By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
12/10/09
The Planning Board voted Dec. 3 to send the zoning article for Temple Shalom’s proposed commercial development to Selectmen for inclusion in the Feb. 22 Special Town Meeting warrant. Later in the same night, Selectmen unanimously approved opening and closing the warrant with the Temple article. In a 4-1 vote supporting the article’s inclusion, Planning Board members moved the project on to the next layer of town scrutiny after more than a year of deliberations. Board Chairman Peter Jackson and members Bernie Lynch, Emily Keys Innes and Alex Whiteside all voted in favor of the zoning article. Member Ed Duffy voted against it.
In the 11-page article, written by Whiteside, details of the special permit for the institutional/commercial use were spelled out, outlining the responsibilities and expectation for the developers of the project.
The development, to be called Tucker Village Marketplace, has been proposed by the Temple, in conjunction with Brockton-based developer Coffman Realty. It consists of several buildings on the land the Temple now sits on, and would include a 13,000-square-foot CVS Pharmacy, a 10,000-square-foot grocery store and a smaller Temple building.
Temple officials have cited the need to downsize their building in order to remain financially stable.
The article requires the developers to complete many steps deemed necessary by the board to be considered for a special permit, including conducting a traffic impact and mitigation study, a noise study and a property-value analysis. It details hours of operation, siting of buildings, and required signage, among other considerations.
The document, which the Planning Board intends to place on the town’s Web site, took many weeks and meetings to fine-tune. Deliberations took place over the last two weeks to revise the wording of the document, which now heads to Town Meeting, where a two-thirds majority vote is required to continue the process.
Neighbors abutting the property have had much input during the discussions, with many still holding concerns over issues such as traffic and noise.
A map produced by neighbor Beth Fleitman, of 75 Crown St., shown on the Times’ Web site, illustrates the location of homes of those signing a petition against the development. The highlighted area surrounds the current Temple location.
Supporters of the development also circulated petitions, voicing support for the Temple to remain in Milton, adding amenities and a desire for expansion of commercial tax base for the town.
At the Planning Board’s Nov. 12 meeting, Fleitman introduced a petition with 420 signatures against the proposal. Another petition, presented by Temple President Lynda Packer, included 377 signatures in support.
On Dec. 3, the Planning Board also voted to send out a Request for Proposals for a traffic consultant to do a peer review of the study done by Vanasse & Associates, which was hired by Coffman Realty. Coffman will pay for the town’s consultant.
At the Selectmen’s meeting held later that evening, Jackson told Selectmen the Planning Board plans to send out the RFP this week and choose a consultant at its Dec. 21 meeting. The consultant’s work is slated to be completed by Jan. 31.
Despite the Planning Board’s vote, Selectman Chairman John Shields told Jackson the zoning change has no comparison in other areas of town.
“This has no comparison to East Milton,” said Shields. “This has no comparison to the business district at Central Avenue, which was already a commercial area. I’m not in favor of this type of spot zoning at all.”
The next step for the project is a public hearing scheduled for the Planning Board’s Dec. 21 and Jan. 4 meetings. Both will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the senior center, 10 Walnut St.
(Staff writer Scott MacKeen contributed to this story.)