Northborough Town Meeting OKs plan to buy Whitney Street land to use as green space
NORTHBOROUGH — Town Meeting has voted to exercise the town's right of first refusal to purchase a 23.77-acre parcel on Whitney Street and turn it into green space, thwarting an alternate proposal from a developer to build a warehouse at the site.
During the second night of Town Meeting, on April 24, voters voted 260-67 to spend $1.7 million to purchase 432 Whitney St. The land is owned by Santo Anza, who was convicted in 2013 on charges he was operating an illegal solid waste dump across the street at 429 Whitney St.
Howland Development Co., a Wilmington-based real estate developer, had proposed to purchase the undeveloped site — also for $1.7 million — and construct a 40,000- to 60,000-square-foot warehouse on it. The site would also has the potential for rail access, a concern raised by many residents.
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Other concerns, about additional traffic and noise that a warehouse with rail access would bring, were cited by many voters who spoke up during the meeting in support of Article 40, which allowed the town to exercise its right of first refusal and purchase the property itself and preserve it as open space.
“If anyone sat behind an active railroad system for more than 10 minutes, they would see that the rail doesn’t stop," said Jorge Ruiz, a Whitney Street resident. "It doesn’t matter — trash falls off those things, whatever they are transporting. There is trash everywhere, more trucks coming down Whitney Street, which is already a problem,”
Northborough plans to tap a variety of sources to acquire the property:
$817,653 from the Community Preservation Unreserved Fund;
$664,073 from the town's conservation fund;
and $218,274 from the Community Preservation Fund.
Whitney Street property abuts former illegal dumping site
The 432 Whitney St. property is currently owned by Santo Anza, who in 2013 was convicted of operating an illegal solid waste dump across the street at 429 Whitney St. But during Town Meeting, Community Preservation Committee Chair John Campbell, who presented Article 40, said soil testing showed no signs of contamination at 432 Whitney St.
“Soil testing has been completed at the site, and there are no signs of contamination, which is a very important consideration,” Campbell said.
The property abuts about 50 acres of conservation land owned by the state. Campbell noted that the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation has said it will commit $200,000 to the town to be put back in Northborough’s conservation fund.
Legally, when using CPA funds to purchase land for open space conservation, a vast majority of the space must have a permanent conservation restriction put on the property. Northborough did approve a small section of the property, about 2 acres, which could potentially be used to build a small-scale affordable housing development of 4-8 units.
“The town wants to only maintain the possibility of a small parcel, probably near the road, where we could potentially use it to develop affordable housing,” Campbell said. “There isn’t a plan to do that yet, but we maintain the flexibility to do that.”
Residents advocate for, against purchase
Some residents expressed concern about paying Anza, with many stating he still owes the town money for fines levied against him in 2013.
Heather Baer, a resident of Coolidge Circle, which is near the Whitney Street properties, said the town purchasing the property from Anza is a difficult decision, but is superior to allowing the land to be developed into a warehouse.
“Our neighborhood has been directly impacted by the goings-on at 429 Whitney," she said. "I endorse the plan to purchase the property — to me, it's the lesser of two evils. By no means do I want to reward despicable behavior, but bottom line, looking at it without emotion, this is meeting the goal of the master plan and preserving space, and working as that buffer."
Michael Horgan, of Reservoir Street, argued against purchasing the property, saying this issue was an opportunity for the town to diversify its tax base by welcoming the warehouse, an industrial property.
“I do not support this article," Horgan said. "We heard from the town administrator during last night’s meeting on how important it is to maintain our industrial and commercial base, and this does the exact opposite."
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Northborough Town Meeting votes to buy Whitney St. land for open space
