The Proposed Development

About the developer's proposal

In the August 4 Planning Board meeting, the developer presented an initial site plan for 114 Church Street. His proposal consists of adaptive reuse for the church itself to create 5 condo units plus building 13 new 35' townhouses: 10 in the currently forested portion of the lot on Church Street and another 3 near the back corner of the property, very close to the property line. The 10 units on Church Street would have an underground parking lot, and the other 8 units would have two parking lots with entrances and exits onto Glen Road.

Developer's submitted site plan: 5 residential units in the adaptively-reused church plus 13 new townhouse units, with underground parking for the 10 townhouses nearest Church Street

What's wrong with this proposal

Below, we list several notable issues with the plan that this developer has presented. He is putting the cart before the horse by requesting that Town Meeting rezone the property now before he has addressed these issues.

Convinced this plan shouldn't move forward? Take action here.

The Proposed Development

About the developer's proposal

What's wrong with this proposal

1. His plan includes significant setback violations, including building townhouses just 15 feet from the neighboring property.

2. The developer is touting that he's ‘saving trees,’ but his plan would require clear-cutting nearly a half acre of forest that's critical for flood mitigation.

3. The placement of this plan's three parking lots will significantly increase congestion in the Glen Green neighborhood and at the intersection of Church Street and Wedgemere.

4. The developer's repeated claim that this housing is for down-sizers and empty nesters doesn't match the actual plan of building three-story townhouses.