By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
11/12/09
There continues to be a great divide in town among those who favor affordable housing on the Town Farm property and those who want to see Milton protect the site’s history. The most recent public forum brought a large crowd to Pierce Middle School on Nov. 9 to discuss the future of the Town Farm property, the 34-acre parcel located at the end of Gov. Stoughton Lane. In his 1701 will, Colonial Gov. William Stoughton bequeathed his property to the town in a charitable trust, specifying that it be used “for the benefit of the poor of that town as the Selectmen thereof shall judge best.” More than 100 people attended the forum, which comes in the wake of the Gov. Stoughton Trust Land Committee’s initial draft report to Selectmen recommending $5 million in capital improvements to rehab the farm. Many who spoke expressed concern that a housing development at the site, recommended as one option to raise endowment capital for improvements at the farm, would do more to harm the middle class than it would benefit the poor. Other recommendations for raising capital include private donations, grants or a municipal bond.
“The last thing we need is to weaken the middle class of this town by subsidizing a housing development,” said Scott Johnson, of Hillside Street.
“It’s a recipe for more tax overrides. We can’t afford that,” said Mike Kelly, of Whittier Road.
John Hajjar, who has accused the Gov. Stoughton committee of violating the Open Meeting Law during executive session meetings, said he favors a private funding plan for the trust than does not burden the tax base.
“We don’t want to close the door to anyone. But we’re not going to cut off our nose to spite our face. We don’t need more housing. There’s plenty of affordable housing. Look all around in Quincy, Mattapan, Randolph, Brockton,” he said.
Hajjar had filed a complaint with the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office that accuses the Gov. Stoughton committee of discussing matters about the options in meetings closed to the public.
At the start of the meeting, committee member Webster Collins refuted Hajjar’s claims, saying they are “100 percent in error.”
“Everything we discussed in executive session was completely within our confines,” he said.
Meanwhile, others spoke of the need for more low-cost housing in Milton. Tom Callahan, a Milton resident and executive director of the Boston-based Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, said the Town Farm is “a perfect opportunity” to boost the town’s housing stock, while maintaining farm space and scenic beauty. He said in Milton there are currently around 400 affordable units, or just under 5 percent of the entire housing stock in town. Just 12 of those units are available to non-seniors, he said.
Rev. Jeff Johnson, of First Congregational Church, said offering more housing to low-income families “would make this community a better place.”
Karen Seligsohn, of Austin Street, said the high cost of living in town impacts her neighbors, who “when they go from renting to buying, they have to move out of Milton.”
She said the housing developments being proposed are “modest” and would not place a heavy burden on town services.
“There are unsubstantiated claims that create fear … that somehow affordable housing means high density,” added Jeff Stone, a Luftbery Street resident.
However, Charles Hajjar, of Indian Spring Road, disagreed.
“For this property, you really have to have high-density to make it [profitable for the trust]. There’s so much else you could do instead of burdening the schools,” he said.
Kelly questioned whether Stoughton would have wanted the town to sell or lease the property to a developer, even if it were to raise poor funds.
“It is clear in his will Stoughton wanted this to be locally owned by the town forever,” he said. “We would have no control over who benefits from this property.”
Joe Grogan, a member of the Milton Friends of Town Farm, which submitted the application that got the property listed on an endangered list, said he favors not just restoring the historic buildings but the fields, orchards and trails of the farm. He said there are grants “in the millions” for sites deemed national landmarks.
“There’s no mention of that in the report,” he said, adding that the land could also be a tenant for local farmers.
“Let’s preserve this piece of Milton, instead of the other way around, which is an economic disaster for the town,” he said.
Nancy Bersani, a volunteer at the animal shelter on the Town Farm for over 15 years, also wanted to see the site preserved.
“We need to keep that. We have nothing left. It’s all been development,” she said.
Having lived in town for 50 years, Bersani said she fears about the impact financially a housing development will have.
“I care deeply, I just can’t do it anymore,” she said. “I cannot afford any more overrides … or else I can’t be a resident of Milton anymore.”
The Gov. Stoughton committee said it would consider the public testimony as it finalizes its recommendation report for Selectmen.