Norwood's Annual And Special Town Meetings Begin Monday: Cheat Sheet

NORWOOD, MA - Norwood will kick off both its Annual Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting on Monday at Norwood High School at 245 Nichols St. at 6:35 p.m., with new zoning proposals for transit-oriented development among the articles up for debate.

Here is a look at key items. There are 12 articles on the Annual Town Meeting warrant and 10 on the Special Town Meeting Warrant. They include the $215,376,945 proposed town budget as well as two articles that seek to create multifamily mixed use overlay districts to allow for the construction of 320 apartments combined at the Norwood Space Center at 83 Morse St. and 259 Lenox St., respectively. More information can be found at this link to the town website.

Annual Town Meeting

Two articles that were the subject of contentious debate at recent Planning Board meetings before being recommended by the board include Articles 10 and 11.

Article 9 - 259 Lenox St.

Article 9 seeks to create a mixed use transit overlay district at 259 Lenox St., the site of the Savogran paint and chemical manufacturing company at the Norwood Central commuter rail station.

The new zoning would allow for a potential 185-unit, five-story mixed use development to be built on the 2.7 acre-site. Originally proposed as a six-story building, its maximum height is now 55 feet, and the building would step down to three stories. It would also include a commercial component such as a coffee shop as well as a community room. The property would need to undergo an environmental cleanup because of the industrial use at the site.

Pushback about spot zoning was raised, but town counsel refuted that claim. There was also a concern that the project may not be considered under the new MBTA Communities zoning requirement that is currently being ironed out. Increased density and traffic were other issues raised.

The proposed zoning would allow for at least 20% of the proposed units to be affordable.

Article 11 - Norwood Space Center at 83 Morse St.

Another mixed use overlay district is being proposed at the Norwood Space Center at 83 Morse St. If approved, it would allow the owner of the Norwood Space Center to go before the Planning Board for a special permit to construct 150 housing units in what is currently zoned as a manufacturing district.

The buildings that are proposed to be redeveloped are no longer considered usable, according to owner David DePree, and abut the Neponset River. A new structure would have commercial entities on the first floor and housing above it if approved and would be moved away from the river's bank. Affordable housing would comprise one-fourth of the units. The maximum height of the development would be 60 feet.

Similar concerns were raised about this project.

Community Preservation Act projects

There are several projects under consideration under Article 8 for funding under the Community Preservation Act. The CPA is funded by a 1% surcharge on property taxes statewide and then divided among its member communities to help fund projects related to affordable housing, open space, recreation, and historic preservation.

They include:

• A request for $10,000 to join the Regional Housing Services Organization for one year. It would allow the town to access housing experts to compile a subsidized housing unit inventory.
• A request for $10,000 to restore and preserve the original rendering of the construction of Town Hall, as well as another $14,500 to restore and preserve the town's annual reports.
• A request for $72,000 for a pocket park on a town-owned parcel at Stearns and Elliot streets.
• The creation of a park on the Saint Streets lot to be named in honor of Bernie Cooper, the late assistant town manager who worked for the town for 49 years.