Residents, town officials and the Westwood Station developer took another look at the possibility that the mega-project might sacrifice the town's character for millions of dollars in taxes.
Forbes Road resident John Harding explained eight resident petitions for the June 19 special Town Meeting at last night's Finance Commission meeting. Harding said the 220 residents who signed the articles have concerns about the height of Westwood Station's buildings, the traffic it would generate, and the project's overall size.
"We're trying to put together amendments to the zoning bylaws that would address these issues,'' Harding said.
The proposed zoning measures would limit the height of hotels to seven stories and all other buildings to four stories, keep retail space below 25,000 square feet per store, and cap residential units at 500. Westwood Station is planned for 1,000 dwellings.
The Finance Commission repeatedly confirmed with Planning Board Chairman Rob Malster, who attended the meeting, that the planners remain in the midst of the permitting process, where many of the questions of size are being considered.
If approved as proposed, the $1.5 billion Westwood Station would bring 4.5 million square feet of residential, office, retail and hotel space to University Avenue. The plans submitted by developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes conform to zoning bylaws approved more than two years ago at Town Meeting.
Whether or not the latest proposed zoning changes would affect the project plans remains unclear.
Town Counsel Tom McCusker and Dan Bailey, the town's special counsel for Westwood Station, said the application must conform to zoning regulations that existed at the time of submission, and the developer can decide whether or not to comply with subsequent zoning changes.
Howard Davis, director of development for CC&F, Chris McKeown, the town's project manager for Westwood Station, and selectmen Chairwoman Nancy Hyde all said that the warrant articles would have adverse effects on the project's ability to generate tax revenue.
McKeown said the changes, if implemented, would cost the town close to $6 million in annual revenue. The developer has said that it needs a large anchor store to solidify the retail base and draw shoppers.
The residents who sat through the meeting overwhelmingly supported a size reduction to the point that much of the room moaned in disagreement when Pond Street resident Steve Whelan spoke out against the articles and said he would like to have large, big box stores like Home Depot and Best Buy nearby.
