Shrewsbury to vote on rezoning of old Spag's property

Shrewsbury to vote on rezoning of old Spag's property

By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
elaine.thompson@telegram.com

SHREWSBURY — A special town meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Oak Middle School will include a vote on zoning modifications needed for the development of a mixed-use project on the site of the former Spag's warehouse, but other items are also on the 11-article warrant.

Samuel Adams, manager of Spagtacular LLC, is owner of the proposed development, which will be called "The Grove." He is paying the estimated $3,500 cost of the special meeting.

The proposed 27-acre development would have frontage on Route 9, Maple Avenue and Oak Street. The former Chelmsford Ginger Ale bottling facility/Spag's warehouse and a single-family home currently stand on the site.

Article 1 seeks the rezoning of 9.6 acres currently zoned Residence B-1 to Commercial-Business.

Article 2 would amend the Lakeway Overlay District map to include 10.85 acres of the Spagtacular property. Some of the land is already zoned Lakeway Overlay.

Article 8 would authorize selectmen to negotiate an agreement for payment in lieu of taxes between the town and TenK Energy LLC. The solar energy facility was selected as the highest bidder for a 20-year land lease at the landfill.

If the deal is approved, the town would receive about $2.85 million in 20 years from three revenue streams: land lease payments, personal property taxes for the value of the installation of the equipment, and real estate taxes on the portion of the landfill that will subsequently be used for a commercial purpose.

TenK Energy would also enter into an agreement with SELCO to buy the energy generated at the site at a rate of 5 cents per kilowatt hour with a 1 percent escalator. If all goes as planned, the company expects to begin construction in April and begin generating electricity in June.

Article 9 is another rezoning request. It is to rezone 26,000 square feet at 420 Boston Turnpike from Residence B-1 to Commercial-Business. The request failed to receive the required two-thirds vote at the May 2012 annual town meeting. Selectmen said the change would make the property more marketable and is critical to the successful redevelopment of that area.

Article 10 and 11 are home rule petitions to the Legislature. Article 10 asks the state to recognize manufactured homes, or mobile homes, as low- or moderate-income housing for the purpose of meeting the town's 10 percent mandate of affordable housing units. About 6.1 percent, or about 820, of the town's housing units meet the criteria. This home rule petition has been presented to the Legislature several times, but lawmakers have yet to take it up.

Article 11 asks the state to convey to the town three parcels of land on Green Street.

For more information visit http://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/

Contact Elaine Thompson at elaine.thompson@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @EThompsonTG