The former Hilltop Steakhouse property on Route 1 in Saugus. Item File Photo
By Bridget Turcotte
SAUGUS — Town Manager Scott Crabtree and the Board of Selectmen squashed rumors that new roads are planned to access the Hilltop site from nearby neighborhoods.
Letters were dropped in residents’ mailboxes that claimed AvalonBay Communities, which purchased the former Hilltop Steak House property, has plans to create access roads to the Route 1 site from Forest Street.
The Virginia-based real estate investment trust has developed more than 43,000 housing units in 10 states.
“This could cause serious safety issues for you, your children, your pets, and even possibly lead to higher insurance costs for your car or home,” the letter warns.
It adds that the already busy street would see an “enormous increase of traffic onto Forest Street, which would spill over onto Zito Drive, Milano Drive, Gilway and Laurine Road as some individuals ‘short-cut’ their access to this new development rather than using the current Route 1 main access.”
But Crabtree argued that the developer has no such plans.
“When we did the Route 1 corridor overlay, the rezoning of Route 1, a part of that zoning does not allow access through Forest Street,” he said. “I’ve spoken to the purchaser of that property, Avalon Bay. They don’t have any intention of doing that.”
Selectman Jeff Cicolini said he’s received several calls from residents, panicking over the news. Chairwoman Debra Panetta added that she has received more than two dozen calls.
“It’s just unfair that they’ve got the residents up in arms about something that’s not even true,” Cicolini said.
Panetta said that if she had received a similar letter, she would be making calls too.
Other than an email address, the note does not include contact information or a name for the sender. The email address identifies the group to be the Oaklandvale Association. Messages sent to the address were not returned.
“It’s sort of strange in itself to be honest with you because whoever created the flyer, you would think would have contacted one of us to ask the question,” Crabtree said. “It almost sounds like somebody is just trying to stir things up. Saugus will be Saugus, I guess.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.