Waltham House razings stirring concern
or, Tempting the Fates of Flame Wars
from Boston Glizzobe

Dedicated athenators will remember that we've talked about the housing situation in Waltham before. I grew up in Watertown, am reasonably educated with a good, full time job and don't blow money on crack or hookers. Yet I can't afford to rent an apartment in the town I grew up in and love. So I move one town west, and the same thing is happening there. Is it my fault for not making the most money possible as quickly as possible? Or is it outdated zoning laws, absurdly low interest rates, and baby boomers moving back from the burbs? Or, will you say, pshaw booty, you are a whiner? Move to the exurbs or stop complaining.

Tom LeBlanc paid around $360,000 for a modest Cape house in Waltham that needed a lot of work.

Then he tore it down.

LeBlanc, owner of LeBlanc Contracting in Waltham, is building two town houses in its place. He said he plans to sell each two-bedroom unit in the mid-$400,000 range.
LeBlanc's Winthrop Street project means one less single-family starter home in Waltham and a larger building on a small lot.

It also means one more home in an area suffering from a severe shortage of dwellings.

It's the kind of project that has this city debating whether it's the right type of development for Waltham. Some criticize these projects for destroying affordable homes, overdeveloping parcels, and disrupting the character of well-established neighborhoods. Others defend them, saying they add to and improve the city's housing stock, create opportunities for first-time buyers, and bring in more tax revenue.

Full article below

More

House razings stirring concern
City mulls change in zoning laws

By Mary K. Pratt, Globe Correspondent, 4/1/2004

Tom LeBlanc paid around $360,000 for a modest Cape house in Waltham that needed a lot of work.

Then he tore it down.

LeBlanc, owner of LeBlanc Contracting in Waltham, is building two town houses in its place. He said he plans to sell each two-bedroom unit in the mid-$400,000 range.

LeBlanc's Winthrop Street project means one less single-family starter home in Waltham and a larger building on a small lot. It also means one more home in an area suffering from a severe shortage of dwellings.

It's the kind of project that has this city debating whether it's the right type of development for Waltham. Some criticize these projects for destroying affordable homes, overdeveloping parcels, and disrupting the character of well-established neighborhoods. Others defend them, saying they add to and improve the city's housing stock, create opportunities for first-time buyers, and bring in more tax revenue.

All this is happening as Waltham officials start a comprehensive review of the city's zoning ordinances, a review that could possibly curtail future projects.

''It's incumbent on the city to tighten up the ordinances to allow for reasonable growth," said Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy.

Although the city doesn't specifically track teardowns and reconstructions, records show that the city issued 74 permits for new residential units in 2003. There were permits for six two-family homes, 27 single-family homes, and 41 new condominiums.

The city also issued 19 demolition permits.

''In some cases, they tore down a single-family [home] and there were two or three lots there, or they tore down a multifamily home and built four or five condos, or they tore down a single-family in a multifamily zone and built three, four, or five condos," said Waltham building commissioner Ralph Gaudet.

McCarthy said she has heard residents complain that some developments are too big for the lots, don't fit aesthetically, and add traffic to already congested roads.

She and others also said they're concerned that these projects are taking down homes that are on the lower end of the price scale, further reducing whatever affordable housing is left here.

''I'm hearing a lot about it," added Councilor at Large Kathleen B. McMenimen.

Some pointed to a five-unit development that replaced a single-family home and barn on Maple Street as an example of a too-large project on a too-small lot.

''Visually, it's a clear overburden of the property," McCarthy said, adding that the multistory building blocks the view of the neighboring Beth Eden Baptist Church. ''I just don't think it does anything for Waltham."

Although concerned about the topic, McCarthy also stressed that she's not opposed to all such projects. ''I'm not against development," she said, ''I'm against overdevelopment."

She also acknowledged that some projects enhance the city by replacing dilapidated ones.

''It's definitely part of the revitalization of the downtown," said Hans Brings, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Brings can certainly attest to the popularity of these projects, including the Maple Street one, among buyers. He said four of the five Maple Street units were under contract by mid-March.

He also pointed out that these properties allow many first-time buyers a way into Waltham, where city officials said home prices have escalated 87 percent in the past four years.

Single-family homes in Waltham in March sold from a low of $310,000 to a high of $664,000, with a median price of $384,000 according to the MLS Property Information Network Inc.

In comparison, the real estate listing service found that condos sold last month ranged from $204,900 to $424,900 with a median price of about $350,000.

''Some people don't like it, but this has been one of the most popular residential types of development that I can ever remember, from the standpoint of selling them," Gaudet said, referring to town house condos.

If plans meet specifications laid out in current zoning laws, the developer can tear down and rebuild without seeking special approval from city officials. Developers also can take their plans to the City Council or the Zoning Board of Appeals for special permits or approvals if their schematics don't meet zoning requirements.

Gaudet pointed out one particularly important point: Developers can't take down a single-family home in the city's single-family-home districts and put up multifamily units instead.

Dee LeBlanc, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage who often represents projects done by her husband Danny's firm, LeBlanc Construction, dismissed much of the criticism.

''It's the same people speaking all the time," said LeBlanc, who is not related to Tom LeBlanc.

In fact, LeBlanc said, she sees more reasons to praise these types of projects than to condemn them. Developers have taken down multifamilies with illegal units that didn't meet safety codes and have replaced them with safe, high-quality town houses that produce additional tax revenue for the city, she said.

Some developers are also voluntarily taking steps to design projects that fit the texture of existing neighborhoods, she said. They're adding more exterior details, such as stone facades and porches. They're paying attention to roof lines and decorative windows.

But, she added, ''I think no matter what you do, there are certain people you cannot make happy. They just don't like change."

Likewise, Tom LeBlanc, the developer building on Winthrop Street, said he's aware that some people are critical of developments like his, but said he took into account the neighborhood's character.

''I could have gone bigger with the house and higher with the house. But why build a white elephant?" he said. ''I don't want to put up anything next to someone that I wouldn't want next to me."

While the debate has been simmering in Waltham, it's hardly limited to this city.

''We definitely see a similar trend," said Greg Watson, director of community development and planning in neighboring Watertown. But, like Waltham, Watertown has historically had a high number of multifamily homes; adding more town house-style developments doesn't fundamentally change the character of the town.

Watson also said he sees reasons to praise some of these developments because they fulfill the idea of smart growth, which promotes compact development within walking distance of downtowns and mass transit.

''The people who are expressing concerns aren't thinking about it in those terms at all," Watson added.

Newton is also seeing modest single-family homes demolished, although chief planner Nancy Radzevich said they are usually replaced by larger homes and mansions rather than town houses, a situation that is also raising concerns there about the loss of the city's more affordable homes.

This regional issue has many individual communities talking about zoning reform. Waltham is no exception.

McCarthy is pushing Waltham to develop a master plan and revamp its zoning ordinances to ensure that the laws are in sync with the city's goals for housing, economic development, transportation, and open space and resource protection. She also said she wants to prevent overdevelopment.

At an early stage, officials aren't yet predicting what the final outcome would be, although they could adopt changes that scale back the size of some of the developments allowed under the current laws. Some city officials also said they're hoping that the revised laws would include site review requirements for projects -- reviews that would allow them to request designs that fit better with existing neighborhoods.

''We're going to be taking a look at all that," said planning director Ronald G. Vokey. ''We're also looking forward to doing the review and getting citizen input. If there's a cry out there that it's too dense, we need to hear from the people of Waltham."

posted by prof_booty | 01:54 PM