Brookview Village Prompts ZBA Resignations
The vote on Brookview Village has prompted the resignation of two Zoning Board of Appeals members as one former member calls into question the integrity of the board.
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Zoning Board of Appeals members Lynn Faust and Robert Page, who voted against Brookview Village last week, have both resigned citing the vote and process of reviewing the "friendly 40B" as deciding factors.
"I cannot serve on the ZBA where I receive disrespect in public in return for years of dedication and hard work," said Lynn Faust in a resignation letter to ZBA Chairman James Natale. "You and other ZBA members were ready to vote on this case months ago without the benefit of complete testimony or any unbiased market data."
The two members asked for time to review additional information and have a review of housing needs in the city be completed. The other three board members, including Chair Natale, said they were ready to take a vote and voted the 225 unit apartment complex through in a 3 to 2 decision.
"I feel more than a little disrespected, after spending the past 4 months and a considerable amount of time reading and trying to digest the mountain of paperwork received," said former member Robert Page in his resignation letter. "This is an important project that will have a long term effect on this Cities infrastructure."
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The vote gave the go ahead to 225 apartment units that will be placed off of Ames Street in an area in the middle of industrial and commercial developments that had previously been zoned commercial. It is being developed by the Gutierrez Company.
It was this final vote that clinched the resignation of the two members, Faust on Dec. 5 and Page the following day. They had voiced a desire to have a final presentiation on housing needs in the city be made by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council before taking a vote.
"An awful lot of pressure was put on the ZBA to approve this project," said Page. "There was no reason not to have allowed MAPC to finish their report prior to taking a vote."
Faust stated in her resignation letter that members of the board had been pressured to expedite the decision process.
"During, the case, the ZBA members were personally petitioned bythe proponent of the 40B and by the mayor in an effort to win ZBA votes and to expedieo the 40B hearing process," she said explaining that the process for this 40B decision had progressed much faster than any other she had worked on.
The lawyer for the Gutierrez Company, Arthur Bergeron, is also the chairman of the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation, which serves to guide economic development in the city.
This "personal intervention" created a difficult environment for board members to take the time to make an informed decision, she said in the letter. She said that the duty of the ZBA is to make an informed decision for what is best for the city.
"By enabling the mayor and the MEDC chairman to influence the 40B case to the degree allowed in this case, the integrity of the ZBA has been put into question," said Faust.
According to Mayor Arthur Vigeant's office, the board has five appointees remaining and will be able to carry on its duties, which include a discussion of the conditions and financial compensation attached to the Brookview Village approval. Mayor Vigeant has wished the two resigning members well, according to communications from his office.
For all the articles relating to the Brookview Village development, head to our Complete Coverage page here.
Paul Doucette
6:57 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Marlboro needs to attract more business not more apartments. Maybe they can put the senior center there!
JM
7:09 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The idiom "There's something rotten in Denmark" definitely applies here. There is no place for another 40B in Marlboro, and no place for political pressure on the ZBA from the Mayor or Bergeron. I commend the actions of the two ZBA members that resigned. The "approval" decision on the 40B should be recinded immediately.
Mary-Ann Hornbaker
7:13 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Our city needs business, high tech, or manufacturing back in this city. Marlborough is wonderfully situated between Boston and Worcester, we need to be a hub of job accessibility not the residential capitol of Massachusetts.
Townie
8:51 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
I don't think our city leaders are looking at the long term effects this project will have on our municipalities for years to come. Being run by a finace person Marlboro sees up front dollars but has not taken in account how many dollars it will cost to service the added people coming in to the city. Have they not heard of URBAN SPRAWL! How many banks and apartment buildings do we need? You want revenue, attract more businesses to fill up all the empty buildings and we will get far more than this project can give. STOP URBAN SPRAWL IN MARLBORO!!!!
Derek Passerelli
9:48 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The fact is we need more housing to attract more businesses. Economic Secretary Bialecki told the Patch in this article that attracting companies to the state actually starts with an increase in apartments. Companies new to an area want to know they can find skilled workers who live nearby. http://marlborough.patch.com/articles/economic-secretary-supports-apartments-and-mixed-use-in-marlborough
Concerned Mom
10:35 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Then Derek we need to make sure we have the proper facilities and services to support this development, another school building, more teachers, more fire and police personnel, etc...I wonder if any of these folks making these decisions have walked the hallways of our schools lately.
Concerned Mom
10:33 am on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
This is really really too bad. I understand why these 2 would want to resign, but now it means that 2 new people will be appointed who are in the Mayor's back pocket already...no one will question or perform the due diligence required. The political crap going on with this and the senior center is ridiculous. I am happy that my children are just about out of Marlboro schools...
Peg
1:54 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Clinton built an apartment/condo complex, they couldn't fill them and filed bankruptcy. Berlin allowed a co-housing project to be built and half of those are empty. Whose going to pay for the added schools, buses to get them there, teachers, police, traffic light installations, etc. Tenants don't pay taxes they pay RENT.
This just wreaks of dirty, back door, back pocket politicking. Bergeron should have recused himself from voting at the get-go. Put this story in the dictionary next to conflict of interest and you have your definition. No wonder Marlboro is a dump now.
What's next on the dirty agenda-tax breaks for the Gutierrez Company? Shame on you all!
Damon Michaels
2:27 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
I was there for the meeting. I stood up and asked questions, and made it clear I didn't support it.
One interesting thing that happened, the Gutierrez company had someone stand up and start to talk about a satellite map that they had brought. The funny thing is they didn't know North from South, they were not familiar with the area they were talking about! If you don't know the property inside and out, perhaps you should not be involved in the job.
Sure wish more people who do not like that project had shown up.
Joescarp
7:01 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Sounds like a bag job, and the fix is in.
arnold
9:07 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
"... Economic Secretary Bialecki told the Patch in this article that attracting companies to the state actually starts with an increase in apartments...." so just how many individuals actually LIVE in the same community where they work? There's no shortage of housing in the immediate area.
Also why is it every time we see any real estate project that requires a suspension of carefully crafted zoning laws the lawyer is Bergeron?
We fulfilled our 'affordable housing' requirements and even helped Northboro with theirs so why surrender a business zoned area for high demand housing.