Framingham residents band together possible mixed-use development. Why they're organizing

FRAMINGHAM — A developer's petition to rezone 39 acres of land in the city's Nobscot neighborhood to accommodate a mixed-use development has since been withdrawn, but a group of concerned residents is making clear that it doesn't welcome a second try.

Future of Nobscot was organized to oppose any proposed rezoning of the land, which lies mostly in a wooded area surrounded by Edgell, Edmands and Livoli roads.

"We want to keep the property as (single-family) residential — no rezoning," said Tony Polito, a Future of Nobscot group member and Livoli Road resident. "We want to raise the level of awareness to homeowners — people did not know what was going on due to their busy lives."

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About 27 acres of the affected land have been purchased by J & Company, a Waltham-based private developer. In September 2022, a petition was filed with the City Council to change the zoning of the land from single-family residential to also allow for mixed-use development. The aim of the developers, according to a presentation made Jan. 5 to the Planning Board, was to construct a large, mixed-use property at the site.

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Vincent Lee, also a Future of Nobscot member who lives on Livoli Road, points to two "major issues."

"One is the potential negative impact that it would have on the lives of residents, such as environmental concerns, traffic congestion and public infrastructure deterioration," he said. "Secondly, this rezoning proposal has been ill-conceived in the sense that the number of commercial and residential properties they are looking at bringing in just goes beyond what the neighborhood is capable of sustaining."

J & Company withdrew its zoning petition in January. There is currently no proposal or petition before any city board or committee related to rezoning the land.

When asked for comment through its attorney, J & Company did not respond.

Nevertheless, Future of Nobscot has continued to meet and organize. It hosted a community meeting on Oct. 21 at the McAuliffe Branch Library on Water Street that was attended by dozens of neighbors, as well as city councilors and Mayor Charlie Sisitsky.

In order for any zoning change to occur in Framingham, two-thirds of the City Council would need to vote to approve the change. With 11 city councilors, that means eight favorable votes.

"There are two tactics that we are looking to employ here," Lee said. "The first is constant deterrence. We don't want any (new) proposal put forward, so our gathering of supporters and our efforts are showing city government that we are aware of what they are looking to do, and we are watching them very closely. We hope that continues to work. But in case it doesn't, and if a proposal is on the table, our final line of defense is ensuring that City Council members vote against it."

The group has produced lawn signs indicating its opposition to rezoning, with Polito saying the group has distributed more than 500 of them to neighbors.

Portion of land already has been cleared

A portion of the proposed area, just under 7 acres, has already been cleared. In 2016, Natick-based Realizing Children's Strengths (RCS) Learning Center filed plans under the state’s Dover Amendment, which exempts educational uses from most zoning restrictions, to build a school for special needs children. While work on the project began, including blasting and deforestation of the area, the project ultimately fell through.

Lee said his home was affected once work on the RCS project was underway.

"I live right behind that parcel, and after blasting for that property, I felt it and immediately I had water in my basement," he said. "Is that a coincidence? Perhaps. But I think that has a lot to say about using a brutal force like blasting, and that method that was used in a prior failed project has already left a mark on the residents' minds."

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Both Lee and Polito say they're not against development at the site, per se. If a proposal was made to develop single-family housing there, as the area is currently zoned, they would support it.

"We are totally OK with a single-family residential project — go for it," Polito said. "Just keep it residential. But for me, if a Market Basket or another large project comes into that space, I am going to have a double-line on my street, I'm going to have a traffic light in front of my house.

"Everything that I came to Framingham for would be gone."

City councilor says mixed-use proposal 'dead on arrival'

City Councilor Adam Steiner, whose District 3 lies just south of the affected land, said he's strongly against rezoning it.

"My conversations with neighbors, both before and after the latest Nobscot meeting, make clear there is unified opposition to rezoning," he said. "Our first responsibility is to the residents of Framingham, whose quality of life and property value could be decimated by a mega development in their backyard, and I will do what I can to stop such a project."

District 1 City Councilor Christine Long, who represents the neighborhood that includes the land, agreed.

"The majority of people I have talked to in my district are not in favor of this, they believe it's going to be a complete disaster with the impact it will have," she said. "Unless there is a reason for a zoning change that makes sense, I'm not in favor. There are already options for putting residential development in there, and that is what belongs there."

At-large City Councilor George King, who also attended the Oct. 21 meeting, said that while he opposes any plan similar to that which was proposed last year, he is not entirely against rezoning the land.

"I've been quite clear that any proposal like the mixed-use proposal that was made is dead on arrival," he said. "However, I'm not ruling out that any rezoning wouldn't work. There may be rezoning that would be desirable, such as rezoning that area as open space."

Mayor says city has obligation 'to keep an open mind'

When the Daily News requested to speak with Sisitsky, the city's public information officer, Susan Petroni, instead released a prepared statement from the mayor:

"We have an obligation to keep an open mind," Sisitsky said in the statement. "The land is privately owned. There has been no formal proposal to the city as of today. I did meet with the developers to hear what they were considering to submit. The city also requested a ruling from the Commonwealth on if a majority or two-thirds vote is required to rezone this property. As I told residents at the Nobscot meeting at the Christa McAuliffe Library last month, the city wants to go through the process. I am not going to say absolutely no to something that has not formally been submitted to the city’s Planning Department. I am listening to what everyone has to say about the matter, and that is why I made time to attend that Saturday morning meeting with residents.”

Polito said he was disappointed that Sisitsky did not fully oppose potential rezoning during the Oct. 21 meeting.

"I'm kind of shocked that the mayor, who is elected by the people, wouldn't say something like, 'Let's look at the options, I'm against rezoning it but let's look at residential homes' — I would vote for him in a second," Polito said. "When you have 500 homeowners with signs in their front lawns who are opting in to show their opposition to a proposal, you would think a lightbulb would go off in our elected officials that tells them that the people don't want this."

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham residents organize against mixed-use development threat