SWAMPSCOTT — The Elm Place Chapter 40B project developers will have another go at addressing the town’s concerns over parking and continuation of the future Swampscott Rail Trail past the commuter rail on March 15.
The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) decided last week that it was not ready to move on from these topics and opted to continue the hearing until that date.
ZBA members acknowledged that Swampscott has a great need for affordable housing and that the location of the project is perfect for this purpose; however, they also shared the concerns that were brought up by Marzie Galazka, director of community and economic development.
“The goals of affordable housing cannot be at the expense of common sense or irrevocable costs to this neighborhood,” said Galazka.
WinnDevelopment currently plans to build 120 apartment units on Elm Place and 128 parking spaces, which translates into a parking ratio of 1.06. The developers plan to offer one parking space per apartment.
Although Rodney Emery, a traffic expert from WorldTech Engineering, LLC, concluded that the parking ratio proposed by the developers would be adequate, given that the project does not want to encourage residents to drive, Galazka said that several studies and expert opinions recommended a ratio of 1.11 for a project of this size.
“I appreciate the development team’s efforts to address parking,” said Galazka. “What has become clear to me is that there is no way to solve the parking problem without reducing the number of dwelling units.”
Out of 128 proposed spaces, 95 would be located on site, 11 spaces would be created along Pitman Road, and 21 additional spaces would be leased next to the CrossFit The Swamp gym.
Galazka and ZBA members agreed that the residents of Elm Place will most likely try to park close to the building, which might create conflict with visitors of the Burke Tumbling Academy and Pitman Road residents.
“Better information is needed to understand the impact of the parking to this neighborhood, as well as the businesses,” said Galazka.
Another issue that was brought to the attention of the ZBA is the rail-trail continuation over the commuter-rail tracks and through the WinnDevelopment property. Previously, the developer expressed that they would be willing to provide the town with half of the land needed to lay down the trail, while the other half would need to come from the property of the neighboring Swampscott Housing Authority.
Galazka said that the development team has not indicated a significant investment in the rail-trail project and has not yet agreed to accommodate a crossing landing, which is needed to provide a safe off-road connection to the residents of the neighborhood and the entire town.
“Unfortunately, the proposed project, as currently designed, will prevent the rail-trail foot from extending across the adjacent rail line and will prevent the trail from ever serving this area of Swampscott,” Galazka said.
She said that the trail will not only provide Elm Place residents with off-road access to all of the town’s schools, but would serve as a traffic-mitigation solution required for a project of this scale.
“This community is very dedicated to the completion of this trail,” said Alexis Runstadler, president of Friends of the Swampscott Rail Trail.
In the last two years, the Friends have raised more than $200,000 for the continuation and engineering of the trail, she said. In 2017, Town Meeting members authorized the Select Board to acquire easements all the way to the active MBTA rail line, with the hope of crossing the MBTA tracks to Essex Street at a future time.
“Redesigning this project so that it allows for full construction of the rail trail is a reasonable request,” said Runstadler.
Mark Kornitsky, chair of the ZBA, recognized that this might be a planning and open space issue that is within the jurisdiction of the board. He concluded that the board was not ready to move on to other stages of the project review until the developers address the board’s concerns.
“The meeting demonstrated important consensus on some key items,” said Ed Cafasso, spokesperson for WinnDevelopment.
He said that the location of the project was called “ideal” for affordable housing and that the town indicated that it was “truly appreciative” of the development team’s efforts to respond to community concerns.
Cafasso emphasized that public-safety officials indicated that they are satisfied with the development plan; an architectural expert described the building design as “suitable” for the neighborhood with “minimal impact” on the closest neighbors; and the expert peer reviewer described the parking plan as “certainly adequate, if not more than adequate” given that 84 of the apartments would be studios and one bedrooms.
Cafasso also said that the development team has stated publicly from day one that it completely supports the rail-trail concept.
“We believe that any remaining concerns can be resolved through continued open and honest discussions with the ZBA and its experts,” said Cafasso. “From the beginning of this process, we have brought forward solutions to move this important project forward. We remain focused on doing just that as we prepare for the next ZBA meeting.”