Council to tighten controls on housing

By Mike LaBella

» mlabella@eagletribune.com

HAVERHILL — Whoever issues the permit, makes the rules.

The City Council is preparing to flex its muscles when it comes to what many see as out-of-control housing developments.

At the July 23 City Council meeting, Councilor John Michitson said the city must consider potential changes to zoning ordinances to place limits on future residential growth in light of citizen concerns about the city’s rapid growth and construction of new residential units.

Following that meeting, Michitson told The Eagle-Tribune that Council Vice President Tim Jordan and Councilor Melissa Lewandowski are leading the effort to better control residential development by seeking to have developers provide more detailed information on the impact proposals would have on city services and infrastructure, as well as updating existing zoning regulations, such as removing density bonuses to better protect the city from “sprawl.”

He said the council plans to take several initial steps to control residential growth based on recommendations presented during a July 16 Planning & Development Committee meeting by attendees, including City Solicitor Lisa Mead, Lewandowski and Jordan, as well as Planning and Development Director Bill Pillsbury.

“The difference will be to have a more systematic and rigorous process,” Michitson said about the council’s plan to better

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control residential growth.

“I credit the new City Solicitor for her interpretation of the current zoning code that the City Council can require a deeper analysis by the developers at their cost. And she knows how to implement this additional rigor based on the same processes that she used in Newburyport, when she was mayor.”

One of the steps would be to require developers establish a development agreement with the mayor well in advance of a City Council Special Permit hearing, outlining the specific acceptance criteria needed before a permit can be granted.

“For example, if the city’s analysis shows that a new water main will be required for the new development, then having the developer pay for the new water main may be acceptance criteria in the development agreement,” Michitson said. “The proposed solutions by the developer will be checked by the appropriate city department and experts in advance of the City Council Special Permit hearing.”

Another step would be to hire a consultant to develop a fiscal impact analysis to assist department heads in assessing development proposals.

“Mayor Barrett has agreed to hire the consultant,” Michitson said.

At the July 16 meeting, Jordan said that in the past the council was typically told there’s a housing crisis and to “please approve this project as it’s your moral obligation and imperative.”

“Then they would be told we’re expecting to receive tax dollars of X amount but that the council was never provided with the real impact of new residential developments on extra city services and infrastructure,” Michitson said reading Jordan’s statements.

Jordan had said the city usually loses money when new housing is completed due to the extra costs of services such as police, fire and schools, which he said “often outweigh tax revenue.”

Also at the July 16 meeting, Lewandowski expressed concerns about density bonuses, especially in the waterfront zoning district, and in the city’s flexible development zoning, which she asked to be eliminated. She said city zoning allows a proposed 800-unit project at the former Haverhill Paperboard site, which she called an “unacceptable” number of homes in a confined neighborhood.

Mead told council members the ordinance can be changed so the city will never be forced to grant such bonuses.

Lewandowski also called for the elimination of the planned development district saying it does not contain any boundaries and could “open the door to a flood of new homes.” She also recommended the city identify areas that should not be developed due to wetlands and other related concerns.

The Council approved a motion for councilors be trained on this new approach to leverage development agreements and determine impacts on city services and infrastructure, and also approved a motion to develop a harbor plan for protecting the Merrimack River, a motion for hiring a consultant to develop a fiscal impact analysis and a motion to invite the Community Development office to update he Council on the status of affordable housing and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). At the conclusion of the July 23 meeting, Ward 1 Councilor Ralph Basiliere said the Council’s message is neither pro or anti-development, “but that the council and not the rapacious princes of development are in charge.”

“The days of the city taking crumbs have got to be over,” he said. “The council can and only should approve the projects that are most beneficial to the city, moving forward.

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The days of the city taking crumbs have got to be over. The council can and only should approve the projects that are most beneficial to the city, moving forward.”

Ward 1 Councilor Ralph Basiliere