Developer Rick Vayo says he won’t move ahead with plans to seek $3.2 million in town funding for an affordable housing project on South Street after the Planning Board on Wednesday “shot down” his proposal.
Vayo, a prolific builder known for numerous high-profile developments around town, wanted to build 24 one-bedroom apartments at below- market rental rates at 131-133 South St. The site, on which a rundown home now stands, is across the street from the public library on the corner of Braley Lane.
The project had earlier won backing from several town committees but Planning Board approval was crucial because Vayo needed a special permit to waive some bylaws. His requests included a reduction in the width of parking spaces from the required 10 feet to 9 feet, a standard request for residential parking spaces, and a reduction in required setback from property boundaries for the building. He also asked that the driveway be permitted to be on Braley Lane, less than 55 feet from the intersection with South Street.
But in a surprise move, Steve Bolotin, chair of the Planning Board, voted against granting Vayo’s request while the board’s three other members voted in favor.
“Three-to-one, it passes,” Bolotin said at the meeting, not realizing that his opposition alone had just stopped the project. Lee Hartmann, the town’s director of planning and development and the top aide to the Planning Board, explained that to get a special permit, the project required four votes for approval. Bolotin hesitated for a few seconds upon hearing that, but then said he would let his “no” vote stand.
Normally, there would have been five members on the board, but Birgitta Kuehn, who resigned in July, has not been replaced.
“I felt that on balance this was just too much density for that particular site,” Bolotin said in an email to the Independent.
The neighborhood is zoned for multiple-family housing.
Vayo sees it differently.
“It was perfectly appropriate for the South Street neighborhood,” he told the Independent Thursday. “If you want affordable housing, it has to be more dense.”
The meeting was a continuation of a hearing in September that focused largely on traffic. The board had wanted time to read a traffic study submitted by Vanasse & Associates and commissioned by Vayo’s company, Megryco.
At Wednesday’s meeting, 13 neighbors spoke on the project, all in opposition, mostly over the traffic they feared would be generated. Their objections came despite predictions from Jeffrey Dirk, the traffic consultant from Vanasse & Associates, that the project would only add about one vehicle to every five to six minutes during peak hours at the intersection.
Vayo said Thursday that traffic was not the reason neighbors opposed the project. He believes they used it as a pretext for not wanting an affordable housing complex in their neighborhood.
“The crowd tried to veil their opposition in the guise of a traffic issue,” an aggravated Vayo said. “It was an absolute disgrace because we’re all a couple of mistakes away from needing an affordable apartment.”
Some of the neighbors did seem to oppose the affordable housing aspect of the project.
“It looks like a barracks,” Kathy Lalonde, a neighbor, said of the architectural drawings depicting the proposed building. “It looks like it’s part of a housing project.”
Devon Govoni, a Braley Lane neighbor, said she worried that although all the units would have been one-bedroom apartments, tenants would pack into them, apparently to save on living expenses.
“People are going to be signing leases and you’re going to have tons of people in there,” Govoni said. “You’re going to have multi cars.”
“It’s going to be a boarding house,” said Ken Randall, another neighbor.
Vayo has estimated that the one-bedroom apartments would have rented for as much as $2,300 a month including utilities, compared with a market rate price of $2,800.
“If you don’t want this,” he said of the opposition, “then you don’t want affordable housing.”
As the meeting progressed, Vayo – who was on Zoom, not in-person – became exasperated.
“I’m trying to do this as a charitable contribution to try to help the town have more affordable units,” he said. “We make next to nothing on this.”
The Community Preservation Committee had recommended to Town Meeting that it approve a $3.2 million subsidy to Vayo in return for him reducing rents in all the units to below market rates.
Vayo said that although he is considering his options, he is recommending that the Community Preservation Committee not propose funding his project when Town Meeting convenes on Oct 19.
John Mahoney, a member of the Community Preservation Committee (as well as the Select Board), said he had no confirmation that Vayo is not moving forward with the project, but if that’s the case, the committee will not present the funding proposal at Town Meeting.
“My inclination is to step back and reassess the situation,” Mahoney said.
Even if Town Meeting were to approve the funding, Vayo would have to appeal the Planning Board’s decision or come back with a modified project that addresses Bolotin’s objections.
“It has to be in someone’s backyard, and it honestly should be in everyone’s backyard,” Vayo said.
But he told the Independent late Thursday that he is no longer inclined to pursue the project, which he said has taken much of his time and effort.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.