Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, March 6, 2020 Caddy Farm site (Editor’s Note: Special Town Special Town Counsel advises City of Revere to deny developer’s request to accept Muzzey St. as public way Dear Honorable City Council Counsel wrote the following letter this week to the Revere City Council and Revere Planning Board regarding a proposed development which town offi cials say would have signifi cant impact on the Town of Saugus.) Members and Planning Board Members: This office is Special Town Counsel to the Town of Saugus. We write to you at the direction of Saugus Town Manager, Scott Crabtree, who has 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Kitchen Hours: Mon-Thurs: 12-10pm Fri-Sat: 12-11pm Sunday: 1pm-10pm www.eight10barandgrille.com requested that we convey the Town of Saugus’ position with respect to the proposed acceptance of Muzzey Street as a public way. We previously appeared beCelebrate St. Paddy’s Day! 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At that time, we advised the Planning Board that the Town of Saugus is opposed to any proposal for the development of the Caddy Farm site that contemplates the use of local Saugus or Revere streets for general access to the site. As we explained at that time – and have reiterated multiple times to the developer’s representatives – the development of this site should proceed as part of a master plan involving both Saugus and Revere, with the proposed uses of the site identifi ed by the developer and a plan for access to the entire site via Route 1 only, with access to local roads for emergency access only. Under this approach, we have argued, the laying out of public streets should take place at the end of the permitting process – not at its outset. In order to understand what is at stake in this matter, it is necessary to consider the totality of the Caddy Farm site, which, in its entirety, is a massive tract comprising approximately 44 acres of land in both Saugus and Revere. It spans the area from Route 1 northbound on the west to the former MBTA Saugus Branch rail line (which is today part of the Northern Strand Community Trail) on the east. It is bounded to the south by high voltage electrical lines and to the north by a single-family residential neighborhood serviced by lowvolume, dead-end residential streets such as Tuttle Lane, Norman Road, Hood Street, Eustis Street, Warden Street, and Laurel Street. The proposal that is presently before you seeks to lay out Muzzey Street as a public way of the City of Revere, eff ectively extending Eustis Street, which is a public way of the Town of Saugus. As proposed, it would lead from Eustis Street towards Route 1, and would dead-end at another point along the Revere/Saugus line, with an additional road stub leading into Saugus, described as “future construction”. The roadway plan (copy attached) shows a connection to Treher Street and a future connection to Mildred Street, both unbuilt, private, paper streets in Saugus that lead to Route 1 northbound. Problematically, the proposed layout plan gives no information whatsoever regarding the intended use of the property; thus, there is no way to ascertain whether the road, if approved, would be adequate for the use(s) of the land. When requested to explain the proposed use of the property, the developer has stated only that the “market will dictate” the use. There is also nothing on the plan preventing the developer from creating additional connections to local streets, such as Laurel Street, to which the developer’s initially-filed Muzzey Street layout plan showed a connection. Since it was laid out as a public street nearly 70 years ago, Eustis Street has always been a low-volume, dead end local street whose sole purpose has been to provide access to the single family residences that abut this road. The proposal before you would not only extend Eustis Street, it also proposes to connect to other roadways in the developer’s Saugus land, and via these roads would enable direct through-traffic access to and from Route 1 to Essex Street and all local Saugus and Revere roads accessed thereby. This would result in the creation of a “cut-through” road, which would funnel signifi cant traffi c away from the larger “arterial” and “collector” roadways designed to handle such traffi c and towards Eustis Street, a local road that is simply not designed to handle this traffi c infl ux. As discussed at the Planning Board’s January 21 meeting, the Town of Saugus has repeatedly requested that the developer provide a conceptual development plan of the property to the Town in advance of any formal discussion of any land development agreement and/ or memorandum of understanding and before any road acceptance proposals come to a vote. That development plan must provide for primary access only via Route 1, and must include permanent deed restrictions preventing access to local roads (other than for emergency vehicles). In addition, we explained that any consideration of the laying out and acceptance of streets in either Saugus or Revere would be premature until a master plan for the site and its proposed use(s) is presented and approved by both communities. We believe that this position is consistent with the expressed concerns of Revere elected offi - cials, Mayor Arrigo’s offi ce, and the Revere Planning Department, and echoes sentiments expressed by multiple members of the Planning Board. As you know, the Planning CADDY FARM | SEE PAGE 5
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