SAUGUS — Town Meeting members voted this week to approve a zoning bylaw amendment requiring all future housing projects along Route 1 to set aside a percentage of space, based on acreage, for commercial use.
Amending various sections of Article 21: Business Highway Sustainable Development Zoning District of the Saugus Zoning By-Laws, Town Meeting member Joe Vecchione — who co-authored the amendment alongside Selectman Michael Serino — told The Item last week that the change is meant to balance Saugus’ ratio of residential to commercial buildings while eliminating vague language that could expose the town to bad development opportunities.
“The hope is to build more sustainably,” Vecchione said. “Route 1, especially in these developments, lacks public transit options, so every new unit is a new car on the road, which, in an overtaxed infrastructure like Route 1, can get troublesome real quick.”
Prior to a moratorium passed by Town Meeting two years earlier that prevented the construction of multi-family dwellings of three or more units, Vecchione said there were too many residential housing developments popping up along the highway known primarily for its thriving commercial business scene. It prompted him and others to take action to prevent rapid residential development from placing too much strain on town resources.
However, Planning Board Chair Peter Rossetti expressed concern during Thursday’s Planning Board meeting and Tuesday’s special Town Meeting that the amendment would ultimately do the town more harm than good.
If pressure is put on developers to include a certain percentage of commercial development in their plans, he said, it could scare away positive development opportunities and ultimately result in an increase in vacant buildings along the highway.
“We should be considering the big picture,” he said. “If we make it difficult to have development, it requires a period of time before you get developers back, and that could be as long as five to 10 years.
“If we have the current situation along Route 1 extend for a lengthy period of time, you’re going to see a lot more vacancies. You’re going to see a lot more closed down and abandoned buildings.”
He added that an increase in vacancies will ultimately place more of a burden on residents as they face a reduction in tax revenue.
“If the commercial sector starts to have issues and starts to have considerable vacancies, it’s going to have an impact on the residents,” he said. “If you get to a certain point, potentially, that is going to affect the tax revenue for the town.”
Vecchione argued, however, that the changes to the bylaw were, for the most part, minimal and were designed to fit the needs of the town.
“I honestly don’t think we’re going too far with these proposals,” he said. “Route 1 is a commercial corridor first and it has been for decades.
“We’re not trying to prohibit development here. We just have to make sure this bylaw fits the mold of the town.”
Thirty-eight Town Meeting members voted in favor of the bylaw amendment. Two, including Rossetti, voted against it. One member abstained from voting, and another eight were absent from the meeting. The amendment needed a two-thirds majority to pass.
“I think there are a lot of opportunities along Route 1, but we have to do it within (our) means and make sure we’re meeting the wishes of the residents and making sure our infrastructure isn’t crippled by development,” Vecchione said.
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
