Braintree church is closed. It's time for some big decisions about the land and building
BRAINTREE − Town councilors and the historical commission will turn their attention to a plan to rezone the former St. Thomas More Church property, a proposal that neighbors oppose.
Developer George Clements, who has an agreement with the Boston archdiocese to buy the 12-acre property, is seeking to rezone it to build a 48-unit condominium development restricted to owners age 55 and older. The units would be a mix of townhouses, duplexes and detached dwellings.
Clements has pledged to donate 4 or 5 acres of the property in an undeveloped area to the town for open space. The former parish school would be torn down, and possibly the church as well.
Three meetings to discuss the proposed rezoning are scheduled.
The town council's ordinance and rules committee has scheduled a meeting for 5 p.m. Wednesday at town hall. The committee will make a recommendation to the full council, which has scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for its next meeting at 7:30 p.m. April 2. A two-thirds vote of the council, or six of the nine members, is needed to approve a zoning change.
And the historical commission is set to meet at 5 p.m. April 1 to consider whether to prevent the church from being torn down for up to four months under the town's demolition delay ordinance. The purpose of the delay is to allow efforts to preserve or document the structure to take place.
At a meeting March 12, the planning board voted 3-2 to endorse the change.
Braintree neighbors opposed to changing St. Thomas More zoning
The property is surrounded by single-family homes, and many neighbors are opposed to the change. They told the planning board that there are no guarantees that the development plans won't change after it is rezoned and noted that apartment buildings would be allowed if the zoning is changed.
Melissa SantucciRozzi, the town's director of planning and community development, estimated that 87 units could be built on the property.
Neighbors also are worried that the development would worsen traffic and drainage problems in the area.
If the zoning change is ultimately denied, Clements still would have the right to subdivide the property. He said he could build up to 26 single-family houses on the land, with each house having four or five bedrooms.
He told the planning board that companies have asked him about locating a day care and an assisted living facility on the property, which he could also build without a zoning change, along with up to a dozen houses.
More: Braintree facing cuts, possibly layoffs and even a tax override
What will happen to the St. Thomas More building?
Clements has said that converting the structure to residential use doesn't make financial sense but said he is willing to take second look at the matter.
Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: St. Thomas More Church in Braintree faces votes on zoning, demolition
