I wrote to the TMMA list that I would discuss the Town’s Efforts
in “committing" to housing within the Hartwell Initiative and its
implications for 475 Bedford Street rezoning and MPO funding. Here is what is
in Lexington’s record:
In addition to the actual statements made directly to the Boston
MPO, I am including documentation of Lexington staff’s and Lexington elected
Boards’ record on a “commitment” to housing within the Hartwell district. I believe the Town’s efforts
from its first considering the Hartwell rezoning efforts of a few
years ago to the present time would lead anyone to understand why Boston
MPO members might have a different view about the Town’s commitment.
The Town’s made statements to the MPO in May 2019. The Hartwell Initiative
began in 2017. We have three sets of Lexington’s paid consultants who stated, before
May 2019, that 400+ units of housing within the Initiative was critical to the commercial
success including Lexington’s economic consultant who advocated for 200 units
of housing at 475 Bedford Street within three years of Hartwell rezoning and
200 units elsewhere.
After May 2019, Lexington Boards and Staff continued to present the
vision of Hartwell as mixed use, including an October, 2019 presentation to the
Selectmen and Planning Board that included a slide that lists 475 Bedford
Street as “Mixed Use Rede.; L/S Lab, Comm. Office; Retail, Restaurant;
Multi-Family and Parking Garage”.
In the Fall, 2020, the Lexington Land Use, Housing, and Economic
Development Presentations included the statement that the Development of Hartwell rezoning
phase-ll will focus on housing with Collaboration with the SPRD Ad-Hoc
Committee and will be presented to the 2022 Annual Town Meeting.
Within
that 2021 time period, Lexington held an outreach meeting on Transportation, in
which one of the voting MPO members was a presenter.
All
of this is documented here (except for the RKG Study) https://www.lexingtonma.gov/economic-development/pages/hartwell-rezoning-initiative
I
never said that MPO funding was dependent on 475 Bedford Street being rezoned
with residential use. What I said was, “Importantly,
the Town’s financial consultant targeted 475 Bedford Street as a location to
place 200 of the needed 400+ units of housing at Hartwell, especially because
its owners advocated multi-family housing there. If we can’t get multi-family
housing here, then Town officials need to tell us where these units would be
located or say how we would qualify for MPO funds.’
I would appreciate a response from the Select Board, Planning
Board, and Town Manager before Town Meeting.
Richard
Canale, pct 9 TM member
