Affordable-Housing Development Gets Go-Ahead From Planning Board

The Barrington Planning Board gave the master plan for the proposed affordable housing development at Sowams Nursery unanimous approval Tuesday evening, Aug. 6.

Approval of the “Palmer Pointe” plan submitted by the East Bay Community Development Corporation came after a lengthy review of seven “findings of fact” and 18 “conditions of approval” spelled out in a decision drafted by Town Planner Phil Hervey and Town Assistant Solicitor Nancy Letendre.

The most significant condition is a reduction in the number of units from 50 to no more than 42 with a possible further reduction as the project goes through the preliminary plan’s engineering review.

Another significant condition is that at least 25 percent of the rental units be made compatible for “seniors” even though the project cannot restrict any of the units to one type of applicant. Those units would be one-bedroom units or two-bedroom units with the master bedroom on the first floor.

The buffers to abutting properties and road widths also were widened by the planning board to 25 feet and 22 feet respectively.

Three representatives for EBCDC were on hand for the decision: Kathy Bazinet, president; Frank Spinella, EBCDC's housing consultant, and Stephanie Federico, the attorney for this project.

All of them were very pleased with the outcome, although Spinella said: "We need to determine whether it remains feasible with the conditions."

"It's a strong first step," said Federico. "We'll be back."

"Those seven planners truly understand what the plan was," said Bazinet.

The outcome was less than satisfactory to Bill LeMoult, the primary spokesman for CODDER 02806 -- the citizens group that is opposed to the development at the nursery.

"It's an improvement," said LeMoult. "We're making progress, although the density is still much too high."

Whether CODDER 02806 continues its opposition, he said, won't be determined until the group consults with its attorney. There has never been a project with master plan approval in Barrington that failed to be constructed.

• Provide bicycle storage.
• Provide a lighting plan that demonstrates no impact on abutting properties and use of “dark sky” lighting fixtures.
• Provide an environmental assessment of chemicals used at the nursery with potential risks to tenants.
• Submit a traffic impact analysis that specifically focuses on peak traffic hours on Sowams Road and its intersection with County Road.
• Pay a peer-review fee of $6,000 to cover the cost of the preliminary plan analysis and fees for traffic and environmental site analyses.

Approval of the master plan came after a public hearing that spanned approximately 10 separate nights over about 10 months and testimony from representatives for EBCDC and CODDER 02806.

EBCDC already operates the Sweetbriar affordable-housing development in West Barrington. It will remain the landlord for Palmer Pointe.

Two of the nine planning board members were absent from the meeting: Paul Dulchinos and Christine O'Grady.