SAUGUS — With the release of the warrant for next month’s Annual Town Meeting, the primary legislative agenda for the town in the coming year has been laid out, highlighted by a proposal to create a Cliftondale Square Zoning Overlay District that would permit housing in the area.
The overlay was submitted by Precinct 2 Town Meeting member Joe Vecchione, a former member of the Planning Board and the chair of the Cliftondale Revitalization Committee that produced a report on the conditions plaguing the area early last year. Vecchione has repeatedly emphasized the need for new mixed-use development to help spark the former commercial center in town.
Appearing before the Board of Selectmen Tuesday, Vecchione said the first time the town discussed revitalizing Cliftondale was in 1982 — nearly a decade before his birth. Vecchione held a pair of public forums ahead of the closure of the warrant in an attempt to garner feedback on the proposal from appointed and elected officials.
Just a few days after the article was accepted into the warrant, Vecchione’s proposal stirred up controversy — particularly regarding the size and scale of potential housing — that he says is based on falsehoods. The overlay does more than permit housing in the area, he noted, as it addresses parking, building design, signage, and looks to incentivize property owners.
Vecchione has repeatedly said he has no intention of permitting development on the scale of what has taken place along Route 1 in Cliftondale. The proposed overlay states that “projects shall not exceed three stories … [and] 40 feet in height.” The overlay does allow for the possibility of development up to 50 feet, but requires the Board of Selectmen to issue an S2 permit (which requires four of five votes) to go forward.
All projects must contain a commercial use on the first floor and be confined to one building per project, in an apparent effort to keep the footprint of the area intact.
“It is recognized that development within the CSOD will be more dynamic and sustainable with an appropriate mix of complementary uses,” the proposal reads.
The overlay is intended to “remedy the antiquated zoning” in Cliftondale, according to a copy of the proposal attached to the Town Meeting warrant.
“It allows the creation of economically viable projects that may enhance the downtown district while promoting the construction of larger, higher quality, and accessible commercial spaces Cliftondale currently lacks to support a healthy and vibrant business community in the long-term that meets the aspirations of the community through years of public outreach and decades of research and analysis,” the proposal reads.
Vecchione researched the history of the square as the chairman of the revitalization committee while drafting this current proposal.
Over the years, he said there has been much discussion about the need to boost the square — but very little discussion of how to do so.
“So often we say we want mom and pop shops, we want a café, we want a brewery, we want this that and the other thing, it’s all aspirational,” Vecchione said. “When my daughters grow up, I want to be able to bring them down to a restaurant … [and] see a vibrant Cliftondale.”
Vecchione also sought to head off concerns about additional traffic flow in the area, explaining that improving traffic flow and rezoning aren’t mutually exclusive. He noted that traffic is typically driven not by housing but by the presence of a business district.
Vecchione urged the Selectmen to support the article when it goes before Town Meeting.
“We’re gonna need it,” he said.
Aside from the overlay, the warrant features a bevy of annual articles related to financing the town’s operations for the coming fiscal year, which are sponsored by Town Manager Scott Crabtree.
This year’s warrant features 21 articles, as opposed to the 38 that made their way before Town Meeting in 2022. The warrant itself is two pages longer despite featuring fewer articles, with much of the real estate devoted to the overlay.
Vecchione is one of three Town Meeting members to submit articles for the warrant, along with fellow Precinct 2 Town Meeting member Chris Riley and Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian. Manoogian put forward three articles for consideration, while Riley put forward one. Board of Selectmen Chairman Anthony Cogliano sponsored a proposal to rezone the parcel at 39R Forest St. from Residential 2 to the Business Highway Residential District, which Town Meeting members voted to refer back to the Planning Board last year.
The Board of Selectmen, at Crabtree’s request, set a Special Town Meeting for May 1 and Town Meeting members will likely consider the articles on that warrant before moving forward with the annual. In 2022, the Annual Town Meeting stretched across four nights.
