Maynard, MA - Maynard’s planning department recently added a page to the town’s web site asking for comments about a proposed housing development, to be built on a large parcel of available land within the town.  The page, entitled, “Maynard Kanso 40B (2024),” can be found at this link:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/536/3854/Maynard-Kanso-40B-2024
The page contains a brief description of the project, followed by a form in which residents may enter comments.  Below that is a list of 25 various documents that describe the project.  The deadline for comments is this Friday, October 4th.

Maynard town officials first learned of the proposed project on August 27th, only about a month ago, so there hasn’t been much time to prepare. Likewise, there has been little time for residents to become familiar with the project and the issues raised by the proposal.  However, the current comment period is just the first in a series of steps that must take place before the project can go forward.

The town is seeking comments from residents who expect to be directly impacted by this development.  I recently talked with Bill Nemser, Planning Director for Maynard.  He emphasized that general comments critical of affordable housing, taxes, or population density in Maynard are not what is needed at this stage.  That's because the comments collected are likely to go directly to the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (known as MHP), a quasi public organization that acts as a clearing house for projects of this type, state wide.  The MHP is already familiar with the overall situation with housing and land availability in Maynard, but wants to hear from residents who actually live near the property, who frequently drive on the roads near it, or otherwise would be directly impacted by the development.

In a recent letter, Planning Director Bill Nemser asks that commenters, "... please give an extra thought to ensure that initiatives the community has adopted are not unintentionally cast in a negative light that may hurt the town (i.e. creation of affordable housing, economic development efforts etc.)."
(for further information, see The Town's Role section, below.)

This news story is divided into individual sections, below:
• The Land - its location and characteristics
• The Proposed Development - what the development company wants to build
• The State's Role - How Massachusetts State Government is involved
• The Town's Role - What the town is doing to manage the situation
• Background and History - The story behind the law and affordability
• Commentary

The land, known to long time residents of Maynard as the "Cutting property," was recently put on the market by the family that owned it, members of whom previously resided in the single family house that is still standing there. As that house is set way back from the road, the parcel appears just to be open land.  This is in contrast to other recent projects in town, such as "Maynard Square," the new building now replacing the old Gruber furniture store, at 115 Main Street, right next to the CVS Pharmacy. From the time that building was torn down in May of 2022 (video here) (Beacon Villager story here), the public has had a close hand view of the progress there.

The land has been on the market for some time, but as the price was over $3 million, the town declined to purchase it, as no financial resources were available for an amount that large.

The project being proposed by developer, AvalonBay Communities, is currently known as "Kanso Maynard" in the documents they have submitted thus far. Despite the title of this news story, the project would consist of not one, but a cluster of buildings.

The developers are interested in having their project approved under a provision in state law, known as "Chapter 40B," enacted decades ago in an attempt to streamline the creation of more housing units throughout the Commonwealth (see details in the Background section, below).
The purpose of the law is to alleviate the housing shortage that has persisted for over 50 years by now.  State law also defines what is meant by "affordable housing."  Towns with an insufficient percentage of affordable units, based on the law, must allow developers to build new housing with only minor oversight by town officials, if they qualify.  Towns with sufficient affordable units are exempt from the requirements under Chapter 40B, and are thus able to require developers to meet their local requirements as usual, instead.

According to town officials, the town is nearing the 10% level of affordable units necessary to keep such projects under the town's control.  Even if the town can't reach that level now, if we can at least prove significant progress toward that goal, then we may qualify for a one year exemption from the Chapter 40B requirements.  This is known as establishing a "safe harbor."  For that to happen, enough new affordable units need to be deeded and on the market as soon as possible. Some units currently under construction may be completed in time to qualify, but this remains uncertain.

So, why would the town be so concerned?  We could use more affordable housing units, right?  A new development would bring new tax revenue, at least initially.
In fact, Maynard has worked diligently over the years to develop a Master Plan, which already provides for more affordable housing.  There is an entire section of the town's web site devoted to the plan:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/229/Master-Plan
The overall idea is to manage development projects with the future in mind, rather than just build whatever comes along.  According to Planning Director Nemser, we have plenty of other areas that are suitable, as laid out in the plan.  The zoning map on the town's web site has the specific details:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/232/Town-of-Maynard-Zoning-Map-PDF
The goal of the town is not to block developments such as this one, but to ensure that they are compatible with the overall layout of the town and it's supporting infrastructure.

The land where this project is proposed to be built is currently zoned for single family housing, whereas there are other areas that are zoned for multi-unit housing.  These zones take into account a number of factors, such as ground water levels, as well as the capacity of existing storm drains that feed into local streams and rivers, the water and sewer lines available, and traffic congestion on local roads.  A development project sited in an inappropriate zone risks straining this infrastructure unnecessarily.

Chapter 40B:
For most new buildings in Maynard, a builder would typically apply for a building permit, then get the required approvals from various town boards and departments before going ahead.  However, for larger projects, developers have the option to bypass many of the town's requirements under a state law, known as "Chapter 40B."
The state enacted this law way back in 1969.  It is so well known and controversial, that it has its own Wikipedia article :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Comprehensive_Permit_Act%3A_Chapter_40B
In essence, the state was trying to solve a huge problem:  Not enough housing units, causing prices to increase faster than the wages and salaries that were being earned by the state's residents.
So, what was preventing more housing units from being built?  The cause seemed to be that many towns had zoning laws that effectively blocked multi-unit housing in favor of single family housing.  There are 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, each one with it's own unique requirements.
The attitude among many people in the towns was, "Build multifamily housing somewhere else, we want to keep the 'small New England town" feel in our town.'  But this meant that many of the people that towns needed to thrive could no longer afford to live there.  People with middle-class incomes, such as teachers, shop clerks, restaurant workers, tradespeople, artists, the self-employed, the retired, and so forth, were all being priced out of the housing market.
The state decided to enact this law to give qualified builders a "fast track" to build multifamily housing, if they included "affordable" units in their projects.  That was the origin of Chapter 40B.

Affordable Units:
Potential home buyers who cannot afford to buy housing at market rates may apply to purchase a unit designated as "affordable." This means that they can purchase at a reduced price, in exchange for certain restrictions.  Applicants must have income and financial resources that fall below established thresholds in order to qualify, but still robust enough to qualify for a home loan and cover the typical expenses of home ownership.  Most such buyers are "middle class" who have local jobs but whose salaries are insufficient to afford market rate housing in the area.
Once they buy a property, they must sign a deed that restricts them from selling it later at market rate, which would otherwise gain them a substantial profit.

From what I can determine from the conversations I've had with public officials, the intent of town government is to continue the support for creation of a reasonable number of affordable housing units within the town.  The main question is how and where to build them, so that they work well in the town overall.
Certainly there will be some impacts from a slight increase in population.  We must be careful to avoid overtaxing our fresh water system, for example.  On the other hand, we have enough capacity in our school system for more students.  Our cost per pupil could actually decrease slightly.  We also have enough additional capacity at our wastewater treatment plant.

As I see it, there are many advantages to have a reasonable supply of affordable housing. The people who are waiting for a chance to live here are likely to contribute to the overall vitality of Maynard as a whole.

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - For a few hours, this Saturday afternoon,(21 September) the downtown area will likely be serving as a movie set.  At various times, Nason Street and Main Street will be closed to traffic to allow the crew to record images for a television show.  A flyer distributed to businesses downtown gives the details (see photo below).
A traffic detail from the Maynard Police Department will be on hand to direct traffic and detour signs will be up.  Although driving and parking along Nason and Main Streets will not be allowed, local businesses will be open and pedestrians are welcome to shop.  The main parking lots will be open.
Note that the flyer gives their "current plan" but in the production business, last minute changes can occur.
(I have not contacted the representative listed on the flyer for this story, in the interests of getting it posted quickly.)

Because of the situation, the bridge was temporarily closed in both directions.  Personnel on site this evening told me that the hole, although significant in size, did not appear to extend all the way through the bridge deck.  If the inspection underway shows that the bridge will be safe once the hole is filled in, later during the night, the work should be completed by morning.  However, if more serious damage is found, the bridge may have to be closed for a longer time.

Alternatively, drivers could to turn left, head up Walnut Street, then turn right on Thompson Street, and work their way back around to Main Street on the other side of the Mill Pond.

The photo below was taken from the Assabet River Rail Trail pedestrian bridge just a few yards up river from the Memorial Bridge. You can see the river as it passes directly under the bridge, at the center of the image. (Story continues, below)

The photo below, shows the work getting underway.  I took it from the opposite direction, with the Post Office behind me and Mill & Main to the right.

According to Maynard Public Works Director, Justin DeMarco, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT) has sole responsibility for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of this bridge.   Therefore, our local Public Works department was not involved in the repair and local taxes are not impacted.  DeMarco stated that Mass DOT has implied that the bridge will be replaced some time in the near future, but at this point, "... we have no confirmation of when, and what the impacts or implications will be for the Town of Maynard."

Construction to replace the Florida Road bridge began in early 2022 and was completed by the end of 2023, just under two years.  However, there is much more to the story because of how long it took before that to "get in line" on the state's roster of bridge replacements, work up the design, apply for the necessary permits, and finally secure the funding to go ahead.
The world is a very different place from what it was in 1922, when the Memorial Bridge was constructed. In general, towns can no longer afford to fund the replacement of bridges such as this one, so the state has assumed responsibility for all aspects of the cost, scheduling, design, and construction.

The challenges facing the replacement of the Memorial Bridge are greater than they were for the Florida Road bridge because of the amount of traffic it handles and it's critical location for Maynard's traffic flow.  Florida Road was more of a "shortcut" for drivers, heading up to Summer Street.  The detour was inconvenient, but we managed.
However, Main Street carries Route 62 traffic between Concord and Acton, to the East, and on to Stow, and Route 495, to the west.
But that's not all.  As the state has grown in population over the last century or so, more and more bridges were built that now need replacing.  This story explains some of the challenges we face in getting this work done:
https://mass.streetsblog.org/2022/08/31/its-not-just-the-t-analysis-finds-unusually-large-backlog-in-commonwealths-bridge-repair-needs
In the mean time, we're stuck paying for necessary repairs (from state funds) until a replacement can be scheduled.