'Severely overburden town services': Raynham tries to block giant 40B housing. Can it?

RAYNHAM — Is Raynham growing too fast? That’s an argument Selectmen are making, among others, by voicing opposition to a recently proposed housing development.

Raynham Selectmen recently approved submitting a letter to Mass Housing opposing a proposed 250-unit village-style rental development, called Riverfront Raynham, to be located on Route 44, with 25% of it earmarked as affordable housing.

“The Town has already experienced dramatic growth over the past 10 years, leaving most town departments understaffed, including our police and fire departments, and the town’s three schools are currently at capacity with class sizes steadily rising,” Selectmen Chair Patricia Riley said reading aloud from a draft of the letter at the Nov. 7 meeting.

What is 40B affordable housing?

The Riverfront proposal is presently being reviewed by Mass Housing to determine if it gets designated Chapter 40B. Chapter 40B is part of the Commonwealth’s affordable housing Law and is designed to incentivize developers to build more affordable housing by exempting them from many zoning provisions that control things like density.

The program streamlines the permitting process for developers, with the community’s Zoning Board deciding on an all-encompassing comprehensive permit, instead of a project needing to go before multiple boards during the permitting process.

A 40B development must designate at least 20-25% of its units as affordable.

There are two other housing and rental developments with 40B components currently being built and going through the permitting process in Raynham: Broadway Crossing and Larkwood, which was previously known as Raynham Riverwalk.

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How much affordable housing is the town required to have?

Riley said at the Nov. 7 meeting that with these two 40B developments, Raynham will have exceeded the threshold of 10% of its housing stock designated as affordable, which qualifies it for "safe harbor" status — meaning the state can no longer require additional affordable housing be approved.

“If Riverfront Raynham should move forward, there would be three large multi-unit developments coming into town at the same time which would severely overburden town services and negatively impact the town’s ability to service its residents and businesses,” Riley read from the letter.

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Financial worries

The letter spells out the “financial burdens” the town is facing due to its ongoing journey acquiring the land and building a new public safety building for police and fire, as well as the town’s $39 million commitment to funding its portion of the new Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School.

“The financial challenges are significantly inhibiting the town’s ability to address the issues posed by the need for additional staff in town departments and additional space for its public schools,” the letter states.

Traffic and safety concerns: 'hotbed of accidents'

Riley reiterated concerns expressed during the August presentation over Riverfront being located off “already a very busy” New State Highway/Route 44, which is also where Larkwood will be.

The letter also mentioned traffic and safety worries, especially since the town hasn’t witnessed yet the impact traffic to and from Larkwood will have on that main highway. Riverfront is also expected to have its entrance and exit directly onto Route 44.

The letter said public safety officials predict Route 44 “will become a hotbed of accidents.”

"As it stands currently, when there is an accident anywhere between the Route 24 interchange and the Route 495 interchange, that entire corridor can be deadlocked for hours,” the letter says.

Inadequate water and sewer infrastructure

Riverfront would need expensive infrastructural installments to tie into the town’s water and sewer mains. Riley said Raynham doesn’t have its own sewage treatment facility and is limited to how much it can have treated by the city of Taunton through its intermunicipal agreement (IMA).

In a letter from Robert Carey, superintendent for the Sewer Department, to be submitted to Mass Housing, he said the wastewater flows anticipated from the two other 40B developments, as well as from other residential and commercial properties waiting to connect to the town line, will already put the town near or at capacity under the conditions of the town’s IMA.

In addition, Raynham Center Water District is still “struggling with PFAS issues and needs to improve its ability to treat its water before taking on such a large development,” the letter said.

Jon Chase, superintendent for Raynham Center Water District, wrote in a separate letter a study would be needed to determine water availability for residents at Riverfront, whether there will be adequate water for fire suppression, and the extent of infrastructure to be installed in that area.

Developer pressing on

Jesse Schomer, land use and development attorney with Regnante Sterio LLP, representing Route 44 Realty Trust, the developer for Riverfront Raynham, told the Taunton Daily Gazette via e-mail that while Mass Housing will take the town’s input into consideration during its review of the proposal, it “does not prevent the project from moving forward in the Chapter 40B process.”

Schomer went on further that Mass Housing will eventually issue a Project Eligibility Letter (PEL), determining whether or not Riverfront meets the criteria for 40B.

If eligible, the PEL, he said, will also acknowledge the town’s concerns and make “recommendations to the developer for addressing those issues” with Raynham’s Zoning Board of Appeals, such as fire suppression, water and sewer use, and road access to the development, when they have a hearing for the project.

Schomer reiterated what he said in August, that he believes his client “would still move forward with plans for the development of the site,” without 40B status, though there would have to be modifications made.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Raynham tries to block Route 44 affordable apartments. Can it?