Apartment building proposal faces questions from city board

West Main Apartments, a proposed five-story apartment building located on Main Street, went before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on Thursday, Feb. 6.  During the meeting, the project faced several questions and concerns, presenting hurdles for the project to overcome before it might receive ZBA approval. These include concerns about affordability, traffic impact and fire safety. 

Affordability

According to the presentation given by representatives of the development project, the building would include 93 deed restricted “affordable” units in the building, out of 369 total rental units. Those affordable units would be listed at 80% area median income (AMI), a metric used to determine income eligibility for affordable housing programs.

Attorney Michael Connors, who represents the developers, also said that 10% of those 93 units will be preferential veterans housing. 

ZBA board member Glenna Gelineau said she will not accept a proposal for a 40B apartment building that plans to have 80% AMI as its affordability rate. 

 “The concept of 40B is affordable housing. Eighty percent of median income? It’s just not acceptable,” said Gelineau, who owns Gelineau & Associates, a Waltham-based real estate agency. 

ZBA clerk Matthew Deveaux also voiced discontent with the 80% AMI proposal. 

Traffic impact

During the developers’ presentation, traffic engineer Vinod Kalikiri said the proposed apartment building would generate 70% less traffic than a previously accepted (but never built) proposed lab building at the same location.

Deveaux said he could not accept that percentage and that it didn’t make sense to him.

Kalikiri said that the previously approved lab proposal allowed for 1,200 parking spots, compared to the 554 of the apartment plan. 

“I am saying that this project would add substantially less traffic than a much larger development that was approved for the same site last year,” said Kalikiri.

“We are required to follow the methodology and guidance provided by MassDOT [the Massachusetts Department of Transportation]. Whether the project is subject to MassDOT review or not, we have to use the same methodology. That methodology tells us for every unit of residential development we are to assume a certain number of traffic trips,” said Kalikiri. 

“There is guidance on how much traffic a single family home would generate, how much traffic would a lab development generate, how much traffic would an office development generate. …  These are all standard guidelines,” said Kalikiri, explaining how his team at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB,) a civil engineering company, arrived at the 70% calculation. 

Deveaux said if the number can be proved, he will accept it.

Deveaux voiced worry about the additional traffic that would potentially come to the area, from both this building and another proposed apartment building located just down the road at 1482 Main Street. 

Kalikiri said that development had not been flagged as something VHB needed to include in their traffic study by the city’s traffic engineer.

“If both projects do go through, that’s 700-800 additional cars,” said Deveaux. 

The developers propose to make improvements to the Jones Road and Main Street intersection, at the corner of the plot. This includes improvements to the traffic light and adding a crosswalk across Main Street. 

The developers also propose adding bike lanes along Main Street that they say will eventually connect with bike lanes added by 1265 Main Street. 

Fire concerns

At the previous ZBA meeting where this proposal was discussed, Ward 7 Councilor Paul S. Katz raised concerns about fire safety in the building plans. 

The proposal includes a five-story garage that would be located in the building’s center, with all four walls enclosed. Katz voiced concern about electric vehicle battery fires as well as electric vehicle charging stations in the garage, both of which he said are currently major concerns for the Fire Department. 

“I think that the garage, while it is aesthetically pleasing by being in the center and not visible, is going to pose some issues with the Fire Department,” said Katz.

The development’s landscape architect, Paul Finger, said the project does not yet have fire protection, electrical, or structural engineers. Finger said the current project planning phase is still early and oriented towards the “big picture.”