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Resident urges board to treat 40 Oakland Street as non-surplus and to pursue litigation if needed
Summary
A resident told the Select Board that Special Town Meeting members overwhelmingly rejected the Commonwealth’s 40 Oakland Street proposal and asked the board to prioritize surplus-land designation, reduce unit count, preserve the forest, and pursue litigation if negotiations fail.
During the public-comment period on May 19, resident Leslie Hanrahan of Putney Road urged the Select Board to prioritize litigation and the town’s claim that 40 Oakland Street is not surplus property after Special Town Meeting on May 11.
Hanrahan said 94% of Town Meeting members rejected the Commonwealth’s option to develop 180 units on and around the parking lot, 84% voted to fund litigation to protect the town’s interests if negotiations fail, and 57% of the 61 speakers supported the option directing the board to proceed directly to litigation. She also said a petition with 3,100 signatures affirms the site is not surplus and urged the board to seek an outcome limiting development to no more than 20 units, preserving the forested area, and securing at least 20% true affordability.
Executive Director Meghan Jop later told the board that, following the Special Town Meeting, the Select Board submitted a letter to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and the Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance in response to the Commonwealth’s April 13 designation of 40 Oakland Street as surplus; the letter was posted publicly and sent to Town Meeting members.
No formal Select Board action on the disposition itself was taken at the May 19 meeting; board members later agreed to consider a public discussion of their individual reflections from the Special Town Meeting at a future session.
