While some residents voiced their support for the revised Traffic Monitoring and Mitigation Agreement (TMMA) for the McLean development, many others urged officials to consider pushing up the timeline for adding and improving traffic installations.
The revised agreement would require McLean to upgrade the traffic signal at Mclean Drive by the end of 2026 and stipulate a new signalized intersection for Olmsted Drive and Pleasant Street before construction is completed or prior to 2028 (whichever is sooner).
“That signal is at least 25 years old,” Select Board Chair Roy Epstein said at a public hearing Monday evening. “In contrast, a modern signal has all sorts of computer controls and cameras to make it much more efficient in handling high volumes of traffic.”
Improvement to that signal would be funded using the $110,000 McLean owes Belmont from its 1999 agreement.
Some neighbors of the proposed development, however, said the traffic improvements need to be completed sooner. Many residents talked about the traffic concerns, particularly for those coming from McLean and turning left onto Mill Street.
Katherine Pendergast, who lives on South Cottage Road in the Woodlands, said while the prospect of a new light at McLean Drive is great, waiting until 2026 to install it “doesn’t make any sense.” By the same token, waiting until potentially 2028 to install the new light at Olmstead and Pleasant streets was “unconscionable.”
“We’re asking this work be completed in the next six months for the benefit of all,” she said.
At a special Town Meeting earlier this month, Town Meeting members planned to address the ratification of a revised TMMA. However, following a Select Board meeting on May 20, during which residents expressed concern for missing elements in the document, town officials discovered that the revised agreement failed to include $110,000 owed to the town in the original agreement, signed in 1999. The agreement was renegotiated and approved by the Select Board on June 10.
The McLean traffic agreement, which is key to redevelopment plans at the McLean property, will next be the subject of a special Town Meeting on June 26.
Background
According to Epstein, the redevelopment of the McLean land began in 1999, when the Select Board and McLean struck a deal, allowing the land to be rezoned. Northland Residential Corp. is redeveloping the land, which already includes 111 Townhomes they built as The Woodlands in 2010.
In 1999, potential uses of the land included residential development, a continuing care or senior living development, or some type of hospital/institutional development. According to Epstein, the TMMA was drawn up to manage the anticipated traffic those projects would generate, but over 25 years, “very little happened.” The Woodlands at Belmont Hill was developed; however, those townhouses were not covered by the TMMA.
In 2020, Town Meeting approved zoning that would allow up to 150 residential units in Zone 3, a Senior Living Subdistrict of the McLean district. Subdistrict A would include 40 age-restricted townhomes, of which 15% (six units) would be affordable to households with 80% area median income (AMI). Subdistrict B would include 110 rental apartments with 53 age-restricted units and 57 non-age-restricted units. Of those, 20% (22 units) would be affordable to households with 80% AMI, and 5% (six units) would be affordable to households with 50% AMI.
Mary Lewis, who represents Precinct 1, expressed her “strong support” for the revised TMMA.
“I think it’s extremely important to do what the developer has been asking us to do for quite some time,” Lewis said, noting the “substantial new growth” the development would contribute to the town’s tax base.
Rachel Heller, a Town Meeting member and member of the Housing Trust, said the focus should be on a cooperative effort between developer Northland Residential Corp., McLean, and the town.
“I agree, no one likes traffic,” she said. “The bigger picture is about planning, walkability, and the housing we need. Traffic mitigation is a shared responsibility, not just the responsibility of Northland.”
Heller credited Northland for its effort to negotiate with Belmont.
“When Northland first came to the town with a vision for this property, it would not have done very much for Belmont at all,” she said. “It would have been 100 homes that were extremely expensive. … What Northland did in the end was a friendly 40B, meeting goals of the housing trust and the housing production plan.”
Chapter 40B is a state statute that enables local Zoning Boards of Appeals to approve affordable housing developments under flexible rules if at least 20-25% of the units have long-term affordability restrictions, according to mass.gov. In the case of a friendly 40B, the developer and town work cooperatively to achieve a united vision.
Still, many worried the imminent installation of new and improved traffic signals was important to the agreement.
“They’re really needed now, especially McLean to Mill Street,” said Andrea Sodona.
Town Engineer Glenn Clancy said the document states the installation should be done by the end of calendar year 2026; however, if it’s something that can be done sooner, it will be done sooner.
“I think when I came up with the calendar, it was to recognize a process for how long it takes to get through design, advertising, and construction and build in some fluff there in case we needed it,” Clancy said. “But there’s nothing to suggest that anyone has to wait until 2026 to put that light in.”