NAHANT — At Wednesday evening’s Special Town Meeting, the MBTA 3A Multi Family Zoning Bylaw warrant article passed. The vote was taken verbally, and a majority of the crowd shouted in support of the proposal.
The Act in question will require the Town to create at least one zoning overlay district where multi-family housing is permitted as of right.
The Town qualifies as an “Adjacent Small Town” under the act. The Planning Board proposed the creation of a Multi-family Overlay District (MOD), which allows multi-family housing at a density of 16 units per acre as of right, per Section 3A of the Zoning Act.
The Planning Board determined Bass Point had “the least impact on the community” because it already has multi-family units via a special permit, which means the Town can create an MOD there and achieve compliance with state requirements.
Failure to comply could have result in the Town’s loss of eligibility for certain funding and a potential civil penalty.
Town Meeting began with a citation from the House of Representatives and State Senate recognizing the six young boys — Freddy Fiore, Ethan Kent, James Marsh, Herbie Duane, Jake O’Connor, and Peter Dimitrakopoulos — who were involved in the attempted water rescue of Chris Moleti, who later passed away, back in August. The citations were presented by Town Administrator Alison Nieto and Fire Chief Austin Antrim.
They also received a standing ovation for their efforts from the audience.
Advisory and Finance Committee Chair Bob Vanderslice spoke on what a ‘No’ vote would have meant for the Town.
“If Nahant is noncompliant with Section 3A, meaning a ‘No’ vote tonight, there is a price tag to that… The Finance Committee thinks this is a very practical solution that will avoid the financial consequences that the state will impose if we don’t comply,” Vanderslice said. “The state is withholding grant funds for communities that don’t comply with Section 3A. They’re also taking action against those communities.”
Vanderslice continued, “The state revoked a $1.2 million grant in Winthrop. We’re (being asked) on state grant applications if the Town is in compliance with 3A… The Town has received between $1 million and $1.7 million in state grants each year, and that’s a significant risk with a ‘No’ vote this evening. A project may cost more because we’re not getting state reimbursement, or we just won’t be able to do the thing… No matter how you cut it, the Town will be poorer with a ‘No’ vote.”
Planning Board Vice Chair Rob Steinberg added that, “In terms of a larger project, it was most efficacious to do it in one spot. Overall, we wanted to have a least-disruptive solution that would be accepted by the state. Bass Point is already multi-family, so there’d be no effective change. If there is a development, they get 84 units as or right, if the developer wants more, they need special permits.”
It was noted that the Finance Committee and the Select Board unanimously agreed on the proposal.
Steinberg said there’s no developer coming in the foreseeable future, and that the current owner of Bass Point apartment lot has not indicated they want to tear the building down or do something different.
“We received numerous comments saying Bass Point isn’t in compliance; what we’re proposing is an overlay district; it doesn’t affect current zoning. What’s happening right now, in terms of compliance, is not relevant to what we’re doing under section 3A,” Steinberg said.
He noted the state has approved of these plans.
Town Moderator Peter Barba opened the floor for questions from the audience.
One resident asked if adoption of the proposal will create a mixed-use district. Steinberg said it would not.
Nels Nelson, consultant from Community Scale, noted that the only permitted use for the site that is allowed is multi-family.
Another resident asked if the Planning Board conducted a traffic study on the potential impact to the Bass Point area.
Steinberg said traffic studies are typically done by developers proposing a development. He added that if the Town doesn’t make a 3A determination and pick a site, the state can come in and overrule the local zoning and determine where and how many units and how high those units are.
“Nobody knows a developer interested in building multi-family units. The current owner is very happy with the rent he’s receiving and shows no indication he wants to make any change in the units,” Steinberg reiterated.
Planning Board Chair Sheila Hambleton then presented an amendment to the proposal, looking to have that the verbiage of “mixed-use (such as multi-family and commercial use)” be stricken from the proposal in the various places it was mentioned. The amendment passed unanimously.
The discussion and debate were delayed by technical difficulties regarding the voting devices the audience used.
Another resident said it was the lesser of two evils and that elected officials tasked with the proposal have done a good job.
One attendee asked when the state approved of the proposal.
Steinberg said it was submitted — though he didn’t say when.
“After we approve it, there’s final form approval… They accepted the map, and we worked collaboratively with them. It may be that they disapprove, but all indications are we got it right, and that they will approve it following it passing by the town,” he said.
Town Meeting had not yet voted on whether Bass Point would be the Town’s 3A overlay district prior to the Item’s press time.
