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APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE JUNE 2014 STM Warrant Article Analysis and Recommendations Article 2: Amend Zoning Bylaw — Funds Funding Committee 430 Concord Avenue Requested Source Recommendation None N/A Pending As of publication, the Committee has reviewed the financial aspects of the request, but has not taken a position on this Article pending action by the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen. We will report our position at the Special Town Meeting. This article requests rezoning of the 5.4-acre parcel at 430 Concord Avenue from RO Residential to CD Planned Commercial District and approval of a Preliminary Site Development and Use Plan(PSDUP). The current owner is in negotiations to sell the property to Artis Senior Living, LLC, based in McLean, Virginia(henceforth"Artis")'. Artis has submitted a PSDUP to the Planning Board that specifies a 30,000 sq. ft. assisted living facility with a capacity of 72 clients. The facility would be designed to serve patients with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia and memory loss disorders. The text and drawings of the PSDUP may be found at http://www.1exingtonma.gov/430ConcordAve.cfm. If Town Meeting approves this article, the use of the property would be governed, as with any CD rezon- ing,by a Definitive Site Development and Use Plan (DSDUP) approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). A DSDUP legally constrains all construction and commercial activity on the property to a speci- fied size and type of business. Benefits Beginning some years ago, the Conservation Commission found that there were violations of wetland protection regulations on the 430 Concord Avenue property and issued orders to the current owner in that regard. The property was also the subject of legal action by the Massachusetts Department of Environ- mental Protection (DEP) due to alleged illegal filling of wetlands. The current owner claims that the sew- er pipe installed by the Town is causally related to periodic flooding and the wet condition of the proper- ty. In any event, these serious issues with the use of the land remain unresolved. The PSDUP contains a provision that would require Artis to perform restoration of wetlands in accord- ance with prior official demands. Artis has estimated its costs for the restoration work at approximately $500,000. Properly done, this restoration would presumably resolve any remaining disputes about wet- lands on the 5.4 acre parcel. Artis was founded in 2012 by an entrepreneurial group with extensive experience in real estate develop- ment and senior health care. The combination of experience and funding increases their chances of creat- ing a successful business. A successful facility, operating as predicted by Artis,would likely have a low impact on Town services. It is possible there would be demand for emergency medical services,but Artis states that they will employ on-site medical personnel to handle most of the time-sensitive medical situations. The property is proximate to the Cotting School, so traffic impact is an important consideration. The business will likely generate a low level of traffic, since the residents at the facility will not be driving and the staff would be comprised of roughly 38 employees, spread across three 8-hour shifts. The site plan 1 The Artis corporate web presence is http://www.artissl.com/. 2