Politics & Government

Milford Selectmen Co-Sponsor Trail Proposal

Milford Selectmen unanimously voted to co-sponsor a proposal that would exchange the loosening of an age-restriction on Walden Woods for completion of the missing link on the Upper Charles Trail.

Milford Selectmen agreed to join with a developer Monday in recommending the Planning Board approve a proposal that could allow completion of the Milford Uppper Charles Trail.

The proposal, made by the developer of off Cedar Street, would lift the age 55-or-older restriction on 41 units. In exchange, the developer — Milford Stone Ridge — would complete the missing mile connecting the two finished lengths of the Upper Charles Trail.

The value of the is estimated at $920,000, said Town Planner Larry Dunkin.

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The Planning Board has authority to make a decision on the proposal because it requires a change to a special permit, originally granted to the development in 2005. Milford Selectmen were advised by their Town Counsel, Gerald Moody, that they would still have an opportunity to review the final agreement.

Milford Selectmen said they would require the developer to finish the trail before the age restriction is lifted, and that the developer also obtain a surety bond to protect the town should it run into financial hardships in the future.

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Walden Woods has approval from town officials to build 165 duplex units, under a density bonus the developer received as a result of the age-restriction for 25 percent of the units, or 41. The developer, without the density bonus, would have had authority to build 110 units.

So far, 66 of the units have been sold and occupied, said attorney Joseph Antonellis, who represents Milford Stone Ridge.

The developer is requesting the lifting of the age restriction on sales because of market conditions, Antonellis told selectmen. "We felt the over-55 situation, and the ability to market these units, has shifted dramatically," he said. "People don't want this restriction."

Antonellis said he estimated the trail would take three years to complete.

The missing section of the trail follows town property, an old rail line, that runs from Veteran's Memorial Drive to Mt. Pleasant Road.

Several people in the audience at the selectmen's meeting, including former state Rep. Marie Parente, questioned whether the removal of the age restriction would lead to a direct and expensive impact on schools, because families with school-age children would want to move into the development.

Any contribution from the developer to the town should be directed to tax relief, Parente said. She said of school-age children: "It's the gift that keeps giving. They will be in that system, each year... each class."

"If the developer was giving $1 million to the treasury of the town of Milford, that would indeed be a gift to the town of Milford," Parente said.

Dunkin, the town planner, was asked by selectmen to explain the potential impact of the loss of an age restriction on the entrance of school-age children.

Dunkin used 2000 Census data and a survey of existing developments, including traditional subdivisions, as well as planned residential developments, such as Walden Woods.

His findings: the traditional subdivision with separated homes produces 1.2 children per household. The planned residential developments produced .05 children per household.

"Clearly, there is a benefit to the planned residential development," Dunkin said.

He pointed out that the units in Walden Woods have two bedrooms and small, shared backyards. Of the units sold to date in Walden Woods, most of which do not have an age restriction, only one family has a school-age child.

Milford Selectman Brian Murray said: "You can see these are not magnets for children."


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