By Adam Swift
Last week, the city council approved the conveyance of five properties the city has taken for the nonpayment of taxes to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund’s Board of Trustees.
The trust fund board will be able to put those properties out to bid for either the development of affordable single-family homes, or for other development with the money from the sale being placed in the affordable housing trust fund.
The council supported an amendment made by Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky that due to easement issues, the property on Hitchborn Street be designated as an unbuildable lot. Novoselsky said it would still be possible for the abutters on either side of that property to bid on it in an attempt to expand their lots.
The other four properties are on North Shore Rear Road, the State Highway, Glendale Street, and Bay Road.
There are potential zoning and conservation issues on those four lots, according to Tom Skwierawski, the city’s planning and economic development director. As part of the process, Skwierawski said the city will work with the potential developers to help them through the permitting process, and the sales will only become finalized once that process is complete.
“These are parcels that were taken by the city for nonpayment of taxes a long time ago, over a decade in some cases, and have been in the city’s ownership for quite some time,” said Skwierawski. “After a review from our legal counsel, they have determined that these are sites that could be utilized for the production of single-family affordable home ownership opportunities, although each of the sites comes with some significant restraints.”
Novoselsky said he had discussions with Skwierawski about the Hitchborn lot, which has a city utility easement going through it.
“I am not for any construction on that piece of land, the building would be very, very small,” Novoselsky said. “I don’t mind selling it; I know the abutter is willing to bid on it if it goes out for an RFP. I would still say that it is an unbuildable lot, and we ought to vote to make it an unbuildable lot.”
Skwierawski said the remaining lots would need either conservation commission approval, zoning relief, or both to make them buildable.
“All of these are complicated, there is a reason that they have been in the city’s hands for a while,” he said. “We are going to be working with a realtor who will work and come to a development agreement with a prospective buyer, but we will not close on that agreement until they have worked through the steps.”
Mayor Patrick Keefe said there are no guarantees about the development of each parcel, but that the hope is there will be qualified bidders who will purchase the properties and build affordable homes.
“We will not help if it is not for an affordable home ownership opportunity,” Keefe said.
