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The Town of Franklin elects representatives from its community to create the laws that
uphold the values of the community. But what does it say about our town when a
developer comes in with grand plans that require overriding a large number of those
bylaws—all to maximize profits on a project?
Let’s look at some examples of bylaws. There’s a bylaw that restricts building heights to
three stories. That bylaw was passed by our Town Council. Yet now we see waivers
being granted, effectively changing the character of the town.
We have bylaws on the books that create buffer zones for wetlands, that require
replication of wetlands, and that protect streams and groundwater for our wells. These
too can be overridden. I don’t need to go through all of them—you get the point.
When a developer submits a proposal for a 40B “affordable housing” project, they are
allowed to present a list of waiver requests to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). This
board is appointed by the Town Administrator with the approval of the Town Council.
The Zoning Board has the power to grant waivers to some or all of these
bylaws—effectively overriding the laws put in place by our elected representatives. I
have to ask: if a developer wants to get around the bylaws, why not propose a
permanent change through the Town Council and let them vote on it? But that would
take time—and as we know, time is money, and money must be made.
In the case of the 40B project at Stobbart’s Nurseries—coming before the ZBA on
3/27—the list of requested waivers is thirty. Thirty town bylaws that need to be
bypassed so that developers from Florida can maximize their profits.
And just to be clear on what “affordable” means: a one-bedroom affordable apartment in
this complex—of which there are 37—will cost $1,939 per month. The regular rent for
one of the 92 market-rate one-bedroom units? $2,300 per month. That doesn’t seem
very affordable to me. But you can see why it’s important that these pesky laws don’t
get in the way. There’s a lot of money to be made here.
I strongly oppose this project for many reasons: its environmental impact, the risk to
groundwater, the effect on nearby neighborhoods, and the additional traffic it will
generate. I believe it hurts the quality of life in our town.
The project also fails to offer something I believe Franklin does need—affordable
homeownership. People don’t own apartments. They just keep paying the rents the
landlord wants them to pay for as long as they can afford it. There’s no equity in it for
them. Nothing built up and nothing to live off in their retirement years because Social
Security is not enough.
Zoning Boards across the Commonwealth have shut down similar proposals to this.
Maybe that will happen here too. I truly hope our Zoning Board, our Town Council, and
our Town Administrator will listen to the people and prioritize the will of the community
over the profits of developers who don’t even live here.
--George Bailey
