the Board of Selectmen to sell the former Phillips Beach Fire Station, 2 Phillips Ave. for use as a single family home but it requires some historic preservation of the structure.Town Meeting also authorized the Board of Selectmen to sell the former senior center, which is located at 89 Burrill St., for use as a three-family affordable housing development.Town Meeting members also approved the sale of the former Temple Israel property for a housing development for not more than 42 units, none of which would be required to be affordable housing.In Sept. 2005, Town Meeting members voted in favor of purchasing the 3.5-acre former Temple Israel property and at that time there was overwhelming support among town officials and Town Meeting members for retrofitting a portion of the site for use as a police station.The former Middle School on Greenwood Avenue was turned over as surplus by the School Committee and Town meeting also approved selling that property for multi-family housing with a maximum of 41 units, none of which would be affordable housing.The majority of the discussion at Town Meeting focused on the Greenwood Avenue site and the former temple Israel property.Several abutters to the former middle school expressed concern about density and traffic congestion. A couple of Town meeting members also expressed concern the former middle school would be needed at some point in the future by the school department despite assurances from the School Committee it was no longer needed by the school district.Abutters to the former Temple Israel property also raised the issue of density and said they believed 42 units were too many on that property and it would be a burden to the neighborhood but the majority of Town meeting members were in favor of selling the property.