Neighbors File Lawsuit Against Dunstan East 40B Project In Newton

NEWTON, MA — A group of residents who own property abutting the Dunstan East mixed-use development project in West Newton filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Massachusetts Superior Court to appeal the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals comprehensive permit for the 40B project.

"We have continuing concerns about the project’s overall size, density, and potential environmental impact on the surrounding Washington and Dunstan Streets area," Tim Marks, spokesperson for a group of abutters to the West Newton project said in a statement.

Marks said those concerns were not adequately addressed by the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals before its approval of the project last month.

The three-acre mixed use project on Washington Street just outside of West Newton Square includes the buildings where The Barn Family Shoe Barn has been for years. The three buildings will include 8,300 square feet of ground floor commercial and retail space and 294 parking spaces under ground.

According to the plan that was approved, the development will also include 234 apartments, 59 of which will be deemed affordable (51 reserved for those who make up to 80 percent of the area median income and the other eight reserved for those who make up to 50 percent of the area median income).

Those who oppose it said they just think any development on the 3 acre property should be consistent with "longstanding planning efforts" by the city, adding they would welcome development on the land, just not so big.

But the project's developers invoked Chapter 40B, a law allows them to skirt some local zoning laws -such as height and setback restrictions- when the developer dedicates 25 percent of the residential units as affordable.

The law is part of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Act, which was enacted in 1969 to address the shortage of affordable housing statewide by reducing barriers created by building, zoning and permit processes. It's difficult to challenge developers who invoke 40B, on purpose.

The developer has agreed to $3.4 million of community benefits, and dozens of environmental, and neighborhood conditions including a boardwalk to Cheese Cake Brook, an affordability subsidy, energy efficiency enhancements, bus shelters and a sewer upgrade.

After seven hearings spanning January to July, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the project in early July and issued their decision on July 30.

The board said the developer followed the laws and described the plan as "consistent with the principles of the Washington Street Vision Plan by "using building height to foster a moment of arrival along Washington Street; Transitioning height from Washington Street to the residential structures north of the site with a rear setback in excess of that required in the ...zoning district; and employing a variety of building sizes and shapes to create a public courtyard and to create the appearance of smaller blocks."

Among the waivers, the board granted approval to develop more than 20,000 square feet, allowing residential use on the ground floor and six stories where four is the maximum allowed and allowing for 81.10 foot building height where 48 feet is the maximum.

Related:

• Newton's Barn Family Shoe Store To Move
• Newton's Wells Avenue 40B Housing Project: Rejected

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