Board to weigh Sugarbush development

By BEN STORROW Staff Writer

Published on November 27, 2009

Sunderland - Sugarbush Meadows, the long-disputed housing development proposed for Route 116 and Plumtree Road, is now in the hands of a court.

Attorneys representing the town and Amherst developer Scott Nielsen disagreed in a hearing Tuesday over the intended purpose of the apartment complex. The two sides delivered opening statements in a public hearing before the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee at the Sunderland Town Offices.

Lawyer Tom Aylesworth, representing Nielsen, said Sugarbush Meadows would fill a critical need for affordable housing in the area, a claim disputed by Sunderland town counsel Jason Talerman. "What the evidence is going to show here is that this project is a ruse and a cynical one at that," Talerman said, noting that the proposed complex is more likely to house college students than low- and moderate-income families. The development plans include the minimum number of units - 25 percent - required for the project to qualify as an affordable housing development, he said.

Aylesworth noted that low and moderate income families are often forced to wait two to five years before finding affordable accommodations. He said 4,000 people who are to currently on the waiting list at local housing authorities, and only 1 percent of Sunderland's housing qualifies as affordable. Meanwhile, he said nearly all of the town's rental units, which Sunderland has argued are affordable, are occupied.

Nielsen originally filed an application for a comprehensive permit in September of 2006. The Sunderland Zoning Board of Appeals ultimately rejected that application in January 2008. Nielsen appealed the ZBA's findings to the appeals committee later that year, arguing that Sunderland does not meet the required state minimum for affordable housing. Chapter 40B requires that 10 percent of a given town's housing must qualify as affordable.

State housing officials said Tuesday that a final decision regarding Sugarbush Meadows is expected within three months. Warner Lohe, HAC chair, presided over Tuesday's hearing, which was due to resume in Boston Wednesday.

Sunderland Planning Board Chairman Dana Roscoe testified about the state's smart growth regulations and how they apply to Sugarbush Meadows. When Talerman asked if the project complies with smart growth principals, Roscoe responded: "Absolutely not. My understanding of smart growth is that it works to develop the urban core or, in Sunderland's case, the village center. This project is on the Amherst town line."