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Neighbors and board spar over scale of proposed 40B at 193 Garden Street
Summary
Developers updated the Select Board on a 40B Local Initiative Project for 193 Garden Street proposing 10 units (five duplexes) with 30% affordability; the board and neighbors raised concerns about density, wetland buffer work, parking and building massing while the developer said survey, wetlands delineation and sprinkling will be incorporated.
The developer’s team presented a progress report on the proposed 40B (Gardener’s Nest) project at 193 Garden Street: a cooperative Local Initiative Project with about 10 units in five duplex buildings and 30% of units set as affordable (above the 25% statutory minimum).
Attorney George Shinto Jr. told the board the survey and wetlands delineation are complete, the topography confirmed and the design advanced. He said the houses would be located to generally comply with setbacks though several waivers are likely to be requested, including use (multifamily in a single‑family district), lot coverage, floor‑area ratio and parking‑design waivers; height may also be an outstanding waiver depending on final grading and calculations. Mary Trudeau, who performed the wetlands delineation, said the plan pulls units back to about 70 feet from the wetland edge and concluded the proposal should be approvable by the Conservation Commission under state and local standards with standard stormwater controls.
Select Board members and members of the public pressed the team on building mass (square footage per unit), driveway pitch and garage grades, stormwater calculations, potential retaining walls and tree‑planting/screening. One board member said the project felt “too dense” for the neighborhood and suggested reducing building count to provide more breathing room, while the chair urged the developer to consider smaller building footprints — noting the project next door (Brown Whitney) as a precedent for a less massive form. The developer said they are willing to look at adjustments and noted the 30% affordability provision and a recent fire‑department request to include sprinklers, which the team agreed to incorporate.
Next steps: the team will refine drainage design and final building plans, coordinate test pits and stormwater computations, and present waivers and final materials to the Zoning Board of Appeals and other town departments as part of the 40B/board of appeals review process.
