Hopkinton Weston Nurseries Land Use Study Committee

Exploring Visions for East Hopkinton 's Future and Impacts on Our Community

Hopkinton Planning Board and Land Use Study Committee

Public Forum

February 1, 2007

On Thursday, February 1, the Hopkinton Planning Board and Land Use Study Committee hosted a public meeting at the High School auditorium to generate discussion about the future of the eastern portion of Hopkinton and the impacts of potential development. This meeting was the first of a series of workshops which will allow citizens of Hopkinton to voice their vision for the area.

This public engagement effort is part of the East Hopkinton planning process that Town Meeting approved in May 2006. Ultimately, the outcome of the planning process will be an articulation of the town’s vision and a framework for how the Town can implement its vision. This framework could be in the form of actual changes to zoning districts in the study area, or a zoning overlay district which codifies the Town's vision for the East Hopkinton study area in the zoning code – each of which would require Town Meeting approval. As their name indicates, zoning overlays "lay over" the existing zoning regulations and enable a process for approving uses consistent with the town’s vision for the area, without changing the underlying zoning.

To frame the initial discussion about East Hopkinton's future, the Town's consultant, Sasaki Associates Inc., gave a presentation that outlined the context behind this planning initiative including prior planning efforts, the physical characteristics of the East Hopkinton study area, and findings from interviews with the major landowners throughout the entire study area. To generate discussion of various alternative uses, zoning options, and their impact, three approaches were examined as reference points for discussion of the myriad of permutations that the Town could plan for moving forward:

1. Lose Green.

Under the "Lose Green" scenario the Town would allow development in East Hopkinton to occur as currently stipulated in the existing zoning – namely, as single-family homes on one to one and a half acre lots. Development would occur in a piecemeal fashion and without a comprehensive vision to guide future growth. This would result in a net build out of about 1,168 new housing units in the East Hopkinton study area.

2. Buy Green.

Under the "Buy Green" scenario the Town would purchase the undeveloped land in the East Hopkinton study area, including Weston Nurseries and place all or a portion of it into permanent conservation. Some of the land is in Chapter 61, 61A, or 61B tax programs of the Massachusetts General Laws, which effectively reduces the property taxes for owners of land in active agricultural, forestry, or agricultural use. If the owners have an agreement to sell the land and convert it to non-agricultural, forestry or recreational uses and a private buyer makes an offer, the Town has the opportunity to match the purchase price and purchase the land itself or assign this right to a conservation organization within one hundred and twenty (120) days.

Weston Nurseries is in the Ch. 61A program. If the Town of Hopkinton decides to exercise its 61A rights regarding the 788 acres of the Weston Nurseries land that are now for sale, the purchase price would need to be competitive with the developer's offer – that is, the Town would have to offer roughly $30 million. Under this scenario, the Town could work in concert with a non-profit land trust to preserve a significant amount of the land as open space and partner with a developer to develop the remainder of the property, which if developed as single-family homes would result in a net build out of 330 housing units.

3. Grow Green.

Finally, under the "Grow Green" scenario a developer would purchase Weston Nurseries and other undeveloped parcels. In this case, the Town could use a zoning overlay district or other tools to direct development and conserve open space, which likely would include a retail village, expanded commercial uses and a mix of housing types. This scenario would result in a net build out of approximately 1,400 housing units as well as up to 200,000 square feet of retail development and up to 800,000 square feet of office "R&D" development.

To assess the fiscal impacts of each of the land use scenarios presented above, Sasaki created a model that estimates the fiscal impact of new housing, retail and commercial development upon the Town's tax base, including school costs. The overarching assumptions embedded in this model are that: 1) low-density single-family homes place the highest tax burden upon the Town because these housing types typically have the highest numbers of school children; 2) multifamily homes and townhouses have a lesser tax burden because they have a fewer number of bedrooms, and thus potential school children; and 3) commercial and retail development has a net positive impact on the Town's tax base because of a lack of associated school costs. Under this model, initial estimates indicate that the "Lose Green" scenario would cost the Town over $7 million per year, primarily due to school costs associated with the arrival of nearly 1,600 school children. The "Buy Green" scenario, which has significantly fewer housing units, would cost the Town over $1 million per year – again due to school costs associated with new students – while the "Grow Green" scenario would have a neutral or positive net impact, depending on the scale of commercial and R&D development, due to the increased tax revenue associated with commercial space.

The scenarios above are presented as reference points, each of which has near limitless permutations. As the town rolls out an extensive public engagement process related to planning for the study area – and as the Town's decision on whether to purchase the Weston Nurseries property looms – it is critical that Hopkinton's citizens consider other scenarios for East Hopkinton as well and build consensus around their vision. Based on input gathered during the public engagement, Sasaki can build this input into their flexible model so the town can consider variations on the above scenarios. Regardless of how land transactions unfold – whether the Town or a developer owns the land – the Town's citizens will need to use a combination of available planning tools to enable a process for approving uses consistent with the town’s vision for the area.

Please call Hopkinton Town Planner Elaine Lazarus at 497-9755 for more information or for dates and locations of upcoming civic engagement forums. .