Brookview Village Hearing Tonight

The proposed "Brookview Village" housing development public hearing will continue tonight in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The are straight forward enough: it will include 243 rental units on an 18.73 acre plot of land along Route 20 near Ames Street. The development would be on land zoned for industrial use.

However, the concerns of , and have already begun to be officially voiced with continued concerns set to be raised in a continueation of the August 7 hearing.

At the top of residents concerns from the first portion of the public hearing were the environment and safety. At that portion of the hearing, resident Ron Bucchino said a second opinion of the potential preservation issues should be obtained.

City Councilor Matt Elder, who represents the ward in which the development would be, has spoken out against the development. At last week's city council meeting, councilor's voted through official wording to the ZBA that Elder had drafted.

That language said there would be slower response times to the area by the fire department and a diminished value for the surrounding property. Councilors Kathleen Robey and Michael Ossing voted against the wording.

If the project were approved at tonight's public hearing, the developers could close on financing in December or January and begin construction in early spring 2013, according to Ted Doyle, a representative of the Gutierrez Company that is putting the development forward.