Revere councilors support farm’s land change request

REVERE – Revere City Hall was filled to capacity about Caddy Farm requesting an amendment change to the zoning map to go from a single-family home development to commercial development at Monday night’s meeting.The owners would like to take the 28 acres of land and use it for mix use commercially by bringing in hotels and restaurants to Revere.”It is a wide range of land and it seems like it would be a good fit there,” Attorney Lawrence Simeone Jr. said. “Our goal is to bring revenue to the city.”Developers for the project are hoping to put in a new access point to the property from Route 1, which angered some Saugus residents who were in attendance.”I don’t think we are using the quickest way possible to the property,” Peter Bogdan said. “We have to make sure this runs as efficiently as possible.”While Bogdan was not opposed to the mixed development plans, he wanted to make sure that all parties were involved in the decision making. “We have to have our ducks lined up properly,” he said.Others were worried about the trucks that would drive in and out of the area. “There are many children that live in that area,” Janet Leuci said. “I hope Revere and Saugus can work together on this. The people who live there deserve to be considered.”Revere city councilors were delighted about the prospects this project could bring. “We could use whatever commercial property we can get,” Ward 6 Councilor Charles J. Patch said.Caddy Farm is in Patch’s ward and he has been working closely with the developers on the project. “We don’t need any more single-family homes. This is better for the taxpayers and residents of my ward.”Patch also said he would work with Saugus. “I want the people of Saugus to know we want to work together,” Patch said. “We don’t have large commercial areas like Saugus is fortunate to have.”Other councilors agreed. “This is a great project,” Councilor at large George Rotondo said. “Anything that gets me and councilor Patch agreeing is a solid project.”Mayor-elect Dan Rizzo also said he wants to work with Saugus. “We want to work with our neighbors and we hope you are willing to work with us,” Rizzo said.Rizzo thought this project could potentially boost Revere’s small commercial development in the city. “We have a small commercial tax base,” Rizzo said. “Week after week we talk about how to bring commercial development to Revere. This is a positive step.”Many of the councilors feel that there are too many residential facilities in Revere. “You could build 60 homes on that land and we would need a 7th elementary school because of it. That is not what Revere needs,” Ward 1 Councilor Richard A. Penta said.Penta also reminded the council that this project is at the very beginning stages. “Right now, there is no project in front of us. It is just a change of use of zoning,” Penta said. “We have a long ways to go before we know what goes there.”The owners also don’t know yet what will go in that area. “There are no specific plans yet. There is no developer in mind,” Simeone said. “We just want to put this land in the game.”The request was moved to the sub zoning committee.Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].